# How exactly do antidepressants make you feel?



## njodis (Nov 8, 2006)

I don't really understand exactly how it works. 

I guess what I'm asking is if antidepressants can help if you are depressed because of real-life circumstances, not because of a clinical condition. Let's say there is a guy who is sad and depressed because his dog died. Would the antidepressants make him not feel as bad about it? It doesn't make much sense to me.

What exactly do you feel when you're taking antidepressants that are working for you?


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## korey (Apr 25, 2006)

There is a distinction between being sad and being depressed. I haven't seen or heard people call themselves sad in a long time. Nowadays, all I hear is "I'M DEPRESSED!" at the drop of a hat, when what they mean to say is "I'M SAD!" I guess depression being the _extreme_ version of sadness grabs more attention from others.

For depression that is expectedly normal (ie, due to the death of someone close), I think psychotherapy is generally used as treatment. If the loss of a pet completely devastates you and makes you practically unable to do anything, then medication might be warranted. Antidepressants are not substitutes for emotional coping mechanisms.

That is just my point of view, though. If you went to any family doctor and let out a sneeze that sounded like "I'm depressed", you'd probably have a prescription for an antidepressant in your hands before you could wipe your nose. They really are prescribed rather haphazardly and in excess (especially if they're still under patent :b).

For me, I would say that antidepressants (of the SSRI type) make it harder to feel sad. Consequently, it's also harder to feel happy. They pretty much dull my emotions so I can learn to react to emotional stimuli in an appropriate way rather than the exaggerated way that depression can cause (ie, crying all the time for no reason, feeling bleak and hopeless, etc.)


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## Speak Easy (Jun 27, 2006)

Yes, I agree that there is a definite distinction between feeling upset and depression. The main difference being the extremity of feeling AND the amount of time which it lasts. Anxiety and depression are extremely normal human feelings, but they should not be happening more often than not (this is when you know you have a disorder). IMO, if you are feeling depressed more often than not, and for reasons which you cannot explain, then you are depressed and an SSRI or AD type medication can serve well. However, if someone is upset, an SSRI will not help this. Being upset is normal; there is nothing chemically wrong in your brain; your serotonin is working just fine, and no SSRI or AD will ridden you of your ails. Feeling upset needs to be dealt with by talking to friends, family, or therapy. I think everyone can benefit from therapy, whether your depressed or not. I simply think that CBT and breathing techniques can be beneficial to ANYONE. However, this is not so with psychotropic medications. 

If an antidepressant is working for you, then you should feel more motivated to do things. They are stimulants, so you should feel more energized, hopefully. You should be able to appreciate things. HOWEVER, do not expect to never be sad, because like I said, sadness is normal. 

It is important to learn to differentiate between social anxiety symptoms and just having a ****ty day symptoms. It's a huge misconception that people are under today: once you're diagnosed with a mental disorder, everything bad that happens correleates with that mental disorder. This is untrue and can only hurt the patient if he/she has this engrained in his/her mind, because there's a huge difference between a disorder and just feeling like you're in the doldrums.


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## arthur56 (Jul 31, 2005)

an antidepressant may help a lot with your depression or your stress and anxiety or both or niether, most need to be taken for 3 to 6 weeks to see what if anything will happen
one eventually made me much calmer and more relaxed but none have ever helped my depression


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## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

My experience has been that they relieve the worry and deep sadness/physical depression (fatigue) that clinical depression can bring on. After a month/weeks I felt "normal" and able to cope. The extreme "uphillness" of each day had been replaced by a level field.


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## njodis (Nov 8, 2006)

Do they actually work other than by a placebo effect, though?

I've been looking up a ton of info on anti-depressant/anxiety medication lately and I've seen a lot of negative stuff and not much positive. Lots of people talking about the lack of serotonin stuff, and then other people saying that it's all BS they tell people to sell more drugs. I know my depression is mostly because of real life circumstances, so I don't see how a pill can make me feel better. Does it make it easier to cope with?

