I've been on medications for depression and anxiety for over a decade. What I needed was environmental change and emotional support. I didn't need these medications to numb out my feelings and creativity. Anti depressants have stole something huge from me I am now fighting to get back.
That’s how I feel, I’m so lonely I need a better support system, I need friends or a partner and hugs. My cats really keep me going but I need more. And taking care of my physical health is also so important- exercise, good nutrition, sleep. But my anxiety always messes up my sleep
Some people do. There is no cure all to depression because it a category of illnesses that happen for many different reasons and need different many different solutions depending on the issues. Anti depressants are useful for some people and harmful for others. Anyone telling you differently doesn't know what they are talking about.
Hello, since this the internet I ll be as hopeful as possible, mash them, snort them and wash it down with Jack, does wonders for my skin and neurons, lost a good chunk of a decade, but worth it.....
Personally, they helped me more than I can say. It was like the constant feeling of impending doom was lifted and I didn’t dissolve into tears over the slightest issue. I have more energy and feel like I can do more without being mentally exhausted from doing nothing but sit and stress. I’m sure they’re overprescribed, but they really help a lot of people. It was the stigma like this comment section that kept me from seeking help for so long.
@@Blonde111 That’s absolutely not true. I’m so glad you didn’t encounter it, but i grew up on a family where children were medicated because their parents “weren’t doing their job” and “happy pills” were “a scam for lazy and weak minded people”. Mental health issues are still spoken about in hushed tones and people wouldn’t dream of admitting they’re medicated where I live, more often than not you’re just shamed for the church not being enough. It took a lot of unlearning, but we don’t all come from a socially liberal family or area.
@@Blonde111 This comment section is still very respectful yet they're are few people saying just be happy,just try,work harder etc. Like these are things we didn't hear a bazillion times.
Medication helped me from severe depression after burnout and divorce. I wasn't able to help myself to get better. Without medication, I wouldn't be here anymore. Then, the psychotherapy started and helped me to live my life with joy again. After I stopped using medication, the side effects took 2-3 weeks, and after that, it was ok again. I felt dizzy and sick. Still, for me it was worth it. It gave me a fresh Start.
One thing I am shocked by is how little many people are told about side effects and potential dangers of the medication they are prescribed. I mean sure, medication comes with a whole manual on what it is, what it does, how to use it etc but doctors and pharmacists can't expect anyone to read it. These things need to be discussed and patients should be encouraged to ask questions about the effects.
As someone who was irresponsibly prescribed adderal/xanax for years, I can concur. I wish I'd known how much damage it would do and how thoroughly it would ruin my life.
People need to ask why there are increasing numbers of people with depression. I would posit that it has a a lot to do with our cultural climate: bad food, lack of exercise, social media, shitty jobs, 24 hr news cycles, twitter, environmental problems and other crises. I think we all need to remind ourselves that we are all feeling similarly and that we should be kind to ourselves and to others. Kindness and compassion to all is something we can strive for.
I agree with you. I'm currently doing more research on this issue for a project I might get involved in. What you're saying is what all the non-sponsored practitioners are saying. And, in fact today I've just written a response to the project's initial, invitational report which includes "We need to eliminate the pervasive lack of kindness and compassion. What's needed in all our social systems is radical kindness."
The West is going through a massive decline, economically and socially. Standards of living are going down hard, there is overpopulation in cities, tough climate. Also people are generally getting older and more hopeless with age.
Up until losing my husband to cancer at the age of 34 I never used any antidepressants. I had chronic depression for decades due to childhood trauma and some difficulties, but I tried to cope with it in various ways, including meditation, working out, eating healthy and balanced diet, etc. Nothing helped. I was suicidal after my husband's death so I said enough is enough and give it a shot. I wish I seek help a decade ago, my life would've been different for sure. I feel peaceful at last after a year on antidepressants. They saved my life.
Over the long period, antidepressants become less effective and the dose need to be increased, which many doctors don't tell to their patients. During this period, the drug receptors in the brain becomes inefficient, creating a permanent neurological problem.
After my husband died I eventually had to take antidepressants as nothing else had worked. My depression was just like a black velvet cloak covering me. I had therapy. I tried and still do try mindfulness exercises. I talk about how I'm feeling. I do exercise and get out and see friends etc. I fight it. But I've suffered from depression since I started my period. Antidepressants - and I'm on the lowest dose - help me keep everything balanced and in perspective. I've tried to wean myself off them and I do well for a while, but then some trauma/stressful event happens and I feel like I need to go back on them. I do think I enjoy my life much more because of the medication.
Agreed, minor depression should have alternative treatments but for people suffering from anxiety, PTSD and depression as a result of years of trauma, this is their normal. This is how they get a chance to live within society. Childhood trauma has a significant effect on the brain structure physically as well. The question as well is are you down or depressed? There is a difference between feeling down and been depressed to a point of a black hole.
Few supposed sufferers of depression ever truly experience or comprehend just how black that hole can get. What most people consider to be a severe episode of major depression would be a good day for me. No depression-targeted pharmaceutical has ever even slightly helped (older generation antidepressants or new).
I stopped taking Anti-depressants in September of 2021. I didn't expect to get better, in fact, I thought I might get worse. To my surprise, after I went through the withdrawals, and they were bad, I got better. I wasn't told about the withdrawals. In fact, I think most people don't know that there are withdrawals from Anti-depressants. I am doing a lot better, and I don't think I will ever go back on them. I just wanted to say that this documentary helped me understand what I went through, and the withdrawal symptoms are going to take a while to clear up. Thank you for the information. It is a good thing to know.
After having gone through the medication path and suffering the side-effects.I told my doctor NO. I was suffering PTSD. Counselling.Talking therpasists just made me feel worse. The police had failed to protect my anonymity when I reported a serious crime and I was victimised for 8years. I decided that the best thing to do was withdraw and try to heal. One day,sat in my garden I went blind in one eye for a period of two hours. Imagine how thrilled I was when I discovered the actual cause WITHOUT the doctor's 'help'. If your anxiety level is pushing your body to its FIGHTorFLIGHT response repeatedly your body burns vitaminB far more than it should. I am now...3years later ...not 'better'....but "as good as it gets". The reason,I looked for anything that was deficient in my diet and made certain I included the daily minimum throughout. Exercised more. Did occasional volunteer work. My neighbours had all witnessed multiple 'harassment events' and took a dim view of the police' responses. 2 of the gang responsible have now been caught recently for knifing another one of their friends.... ....the council/ police response to this is of course... too little too late. But my own neighbours have been very supportive. I might be able to go back into paid employment sometime next year,but sadly I will be unable to go back to retail due to the longer term effects of this ordeal. But for me at least the solution was NOT Medication "counselling" it was ...diet,exercise,and TIME AWAY(Thankyou pandemic,when EVERYBODY is panicking it took a lot of pressure off of me,and allowed me to heal)
There's lots of info on slowly tapering off - one I just saw talked about how say cutting 50% and then to 25% and then cold turkey is wrong - it should be 50%, 25%, 10%, 5%... That it's not linear tapering off, you're so used to them the initial 50% is not as bad as the final 10% even.
