Anti depressants

[carmencarter 10]

Puddleduck, instead of calling other people ignorant, you should take a good look in the mirror.

What do you know about OCD for example?

I bet you think it's only about checking the gas or cleaning obsessively?

Actually, it can take many forms.

Some people with the condition think that they might have knocked someone over with their car without realizing it, and drive back countless times to check that nothing bad has happened.

Some people will get intrusive balsphemous thoughts when in a church and be scared that as a result they will go to Hell- btw they are not "hearing voices", these are their own thoughts, but they are so busy thinking " I must not think a bad thought" that they end up thinking it.

Actually, some people are terrified of knives as a result of OCD.

They have an irrational fear that they're going to go mad and slaughter people- the sort of fear that can be fed by news reports of a sane person going crazy and shooting everyone in some remote village, because anxious people will think " so it could happen to anyone, including me?" and that's how an obsession can start, because OCD sufferers just can't "shake off" a scary thought, it is an anxiety disorder.

Those people are extremely unlikely to ever do anything of the sort, actually the reason why they're so scared of the thought is because the idea repulses them.

Needless to say, the comments you have just made are bound to upset people who are in that situation.

Thankfully I will trust the countless professionals I have spoken to and the books I have read rather than pay attention to what you've said, but just in case there is another OCD sufferer on the forum who might get upset by your posts I felt the need to respond.

[mr_busdriver 10]

The very reason you take the medication is that you cannotcontrol your state of mind - frequently due to a problem with the brain biochemistry.

 

When you're depressed you're frequently not in a state to 'control the mental illness' as you put it.

 

QUOTE]

 

 

 

 

Utter garbage - and yes, I have had depression in the past.

 

Until you deal with the route cause you will never beat depression.

 

It could be the fact that your lonely, unfullfilled at work, bereaved, stuck in a rut, what ever it is, that is the thing you have to deal with.

 

Pills won't do anything, apart from make you dependant on them...... then you got another problem, dependancy on pills

[JoeP 11]

 

Utter garbage - and yes, I have had depression in the past.

 

Until you deal with the route cause you will never beat depression.

 

It could be the fact that your lonely, unfullfilled at work, bereaved, stuck in a rut, what ever it is, that is the thing you have to deal with.

 

Pills won't do anything, apart from make you dependant on them...... then you got another problem, dependancy on pills

 

It is not 'utter garbage'.

 

If your brain biochemistry is broken then you cannot fix it without medication - the root cause is the fact that your neurotransmitters are not working properly. If you can go in to your head and fix them then you should tll the rst of us how.

 

On the other hand, if you have 'situational depression' - i.e. caused by events in your life - then anti-depressants are indeed only 'sticking plaster' giving you time to get sorted out.

 

And you don't necessarily get a dependency on pills - I was on them for 3 months, quit within a week, and that was that.

 

You may have had depression but you're talking utter rubbish when you claim that people can somehow cure the root cause of their depression without medication if the root cause is biochemical.

 

I suggest you read up on how SSRIs work and how neurotransmitter problems can cause depression and other emotional health problems before you inflict your views on the rest of us.

[Guest]

...Until you deal with the route cause you will never beat depression. ...

And the root cause could be a neurochemical disturbance. Not all depression is prompted by external events; some episodes come out of the blue, unprompted by any apparent trigger. Even those instances of depression that do appear to have some defined trigger event might be initiated because the sufferer's neurochemistry is such that their brain is predisposed to respond in that way.

...what ever it is, that is the thing you have to deal with. ...

If that is the case, then for many people anti-depressants enable them to emerge from the torpor of depression sufficiently for them to begin to deal with it. For some with moderate to severe depression, the very thought of being able to deal with whatever issues might have prompted the depression is far to overwhelming to contemplate.

...Pills won't do anything, apart from make you dependant on them...... then you got another problem, dependancy on pills

Now the idea that antidepressants 'won't do anything' really is rubbish. SSRI antidepressants do not have the same addictive quality that older drugs have. Yes, there are side-effects, as with all drugs, and an antidepressant that is very effective for one might induce side effects which prompt a switch to another type. Dismissing all antidepressants based on the notion that they 'do nothing' and instil dependency is very ill-informed indeed.

[StarSparkle 10]

Puddleduck, instead of calling other people ignorant, you should take a good look in the mirror.

What do you know about OCD for example?

I bet you think it's only about checking the gas or cleaning obsessively?

Actually, it can take many forms.

Some people with the condition think that they might have knocked someone over with their car without realizing it, and drive back countless times to check that nothing bad has happened.

Some people will get intrusive balsphemous thoughts when in a church and be scared that as a result they will go to Hell- btw they are not "hearing voices", these are their own thoughts, but they are so busy thinking " I must not think a bad thought" that they end up thinking it.

