drg - drugs 2.0

>>1665
psych noob here, i think (and that's what we learn) anti depressants should only be used while in therapy if it's not an extreme case. so i would recommend you to take them and make a therapy of your choice.

>>1665
I would avoid them. MAOIs especially, but SSRIs too.
The other anon's spot on. SSRIS have only been shown to cause significant improvement over placebos in therapeutic context. Stay off of them for as long as possible even if you do have excellent psychiatrist/therapists.

I liked the boost in confidence even if placebo in the prozac i had. I did not like the sexual negatives. After a while I started to just feel nothing, like nothing, there is nothing, I am not here, dead, zzzzzzzz. Nothingness. So I stopped.

IDK if this will help at all but

I couldn't get hard on Prozac and it was just a numbing effect mentally. I take lamotrigine now and it helps a bit with obsessive thought spirals without any side effects.

I was given a Prozac prescription for ADHD when I was 10. I'm pretty sure it caused a lot more long-term problems than it solved.

I used to be on antidepressants but I decided that I didn't want to take them anymore for the purpose of that they alter my perception on life and how I act and I don't want that to rule me.

50mg Zoloft has been great for me (for anxiety) No orgasm problems, though maybe it's slightly different.

With most SSRIs, there's some side-effects when you start them out that go away after a while. If you're having too much side effects, try tapering up the dose more gradually. Know also that different SSRIs have quite different half-life in the body, and the side effect profiles vary, so if one is like kicking dead whales down the beach , another could still be ok.

I don't know much about anti-depressants but I know they come with side effects and they fuarrrk with natural brain chemistry (even though your natural brain chemistry might be naturally fuarrrk ed up) so I never used them even though I was depressed as fuarrrk and having difficulty functioning in life.

I don't wanna tell you not to do them because it's your choice and everyone's situation is unique and whatever but to me anti-depressants seem kinda useless because I'm not curing the source of the depression (almost non-existant social life, poverty, various disorders I got from teen years, etc...) but I'm just curing the symptom (depression) so I'm just running away from your problems, in order for me to cure me depression I had to take action in life and do soykaf that solves my problems so I'm a lot less depressed than before right now even though my problems aren't yet solved.

>>1675
*from MY problems

>>1675
>I don't know much about
> antidepressants
Saying there is a natural state of the
brain and that meds fuarrrk with that state
is a precautionary approach and not
helpful.

OP here. To further clarify,I was born in a cult and have been isolated and psychologically abused my entire life, I have had to leave most my family and roughly everyone I know because they are indoctrinated and/or cruel. I'm currently in a social scenario where I need something to lessen the anxiety, paranoia, and depression.

>>1666
I am seeing a phycologists.

I feel like they are a necessary evil. They are helpful in some cases but are over prescribed to hell. Only you can really decide if they are worth it.

As far as side effects I can't really say as I've been on them since i was a kid. The only thing I notice is the utter and complete emptiness/apathy I have.

If you are worried about sexual side effects maybe ask about wellbutrin if you haven't tried it. It's a DRI.

I didn't like the way my SSRI pills made me feel so I stopped taking them. Prozac made it hard for me to sleep sometimes and the other pill I had me feel like a zombie who wanted to see the world burn.

Here's the thing with anti-depressants:
Normally your happiness meter does something like this:
__/""\___/""\___
It wobbles up and down as happy and not-so-happy things happen. Anti-depressants smooth this out. This might be a good idea if your downs are so low that they form an acute suicide risk, but it also means that to really benefit from them you almost certainly have to take enough of them that you also won't be able to enjoy your ups.
In fact, for most people in general, and for depressed people in particular, the average of their mood is below the threshold of chronic suicide risk.
In other words, for most of us the ups are what keep us going. And if you think about it that does make a kind of sense. Most of life is utterly dreary and boring, and most of the rest consists of the world screwing you over. It's the few moments spent with friends and/or doing a hobby that make it worthwhile.
Now, I'm sure your GP already told you much of this, mine did, but the thing is when your GP says it he makes it sound kind of abstract, but it isn't. I don't know what your trauma was, but my first hunch is to lay off the pills unless you've got suicidal episodes.

>>1681
I told you what my trauma was here
>>1678

>>1682
That'll teach me for skimming, I missed the ‘OP here’ bit.
>childhood trauma I recently found out about.
Erm, did you mean you recently left or that you recently discovered it traumatised you?

>>1683
I recently found out that this was a cult and psychological abuse, When you grow up isolated and indoctrinated, you think your a demon and these things are normal.

