Avatar Posted by TERESA 69 days ago (Question)
I have been taking Prestiq for about 4 months. Prior to that I had been on proszac for about 3 mos but that made me feel very dark. My issue is I really dont know how much better I am supposed to feel. I am in therapy and it can bring me down, way down at times, alot of times. So I agreed to take an antidepressant several months ago to help offset this feeling, and to help myself succeed with therapy and attaining my goal to be free from my past or free from myself or whatever it ends up being, Anyway, I feel like shit and well I just need to know whether it is working or not. How much of an affect is the antidepressant supposed to have and how much depends on the person. Its not as if I expect magic or something but I just need some input here on whether I should feel more up than down.


Answers

Written by Thumbelina 68 days ago Rating: 0 | Rate Answer: + -

An antidepressant should not make your emotions "flat". That is something that you should not be experiencing. In other words, you should experience more "normal" ups and downs. Therapy is hard work and the issues you are dealing with are stressful and sensitive. You should expect to feel some stress from the process. But it should not overwhelm you. When one becomes clinically depressed, everyday things are overwhelming. Things that a person should normally be able to handle on a daily basis become impossible to tolerate and are too much for the clinically depressed person. That's when an antidepressant is necessary. If you are benefiting from therapy, even though you might feel stressed from the experience and have some difficulty temporarily, you should be able to recover from this and function normally in your other activities. If you feel generally bad still, and especially if you feel like you simply cannot function on a daily basis, either your dosage is not correct, the antidepressant has not begun working completely for you, or your doctor might need to consider another medication for you. Remember it takes two to four weeks for the full effect and if you have been taking it that long but still are feeling bad or even suicidal, you need to let your doctor know immediately. I wish you the best of luck.

Written by bellacutie 68 days ago Rating: 0 | Rate Answer: + -

^^^^^^

Great advice from Thumbelina!

I agree if after a few months you don't don't feel relief then consult with your doctor. I agree with Thumbelina that working in therapy can be stressful but shortly after you should feel recovered. I'm wondering what self help techniques you could do to ease your stress. But first I want to give you a new way of looking at your therapy process. I want you to imagine that the whole re-living of the abuse is like 'purging' or 'throwing out the garbage' - each time you do this imagine it's 'another load off your back' so at the end of therapy you will feel more healed. Instead of looking at the process as being draining - look at it, as a release of built up feelings. Then after the therapy I want you to imagine that once you 'dump the garbage' in his office and close the door - you're DONE and relieved. Tell yourself that you'll try not to dwell on the feelings stirred in therapy - leaving all the negative feelings for therapy only. Then if you can afford it go do something rewarding like a pedicure, facial, massage, nice meal etc.

I know this may sound corny but I highly recommend bringing humor in your life. Thumbelina has been through alot in her life, yet she has a great sense of humour. Go rent some funny movies or go with a girlfriend to a comedy club. I also highly recommend regular exercise - power walking is a simple way to get started. They now know that exercise builds NEW brain connections and plays a vital role in depression. Another thing you should learn to do, is meditation or at least deep breathing exercises. Right now your body is working in 'high stress overload' so, calming yourself at some point in your day will help you deal with stress.

Think of therapy as - it's your chance to DUMP the garbage and imagine leaving all your feelins there. I want you to try for the next month to treat yourself well by eating great and exercising no matter what. Reward yourself everytime you go to therapy - needs to be a good reward, not drinking yourself silly LOL. Instead of dreading the therapy, you can look forward to releasing the toxic feelings. If you start being proactive I bet you'll start feeling better. Best of luck.

Written by Clyde 49 days ago Rating: 0 | Rate Answer: + -

You definitely need to talk to your doctor as well about this. They are also trying to find the best "match" for your needs.

Consult with them, let them know how you feel.

Best,

Clyde


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