How do you not feel shame in taking anti-depressants long-term

Well of course you do. Still feel sadness (but not hopelessness) and Happiness (which is elusive when depressed) and everything in between - anger, frustration, love, laughter. I think you are thinking about Tranquillisers which are known to dampen down extreme emotions.

alovelycupoftea I’ve been taking Venlaxafine for about 20 years now, since I went through the menopause. My GP says he has no problem with me taking the dose I’m on (150mg daily) and knowing how quickly I’ve become unstable when I have tried to come off it, I’m happy to keep taking it. There’s no disgrace in needing help to cope with an illness, however long this may be for.

General (and genuine) question - does one/do you experience emotions when taking anti-depressants?

alovelycupoftea, I have been taking antidepressants for the same amount of time as you and I feel no shame whatsoever. A childhood which was very unstable, a family history of mental health problems and undiagnosed depression from puberty until I was in my 30's made anti-depressants a life saver. I also have a damaged spine from my teens and I don't feel ashamed if I need to pop a pain killer either if they are necessary. A chemical imbalance or nerve pain are something I cannot help so I don't feel ashamed. If you do, maybe that is something you need counselling about?
I have twice tried to come of anti-depressants. Once after the menopause when I wondered whether I needed them as my hormones weren't swinging all over the place. More recently when my libido was through the floor and I wondered if I could change them for something which may not batter it so much. Both times have been a complete disaster despite doing everything the Drs asked. I won't be doing it again in a hurry!
Please don't come off them because of "shame" but because you don't need them, if you choose to do so.

What a hopeful and encouraging post *DaisyBoots Thank you for sharing.

a nice cup of tea please don't feel guilty about taking ADs. You need them just as someone else needs to take medication for high blood pressure for example. My DH has to take a high dose of ADs and accepts he will have to take them for life as he was was diagnosed with PTSD two years ago. Before this his behaviour got to be unbearable and we split up and he returned to England. I had asked him to see the doctor for several years before this as I thought he had depression. When he became suicidal a doctor there put him on ADs and when he was diagnosed with PTSD he had to take a higher dose. He also had counselling which helped him. Now I have my loving husband back and I am so grateful for those ADs.

Thank you Granny23.

My daughter has severe fibromyalgia Paddyann and several other conditions. She also takes a cocktail of drugs none of which alleviate the pain. Each consultant feels the need to change her medication so she spends weeks coming off one tablet before starting a new one - with lots of side effects. She has just come off pregabalin and doubled her dose of topimarate. The pain is no better but she worries that her liver is being compromised by all the drugs. She knows more about all her conditions than most of the medical profession.

Well said GabriellaG Now don't you go getting embarrassed about having good health. I sincerely hope that life allows you to continue in this happy state.

No shame in taking medication for an illness, especially when the meds are doing what they are supposed to do - helping you to cope each day. We all have things that 'prop us up' whether that is friends & family, prescribed medication or something else. I've been taking anti-depressants for 15+ years and, like you, have had moments of doubt or tried to come off them, but I do need them so continue to take them. My partner has also been taking them for about 6 years and has had major depression bouts on the few occasions he has tried reducing his dose or stopping them. Life can be bloody tough and if a daily dose of medication can help make it a little less hard and allow you to live a more 'normal' existence then shame should not enter into it. I just try to be honest with myself and this includes medications I need (over the years I have had lots of meds that I have stopped, changed, reduced etc and have settled for a lot less than I have previously taken, meaning now I just have pain meds, HRT, anti-depressants, and, fairly recently, thyroid pills - the others are all long-term). You know what you need. You are certainly not pathetic and not alone in this - I wish you well for the future.

alovelycupoftea I am on exactly the same medication as you and know that I need to be on it. Having suffered 3 major depressive episodes which, let me assure anyone who has not been through it is not just feeling a bit down, I am just thankfull that the wonderful Dr who treated me during my 3rd episode managed to prescribe medication that cured and suited me.

I hold my hands up to all those who have pointed out my misconceptions and unreservedly concede that your greater knowledge of illness and medications, due to your having or knowing people who suffer depression/anxiety etc, places you in a far better position to give advice. I'll make sure not to comment about things which have never affected me. I now feel embarrassed about never having been ill or on meds...??

My Dr once explained depression and the threads of it to me like this: it is actually a physical problem to start with. We have all these tiny hormonal balls in our body.

They gently bounce around as they are supposed too. Life's circumstances mean they may start bouncing a little less. Then life rights it's self. For some they are fine. It also depends on how many things, life etc. happen that can affect you emotionally and out little bouncy hormonal balls.

Like anything the more than happens to the bouncy balls the more out of sorts thet become. This helps drain the brain of the correct amount of balance it needs to function properly. The depression etc then sets in.

I dont know your age or background. Time you were born and how you were brought up also has a way on how we think. It's about acceptance too. I am on anti ds for life. Going on them in 2003 due to PTSD and threads. I have had to with through all this in therapy too

No one else else is ashamed of you. You need to change how you think and feel about this as it only affecting you.

I am open about it with myself and my 2nd son who is bipolar. How do you feel about others being on them? Bet you would say the total opposite to a friend who went on them than the negative rules you place on yourself

Check out the most up to date research re serotonin. Sadly it's not the problem it was once thought to be. The research into efficacy of SSRIs has shown this.
Really helping depression is very time consuming and doctors don't have the necessary time so just prescribe pills. Most reputable medics freely admit this.
There's much more to mental wellbeing than is currently given consideration.
I'm finding it helpful to look at what makes/keeps people feeling OK rather than just the firefighting with inadequate tools that current ADs are. Please note that I absolutely believe that people with anxiety and depression feel dreadful.

