Ask HN: Beating depression with or without anti-depressants?
41 by jpgvm | 47 comments on Hacker News.
I realize this is somewhat of a taboo topic but I feel like if there is anywhere we can have a real discussion on mental health it's going to be HN. I have been struggling with depression for as long as I can remember. Life has taken me on ups and downs but as far as I can can tell I'm fairly lucky, well-off and have every reason to be happy. Unfortunately I'm not. I wake up with a pit in my stomach that I carry around all day and no matter how hard I try I just can't shake it. It also gets really bad in waves to the point where I nearly can't function but most of all it makes me procrastinate on almost everything. I usually end up using all my effort just to be a functional member of my team at work. The sad part is that I know that if I didn't have this condition and I was able to sleep when I wanted to I could be many times more productive, not only at work but also in life. The obvious solution to these problems are SSRIs and other anti-depressants. These drugs are very powerful but have really bad side-effects for most people that take them. For these reasons I am completely shit-scared of them. I see them as my option of last resort but increasingly I feel my options running out. I have tried therapy, I have tried all sorts of coping mechanisms but nothing solves the problem permanently. So HN, what has your experience been with depression? Have you tried the drugs? What worked or didn't? Have you been able to triumph without chemical assistance and what did that look like? Is my utter terror of these drugs warranted or should I just bite the bullet and try them?
41 by jpgvm | 47 comments on Hacker News.
I realize this is somewhat of a taboo topic but I feel like if there is anywhere we can have a real discussion on mental health it's going to be HN. I have been struggling with depression for as long as I can remember. Life has taken me on ups and downs but as far as I can can tell I'm fairly lucky, well-off and have every reason to be happy. Unfortunately I'm not. I wake up with a pit in my stomach that I carry around all day and no matter how hard I try I just can't shake it. It also gets really bad in waves to the point where I nearly can't function but most of all it makes me procrastinate on almost everything. I usually end up using all my effort just to be a functional member of my team at work. The sad part is that I know that if I didn't have this condition and I was able to sleep when I wanted to I could be many times more productive, not only at work but also in life. The obvious solution to these problems are SSRIs and other anti-depressants. These drugs are very powerful but have really bad side-effects for most people that take them. For these reasons I am completely shit-scared of them. I see them as my option of last resort but increasingly I feel my options running out. I have tried therapy, I have tried all sorts of coping mechanisms but nothing solves the problem permanently. So HN, what has your experience been with depression? Have you tried the drugs? What worked or didn't? Have you been able to triumph without chemical assistance and what did that look like? Is my utter terror of these drugs warranted or should I just bite the bullet and try them?
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