>>1687
Ah, that makes sense. Unfortunately, I can only think of the kinds of advice that you've likely thought of yourself already: get a hobby and new social circle. Depending on your exact situation and preferences, you could get a job, or do community work, or join a club, or get an interesting hobby and go to conventions.
I think meeting and befriending people will work better than pills. People are social creatures and even simple things like a hand on your shoulder or a conversation can make you feel much better. Plus, other people have different life experiences, so maybe they can help or advise you.

>>1681
>Please don't post any pseudoscience
Psychology is a pseudoscience
Making up theories on unproven hypothesis isn't a science, fagget
Stop giving your "common sense" psychology bullcrap to people who are ready to eat that soykaf up, OP said he isn't interested in that.

>>1689
>Psychology is a pseudoscience
please anon, it's not 1950.

>>1668
I'd the same. It didn't really "cure" the depression so much as convert the way it was experienced. IE: Rather than being alright for the most part and then having really severe durations of depression, it made it where I was, instead, constantly miserable- but to a far lesser degree than the small amounts of time I'd be depressed when off it.

>>1690
Maybe neuroscience is, but everything else is just bullcrap
okay...ill give evolutionary psychology a pass, but everything else total bullcrap

Get to a psychiatrist and then report back. He's also more qualified at answering your questions than us.

And to answer your question I have not experienced sexual ability loss from SSRI's but I've been taking them for less then a year.

What have your experiences with therapy been like lainons?

>>1694
Around the time I had my first session I also applied for government benefits, which I needed to bridge the gap to my next job, which turned out to a depressing hell-hole.
So apparently everything is registered nowadays and a government official approached the psychologist, the psychologist gave a transcript of the session to the official, who proceeded to share it with everybody he knew.
And there was nothing I could do about it, I've been advised by a lawyer that nobody did anything actionable.

>>1692
I'm sorry you feel this way on /drg/ of all places. The mind is an amazing and complex thing, and science isn't necessarily quantifiable. Alchemy is quackery by modern definitions, but alchemists already new things we are now quantifying centuries later.

>>1693
Basically this.

>>1694
Pretty okay, my therapist is nice, but I have severe problems with anxiety to the point where I literally become mute when nervous. It kind of is like kicking dead whales down the beach , that's probably why I spend most of my time on imageboards. Therapists are great, but lainchan isn't a bad thing, as any therapist will tell you. We aren't therapists, but talking to people helps, and anonymity is a great way for people with anxiety to interact with others.


I'm a Schizophrenic, so I'm on a bunch of anti-psychotics and SSRIs and shit, but it hasn't been too bad. I would like to stop taking the SSRIs, because they fuarrrk up my sleep and make me feel noticeably lethargic and decrease sex drive (which I actually enjoy, I'm not getting any any time soon)

I can't stop taking anti-psychotics though, which kind of is like kicking dead whales down the beach . It mind sound nice at first, especially here, but think of it like a bad trip that never stops and you'll get the picture.

I began blogging about myself at some point, try SSRIs OP, you can always just stop taking them. Same with a Psychiatrist / Psychologist, just stop or switch if you don't like it, but the important thing is to move forward.

>>1694
Do you (or anyone) think it's a good idea to see a therapist if I'm a person who can identify my problems in mindsets and whatnot, but consciously do nothing to fix it?

I love my misery. It feels more genuine than happiness.

>>1764
I should mention I can get counselling for free via my university

>>1694
Okay. I've been going to the same guy for like 6 months now. The recurring theme is about not letting negative thoughts dictate you. He also gives me pills.

He yelled at me that "nigger's never fought" last time I saw him when we were talking about freedom and somehow got to the point where I was talking about the hypocrisy of a state based on freedom founded with slaves. I think the idea being (mental) slavery is a choice.

I like him, but I get to see him for free from the state so it's not like I've shopped around.

>>1764
>>1765
Yeah, I had pretty much the same problem, and therapy helped somewhat. Honestly, I would recommend everyone at least try therapy if you're even remotely willing. It isn't as bad of an experience as one would think, and it's usually worth a shot.

>>1692
>Evolutionary psychology
>Not the most bullcrap of all.
Evolutionary psychology could be a good way to study the human mind, but right now is just a wankfest of ad-hoc hypotesis based on whatever we think primitive humans did, mixed with the researcher ideology. If the researcher is communist; then cooperation is necesary to survival, if the researcher is capitalist; then humans only see for themselves to survive. Like the rest of psychologists, when asked for proof they respond "human mind is so complex", but also "lol no, we lack enough evidence"

Evolutionary psychology can make any fuarrrk ing claim it wants because only a creationist nutjob would doubt evolution, that's why we see a lot of /pol/ infographics based on "studies", but it's easy to find some "studies" claiming the exact oposite.