GGOf course the brain, like any other organ in the body, can develop a malfunction over time. You obviously do not understand how the systems work.

Serotonin is the 'Happy' hormone? (not sure it is a hormone but can't think what else to call it.

The happier you are the more serotonin you manufacture in your brain. When there is a distressing event or change in circumstances or even a series of small sadnesses, eg dreich days, lost purse, after effects of flu or other illnesses, less Serotonin is produced, therefore you feel less happy, therefore even less serotonin is produced - a vicious circle indeed. This is reactive depression and if it does not begin to lift as small happinesses - sunny days, problems solved, time spent with DGC - have their effect and more serotonin is produced, then a short term course of anti-Ds will kick start the return to equalibrium.

Clinical depression is a different kettle of fish entirely. The problem is not that Serotonin is not being produced - it is, but it must make an electric powered leap across a small gap to receptors which uptake the Serotonin for further processing in the brain. These receptors can be faulty or simply deteriorate with age. SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) are designed to prevent the serotonin which has been produced, being reabsorbed and reprocessed = Reuptake, by keeping it in the gap beside the receptors, creating a serotonin enriched soup such that the receptors are bombarded and more likely to receive the signals. This leads to a greater sense of well being, which in turn leads to greater production of Serotonin and the cycle is reversed, but will surely deteriorate if the SSRIs are stopped.

I am aware that this a laywoman's explanation of what is going on the brain, but it is how it was explained to me by a Clinical Psychologist. I am sure that, if you are interested in the science behind it, you will find the explanation on line.

Nonnie - I mentioned that too upthread - feeling negative thoughts about oneself and feelings of shame and worthlessness are part of the problem.

GabriellaG - I take issue with your statement: I take on board what you say but, if anxiety/depression is a 'slight malfunction in the brain' as you say, then it cannot have, as a cause, any 'hurts from the past'. Any 'slight malfunction' must have been there from birth (and in the womb) as part of that person's genetic make-up. Your brain doesn't suddenly malfunction unless you have an injury, take mind altering drugs, prescribed or otherwise or imbibe alcohol to a level of impairment.

Bodily malfunctions are caused by many things: genetics and environment both play a part. If you think that depression cannot be triggered by life events, then you are really saying that things that happen to us do not influence our body chemistry, functioning and structure. Clearly things like smoking are damaging; but there is a great deal of evidence that stress and emotional trauma alter our bodily functions and can lead to structural changes, e.g. constant stress and high heart rate can alter the heart muscle. The brain is no different. There might be an underlying genetic disposition to depression that is triggered by "hurts from the past", and indeed present.

The school of thought that regards depression as purely emotional is part of the problem of misunderstanding around it, and the idea of "pulling oneself together." And it feeds the sense of shame that the OP is expressing about taking the treatment that works for her,

Does there need to be a reason? I had always believed there didn't need to be.

GabriellaG is right to point out that taking ADs for years and years most likely indicates that they're not working! Why don't they work? Is the underlying reason for depression and anxiety still there, unaddressed just masked by meds. I'm still absolutely sure that you should not feel guilty about feeling so bad about needing help but am wondering if you're getting the right sort of help.

There's a condition called disthymia which is an underlying depression after trauma. I was seen by the psychologist at my local hospital who diagnosed this. I will probably take antidep' meds for the rest of my life or for as long as I need them. You see when I do get depressed it's like a double wammy. I don't feel shame at all.

I have suffered for over 20 years from back pain, joint pain, exhaustion and many other symptoms which have recently been diagnosed as having fibromyalgia. I have been taking AD all these years because being unable to live a normal life is no life at all. Without my pain killers, AD and so many other drugs I wouldn't be able to use this tablet to tell my story. I feel no shame in taking tablets that make me feel better able to cope. Without them I would probably have lost the will to live, so I see my AD as friends who help me as much as the people who care for me. Maybe you need to try another AD. My GP changes mine every few years because over time the same tablets that used to work are not so effective. You might find that another type of tablet will help you to see more clearly how important they are

Perhaps I'd think differently if I'd ever been unwell.

I don't think there's any perhaps about it, gabriella.

Please do not feel any shame ,you wouldn't feel ashamed for taking medication for any other medical condition, there is no difference. please be much kinder to yourself & rembember you are not alone, many many people are in a similar position.

You are questioning yourself ' should I still be taking anxiety medication'. This in its self is adding to your anxieties.What you need to understand is that no medical practitioner would continue to prescribe your medication if they believed it was not necessary.
So cut out any feelings of shame and as the saying goes' keep taking the tablets.' or in whatever form your medication is prescribed.

With all due respect, I think that is precisely why some people feel embarrassed to admit to depression.

Granny23

I take on board what you say but, if anxiety/depression is a 'slight malfunction in the brain' as you say, then it cannot have, as a cause, any 'hurts from the past'. Any 'slight malfunction' must have been there from birth (and in the womb) as part of that person's genetic make-up. Your brain doesn't suddenly malfunction unless you have an injury, take mind altering drugs, prescribed or otherwise or imbibe alcohol to a level of impairment.
As none of us are registered doctors, we each have our own opinions. I question long-term reliance on certain medications as they become a habit which some people are reluctant to reduce and that can cause anxiety blah blah. A carousel forever returning to the same place. Maybe I say all this because I'm not and never have been on meds of any description OCT or prescribed. Perhaps I'd think differently if I'd ever been unwell.