Discussion Do you go to therapy and/or take medication?

[heartisbroken]

I've been strongly encouraged to seek counseling or therapy. Just wondering what you all's experiences have been like.

The main reason I'm hesitant is because I do not believe therapy could help me. My depression is a combination of my genetics and things that have happened to me/choices that I've made. The "things that have happened to me" category is weighted a lot more heavily. These are things that obviously cannot be changed, whether by a therapist or anyone else. I recognize that therapy could potentially change my reaction to these things so they don't seem so terrible, but I'm really dubious.

Thoughts? Therapy/medication good or bad?

 

[TimeToDie]

I've never done therapy since my biggest (though hardly only) problem is social phobia. Nobody with disabling social phobia feel like chatting with a therapist, it's that simple. We're terrified by people and therapists are people!

As for meds, I've tried dozens and they don't work. Benzos seem to help most people, but they didn't work for me even in astronomical dosages. I've tried every SSRI and they all failed. Even MAOIs (Nardil & Parnate) failed, also in astronomical dosages.

 

[inconsequential]

I stopped going to therapy. It's never helped, it's mostly been annoying, and I've made 3 different therapists cry. That just made me feel worse. Like I'm not supposed to talk about what's happened, lest I break someone else. Don't fucking charge me $65/hr to tell me that my life is fucking sad.

Medications mostly just give me horrible side effects & do nothing positive. Benzos are nice.

I smoke a lot of weed.

 

[cornflowerblue]

I've been strongly encouraged to seek counseling or therapy. Just wondering what you all's experiences have been like.

The main reason I'm hesitant is because I do not believe therapy could help me. My depression is a combination of my genetics and things that have happened to me/choices that I've made. The "things that have happened to me" category is weighted a lot more heavily. These are things that obviously cannot be changed, whether by a therapist or anyone else. I recognize that therapy could potentially change my reaction to these things so they don't seem so terrible, but I'm really dubious.

Thoughts? Therapy/medication good or bad?

Therapy helped me so much. It's not all about fixing depression, it's also about learning to live with it and work around it.

CBT is about being less depressed. ACT is about acknowledging some things won't get better, and learning how to find your meaning and keep going. "The Happiness Trap" is a good book to start with and you can do it yourself without a therapist. ACT is a wonderful therapy but it's very trendy now so there are a lot of therapists claiming to offer it but they aren't competent to do it correctly. CAMS is another that's good for suicidal depression. In CAMS, the therapist operates from the assumption that suicide is a completely rational choice, no bullshit safety contracts or promises things will be better.

I am still here on this forum, but I'm "happy" for the most part. I'd be miserable in a very different and deeper way without therapy.

 

[been_there]

Both are worth trying but getting the right therapist and meds is mostly trial and error and will take months.
You'll know if a therapist is any good after two sessions. Change them if they're not hearing you and just ticking boxes.
Meds are more difficult. Work out exactly what condition(s) are being treated. Ask why they are prescribing, what for and what alternatives there are.
Do your own research first.

 

[Final Escape]

I got to a point where I gave up on both. I never could afford or access the therapy I needed. Meds definitely didn't fix anything. Maybe meds temporarily helped.

 

[blanketyblk]

I'm starting to go, been 4 times thus far in 2 weeks and it's been helpful. been on meds for a few years now and i hate them. but boy do i know when i'm off them. eek

 

[Egddios]

I've seen so many therapists, only one I really connected with and felt like I was making some progress, even though there were definitely appointments I didn't want to go to, times I didn't feel like talking. Therapy can be exhausting.

The therapist I see now, we've only had a few sessions but I do like her a lot. She's younger and seems more "with the times", doesn't press the panic button when I'm open about my suicidality. I guess we have built, in a small amount of time, some trust. I also like the new psychiatrist I started seeing; he wasn't rushing me through the initial appointment and doesn't give me more anxiety like the the last psychiatrist I was seeing.

If you get a bad or strange vibe with the initial visit, either to a therapist or a psychiatrist, go with your gut. For all the really great therapists and psychiatrists out there, they are out numbered by incompetent doctors who are asleep at the wheel.

As far as meds go, they can help. In my case, it's a battle to have a prescription for Klonopin, which is one of the only medications that gives me any sort of real relief. I recently started taking Lexapro, and I take 6mg of Prazosin at night to supposedly help decrease night terrors. I tolerate Prazosin well, so they keep me on it. Antidepressants, I've tried Effexor (brain zaps), Prozac, Zoloft (allergic reaction), Cymbalta (allergic reaction)...other meds, I've tried, hmmm. Seroquel (holy weight gain), Resperidone, Abilify, Propanalol, Hydroxyzine (essentially Benadryl), Thorazine (meh), Haldol (without cogentin it is AWFUL).

I also had 9 ECT treatments about 2 years ago, maybe they should've kept shocking me? Jokes.

 

[cornflowerblue]

I've seen so many therapists, only one I really connected with and felt like I was making some progress, even though there were definitely appointments I didn't want to go to, times I didn't feel like talking. Therapy can be exhausting.

The therapist I see now, we've only had a few sessions but I do like her a lot. She's younger and seems more "with the times", doesn't press the panic button when I'm open about my suicidality. I guess we have built, in a small amount of time, some trust. I also like the new psychiatrist I started seeing; he wasn't rushing me through the initial appointment and doesn't give me more anxiety like the the last psychiatrist I was seeing.