After 10 years of fighting a severe chronic illness without medication I finally gave up the struggle of not taking antidepressants. I was always said that you should try to avoid antidepressants because it’s a cheap way of not dealing with your feelings. This year my depression got worse due to the constant pain and I told the people around me that if they loved me they wouldn’t care if I take them. I’ve tried for 10 year and was miserable all that time and they should want me to be happy and have a life instead of sitting at home or sleeping. After about 5 weeks I noticed a difference. I started laughing at funny things on tv again. I slept better and felt like taking a shower daily. I also started making more healthy home cooked meals for myself. After 4 months of taking them I’ve become a completely different person and even though I’m in pain I can manage and started socializing more outside of my house with my best friend. It really saved my life because I was thinking of just giving up. What I mean with my story is that antidepressants shouldn’t be given out like candy and people should learn to deal with their feelings instead of instantly reaching for them. But for cases like myself antidepressants should be given from the start and not looked down upon.
But even in your case, the pills are not meant to be a life long solution. What are you doing to ensure you're not going to be dependent on them for life? Also, which one do you take. I'm thinking of starting.i was given zoloft as a teen, for only about 3 weeks. but I decided on my own at that time that I did not want to be on medication. Never went back on any pill. That was a long time ago. I'm considering it now, for reasons. I just need to be able to function in society long enough to make a living and not pass anyone off. I much prefer my solitude and my attitude lol. But my career has suffered because of it. I think I have anhedonia. Pretty sure of it
I'm happy for you that you notice a difference in your life. But this doesn't prove that anti-depressants work. If you'd taken a placebo, it might have given the same effect. Even the fact that you allowed yourself to do something that you expected others to frown upon - that you followed your own path, so to speak, may have been very uplifting.
@@Scott-got-caught R u going around telling ppl with diabetes T1 to stop taking insulin because they will be dependent on it for life? No, u don't. So, stop telling ppl suffering from depression that they should stop taking medications that keep them alive.
@carmenl163 if anti-depressants works at the same rate as placebos, that means THEY WORK. Until doctors start giving placebos, what are people with severe depression supposed to take? This person tried for 10 years without medication. Do you know how many days and nights of agony that is? Stop telling other people what to do. The meds work for SOME.
@@corb5654 Unlike you, I'm not telling someone what to do. I'm merely saying his story doesn't proof that antidepressants work, which is what the video is about.
Lexapro and Welbutrin have given me the best life ever. I am 67. My paternal grandmother committed suicide on the 5th try. I inherited her creattivity, curly hair and likely eye color. My father was bi-polar though never formally diagnosed. My mother had a personality disorder, formerly diagnosed in her 60's. Family life was horrible . Her biologocal father was an alcoholic. I was finally diagnosed with depression at 12. Have lived with it like a dull ache in your foot. Finally 5 years ago I got the RX mix I have now. Will never stop, and I thank God I have them.
I’m so happy they work for you. It gives me hope to know they work for so many people. With lifelong trauma such as yours, they do work. For people like me, who are just dyslexic and struggle to fit in, they don’t work. Once again. I’m so pleased they work for you. Seems as though all the cards were stacked against you from day one. It’s not my place to tell you if your life is worth living or not, but I do hope you never give up ❤
I don't want to argue your own reality, but are you saying you started taking them at 12 years old? During puberty when we are all going through all kinds of emotional turmoil? Going by the age that would mean you were diagnosed around 1970, before we knew anything about these drugs. I'm curious to know if you have always taken them or if you have ever stopped?
I'm a doctor and I've seen antidepressants work wonders for some patients, do absolutely nothing for some, and in a few cases make things worse. It's not a panacea. There are multitudes of factors that influence how they work, their effectiveness and the likelihood of unwanted side effects, their severity, duration, etc. It is a tool in the arsenal we have as clinicians to improve people's lives but I do agree it is overused.
@timoteo..You hit nail right in the coffin. Too many doctors prescribe anti-depressants without learning the cause. The root cause of depression is psychological. The logical progression of depression starts with fear, progress into anxiety and ultimately takes birth in the form of depression. All these forms are happening within the psyche. But tools like yoga, meditation ,exercise and nutrition are the tools to stabilize the psyche from the constant stressors in life.
You are supposed to treat the symptoms with the help of a trained professional while taking the pills , they are not the solution just a way to not off yourself in the process. The problem is that sessions are extremely expensive for most people and there are not nearly enough trained professionals to help people.
I worked as a Clinical Research Associate for over 15 years and have coordinated many antidepressant trials. In my experience, the clinically significant range is usually within 3-5% difference between antidepressants vs placebo. In my first investigator meeting, I was shocked to hear that NO ONE knows HOW these antidepressants work. We would only know if we would measure the serotonin in the cerebrospinal fluid via spinal tap….and in all the different trials, that has never been a test (very invasive) I have taken Cymbalta and it almost killed me trying to get off. Weirdly enough, I was put on it for pain (I was not depressed at all) but once I tried to stop taking this medication, I developed debilitating depression and inability to concentrate. Antidepressant are toxic for me and I’m glad that I’m off after many years of trying.
As someone who was diagnosed with clinical depression I made a continuous decision not to take antidepressants, as it made me feel drugged and lethargic. As with most drugs prescribed it tends to be more harmful than beneficial to most people.
As someone that managed to overcome depression after quitting antidepressants the things that helped me the most are: 1. going to bed and waking early, same time every day - in other words improving sleep quality 2. cold showers in the morning which make body release norepinephrine and epinephrine 3. going for a walk in the morning - exercise and getting sunlight on face soon after waking help immensely 4. socializing more 5. omega 3 6. improving diet 7. routine 8. reducing screen time before sleep (blue light) 9. meditation 10. microdosing psychedelics 11. inositol
Thanks for that I am 70 have been diagnosed with cancer have suffered with depression all my life and suicide is something I have thought about for years so it's probably too late for me. My pennies worth is that quality of un drugged sleep is the key to health
I took them in response to an “emergency mental situation” and always thought I would be on them forever. I did not feel any effect taking them. I was told it take 6 months to take effect, then 12, then 18 months. I decided to ween off them, and have been off them for 2 years. Do they work? I don’t know. I felt the same on them, as off them, and I finally gave up, as my “depression” was situational, and NOT a true mental condition. A doctor conveyed a story about a developing country who were confused about doctors treating depression with anti-depressants. They said, a farmer was “depressed” he didn’t have a cow. So they cured his depression by giving him a cow. I found a cup of coffee more effective at addressing my depression, than Zoloft. Thanks for sharing.
I took antidepressants for four years and now i can say i wouldnt take them again if i go back in time. Yes, i felt "better" the first month but later it was just feeling like a zombie, i dont know how to describe it, like you are dead from inside but your mind is in autopilot. Then i finally decided i had enough and i quit them and the discontinuation syndrome was horrible, the best way i can describe it is like your brain being disconected for 1 sec every 10 sec or somthing like that. That lasted for 6 months and i can say for sure was one of the best desition of my life to quit them, i feel way better. If you are going through the discontinuation syndrome you can do it, dont give up, it will dissappear over time.
@@CR-rm4iy MDMA is a completely different substance, with different duration and effects. It's a phenomenal drug-taken in the right dose, a lot of people take too much though. But MDMA is intended to be taken only a couple times along with a good psychiatrist or someone to talk us through it, because the healing is done internally by the mind. Antidepressants are the opposite, they completely obscure the things we need to talk about and deal with. One dose of MDMA is probably far superior than taking antidepressants for years for most people❤
I am 70, and have seen enough articles and documentaries over the last 20 years to be very skeptical about using depressants. I lost my wife to Cancer in '19, and my other 2 family members in February of '21 to Covid which almost took me too. I had lots of cause to be very depressed and meds were offered but I refused. I avoided seeking any sort of "Professional" help due to the above. Once I was able, I started going to the gym every day and I did an intense sweaty session on the treadmill. There is an immense amount of research in the area of Exercise Science showing a variety of physical AND mental benefits to this type of activity. I made it through the worst of all that in the 24 months since. I continue to do my Treadmill session each day. No Drugs, no Psychiatrists, no Group Therapies, just my daily workouts. So at 70, I still miss all of them every single day, but I am in very good shape physically and mentally. I feel that I made the right decision.