>>1665
I'm no /fit/ or gym bro but my work requires me to be physically active 100% of the time and after trying to use anti depressants for like 13 years (I'm only 24~) it has worked much better to just be extremely phsyically active. Like I said dont became a gym bro but make sure you are being active enough for your body. Our species spent 99% of it's existence being long distance runners and hunter/gatherer. You need to supplement your lifestyle with physical activity. Our modern mind was born in the enlightenment but our bodies our ancient.

>>1765
Hey OP, some advice from someone that has been in and out of therapy since he was a child and just recently got off of SSRI's after taking them for 5 years and some other anti-depressant a few years before that.

They say SSRI's do not always afect sexual function but they did in me so just a heads up. IT was bad to and ended up being the reason why I quit. I couldn't cum from sex for the entirety of those 6 years, sex honestly didn't even feel good and I stopped really trying to have sex after a while, and it did affect the duration and frequency of my erections.

I've been off them now for about a few months and It's not easy but I'm glad I am. I still have days where I have the temptation to commit self-harm, and I've been drinking rather heavily during my bad days, but I make it through

Also another piece of advice, If you do smoke, be wary and if you don't smoke then don't start. Something of SSRI's really affects you as far as smoking. I was never able to quit until I stopped taking the SSRIs.

I'm also here if you have other questions

>>1783
>>1765

jammit , sorry same guy who was on SSRIs. I almost forgot another main point. Get actual therapy. Unless your school has a renowned psychological department, they can honestly fuarrrk your soykaf up even worse. I speak from experience and not just based on one campus/therapist.

>>1675
The mess with your neurochemistry indeed. This is the point actually.


A bit of a rant on SSRI's.
Gonna be long fyi.

First the general theory behind them. A observation was made noticing that lower amounts of certain neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine.
This observation is well supported. Some drugs can lower levels or even completely deplete these neurotransmitters with does cause depression.

Now, on to chemical depression theory. The theory is that some people naturally have lower levels of these neurotransmitters so thus they have depression. I think it's likely that some amount of the population does have a in balance of these neurotransmitter that causes their depression.


I agree completely with everything above. However, there is a difference between depression that is cause by a lower amount of monoamine neurotransmitters (those that I listed) and people who are going though a tough period in their life. It's natural to feel depressed after a parent dies.
So how exactly do you tell the difference? Well, there's no test or anything so it's sort of the best guess of a doctor/ psychiatrist / psychologist. In the US, lots of healthcare professionals will usually just prescribe on SSRI anyway due to the relatively small amount serious side effects. There isn't much pressure not to prescribe them.

Now are SSRI's or other antidepressants effective in people with moderate to mild depression? There's a lot of debate going on at the moment. It's still tough to say yes or no yet. There have been more studies out recently that say that antidepressant use and talk therapy are both less effective than reported due to the fact that more studies with negative results are less likely to be published.

>Personally I that antidepressant are being over prescribed but, then again I'm not a doctor.

>>1692
Psychology is new science and it's highly subjective. More subjective than most other sciences. I think it's unfair to say it's bull soykaf but, I would say that there is a lot junk in psychology. As time goes on psychology will get better as already has been.

Escitalopram is basically a nootropic. Took it for a while and my confidence shot up, and I had a really noticeable mood lift and boost in cognition (probably from the higher mood). My focus was great.

Stopped taking it when I felt like I could handle soykaf myself.

I still take a low dose of Mirtazapine at night which knocks me the fuarrrk out and keeps me chill all next day just in case.

>>1789
Your experience is very strange to me; taken it myself and talked to ~3 people IRL that all said it had no effect whatsoever.

I'm convinced SSRIs are entirely placebo.

>>1783
>>1784
That is not OP who you're responding to

I don't care about sex so that doesn't matter. Nor do I actively smoke.

I only want SSRIs to get rid of my emotions, I don't even care about getting help. If anything my waifu can sell whatever I get prescribed, but I keep telling her there's no market.

>>1671
Yeah SSRIs are only used on kids because drug companies would literally sacrifice infants if they got paid for it. At least you didn't kill yourself.

>>1700
Where do you live?

Dont do SSRI, get Elontril instead if you are male. Those are way better and wont make you fat and impotent.

Nortriptyline (TCA) + Duloxetine (SNRI) + Bupropion here: antidepressants definitely can work when you find the right combination. I'd also recommend therapy alongside your medications. I started off with Duloxetine and I showed moderate improvement. After upping the dosage I began experiencing suicidal thoughts and was voluntarily committed to a mental hospital. There, they put me on Nortriptyline which really seems to help with my energy level and helps me get to and stay asleep. With Bupropion on top of that I basically feel normal.