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Advice
Hi. I'm thinking about going to see a psychiatrist for my depression, but I'm worried that he'll just immediately give me drugs to take. And my friend is on anti-depressants and she says that they make her feel like a monster when she stops. Should i see a counsellor somehow for other ways of deaing with it, or head straight to the drug house (It'll get me feeling better pretty asap right)?
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Maybe give some free advice about: Mental health?
Treatment for depression is like a pie. You don't get the full benefit unless you've got all the pieces.
Medication is like 1/4 of the pie. It's pretty important. It helps to level you out, and to give you a base to work from.
Counselling is like another 1/4 of the pie. A good counselor can help you to develop coping skills and to find out what the root causes and triggers of your depression are.
The biggest part, though, is the homework. That's the last half of the pie. You have to put everything you've got together and work your way out of it. It means applying everything you've learned in counselling, and keeping track of your mood so that you can see if medication is helping. You also need to keep your sleep schedule in check, exercise regularly and keep your diet clean. That is what does the majority of the work in controlling mental illness.
Your friend's experience with antidepressants is a common one. Thing is, you're not supposed to start and stop antidepressants without strict medical supervision. Often, though, patients will stop taking them at the first sign of recovery because they feel fine. That's a big mistake. SSRIs make a big difference in your brain chemistry. Missing doses or stopping cold turkey messes up your brain, and causes huge emotional disturbances.
I can tell you that I have had bad experiences with antidepressants, but that is because I don't have depression (I was misdiagnosed; I have bipolar disorder). Something that I learned was that if a medication isn't doing what it's supposed to, or you're experiencing terrible side effects, that you need to demand a change. You can't just wait for it to happen.
So basically, I would suggest seeking all of the above. If you don't want to take medication, you have the option of saying no. Nobody can force you to take something you don't want to. Just make sure that you have all your bases covered.
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