That's nice but your experience does not mean others are the same. If working out solved all mental illness then there would be no mental health facilities just gyms. Some feel temporarily depressed from incidents such as losing a loved one, others have Clinical Depression, a mental health illness. You obviously do not understand the difference.
@@fainag1617 Grief is not depression. And it's natural to loose people in your life. If one cannot accept that one might get depressed, but the fact that doctors offer pills because of grief is a big warning sign. Doctors know less about the pills than those with experience from taking it. I can say this: The pills helped me for a couple of years, but they made more damage to me on the long run. Probably because I was not depressed anymore, so why continue taking them when the depression is gone? And if you're still depressed, do they really work? All the best to you.
@@fainag1617 Its easier to take a drug than to hit the gym so that why most people prefer to take a pill. A lot of research however shows, physical exercise to be as if not more effective that pills.
I have been in Sertraline for almost a year now. It has saved my life from extreme anxiety and depression. I understand that there are people who don't think it works. I personally feel like I wish I could've started earlier. I am really grateful for it.
Maria, have you tried stopping anxiety attack or high anxiety levels simply by letting it flush over you and do nothing to try to stop this sensations ??
@@tinakris7893 hi, you must be new to this. When you stop trying to get rid of anxiety by accepting all this sensations ( heart beat, breathing difficulties, etc), and not doing anything to make yourself feel better, it goes away if you do it repetitively. Search this people on TH-cam to lead you down the right path: frompanictoparis, Dr Claire Weeks, Dr Harry Barry, wonder boy.
I used to have bad panic attacks daily. Ever since starting on antidepressants, they've completely gone away. The torture i went through for years is gone. No side effects that i can notice, either.
Same here. I had problems for years that I didn't know was anxiety. It got bad enough that it caused some concerning bloodwork, and my liver levels looked like an alcoholic's. I've found a happy medium that numbs the anxiety enough for me to function, while not impacting daily life with side effects. The dose that completely took care of the anxiety made me numb. 2 years later on and I'm functioning much better, and blood tests come back perfectly normal. Ironically, I had minor depression previously, and I still do. I don't feel that the antidepressants helped with the depression at all.
I've been on depressions for 3 years. Yes, it did help for 3 years. Due to the side effects, I believe doctors should monitor the effects and progress of the medication on their patients. I went through a lot of things ie, lack of emotions, felt no love, hate, happiness etc. Due to these emotions I did not want to mingle with people. And that was very scary, since I'm a happy person enjoying people and life. Currently I'm slowly stopped the medication and all ready I feel like living again.
Oh man! You described how I feel about 1 year. After two years of feeling only pain, I suddenly felt nothing for a year - which means neither sadness, which was a positive, but now my constant pain feelings are back with new symptoms I didn't have 2 years ago, which lead me to go to see a therapist, who made me go to see a psychiatrist and hopefully, I'll get some antidepressants that help me. Seriously, I don't want to live my life from a minute to a minute. My life feels empty and when it's not this, it's just sadness. I felt happy only once in this year, and that was when I made someone else happy. To feel happiness, it was such a strong feeling I felt a swelling under my skin. I hope I can get trough my state. I should have gone see a doctor long time ago, but I was stupid. Now, when it all has affected everything in my head after 2 years of constant depression, my thinking, self low esteem, feeling weird among people, not comfortable around people, feeling that everyone is watching me, feeling that I'm just another guy not worthy to be loved and not able to love, I wish I could travel in time and seek for help, when it wasn't too late. 2 suicide attempts 3 and 2 years back, I don't understand, how I am still alive. I haven't smiled not faking it for a long long time. I hope, there is a way I will feel different someday compared to how I have felt for 3 or four years. I want to feel alive again. I want to feel love, be loved and be happy and not alone. To everyone reading this - DON'T BE ASHAMED TO SEEK FOR HELP UNTIL IT WON'T BE LATE. Wish you all the best - mainly feeling happy/fulfilled and good health. Stay strong and fight 🖤 Edit: These are my feelings without antidepressants. I have never used them. I am just about to get some prescribed probably.
They work amazing for me, they quiet the noise in my head just enough to be able to use the coping mechanism that my therapist taught me. With out them I feel like I'm drowning in the ocean unable to tread water. With them I'm able to get my head above water and work on fixing my issues.
don't you think you have become addicted? I have thought about getting these but there is so many side effects and the high chance of becoming addicted
There is no such thing like „addiction” in case of antidepressants, they don’t have any addictive substance. Sure, you will be used to the state of feeling „normal” and happy so you would like to stay like that. But is it addiction? I would not say so. It helps you to function, socialise and cope with everyday life. If it's necessary- start taking them. Just remember that they don’ solve the problem, they make you able and calm enough to face the problem.
yes. cannot be stated enough. also poisons in our diet like processed sugar, seed oils, pesticides. poisons in our tap water altering our hormones. antibiotics destroying our gut microbiome. lack of sunlight. I could go on. and people wonder why they are depressed...
I took ADHD medicine as a child, and for a short period in college. I quit treatment because ADHD stimulants increased my anxiety, and without any medication, I experience moderate to high baseline anxiety levels throughout the day, even when exercising good self care. When I finally tried ADHD treatment while also taking an anti-depressant/SSRI, it was transformative. Finally all the pieces fit together, and they still fit well. I can work hard all day and not feel more than normal/reasonable flashes of anxiety. Life isn't perfect, but the medicine works. We shouldn't push people into thinking anti-depressants are for rare and temporary treatment, or that they are risk-free. Instead, it really depends on you. As human beings we evolved to have imperfect brains and bodies. Maybe for some of us it does make sense to take certain medications for life. In my experience, behavioral/environmental factors are not the primary roadblock in feeling good and engaged with your life. I could eat well, go to group exercise activities 4 days a week, get sleep, make enough money to pay my bills, have loving friends and family, but I can still physically feel crappy and mentally unfocused. Sure, I could stop taking my ADHD medicine any day. I also wear eye glasses. I could theoretically go about my day without my glasses, but why would I? The medicine makes that much of a positive impact, almost doesn't make sense to go without it now, unless and until there are better solutions, whether those solutions are in the form of a pharmaceutical compound or not. There is risk in everything. Knowing how I lived my life for my 20's, if you told me the medicine I take would shorten my life expectancy by 3 years, I would still take it. It's good to connect with the debate about this, and this debate is about anti-depressants and not ADD/ADHD medicine, but in my experience it's important for people to have the opportunity to try treatments that could significantly improve their productivity and quality of life.
Good luck if those stimulants are ever out of reach. I watched my neighbor go through that. He was a prison guard and needed to be hyper alert but when he retired he wanted off the speed, it was a total disaster.
The Band-Aid cocktail of amphetamines and other drugs is not going to help in the long term, because the ability to self adapt is removed and you are stuck on a daily dose of drugs.
