Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?

My doctor is a fucking idiot. I also went to a university counseling service and they didn’t do shit. Never followed up or anything after the one consultation appointment I had.

Medication helped me and probably saved my life.

I’ll put it this way: You’re already miserable, you don’t have much to lose.

People have horror stories and people have success stories it’s true, but even some of the people I’ve known with horror stories still found the end result to be positive/worthwhile.

Nothing is going to change if you do nothing and you’ll stay miserable. Alternatively you can do something and you may just improve your life.

I was at a colossal low point when I finally began to receive the mental healthcare I needed. It was worth it even though it took time to get the right medications for me.

Maybe you still feel like you have something more to lose than gain but I didn’t.

There are risks with taking any medication, so your concerns have merit. I take medications for depression, anxiety, and ADHD. I consider myself very lucky to have a very patient and supportive doctor. As I come on and off medications, we always talk about the risks and potential benefits. The choice that I have to make for myself is if the benefits outweigh the risks.

Another thing to consider is that while medications can improve your quality of life, they're only part of the solution. I see a therapist weekly and a coach for ADHD on and off throughout the year. I have to exercise regularly or else my anxiety and depression become unbearable. It's hard work, but I know that consequences of not doing those things are far worse. In my case, my medications don't solve my depression and anxiety. What they do is bring me up enough that I can keep moving forward and keep improving, with the hope that one day I will untangle the mess of emotions and I may not need them anymore.

You mentioned that you've tried therapy. Did you stop because you felt better or because you didn't have a good rapport with your therapist? This is just my experience, but it took 2-3 years before my therapist and I were able to tear down all of the defenses I put up for decades. I'm at year 7 and I'm finally starting to push through some of my own behaviors and stories I tell myself to make progress and take back control of parts of my life I thought I had no control over.

I can't tell you what you should do. What I will say with absolutely certainty is that it is not weakness to want help. It is not weak to want to live a productive life. I would talk to your doctor about what you're experiencing to have another opinion about your situation. Medication for some people is the complete answer, but that's not always the case. I would strongly encourage you to find a therapist that you have a good rapport with and stay with them. Once again, at least in my case, the medications balanced me enough to deal with my mental health issues. Dealing with depression takes a lot of time and energy, but now I know the issues I'm really fighting, I don't feel helpless anymore. Take care of yourself. You are worthy of having a good life.

When this comes up among friends I always ask, "If you had diabetes you'd take insulin right? Why is mental health any different?"

Find a psychiatrist and see them regularly so they can monitor your mood and response to the drugs. And stick with the therapy while doing this.

The combination is key, the meds will make getting through the day easier, and the therapy will help you find coping mechanisms and be more self aware of your emotions in a productive manner. This sounds hard and dumb but will be easier with the meds.

Then as you feel better you can work with both providers to adjust your meds or test removing them if that's something you want.

But at the end of the day, you need to talk with professionals. They're trained to help and will allow you to talk about specifics in ways that could identify triggers. Take it from someone with years of therapy and psychiatrist visits under my belt. It feels like it's not working at first, but you need to keep with it and follow through.

Good luck and I hope you find the help you're looking for.

step 1 - See a professional. It works for lots of people. It can work for you.

for me - I went the medication route and it didn't work for me. It may seem cringe but watching these videos changed my life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt-cnPHBcBM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv0oTrpFOPM

So for me the solution was

* exercise

* motorcycles

And after hanging out with other bikers I've learned a lot of people are dealing with issues.

Good luck on your journey!