I have a doctor's appointment next Wednesday, so I'm trying to figure out what I want to do. I do know that there's no way I can deal with feeling this crappy, though. I am not exaggerating when I say that it's hard to believe that anyone could possibly feel worse than I do sometimes. I can barely function anymore due to anxiety/depression.


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## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

Njodis, I would simply try it. And then as you are able, work in some healthy behaviors into your routine. Exercising is a WONDERDRUG. But if you are too depressed to force yourself to ex'cise, you need the drug or something. With me, my serotonin deficiency is all too real. Without a small amount of paxil (very small) and 5htp, I would never fall asleep. But, it also true that if I lived a different lifestyle, ie more agreeable work, was married or in a committed r'ship, had more security etc etc, I might not need help sleeping. But the people who say it's all bs are trying to sell something, or don't have the compassion or life experience to know about these type of problems. Also, I have noticed, in a very real way, that forming friendships and being valued anduseful in this way relieves my anxiety quite a bit. Don't be afraid.


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## njodis (Nov 8, 2006)

Thanks, dude. You make a lot of sense. I guess I have to at least try it. I don't expect it to be some magical solution, but I guess it might help. I kind of psyched myself out by looking up so much info on anxiety/depression and the medication used to treat them. There's no way I'm going to take a medication like this without knowing exactly what it will/can do, but there's so much information and opinions on SSRIs out there that it will drive you crazy if you try to read it all. :lol 

I was thinking that the best-case scenario for me would be that I get some meds, they work well enough that I can get out of the rut I'm in, and help me reach a point where I don't need them anymore. I know that's possible, because up until a few years ago I never really felt depressed at all. I'm just having a real rough time right now. I sleep for 8-10 hours (waking up a few times throughout the night) and it feels like I didn't get any sleep at all. Then I just flatline throughout the day with no energy to do anything whatsoever except ruminate over how bad I feel and go into a panic when the phone rings. It's like an endless cycle that I can't get out of.

I know I probably sound like a whiner, but believe me, there was a point when even I wouldn't believe it was possible to feel this crappy 24/7. I'm pretty much willing to try anything that may help at this point.


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## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

Reading your posts, I wonder if you have some kind of sleep apnea. And two, you're right. ANY issue will have so much info, pro and con, that you can drive yourself crazy debating about it. Hell, people debate whether eating solid food is good for you. haha. But that is kind of good because with the help of a doctor you can make this choice and own it and move on. I keep thinking back to when I was prescribed remeron. It seemed very mild TO ME. And I didn't even know it was an anti depressant, duh. Anyway just a thought. It's 2:43 and I've already slept 6 hrs, yay!


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

njodis said:


> What exactly do you feel when you're taking antidepressants that are working for you?


I'd tell you, but I've never had one work.

As for placebo effect, that's a vital issue I think. You'll hear things like "Drug X worked for 70% of patients". They fail to mention that the control group in that trial had 35% reporting feeling good even though it was just a sugar pill. "Works twice as well as sugar pills!" just isn't a good ad slogan I guess.


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## njodis (Nov 8, 2006)

del


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## WineKitty (Nov 26, 2004)

I have been superanxious lately, to the point of feeling physicial symptoms from anxiety (which I havent had a whole lot of before) and was all set to go to the doc and get some meds...but after reading about several I have not gone because I just started a new job and I cannot risk having some kind of weird side effect from a pill right now....I am too new, I need this job too much, and I have to be completely clear-headed and sober since I am doing invasive health care procedures on people...


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## tomcoldaba (Jul 1, 2007)

Penny said:


> I have been superanxious lately, to the point of feeling physicial symptoms from anxiety (which I havent had a whole lot of before) and was all set to go to the doc and get some meds...but after reading about several I have not gone because I just started a new job and I cannot risk having some kind of weird side effect from a pill right now....I am too new, I need this job too much, and I have to be completely clear-headed and sober since I am doing invasive health care procedures on people...


Penny, your plate is full. Naturally, you are super anxious; you are starting a new job, you had serious family related issues. Give it time to sort itself out before you seek medical help. IMO, doctors are more than happy to provide you with meds whether or not you need it.