Thank you for sharing. I spent 10+ years trying to ‘cure’ myself of depression which also brought along anxiety among other mental issues. My initial treatments of therapy and medication got rid of depression. But I had to live with paralyzing anxiety for years after that, one where therapy didn’t help. I decided to try medication again and my quality of life improved significantly to what I’d call a normal life. The documentary is generalizing that antidepressants don’t work period which discounts the countless experiences of people who benefit from the medication. There were times in my life where therapy had no effect on me but medication did, and other times vice versa. We could also make a broad statement on how therapy is ripping off people with mental illnesses, but that would also be wrong. Each individual is so unique, hence would need tailored treatments specific to their condition. Some need a combination of therapy, medication, and changes in their lifestyle, some others need only therapy or only medication.
I've tried to stop taking antidepressants on two occasions, and I end up feeling worse off them. They even me out. They don't cure you, but they can help you become more responsive to therapy. This is my experience, I understand that others may have a different experience
It's withdrawal. Relapse doesn't happen overnight like that. If you were taking meth and stopping made you worse, you wouldn't assume it's helping you. If a very slow taper over many months or years doesn't cause the same symptoms, it's definitely withdrawal
@mcb00 It wasn't withdrawal. I tapered down very slowly over a series of months to avoid a nasty withdrawal. My anxiety and intrusive thoughts rebounded to an uncomfortable level following the withdrawal period.
I remember quitting and going through serotonin syndrome. I told my psychiatrist that I was experiencing this and he said he had never heard of it. He was one of the lead physicians of the clinic...
I told my GP that I couldn't take an SSRI because I'm currently taking 5-HTP. She just looked at me confused before asking me what 5-HTP was. I then mentioned Serotonin Syndrome and she looked every bit as clueless yet again.
What do you mean? You had serotonin syndrome so you quit or stopping meds sent you into serotonin syndrome. Because the latter doesn't really make sense; it'd more likely you were experiencing withdrawals.
Good vid showing both sides of the argument. I’m cylclothymic … 59… suffered from chronic depression since I was a child with occasional manias and highs. I was first diagnosed in the army age 22 after a reactiive-psychotic episode. Been on meds for years (SSRIs and SNRIs) but came off 6 months ago as the depression was “leaking through”. Coming off was hellish: night terrors and nightmares, paranoia, sweating, crying… but I got through it … because I didn’t know who I was, felt dull, compliant, bland, zero libido. Like in the vid I thought the withdrawal symptoms were a return of the depression but now I seem to be through this transition I feel I kinda am “me” again… intense and extreme thoughts and feelings … but “me”. I also gave up all alcohol. This helps enormously. But this off-meds place feels potentially dangerous, with occasional suicidal ideation. Reluctant to be back on meds and aware I need to build in safety measures - art, music, walking, friendship etc. Therapy helpful but not a panacea: I realise this is what’s happening for me, it is my life, my burden, who I am… but the darkness can be terrible… and sudden and unexpected… and Im not good company much of the time.
it's the age old decision. Off meds and be yourself, but quite dangerous too. Or be on meds and feel like a grey version of yourself, but relatively safe. It can feel like life has really has ripped you off. Ots like, here is a poop sandwich. One side has pepper on it, the other has salt. You must choose a side even though you don't want to. Once chosen, we will force you to eat it. Maybe a bad example, but I hope you get the idea. The most important thing, is to never punish yourself for the emotions you're having. Take notice of what you know is you, and what is the illness. Most of all, be good to yourself :D
Yep a lot of people experienced these hellish withdrawals and they still try to hide them and not talk about it so that they can sell more and more of this poison.
I'm having a hellish time getting off an ssri. Cptsd since childhood. Life is hard. May you, I and so many others heal our wounds and find peace. Some kind of joy would be a real blessing too. Take good care. ❤
I am in the same predicament. I stopped zolaft. Now, I am convinced to get back on it again. I am going through tough times at the age of 65. I survived a heart attack in 2016, and my wife from breast cancer in 218. She is 4 years older than me and a recovered alcoholic. AA helped her life. Her addiction is carried on with smoking. I am anxious and worried most of the time. I am overwhelmed with so much home project that I don't think I will be able to finish them by myself. All my ambitions of DIY are stunted by my depression. I am doing all I can to attending Al anon. This documentary was an I opening. I hope I can get back to being happy and inspired. Love all.
Hi, I had a traumatic experience, that was my fault. I stressed b4, and after,.. now have depression... im afraid of mental doctors [ psychiatrist ].. being labeled correctly or maybe not.. and medications. I'm so afraid. Q- to go get help... or ruff it out with vitamins, excersize and time.. trying to let go, My life has been altered because of event. No Job, etc.. all no's.. Wondering if I don't need meds...
@@klanderkal I’m an American; but, (because I lived in Germany) our societies are very similar and the issues we face in late life are essentially the same. Loneliness is, in my opinion, the biggest problem we face. And I think our families and doctors often mistake what are signs of loneliness for depression. My primary doctor started giving me anti-depressants about 6 months ago. And all they did was make me sleep too much and we never addressed the root causes of my problems. I was feeling alone and what I needed most was a friend who was my age and facing the same things I was feeling. I stopped taking the antidepressants and I started thinking for myself and now I’m looking for a friend who is suffering alone from nothing more complicated than needing someone to talk to who understands my problems and I can I can understand their problems. There’s a significant difference between being a Senior Citizen and being an elderly citizen.
I will never stop taking my meds. I have never felt normal until I started taking them. Some of us has to accept the fact that some of us needs the meds to be stable. But I believe that only doctors who had the proper training should prescribe these meds
They helped me a lot when I was seriously depressed but I stopped taking them slowly after 6 months because I did not like the idea of dependig on the pills and the money I was using to buy them. If I'll ever get severely depressed again I'll ask a psychiatrist again to prescribe me meds but for now I can survive without them
I can say that for me they have been a life changer. There are side effects. Yes. But, the side effects of depression is way way more disruptive and painful.
If they're helping you keep, taking them. If you can ween off them, do it. If you're not on them, don't start. In every situation, go to the gym regularly, eat as healthy as you can and go to therapy at least once a week with a therapist you like. Depression never ends even with magic pills. You have to work at it and there's no exact routine that works for everyone. Gym: some like yoga, some cardio and swimming, some weights. Food: just as diverse and ever changing. Therapy: you'll almost always go through a few therapists before you find one good for you.
I’ve been on multiple meds since 15 and I can only speak for myself but, I know what happens when I stop taking them. I will never stop taking them,even though I hate them. Too much to lose❤
It’s not the over prescribing AD meds that concerns me. As a recently retired US pharmacist, worked several geographical areas, a typical scenario, a mom with a career goes to her gp and TELLS the dr she needs prozac or XYZ for her self diagnosed depression, as she heard from work colleagues is an instant “happy pill” ! Next one, takes Johnny to his pediatrician, mom gee wiz doc my Johnny could be doing better in school and he’s driving me nuts so will you kindly call in a rx for the chemical “babysitter” aka Ritalin, Adderal, Concerta or others. Johnny is voila (though zombies out) an A student and we did practically nothing, it was the pill darn it.. neither me nor dad have time to do any PARENTING. I ask now then “big Johnny” is 18 and ready for college, the old pills don’t anymore, what then ? ?
Depression is an effect of some situation in life, some can let go of events faster than others, those who can can move on with new things in life, some just cant let go of cause of depression , best remedy for depression is knowing what causing the depression, then accepting and being content can resolve many depression problems.
Antidepressants saved my life, without it I could never have finished college or held a job, however it can't cure you 100%, you need social support and frankly you need also lots of luck...
