Medication Question?

[neowallace]

Hi Guys

Does anyone deal with their stress/anxiety/depression without medication. I have been on around 7 different AD's in the last 7 years. I don't think they really help although when I am not on them I can get really stressed and anxious at times about silly things and become snappy with my family. I feel the side effects from them outweigh the benefits and don't really want to use them any more. Although I don't won't to be angry and snappy at my family for silly things. Can anybody identify with this? I did go through a really bad time at Christmas and felt depressed but really don't think it was the tablets that helped me through it. I am rambling on I guess, I want to ask, does anybody who know that they are an anxious person who are prone to depression get on with life without medication? Many thanks for any replies.

[cas2ce]

I have gone without medication for 7 years. In my earlier anxiety days I tried several different meds but experienced adverse side effects so I decided nothing was better.
I think it takes a little longer to heal without them as they take the edge off from what I hear, But I have had years without any anxiety and panic, and am only having my 2nd relapse now after 2 years. I will be starting my CBT tomorrow so hopefully can get back on track. Oh, I keep valium on me for extreme panic attacks, they work well, you can become dependant very easily though so I take them VERY rarely.

[Ingenious]

I think it is perfectly possible to beat these conditions without medication. But you just need to be careful not to let fear of medications stop you getting proper and effective treatment if that's what you need. I tried to self help for a couple of years before getting so ill it caused a lot more problems and in the end getting the right medication saved my life.

Your own experience of seven medications is the best guide for you - if you just don't agree with them maybe it is time to try alternatives. But self help is not an option for the faint hearted, you do need to put in time and effort.

The things that have helped me a lot - and will take over from medication completely when I come off it - are: Better diet, lots of exercise, getting out and walking, mindful meditation, some CBT earlier on.

I tend to see in posts here that effective non-medication treatments are as individual as medications are. For example, Mindful Meditation was the best thing I have ever done to improve my mental health, but some people don't get on with it at all. So I guess the thing to do, as always, is to research what you can do to self-help or that don't require pills and then try as many out as you can. And, get yourself on the waiting lists for therapy and other treatments as soon as you can.

[swgrl09]

I am not on any "heavy duty" medications. I have vistaril/atarax, which is technically an anti-histamine (helps with my allergies which is a bonus) and was prescribed to use as needed for falling asleep, but it is such a low dose it doesn't really do too much. There aren't any side effects besides fatigue. I don't use it very often ... honestly I use it more for my allergies than anxiety.

Other than that it's just therapy and hard work for me. Some teas have helped, but other than that, I just plug along. I've been alright. Actually just knowing that I have an anxiety med in my cabinet if I need it helped me a lot!!! I had it for a month without needing to start it because just knowing it was there somehow helped me.

[cas2ce]

I agree with swgrl09,
Just knowing there is something there is a great help, even if you never use it.
I remember years ago when I was first having panic attacks, I bought myself a ventolin spray, it would work during an attack as a placebo LOL, my friend used to make jokes about it!

[PanchoGoz]

I am an anti-medication person. no painkillers or antidepressents, only tea and insense
My reasons for refusing the option of ADs:
0 Dependence
0 Side Effects
0 They are not a permanent solution - they just cover up a problem with your mind
0 If you are getting better with therapy like CBT, you can't tell which is helping you and the therapy will prove inaffective
0 Your anxiety or depression is usually there for a reason and your body is letting you know this (I say usually because some people believe that they cannot change their serotonin levels without medication, I don't know whether this is fact or not but I don't believe it is)
0 Anxiety and depression are learning experiences and if you recover naturally you should use your experience to help others
0 You keep the skills from recovering naturally for the rest of your life
0 People using them to cope with work - you are forcing your body to do something when it needs rest and time to recover and make steps towards recovery and I think negotiations should be sought with employers and family...

I understand there are people who have worse anxiety/can't deal with their anxiety as well as myself (dare I say it) and medication is what seems like the only solution other than dying, so maybe the choice comes out of your determination, character etc. And there are other factors to take in blabla....That's only my opinion, even if people don't like it.

[cas2ce]

Very well said Panchogoz, totally agree

[neowallace]

Thanks everyone for their replies. I do appreciate people taking their time to give their experience of how they manage their anxiety. I am not sure what lies ahead for me but I feel that after reading these responses it has given me some hope that it is possible that I might be able to manage my symptoms without medication, if it does not work then the meds are always there. Thanks again guys and all the best on your journeys as well...swxx .....

[AngelHeart]

I have a bad time 10 years ago and went on anti ds for about 2 months and found they just werent for me. I battled on without them with a positive mind and my familys help and got through it and apart from the odd PA and concerns with my health ( HA ) I never returned to the full panic and anxiety state until about 4 months ago after going through a very stressful time. I have toyed with the idea on going on the anti ds but something keeps stopping me. I think because as others have said it just masks your problems and if you dont tackle it head on when you come off the medication you might crash again so its best to deal with it without. I am better than I was 4 months ago , not completely over it and have bad days, but I'm taking vitamins, exercising when I can and trying to get enough rest ( which is really hard with 3 kids and an evening job ! ) I am trying to accept my symptoms rather than fighing them. They say the more you fear the more you feel so I'm hoping to get through this without meds and I hope I can. Theres a light at the end for all of us if we seek it