Posted by SusanG on March 24, 2002, at 19:32:56
In reply to Re: How do you know?, posted by zion on March 24, 2002, at 11:52:02
> Emotions and sadness are not going to go away, everyone has issues to be dealt with in life and they have reactions to them. Knowing if your AD is working for you is a matter of degree. How stable do you feel? Can you cope with situations and the emotions you are feeling fairly well, or do they seem overwhelming? Has your overall impression of life changed from a concept that it is chaotic and hopeless to the perception that it can be dealt with and managed? What kind of side effects are you experiencing? Do they seem worse than the depression, etc. or do you think you can live with them? It can get better than just no longer feeling suicidal, but you could experience dreadful side effects in trying to get there. How much are you willing to risk to become more stable than you are now? Your answers to any of these questions could tell you much about how well your AD is working for you currently. Are you in control of your life or are your emotions controlling you and ruining your life? Meds can be a great tool in giving you back control over your own decisions and reactions so that you can cope more effectively with any number of difficult situations in your life.
>
> ZionZion, thanks, this was helpful as far as putting somewhat measurable elements to the question of "is this working". For me, the problem is that now that I am off the Effexor, I can function pretty "normally", or at least what seems to be to be normal. But in the past I would be doing fine and then suddenly, wham, apparently out of nowhere I became totally depressed, woudl cry for hours and feel all is hopeless. The Effexor eliminated the deep plunges though I did have lots of smaller dips...more like generalized sadness than total despare. I don't want to take another AD because I'll bet I will have similarly unpleasant side effects no matter which I try but I am fearful of another plunge. I feel a bit like I am walking on eggshells, afraid to think for a minute about things that disturb me. I know this can't go on like this and I have an appt with a shrink in a week. I hope she will be able to give me insight on whether or not I need to be on something. For now I am grateful that I do still have moments of pleasure and happiness though I try not to examine anything too closely for fear it will send me off in the wrong direction. I feel for those of you who are feeling so low and don't have even the occasional up moments.
P.S. Would still love to chat "live" but I need specific directions on where to go.
poster:SusanG
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020322/msgs/99938.html