Same for me. Also I just had to adjust expectations and life style. Antidepressants helped me with some symptoms and I survived. Now I am officially not depressed but depression changed my personality, energy levels and motivation forever.
@@agnediciuniene9861 you said the best word, "survived", depression is really pervasive, it affects all aspects of life and personality, the essential step is to survive, pills help with that but can't balance the entire long list of lufe changes
For me, this documentary, which is excellent, hits home as I have been on antidepressants for almost 13 years now. With three psychiatrists and one neurologist, I have been prescribed different meds to treat OCD and depression like Zoloft, Prozac, Anafranil, and some of which I can't even remember their names lol. I have tried to taper off several times, and the last try was the one that made me realize how really hard it is to basically function without antidepressants. Antidepressants may help one build a bunker to protect themselves from some of the strikes of the different mental illnesses and even push them back to a certain degree and for a certain time, but they never give sufferers a decisive victory against their suffering. In fact, you are always constantly living with a fear for your sanity should antidepressants not be around. If I could go back in time, I would probably take a different route. I know that experiences vary from one person to another, but I think relying on antidepressants for too long is just life-screwing.
@@1unsung971 I wouldn't say antidepressants don't work at all for all people as I'm neither an expert nor all folks view antidepressants unfavorably, but, from my perspective as a sufferer, I believe they are truly overrated in terms of effectiveness, and their long-term safety is highly questionable.
This documentary is great for the people who have some *blue* days but are functional. But incorporate trauma, dysfunctional family, health problems you end up favoring your bed every day, rejecting invitations, even miminmizing showering. I resisted taking one for a long long time. When I finally asked I was grateful. A shower a day, a recent dinner party, shopping for groceries are things I'd never imagine in the past. The nay sayers can blab away.
For my experience, anti-depressants were just a placebo, a placeholder and yet another treatment of the symptoms... that did nothing to address the problems themselves. My depression is not chemical.... it is social, financial, physical... it is that life is an ongoing struggle where the only true escape is death.... that said, I will see it through as best I can, hoping that one day... we treat the causes and not just the symptoms. That one day, pleasure in life; the means to enjoy the time without sacrificing ALL the time for the means is not solely the domain of the privleged. I work, I sleep, I work, I sleep... and that is all.
@@snowflakemelter7171 It's not only that it's fast paced. It's an extremely inhumane, unloving society in general. We need to build a new world. And we're gonna.
Right... It's completely natural to feel angry or sad about being enslaved and deprived of the things that make life worth living. Life needs to be more than toil and loneliness.
thank you for such an eye-opener documentary. I witness how easily anti-depressant medication has been prescribed with little emphasis on side effects or alternative means to help the patients, such as meditation, praying, therapies, etc. I sincerely hope your documentary shifts the approach to helping those who suffered from depression in the right way. Thank you.
Off and on anti depressants all throughout my teens and early adulthood into my late 30's. I developed some bizarre side affects similar to tardive dyskinesia and ultimately decided I had enough with doctors experimenting with different medications on me. I had also gained 80 pounds! That's 8-0. Ultimately it has been me diving as deeply into my therapy more than ever before, attempting to implement the wisdom I gain from experience over time and a reasonable diet and exercise. Practice reasonable mindfulness. There just is no magic pill. And until I did more research for myself on the efficacy of ssri's I too was lock step with my doctor's suggestions, not no more.
I've already survived 3 depressive phases - coming out of the 3rd now - and none of the antidepressants had an effect on me in the first phase, so I stopped using them both in the second and third. And I ended up understanding that depression has its own process and transition time. That's my experience, I'm not generalizing.
I have had several depressive episodes. Always used medications to help me. Never thought about letting depression run it’s course without medications. Of course we all have different genetic make up and different levels of resiliency and life skills.
@@shidehhafezi6826 Robert Whitaker's excellent "Anatomy of an Epidemic" says that - before the psych drugs, the normal course of a depression would average around 3 months (longer for some of us, shorter for others). But now, the psych drugs are making the depressions chronic, repetitive, and digging channels in our brains that we fall into under stress.
For all American youth you are not depressed alone there are millions of people depressed on the earth . Future is front of you. Meanwhile i can remove your depression within a month you are requested to do these 2 things early morning 1 hour before sun rise chant OOMM slowly start and go high pitch came down gradually MMM drag as much as you can . MMM as much as can say this creates vibrations in your mind . Recite 40-50 times.Once you are done do breathing exercise inhale 4 seconds exhale 8 seconds do 20 to 25 times and go for meditation just concentrate on your breath. Do it in the evening also 1 hour before sunset. Trust me there is no need of any medications nor need any doctor within a month all your depression you will have a new life. This is being done way centuries back this is not new technique.. For time being please put religion in the shelf . What you need is your health first .when anyone die religion you Cannot take with you.God bless you kids.
Great content from DW. I'm seeing more and more. Please keep it up. The final few seconds were fantastic. It showed a family working together to help the hurting person (with a supportive kiss). The scene emphasised a central idea in the documentary - that one major & still-unexplored cause of depression is our social environment.
No lows but no highs either, a sense of being "broken" in some way and unresponsive emotionally to everyday situations and social interactions eventually leading to a withdrawal into the self not wanting to intrude on others with my condition and a fear of being judged. I was less "normal" on medication than I was off it. A brief recounting of my five-year experience with antidepressants. I no longer do them, and I appreciate and accept that life has to have lows as well as highs if there is to be any colour in it, otherwise it's only shades of grey.
I tried multiple medications before I found one that worked for me. I don't like to feel no emotion but I had that problem on a couple of different ones. The one that I take now I can feel happy or sad but it helps me cope.
They are talking about antidepressants as if they were made to hurt people. :D It is all so irrational. I have been on Cymbalta for years and I think it saved my life. I will never stop
Same here: the first choice didn't work for me, I would function like a zombie but then my doctor prescribed me something else and thanks to that I can function normally with no significant side effects. I felt numb WHEN depressed, with antidepressants my emotions came back. I've tried psychotherapy when clinically depressed and I couldn't handle it (because I wasn't in touch with my emotional side, everything seemed pointless). They also help with OCD. I see people with mild to moderate depression take pills and still not feel entirely ok but they are often reluctant to make any changes in their lives. So they keep doing things that would make a healthy person feel poorly and the antidepressants can't cure that. But if it's a serious case you might not be able to participate in any activity aimed at making you live a better life (cause you have no energy, attention span of a snail , severe anxiety etc.) without medication that works for you (!) and stabilizes the situation at least a bit. Still, the antidepressants might be prescribed too easily: I know people who took them for some time and then stopped and nothing happened - or maybe something happened - they stopped having side effects so in their case it was better not taking pills since they experienced some drawbacks and not the positive effects of the medication they didn't need:)
@@adriannagorowska Totally agree! Antidepressants do work ONLY if prescribed in justified case - i.e. in case of severe depression, debilitating panic attacks, OCD or if psychoteraphy does not help. If given as a panaceum to any emotioanal problem - they will not work. Sorry to hear about your illness :(
@@adriannagorowska There is also one more thing - withdrawal syndroms are overestimated. I admit, they happen to some people, but still there are people who do not experience them or who suffer only from very mild and temporary withdrawals that can be easily handled with tapering. I personally never had any serious problem with it. I also experience no withdrawals if I skip a few doses of cymbalta - the drug considered notorious for withdrawals.
I'm off this medication after almost 30 years of use. I can't tell in words the hell I suffered to stop. It's not only medical withdrawal, it's far more than that, terrible thoughts and dreams. I had to stop because my kidneys and bladder have suffered serious damage. This is something Dr's don't tell patients. I had to research this myself.
