Posted by metiron on October 20, 2002, at 14:51:53
In reply to SSRI Apathy vs. Depression - How to tell?, posted by AnneL on October 20, 2002, at 13:18:18
Hi Anne,
It has taken me quite a few years to accept my need for medications. I started when I was a teen on meds, so I had that whole teen invincibility issue, and then as I got older my thinking was, well, I was just a teenager and now that I'm in my twenties and my hormones have stablized, I won't need them anymore. Neither of those trains of thought were the truth. So I would get off my meds (sometimes way to fast so that I would have to deal with difficult side effects--stupid, but I so much wanted my independence, I so much wanted to be "normal") and then after a few weeks, or a few months I would crash when the meds were fully out of my blood stream. So, I would go crawling back to my psych. He told me though that this is a fairly common thing for people to do. I mean no one wants to live strapped to a little bottle of pills. But, like diabetics need to maintain insulin levels, we depressives need to keep a close eye on our chemical imbalances. --Sucks right?
As for apathy--I'm pretty sure it has something to do with depression. As a matter of fact, I think it is a sign of depression. You might have to get your meds re-evaluated, you also might need to exersize as a natural antidepressant (this is advice that I really need to take myself). But this is a quality of life issue. Are you willing to be apathetic about your quality of life--or are you going to fix it--sometimes it takes alot of determination to go out and make yourself do something or call a friend that you haven't talked to in a while, or pursue some interest besides socializing.
Just remember not to let yourself become defeated. Always try to improve what you see as needing improvement. Don't give up and let life go by without you.
Metiron
poster:metiron
thread:124374
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021019/msgs/124388.html