Posted by pej on March 4, 1999, at 16:35:27
In reply to Skeptic about antidepressants and therapy..., posted by David on March 4, 1999, at 12:13:31
>>Also David, If you've read some of my recent posts you will see that I have been on the med merry go round lately. But I know that this is sometimes part of it. There are so many new drugs out there and I know I will find the best fit. When you find the right drug, or combo, it is almost miraculous how much better you feel.
I mentioned to my psychopharmacologist at my last appt," here I go on the MGRound again". In that good old understated Texas vernacular he replied,"We'll 'git it'Phil. I left with a smile on my face! Phil
Hello everybody,
>
> I have been mildly depressed for a long long time,
> without actually knowing it. But it seems to me
> that it has been forever.
>
> But last year I had two bouts of severe depression in
> late spring and then again in winter. I could not make
> myself go and seek professional advice, hesitating all
> the time, "lingering on the edge," looking for excuses
> all the time (look there, it's not so bad, pull yourself
> together, there're lots and lots of other people that
> suffer much more... and stuff like that).
>
> Finally I managed somehow to walk into a psychologist's
> room, it was about the time, when my suffering lasted
> for about 2 months and I could no longer pretend that
> everything's fine with me (you know, all your friends
> asking "how are you?" and you saying with a warm
> smile "fine, thank you" but deep inside longing to
> scream to the world "miserable!!!").
>
> The psycholigist sent me to a psychiatrist to have some
> medication prescribed since I was to leave my home
> country to study in the Netherlands temporarily.
> I received a diagnosis of major depressive disorder,
> anxiety, depersonalization, derealization, and a few
> other things that I could not understand.
>
> The psychiatrist gave me Zoloft 50mg, twice a day and
> Lexaurin 1.5mg (Bromazepamum), a total dose of 3mg a
> day. At the same time he said that my depression
> has its roots in the structure of my personality, my
> character. And he added that a psychotherapy for me
> would be difficult and complicated.
>
> I had been skeptical about medicines for depression as
> well as any kind of conventional psychotherapy before,
> although never actually tried them (I had always
> really doubted that they could be of any help to me...
> maybe I had some kind of prejudice...? I don't know.)
> and now the psychiatrist, although being honest,
> even enhanced these worries in me!
>
> I have been on Zoloft and Lexaurin for 2 months now,
> I can see a slight improvement (I have enough energy
> to pretend again that everything's all right...) but
> very often I slip into despair as to whether there
> really is any kind of help for me? Any positive vision
> of the future, I mean bright future? I don't know...
>
> I have a very intense feeling that these antidepressant
> drugs just suppress the underlying causes of the
> state of my mental health without really "removing"
> them. Maybe the most severe symptoms disappear so I
> can get through a day somehow...
>
> But I am sure I do not want to switch to any other
> kind of pills and then to some other pills and on
> and on... and although in psychotherapy it might
> be nice to have an opportunity to talk to somebody
> (especially when my social life is and has for a long
> time been virtually non-existent), I don't believe
> I can make any progress.
>
> What do you think?
>
> Thank you that you have endured to read up to this
> point.
>
> Good luck to everyone,
>
> David
poster:pej
thread:3400
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990301/msgs/3405.html