I have been on anti-depressants for 7 years now. Some terrible side effects were insomnia, feeling more depressed, having blood-bath unexplainable nightmares, vivid weird dreams, vomiting and recurring depressive episodes. Dosages were increased, changed types and increased. Anti-depressants do help me from jumping off cliffs but they don't really help in making myself better. I'm now finding ways to add supplements such as Vit D3 and just get my body moves even when I don't feel like it. I'm tapering the dosage because I'm so tired of being in this mode. Numb. Not knowing what's normal and what's not.
Truly sorry for your condition. I would strongly recommend you checkout Dr Berg's TH-cam health channel & maybe reach out to him privately. He has helped many people to improve their health, well being & quality of life
I also would recommend some holistic approach, meditation, breathing techniques, natural stones & crystal application plus super food (eg probiotic for healthy gut system as it has relation to mental state too) Of course exercise or sports activities are highly recommended..All the best 🙏❤️
Hi. Along with breath work, nature walks, plants în the apartment, healthy food, nice old comedies and other things.. you need a relationship with God. I know how it sounds, but understanding why we are here and why things are the way they are will help you în ways you dont expect. Just know the things written în the Bible are true and He is like that. He loves us and wants us to know Him and love Him. And we should behave as He wants us to, because thats the only way we can have peace and we wouldve had that if we all behaved the same way. But we are individual and we have free choice. He îs always with us and He does loves us. Call Him now if you havent and believe in every word you have from Him. He îs as He says He is and you can count on that. No matter what happens, know Lord Jesus is the way and even în the most terrifying moments you wont be alone. I wasted time on different stuff and I want to help others not waste their time for we really dont have much more time. Really. Its getting really bumpy and we all need to act now if we havent yet. I hope this helps.
I ve had panic attacks for years and i left the medication gradually and slowly as it must be. 3 years later the panic attacks came back. Now on menopause i m happy to take them as the med has helped me with the symptoms. Its so personal.
Without my meds I would not be married for 25 years, hold down a job I enjoy, be around for my grandsons. I use both talk therapy and meds. It works for me.
I've had clinical depressions for half of my life. That's over 30 years by now. without them life would not be possible. Of course there are very serious side effects. But believe me- severe depression for over a year is way worse.
Nothing emotional is treated by something in exterior, even medicines. You just give a pause in your suferring, adding more troubles for tomorrow. Treat inside!
I see them as akin to pain medication - they help to treat the symptoms but not the underlying issue. Of course, someone with a broken leg will not live their whole life on pain meds without treating the injury, but their usage is often necessary to make the healing process bearable. Similarly, therapy can be used to treat the underlying causes of one's depression, but the increase in serotonin provided by antidepressants can facilitate this process by allowing the patient to better engage in treatment. It could also allow them to better function in their day-to-day life, also possibly reducing depressive symptoms.
and what if there is no underlying issue, but a medical one that is due to low levels of body chemistry? In clinical depression there often isn't "an issue". Depression due to issues are found in reactive depression which is a very different form of depression to clinical depression.
I have been on SSRIs since I was 13, going on 23 years. I just tapered down to zero mg a week ago, and wow the irritability, dizziness, nausea, brain zaps, anxiety and flu like symptoms have been almost unbearable at times. But I’m not going back to taking those pills.
i understand that some people feel theyve been harmed by antidepressants. but for me they turned me from a quaking mass of suicidal dysfunction into a fully functioning, stable human again.
On continued anti-depressants I was having dangerous side effects including incidents of rage that came out of nowhere, I was also unable to be happy or have any strong positive emotions, couldn't sleep properly, and it was interacting with other medications I had to take resulting in horrible twitching at night in my legs and face. This didn't seem to bother my psychiatrist at all, she seemed to think I was just another troublemaker who didn't want to take their medicine. When I quit taking them I felt instantly better as soon as they wore off, mentally and physically. My life wasn't fixed, but it was mine again. People wouldn't force dogs to live the lives we lead ourselves. I don't know what makes people believe these drugs are the answer other than profit making companies telling them so.
I had similar reactions to them as you did. I felt absolutely no joy. Everything felt so pointless because they elicited no emotions from me. I would go through a random range of intense anger, uncontrollable crying, nothingness and severe thoughts of ending it. I only took it for two days and it was a roller coaster ride of intense emotions. I also ended up emailing my doctor a very rude letter because I felt so angry. Then after I stopped taking the medication and I had my mind back I told my doctor what happened and he just nonchalantly said it takes 3 months for it to work. And that we can try other pills. I felt like I would never make it to the 3 months. And the lack of concern they have over something that can mess you up so much is really shocking. I am also never taking any of those kinds of medications again
I, too, am shocked by psychiatrists' seeming apathy toward patients-- compassion fatigue, perhaps? 🤔 It's horrifying, though, & makes it harder to trust any of them.
Please stop believing the anti depression drugs when there is natural way to control depression . As an ex psychiatric patient i got rid of it by chanting OMMMM 1 hour before sunrise .Start chanting slowly and go on high pitch and slowly come back but at the end MMM drag as much as you can . When you drag MMM at the end MMM vibrations starts in your mind this where you get back vibrations in your mind. Chant as many times as you can and after couple of chants you hear OMMM surrounding you. Followed by meditation concentrate on your breathe. Repeat the same in the evening 1 hour before sunset . Within couple weeks you will start new life. All depression gone.this is not new thing way centuries back saints have been enlightened by doing this. Trust me i got rid of depression by doing this cost less technique
Ssri helped me, bigtime. Got rid of my social anxiety so i can actually have a conversation without my face turning bright red. Im happier just with that but also helped me quit drinking due to being depressed. So many positives, little negatives
As always an excellent thought - provoking documentary. I imagine the team at DW full of creatifs because you always come up with cutting edge themes. Wonderful. Thank you.
Buproprion helped me quit smoking. After being on it for a few days, just the idea of smoking a cigarette increasingly made me feel nauseous, and that definitely wasn't a placebo effect. I can't personally speak to how effective it is in treating depression, which wasn't what I was taking it for, but it definitely does something.
I took that for a few months. Welbutrin, I think. I'd never actually felt something from an SS/SN or any other drug but did with that. Very strange one
@@T.vango1, Buproprion is available in 75 or 150 mg tablets taken twice or three times per day or 75 or 150 mg extended-release tablets taken twice a day or 150 or 300 mg all day tablets taken once a day.
Sertraline stopped me ending myself after my daughter was born and I lost my marbles.I'd been surviving 1-2 hours of broken sleep,little food,and brief sink washes for the best part of a year. No one around me supported me, and said I was weak and didn't know I was born for wanting any help,apparently women used to "not moan and just get on with it".It was a major pain having to book in the doctors for every new pack of tablets though and I stopped purely because it felt like another chore on the long to-do list.
