I've been using Lexapro for some time and it has been great for me, without noticeable side effects.
I worried about relying on a drug for my happiness, but in the end I realized I needed to be more worried about being depressed than I did about being reliant on drugs.
As wedrifid said, if someone ends up taking drugs for the rest of their life, and that gets rid of their depression, great! Goal accomplished!
I think the big thing that helped me make the decision to pursue medication was all the smart technophiles that abound on Less Wrong. Realizing that using technology to make things better was the point of having technology in the first place, rather than trying to grunt and bear it myself.
First of all I want to point out that this post sounds very convincing for me. :-) I have already thought about the same things. As my boyfriend said I fear to get dependent from drugs. I think it would be useful to specify this statement. Relying on a drug for my happiness is exactly what I mean.It would make me crazy to know that I need medication for feeling happy instead of carrying it off on my own. I'm also a little bit afraid of how antidepressants affect me.There is one aspect more that makes me insecure. How do you know if you are "really&quo...
My girlfriend suffers serious depression. She has sleep disorder, anorexia, chronic pain, problems to concentrate, low selfesteem, daily low mood, listlessness and is very indecisive. On the other side she considers herself very happy apart from the "depression periods" and we have a great time together. We already consulted a psychotherapist, but there is waiting time about one month. I buyed her fishoil capsules, because she eats no fish and there is mild evidence that it helps treating depression (I don't think this will affect her depression greatly, but fishoil seems like an overall good idea). We often go on walks to catch some sunlight and get her some exercise.
She says she never want's to take antidepressants because she fears to get dependent from them. I think she might change her mind if there are very good arguments in favour of them. She is quite rational in spite of not knowing the LW-stuff. Does anybody of you know if there is any information of the succes rate of medicamentous (and psycho therapeutic) treatment available?
I highly appreciate any advice.
Furthermore i want to call attention to the topic of depression. A huge share of the population suffers at least once in their lifetime under depression (~20% in Germany). Sadly it's often not taken serious and a big taboo to speak about. Many people see it as self-inflicted. My girlfriend's mother doesn't believe in depression as a disease (see diseased thinking). It's a paradigm of irrationality that hurts people.