Antidepressants: you're doing it wrong

[azurelunatic]

Every last one of you peeps who have never been on an antidepressant: the next time you are tempted (whether out of ignorance, fear, or some other non- evidence-based reason) to dismiss the entire category as "happy pills", pipe the fuck down.

Of course some people have shitty reactions to antidepressants, either a specific one or entire categories. This includes shitty emotional reactions. Also, a health provider who pushes pills without other treatments is an utter shithole of a system.

However, for the people for whom it works right (with or without other treatments), this is what it does:

Stops the self-reinforcing cycle of shitty life events bringing down brain chemistry and shitty brain chemistry hindering recovery.
Makes it possible for other brain tinkering to work.
Allows a normal range of emotion while preventing the deepest lows from sticking. (Me off St. John's Wort looks a lot like me on, until I get in a shitty mood and don't recover.)
Saves people's goddamn lives, jobs, relationships.

"Happy pills," my ass.

Comments

[0jack]

I'm one of those people for whom all neurochemical medications are potentially dangerous, even fatal. Non-psychiatric meds that affect brain function even marginally are bad for me. I genuinely envy those for whom the drugs work.

It's like calling insulin 'happy shots'. Anti-depressants aren't even... anti-depressant in the way most people think of it. They're chemical regulators that help restore the brain to functionality. They don't remove depressive thought patterns or bad situations, they just normalize function so that one can do the heavy lifting. I think people are vastly misinformed about what depression is, because it's not being 'sad'.

Further, that attitude always seems to me to be so puritanical, as though one is devalued by not 'suffering through'. Even if they were 'happy pills', what would be so terrible about being happy with just a pill? Ridiculous.

[azurelunatic]

I have heard the "They're just a crutch!" thing too damn many times, and fuckin' hell, IF YOUR GODDAMN LEG IS BROKEN, THERE ARE MANY VALID REASONS TO USE A CRUTCH. Or, you know, if your legs are generally not working right in a way that's not expected to improve...

[arkeiryn]

"They're chemical regulators that help restore the brain to functionality. They don't remove depressive thought patterns or bad situations, they just normalize function so that one can do the heavy lifting."

I've been on antidepressants (well, on and off) for 3+ years, and I've not heard anyone describe what they do as well as you have here. Thank you for giving me a way to articulate this kind of thing!