I watched the whole DW Documentary and it was really eye-opening. Depression is an illness that severely disables the person who suffers it from integrating into social and productive life and also brings along deep inner pain to the person. Isolation and anguish are words that come to mind. It is an illness that is highly uncomprehended by many people, also including the sufferer’s closest ones; and it is even stigmatized and demonized by the uninformed or by the ignorant. But the reality is that it is likely a very common illness, despite what people might think. According to current research studies, it is estimated that one in three women and one in five men in the United States have an episode of major depression by the time they are 65. Furthermore, research sources claim that worldwide people suffering depression are around the 251-310 million mark and counting. Why do I mention it? To make you aware that someone close to your heart might be suffering silently in this very moment from depression and your insight about him/her might be just wrong. To let you know that you are not alone in your suffering if you are suffering from it-that there are millions of people going through the same feelings and thoughts that are currently disrupting your life. It is time to be there for each other, rather than setting a rigid judgmental attitude toward others. *My thoughts on the documentary: Personally, I totally agree with the fact -as the documentary brings up- that other alternatives that are side-effects free must be primarily contemplated and recommended by the psychological professionals before advocating or jumping into the antidepressant pill wagon. The same problem as in other health cases and crisis (e.g. food industry crisis and the last worldwide health crisis) can be seen here: the same people that are presenting a commercial product, can’t be the ones funding those same studies to prove the efficacy and safety of such product: there is clearly a conflict of interest. And it is highly probable that the results of such study would be biased or flawed. My experience is that antidepressants might help for a while, but not in the long-term. And what are the consequences of using antidepressants in the long-term? Go and ask the pharmaceutical company that heavily endorsed and promoted such antidepressant or to your psychological healthcare provider. I assure you won’t have a proven factual answer. Thanks again DW for doing critical and unbiased journalism. We are truly needing it nowadays!
It's our Western, unnatural, easy to live modern technological society. Things were more hard back then but it made life more meaningful and purposeful.
No form of treatment is risk-free or side-effect-free. Whether talking therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, medication or other forms of treatment are mandated or advisable depends on every case and the circumstances. It is a weighing of pros and cons. But please do not make the assumption that other forms of treatment other than medication are risk-free or have no side effects. That would be plainly wrong and in some cases, quite dangerous.
Melancholia is always a popular state of being, if you read literature. I don't think we get more depressed as humans, we are just more obsessed in becoming 'happy'.
You're wrong. Long term meds have been what have kept me functioning. Without them I don't function. I'd rather function with side effects than not function at all. That's not to say they cure it completely, but they do reduce it to the point where you can function, hold down a job and have some semblance of a normal life. Without them, none of that is possible.
Just my experience antidepressants don't work or nearly don't. I had depression and severe anxiety. What they do is they make you zombie like,you want sleep,loose cognitive strenght etc. I changed at least 6 different meds, eventually I decided its not worth it. I changed my life,my enviroment,started exercise big that's what changed my life to good.
I have been on anti-deppression ( ssri) meds for almost a year now. I am not literally depressed nor do I have anxiety features except that when I am too tired physically, I start having manifestations of anxiety attack, and I have every reason to believe that I inherited it from my mother's side. My mother, and brother also struggle with anxiety attack and so do 2 of my cousins and a niece. I am so thankful that my anxiety attacks have lessened and I have incorporated breathing techniques, exercises and every cognitive behavioral therapy to keep me cool, calm, collected and not exhausted.
CBT has helped me immensely.. SSRIs and MOAIs just wrecked me. I agree with your self analysis of it coming back when exhausted. It's almost I have a circuit within me, when it's operating at below 90% capacity I'm fine, over that and the cracks start appearing.
From personal experience. I took them way too long. Talking about years. It was really helping in the beginning together with therapy but after a while you feel numb. But after a lifetime of numbing yourself out with other things I guess this is harder too understand and realize about yourself. Yes, I came in with depression as it is the reason why most people come into contact with mental healthcare for the first time and I was treated just for that. Too make my point is that they do not address the underlying problems that cause the depression. If you developed a personality disorder then those drugs do not work. if you are already emotionally detached then taking drugs that wil not let you experience highs and lows are not helping. In the end it is very individual, but I do think those anti-depressants are prescribed way too easy for too long without digging deeper into root causes. It certainly is cheaper to prescribe pills. The serotonin explanation is never proven. They do not know how the brain works.
Antidepressants ruined my life. I was prescribed an SSRI because I was withdrawn for a summer as a teenager. The SSRI made me irritable, which then led to a false diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder Type 2. I was then prescribed more drugs which kept me in a drug-induced haze which ruined my life. Eventually, I discovered the book Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker and other critical psychiatry books and realized what was happening to me, so I slowly tapered off the psych drugs. I lost years of wages and a social life to these drugs. There has been no justice for what was done to me. Psychiatry and pharma are overdue for a reckoning.
Also, regarding the comments of people saying how much antidepressants helped them: I'm glad you feel that way, but I thought I was being helped too while I was taking psych meds (as prescribed). But after I tapered off of them I can now see that my life was worse on them and I couldn't recognize their impact on me. People should be aware of "medication spellbinding" and Dr. Peter Breggin's work.
It saved my life. Really did. Slowed me down so i can live normal. They’re not magic, u still need to workout, sun exposure & eat clean. Once u found the right med and been on it for years, even ppl around u can see you’re some what alive. Unlike the person u were. I have clinical severe depression. Runs in the family heavily. It was either i give meds a last chance, or i was on my way out. I fought for years to not take them, until i lost everything including myself.
When you look forward toward a documentary, with as much eagerness toward a video game or an entertaining media, you know the documentary must be good. As always, I don't think this will disappoint as DW is high quality content! Thank you for talking about this DW, as a person who was diagnosed with clinical depression and took treatment for 6 months, looking forward to see what is in this doc! Keep up the good work!
every time i stopped SSRI, few weeks later my anxiety always went back, i was so nervous with everything, in my case therapy with few therapists did not help, i also workout few times a week, but i can not give up my med, it just increases quality of my life i am calm and not nervous, and i never had depression, i take them for anxiety, GAD and panic attacks.
This is some great journalistic work. Showing how it is. No obfuscating, show both sides. Really good. I'm a year now on antidepressants and pain killers trying to ween off them after being on them for more than a year. Since my surgery I now feel better and want to come off it but its very difficult physically and emotionally from both type of meds. But I gotta do it. Its just not natural
@@kisa5221 yes I was fortunately! Not without difficulty and something I wasn't even versed with, psychedelics. I'm off everything now and feeling good
31:04 YESSS! I feel this. With severe, severe clinical depression... between the meds I've been on vs changing my social/geosocial/economic situation w/o meds, the latter was the most effective and best thing I ever did. But its damn near impossible for most people to change their social/geosocial/economic situation because that requires resources... resources that many -like me- dont/didnt have. If they did they prob wouldn't be in that situation in the first place because the resources would be on hand.
I stopped taking those cuz they made me slow or unable to defend myself in case someone attacked me. Which has happened quite a few times. It’s true that Ad’s only numb the pain, not act as a remedy. I found focusing on a goal and giving my all to it solved most of my problems . In addition I keep an optimistic view that things in the future will work in my favour if I become a better person by focusing on my goals. I also go for runs cuz it calms me . Also, I drive a lot to calm myself .
Havent seen this doc yet but I'm about to. What I can say about myself is that I found out I have PTSD after I suffer years with alcohol and cannabis abuse for depression and anxiety. I can say that my antidepressents have worked very well for me. I had to find the right one but it works. I'm on 40 mg of Paxil.
And now you're addicted to something worse than alcohol or weed. I suggest to stop using them. You're only financing Big Pharma. Use placebo's instead. They're cheaper.
The withdrawal is horrible. The first anti-depressant I used 15 years ago caused restless legs, and part of the withdrawal was locked jaw and severe headaches. Yes, your body gets dependent on it!