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## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

Penny, 
You're be fine. A new job can bring on those anxious feelings/symptoms. After a week or two you'll have that job routine down and be A-OK lady.


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## Roman (Jun 20, 2006)

even being half drunk, the buzz is the most potent legal drug that makes u feel more comfort around people, didnt helped me to get along with people one day i was trying to settle on one job, so i dont rely on modern pills at all, when even alchohol doesnt help :sigh


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## WineKitty (Nov 26, 2004)

FairleighCalm said:


> Penny,
> You're be fine. A new job can bring on those anxious feelings/symptoms. After a week or two you'll have that job routine down and be A-OK lady.


Yeah, that would be true except I am spending the next five weeks training in different areas of the lab.....and then they can put me in any of those areas at any time....but actually the job is going well (except the hours which are killing me :fall). Its everything else.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

if you start an anti-depressant, try starting it at home when you have nothing to do on a weekend.


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## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

Penny, hang in there,
brotherly hug :squeeze


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## njodis (Nov 8, 2006)

Well, just took my first 20mg of Paxil. I don't really have high hopes for it, but we'll see how it goes. This is what he started me off on; he's going to raise the dose or give me something else if it doesn't work. I can hardly wait to puke, get fat, and become a walking zombie. :lol

Hahahaha, I'm such a baby. I took it like 10 minutes ago and I'm getting all weird. Clearly just imaginary crap, but it's annoying.


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## member (Jan 14, 2013)

I have just started to ask questions like this because I may be forced to take some kind of medication for being unemployed. I do have anxiety like most people who have a hard time finding a job, but I'm not exactly depressed. However, I have heard that doctors now prescribe antidepressants to almost any feeling of unease and they make no distinction between depression and anxiety as far as medication is concerned. In both cases it is some kind of antidepressant that is usually prescribed. 

The problem is that I do not want to commit to antidepressant medication because of the risks involved. You have to take an antidepressant continuously for months or even years, and that is something I am just not ready to do. It is also difficult to come off these drugs because they have such a profound impact on brain chemistry. I would be much more comfortable with the occasional "mood-stabilizer," if that is a word that is still used, because with those you have full control of the situation, whereas an antidepressant would make me feel trapped.

Another reason why the prospect of having to take antidepressants worries me is that people don't seem to get any kind of pleasant feeling from that kind of medication, other than a vague feeling that things are somewhat better than before. If I'm taking medication that is supposed to affect my mood I would at least expect it to make me somewhat sedated so I can sleep better, get through job interviews without panicking, etc.


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## fashionista (Jan 7, 2013)

njodis said:


> Well, just took my first 20mg of Paxil. I don't really have high hopes for it, but we'll see how it goes. This is what he started me off on; he's going to raise the dose or give me something else if it doesn't work. I can hardly wait to puke, get fat, and become a walking zombie. :lol
> 
> Hahahaha, I'm such a baby. I took it like 10 minutes ago and I'm getting all weird. Clearly just imaginary crap, but it's annoying.


I'll be starting Paxil in a few days myself, once my training session for my new job ends! Hope you do okay on it, I will also be taking 20 mg! Hope it helps!


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## puppy (Jun 27, 2012)

antidepressed


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## blue the puppy (Jul 23, 2011)

well, they keep me from wanting to kill myself


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## jnms (Dec 2, 2012)

Well, at least they do something.


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## yourfavestoner (Jan 14, 2010)

At _best_, they've made me feel number and a little more apathetic.


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## Captainmycaptain (Sep 23, 2012)

Well you will be able to move around quicker because your wallet will be lighter. Google search ssri's and sugar pill and see what you find. My recommendation: Get some etizolam, pop them like tic-tacs and take a few shots of vodka. You will feel better than any SSRI. I also take about 3 grams of Kratom. Those three things keep me from blowing my brains out.


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## Fenren (Sep 20, 2009)

They made me feel like this:










Then I had to take naps in the day and felt even less motivation to change my crappy life. I feel better off them now personally.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

They give you super powers duh!.

Im flying right now.


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