Take or not medication for depression?

[Leonor]

Hi everybody,
I am having a lot of problem with being tired and also depressed. I got my depression after having pain for so many years but I realized that I might need to take some medication to become more stable. My mood level changes a lot and I can't handle what I need to accomplish to continue with the healing. I wonder if any of you went through this and if you also took some medication. Please advice. Thank you.

 

[trypp]

Ooh, that's a tough one and might be a personal decision. I've taken meds before and actually am still taking them. I've taken them both for anxiety and depression, and they really work. For me, they help me keep everything in perspective. Something happens and when it might have otherwise pushed me into a tailspin, with the meds as a shield, I'm able to keep it in perspective.

... but, despite that, I'm actually tapering off the drugs and not even with complete support from my doctors. I sometimes have difficulty concentrating and remembering some things and I noticed that these problems started when started taking prozac way back when. I also just don't want to be on the drugs for the rest of my life, so I want to see if I can get through life without the net that they provide. And, let me tell you, it's hard.

I don't know if it's the right decision, but it's what I want in my heart. I've been through this for a long enough time that I know that if my mood starts tanking I can reach out to my doctor for a higher prescription and get one that day. I think that that feeling of control and of safety is key. My psychiatrist is unhappy with my decision, but my general practitioner gets it, gets me, and has said that he supports patients who make this choice. I'm lucky to have him. He actually recommends Dr. Sarno.

That's my story and I only mention it because you asked and in case you don't take the meds so you don't feel alone. But, really, I think that the rational thing would be to take them (for both of us, really). Like I said, I'd understand if you didn't, but when you say, "I can't handle what I need to accomplish to continue with the healing," I think that that is a good reason to take them because you can't do TMS healing well with the "monkey mind" that depression and anxiety can create. TMS healing starts in the mind - so I think that the first step is to get your mind settled.

Perhaps talk it over with your doctor? The pills really work, so if you decide not to take them, I hope you don't do so lightly. And, of course, there is always therapy. I'm doing the Alan Gordon recovery program and think it's great. Obviously, it's not therapy, but as you might have guessed, I like finding my own way, so I like that I get to do my own thing. You can follow my story here: http://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/trypps-thread.2149/ If you do, you may notice that I can be high strung and struggle a lot with my emotions. If I were to up my dose, all of that would be so much easier.

 

[Leonor]

Hi,
Thank you for your answer. It does give me a lot of reassurance. I started to take them yesterday and I will see if it works.
After finishing the program with tmswiki I am doing now Dr. Schubiner's 28-days program "Unlearn your pain". I can't do it everyday because I get distracted, so I hope it will get better. I read some of your posts regarding Alan Gordon's recovery program and they are very interesting. I will try to get into that program. I read it once only. I would love to participate in the discussion, but I can't follow two programs now, maybe after I get my mood under control.

 

[Leslie]

It's definitely a personal decision but I think that as long as you keep in mind that their function is to help you get your nervous system to a point where you can effectively help yourself they're not a bad thing. I think the real problem is that so many people take them (as they do pain killers) with the view that they are the "cure". They take the pills, do no other work, and somehow thing they're cured - as if a Lexapro deficiency was the sole cause of their trouble and adding it in magically fixed it. I actually spoke with a psychiatrist once who said his biggest frustration in his practice was trying to explain to his patients that prescription meds treated the symptoms, not the cause..without treating the cause, the symptoms would resurface (and be likely be worse) eventually because either the meds would stop working or the patient would try to stop taking them because they "felt all better"...of course they did, their nervous system was suppressed! Anyway, I've been taking some natural anti-depressants that I'm in the process of weaning myself off (learned the hard way once why you don't just stop taking anything that has a mood altering effect cold turkey). I had to increase them at the beginning of my TMS journey because I couldn't even think about putting one foot in front of the other to start it back then without it. As long as you remember that just because they are part of the journey right now doesn't mean they're forever, I don't think you're doing any harm. I also don't recommend you attempt doing 2 programs even when your mood is more regulated. The TMS programs tend to be inner-work intense and doing too much is really easy to accomplish - I know from experience that the only results from that are becoming overwhelmed and much worse symptoms. If you're doing Dr. Schubiner's program, keep at it alone at the pace you're at - don't worry about being distracted from it - your brain can truly only handle so much at a time. You have to listen to it while it learns to listen to you because it won't start listening to you until you've proven that you are listening.