Actually, some people are terrified of knives as a result of OCD.

They have an irrational fear that they're going to go mad and slaughter people- the sort of fear that can be fed by news reports of a sane person going crazy and shooting everyone in some remote village, because anxious people will think " so it could happen to anyone, including me?" and that's how an obsession can start, because OCD sufferers just can't "shake off" a scary thought, it is an anxiety disorder.

Those people are extremely unlikely to ever do anything of the sort, actually the reason why they're so scared of the thought is because the idea repulses them.

Needless to say, the comments you have just made are bound to upset people who are in that situation.

Thankfully I will trust the countless professionals I have spoken to and the books I have read rather than pay attention to what you've said, but just in case there is another OCD sufferer on the forum who might get upset by your posts I felt the need to respond.

 

I absolutely agree with you 100% Carmencarter.

 

I've responded more harshly in my posts than I might otherwise have done on this thread because, like you, I'm really concerned that Puddleduck's posts may have genuinely frightened some people, and put them off taking Prozac.

 

It makes me very angry when all these scare stories are wheeled out about Prozac, because it can literally be a life-saver, and I think it's incredibly irresponsible to try to put sufferers of depression, and in particular sufferers of OCD, off taking Prozac. Taking the right dose of it can make all the difference in the world to sufferers of those terrible conditions.

 

StarSparkle

[carmencarter 10]

Thank you, StarSparkle.

I won't let one comment put me off taking medication when my GP told me how beneficial it was for people with my symptoms/ condition, he certainly knows better than Puddleduck:)

[StarSparkle 10]

Thank you, StarSparkle.

I won't let one comment put me off taking medication when my GP told me how beneficial it was for people with my symptoms/ condition, he certainly knows better than Puddleduck:)

 

I'm sure you won't!

 

But it does worry me that others may be put off by Puddleduck's ignorant comments

 

StarSparkle

[Dozy 11]

Thank you, StarSparkle.

I won't let one comment put me off taking medication when my GP told me how beneficial it was for people with my symptoms/ condition, he certainly knows better than Puddleduck:)

 

Thank goodness for that!

 

Earlier in my life, I was on Prozac for short spells - 3-6 months - with years of not taking Prozac in-between.

 

I didn't turn into an axe murderer (though I am presently tempted to take an axe to some of the irresponsible, scaremongering posters on this thread) and I certainly did not become addicted to them.

 

I obviously have a pre-disposition to attacks of clinical depression, brought on by stress/trauma in my life. I had counselling, which helped, and led to the conclusion that the depression is likely caused by the fact that I'm a perfectionist.

 

To get to the root of why I'm a perfectionist would no doubt take years of seeing a psychiatrist/counsellor or whatever, costing either me or the NHS an absolute fortune.

 

And, since I don't really believe that the fact my mum might have criticised me for not doing something properly when I was a 5 year old, and thus scarred me mentally for life, it seems a bit pointless.

 

Prozac has helped so many people with either short or long-term problems with depression that the odd bout of hysteria about it's supposed effects has done nothing to discourage me from taking it.

[filbert 10]

If I can just add my twopenneth worth, from a position of relative ignorance it has to be said though.

 

I've never understood depression. This is because I've never been depressed and therefore have no personal grasp of what it feels like. I have had friends who have been depressed and it is something quite different from being merely sad or lonely or upset.

 

Everybody gets sad and miserable sometimes and usually there is a bloody good reason for feeling that way, the loss of a loved one, illness, getting sacked etc.

 

Depression though isn't dependent on external factors like that (in my opinion). Someone who has everything in the world, the best job, the best life, can still suffer from depression. This is why people who have never suffered find it hard to understand....why should someone who has what seems like a good life be depressed? Aren't they just being lazy or self obsessed? Why can't they just "get a grip".

 

I've felt like that before but now realise that depression really is a horrendous dibilitating illness.

[missb 10]

Ive been prescribed prozac, anyone got any experience of this?

 

Yes, made me feel sickly at first and off my food. Ok after a couple of weeks. Just keeps the edge off of the blues.

 

Non-addictive. Helped me.

[Puddleduck 10]

Go ahead, watch the videos, read the pages if you dare, just don't accuse me of scaremongering. If you can't handle it tough.

 

http://www.cchrflorida.org/

[carmencarter 10]

"if you can't handle it tough"

 

You're such a sensitive soul aren't you?

How can we be so mean to you when it's obvious that you mean so well:rolleyes:

Seriously though, I have read the article, I have also read other articles according to which Prozac is pretty safe, so really all you can do is listen to your GP and the people who have tried.