Posted by Racer on August 5, 2008, at 12:09:02
In reply to Too much or not enough??, posted by ricker on August 4, 2008, at 21:39:15
I know that my view of antidepressants and their ability to improve the quality of my life varies a great deal depending on -- well, on my depression. When I'm profoundly depressed, I think about going on, say, an SSRI and think it's not worth it. That the side effects I get from them would impair the quality of my life too much to be worth it. And it's true that I experience side effects I have a very low tolerance for, and that those side effects do impair the quality of my life. It's also true that the quality of my life when NOT on antidepressants -- hell, the quality of my life even on many antidepressants -- is impaired.
No matter what level of depression I'm experiencing, I try to keep in mind that depression does affect my view of antidepressants, and that what I experience is very different from what others experience. When I post here on Babble -- the only mental health related board I visit, and which I visit largely because of my position as a deputy -- I make an effort to present information as neutrally as possible, and when I do offer up my own experiences, I try to be fair and to emphasize my own part in it all.
And I do play a part in all this. In some cases, my anxiety is so high that it leads to hypervigilance about side effects, which has at times led to premature discontinuation. Other times, the initial side effects scare me off, or I'm so depressed I give up because I can't see any hope that a full trial is worth it. And sometimes I will discontinue something because I just don't find the resulting quality of life acceptable. Those are all either personal quirks -- the hypervigilance, the depressive view of potential improvements -- or personal choices -- whether or not the improvement in my condition outweighs the side effects for me. None of those will apply to anyone else.
Those are good points you made in your original post, and I do hope that many people who come here will be able to benefit from your perspective.
poster:Racer
thread:844230
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080805/msgs/844312.html