If you get a bad or strange vibe with the initial visit, either to a therapist or a psychiatrist, go with your gut. For all the really great therapists and psychiatrists out there, they are out numbered by incompetent doctors who are asleep at the wheel.

As far as meds go, they can help. In my case, it's a battle to have a prescription for Klonopin, which is one of the only medications that gives me any sort of real relief. I recently started taking Lexapro, and I take 6mg of Prazosin at night to supposedly help decrease night terrors. I tolerate Prazosin well, so they keep me on it. Antidepressants, I've tried Effexor (brain zaps), Prozac, Zoloft (allergic reaction), Cymbalta (allergic reaction)...other meds, I've tried, hmmm. Seroquel (holy weight gain), Resperidone, Abilify, Propanalol, Hydroxyzine (essentially Benadryl), Thorazine (meh), Haldol (without cogentin it is AWFUL).

I also had 9 ECT treatments about 2 years ago, maybe they should've kept shocking me? Jokes.

How was the ECT? I've met some people who say it saved their life, others say it didn't do anything.

 

[mathieu]

I have as of yesterday started therapy again. I quite like her but I doubt she can help me. I've never found therapy helpful. Meds... I find them helpful in bringing me out of psychosis and preventing hypomania/mania. Benzos help my anxiety although I require quite high doses.

 

[Severen]

I don't see how talking to a therapist will help me. Because I don't need someone to fucking talk to... I don't need words from people to be helped. I need ACTION from people to be helped. And like most human beings, they are powerless to deal with most of my problems, anyway. And all human beings are powerless when it comes to some of my problems. I know more about my life than the therapist. What the fuck can a therapist tell me about my life, I don't already know. I'd only see a therapist for blow jobs.

 

[heartisbroken]

I don't see how talking to a therapist will help me. Because I don't need someone to fucking talk to... I don't need words from people to be helped. I need ACTION from people to be helped. And like most human beings, they are powerless to deal with most of my problems, anyway. And all human beings are powerless when it comes to some of my problems. I know more about my life than the therapist. What the fuck can a therapist tell me about my life, I don't know. I'd only see a therapist for blow jobs.

Exactly! This is exactly what I didn't know I needed to express.

Both are worth trying but getting the right therapist and meds is mostly trial and error and will take months.
You'll know if a therapist is any good after two sessions. Change them if they're not hearing you and just ticking boxes.
Meds are more difficult. Work out exactly what condition(s) are being treated. Ask why they are prescribing, what for and what alternatives there are.
Do your own research first.

This is also something that turns me off a little bit. I just want things to get better, I don't want to spend ages searching for the perfect dosage of medication and the perfect therapist. That's like trying to find the perfect boyfriend (which for me is impossible LOL)

 

[Severen]

Exactly! This is exactly what I didn't know I needed to express.

This is also something that turns me off a little bit. I just want things to get better, I don't want to spend ages searching for the perfect dosage of medication and the perfect therapist. That's like trying to find the perfect boyfriend (which for me is impossible LOL)

Yeah, they treat people like us as if we are 10 years old because we don't march in formation with everyone else... Nah, there is a good chance, any therapist I find in my area, will be younger than me. If anything, I'm the one who will be giving therapy to the therapist.

 

[Oblivion Lover]

I used to take medication for depression and anxiety, but then I realized that my brain chemistry is perfectly fine and I don't have an emotional disorder. Just because I'm sad it doesn't mean that there's something wrong with my head. My reasons for being sad all the time are totally justified, and sadness is an emotion just like any other. I don't want to take a medication that will affect my totally healthy ability to feel an emotion like a normal human.

 

[Egddios]

How was the ECT? I've met some people who say it saved their life, others say it didn't do anything.

The ECT was alright - I was afraid going in, but after the first treatment, I realized there wasn't all that much to it. They put you under anesthesia, so once that hits, it's lights out and then you wake up in the recovery room like woah, that was it? I did have some headaches afterwards, and the morning of the treatments they wake you up super early.

Did ECT work for me? In the short term it did in the sense I felt lighter and less anxious. But, I also had a stash of N at home waiting for me, and when I was released from the hospital I went back to living with my father, who can be very insulting and prone to raging out. I think ECT can be or may be helpful for people who have a lot of support "on the outside", once they're released from the hospital. That wasn't the case for me. Would I be open to more treatments? Yes, if only for that sweet, sweet anesthesia.

 

[mathieu]

Yes, if only for that sweet, sweet anesthesia.

Ha! I've thought about doing it again too just for those heavenly few seconds when they inject the aneasthetic before you fade out. bliss.

 

[cornflowerblue]

The ECT was alright - I was afraid going in, but after the first treatment, I realized there wasn't all that much to it. They put you under anesthesia, so once that hits, it's lights out and then you wake up in the recovery room like woah, that was it? I did have some headaches afterwards, and the morning of the treatments they wake you up super early.

Did ECT work for me? In the short term it did in the sense I felt lighter and less anxious. But, I also had a stash of N at home waiting for me, and when I was released from the hospital I went back to living with my father, who can be very insulting and prone to raging out. I think ECT can be or may be helpful for people who have a lot of support "on the outside", once they're released from the hospital. That wasn't the case for me. Would I be open to more treatments? Yes, if only for that sweet, sweet anesthesia.

Can I PM you to discuss the effects in more detail? I do have substantial support "on the outside", and I am not particularly worried about negative side effects. My concern with ECT has solely been that the benefits would be too mild, short-lived, or unsustainable.