As someone who has suffered from depression and taken antidepressants, I can say for me they did more harm than good. I found that having to take medication made me realise how unhappy I was and actually made it worse because I felt like I needed to take drugs to make me happy even though I felt almost no effect from them. I actually started smoking weed and spending time with friends and found that I was way happier than if I was on medication. I even stopped taking it before the doctor said to and when I went to see them, they noticed that I was way happier and said I didn't need the medication anymore, despite not knowing that I had been off the medication for over a month. For me I would say medication doesn't help, improving your life and situation you are in is the only way to get over depression but you need to have people you are close to help you move forward
@netrify9616 isn't that depression, in any case I was prescribed drugs by a clinician and they felt like they weren't working. The story still remains the same, I looked at what made my life bad and changed that. Depression can only be cured by changing what causes you to feel that way. Drugs can help some people but more people would benefit from changing their lives than just medicating
Thanks for sharing this eye-opening documentary. Educating the public is very important, cause as we see we usually can not just trust the professionals, studies or the corporate system.
I experienced very difficult very real withdrawal symptoms and am grateful to have found credible forums supporting what I was going through in order to report this to my doctor. I was taking a low dose for chronic pain so feel lucky to have recovered relatively well. Don’t ever hesitate to reach out for support for how to slowly taper off when stopping or changing a medication. I am so grateful to feel like myself again. It was like a door opening once they were out of my system.
I used to suffer from a lot of these things and there is hope. I think these things come from stress from life, confusion on where to go next and a dopamine problem under the surface maybe. Some people may need medication but not all. God bless
I really admire the interviewer and how he did not shy away from asking certain harsh questions to the doctor who was promoting antidepressants. DW documentary puts forth a balanced view, never siding any one stance. Just asking enough questions to get all the information out there and let the viewer decide.
I stopped taking that crap an SSRI, I was diagnosed with diabetes. No matter what I did I couldn't get it under control, then the diabetes check came for a few more months than insulin. Then I saw a message about the ssri and the cause of diabetes, I started to reduce it and almost immediately the sugar levels improved. Now I am almost off all diabetes medication, but I was also able to reduce other medication. Unfortunately I have a very serious PTSD, which I now keep under control with oxazepam at times when things are not going well. At the moment I am doing terribly, because of the Jewish hunt in Amsterdam Amsterdamprogrom. Second generation war victim. But never SSRIs again, that is pure suicide
I've been taking citalopram for years and as helped me. I do. There are some side effects, though. You shouldn't just stop taking anti depressants, your suppose to reduce your dose gradually
As someone who experienced depression, when I used them, my mind was finally able to let go and relax and I was super greatful for the feelings of comfort and relaxation I had after years of tense feelings and anxiety that I had no idea as to how it had gotten to that point... Life just builds up on you... So I am greatful for the treatment. I did notice as well however that it did change something about me so I decided to be greatful for the help and after a month. I was done with it. Pro-longed use could really damage you, I mean that feeling was really numbing after the relief... Not good.
@@ellycat2155 I don't mean to sound rude but I thought I was depressed a few times before I was ACTUALLY depressed. If you are doing good... I am really happy for you. (Also I am no0t saying you weren't depressed. Just be open minded)
@@AndTecks look there's no exam here. I've expressed my personal experience and that's it... It helped and I was able to move forward in life thereafter, it was enough for me. You may decide differently for yourself, that's okay...
I was severely traumatized years ago as a teenage, got diagnosed with cptsd. Spent my whole life fighting cptsd. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my wife recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms.
I was a very creative person, a painter and musician, and I was on Paxil for 5 years after a anxiety attack. I slowly weaned off this drug, but I have next to zero creativity now. I believe this medication gave me a chemical lobotomy. Thanks, Doc, you put me on the wrong drug!!
i have experienced it too.i havent taken drugs or pills.i noticed something very very important.i looked around me which people surround me.who has a positive and negative impact on me.i ended friendships with those who werent good for me.i started to analyse what causes my problems.the past with family, stress etc. i step by step talked about it with a doctor and i saw that i got better step by step.i believe that mental illness is also linked to physiological condition, so i started to train.it helped me so much.now knowing and believing in positive change and seeing the results makes me so happy.drugs only mask the problem.you have to grab the problem, analyse your condition and turn around.sports is such a good way to change your mood.i love it ❤️
35:30 “it’s a tiny problem”, says the doctor supported by companies and a mediocre amount of evidence on how to taper off an antidepressant healthily - and each of them must have its own method of withdrawal - so many people are advised to cut the dose in half then a quarter (if so) and stop abruptly in a few weeks (I’ve been there once in the past). A substance that took months to work (IF it worked) and made changes in the brain just can’t be resolved in the blink of an eye! It makes no sense. I’ve been taking antidepressants for 16 years, and on half of it a combination of 2 or 3, and looking back I feel doctors most of the time looked clueless about what to do with me. If I don’t say “I want to try another one please, it’s already months of suffering” they’ll just keep prescribing it, maybe with a higher dose (whose efficacy is debatable depending on the drug) despite my complaints and all my effort to make myself clear. Don’t they know the drugs they prescribe to realize their limits and the moment they need to be substituted by another one? I have a routine of physical exercises, I’m back to psychotherapy (did so many years of it already), but I don’t know if I'm being actually helped by the antidepressant duo I’m currently taking (vortioxetine and bupropion). Recently I left desvenlafaxine, and the transition to vortioxetine, as advised by my psychiatrist, of ONE fkin week taking both and then off to just the new one gave me A LOT of side effects and withdrawal syndrome (desvenlafaxine is one of the worst, as I discovered later), I’m so pissed! So, from now on should I argue with doctors because they don’t seem to make sense? Once again I’m looking for a new and better psychiatrist. And I won’t fully trust them anymore. I'm not a skeptical now, I just want to take lower doses of the best ones available for my case, coz everything else there is in reach I’m already doing. I’m tired of this.
I am so glad to see this topic tackled. Too often speaking to the effectiveness of psycologically targeted medication is taboo. I would love to see a follow up to this with Doctor Christopher Palmer's Brian Energy findings on the metabolic basis of mental illness- his book Brian Energy is new and utterly life changing particularly for the understanding of depression.
Placebo , that's what is becoming apparent The medication does nothing useful, but the BELIEF they do, means you fix yourself, But you need to believe in an outside HELPER , rather than believe in yourself why do we know this ? because all research shows LSD works and therefore the comparable data for SSRI's disappears Because we can see biologically LSD works, but we have ZERO evidence that we can see, that SSRI's work Based on default node network activity
Ive been using antidepressants for three months bc I have anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Before getting started to use medications I was awful. I felt awful in my life all the time. I couldn't give my attention to anything, I couldn't walk outside properly without getting anxiety. When I meet someone I couldn't stay still. It was awful days but everything started to change after getting antidepressants. It's incredible thing to me to get those amazing things. I never wanna quit using antidepressants. I no more feel negative. It's amazing.
They are absolutely life changing for OCD. My life was utterly unmanageable before antidepressants, and now I am productive with a career and an awesome mom. I still struggle, but my anxiety is at an acceptable level. I know I can handle the noise my brain throws at me and I am thankful everyday for the scientific breakthroughs that make normalcy possible for me.
Here's a solution. Look in the mirror every morning and say 'I'm not fucking depressed' then drop down and do as many pushups as you can - Every morning. The other option is to keep the pharmaceutical companies rich by being a customer for life.
the effect decreases as the bran adapts to the presence of the drug. Long term, they create more problems. Speaking from experience. Also alot of research.
I used to suffer from bouts of depression most of my life. I tried antidepressants, which seemed to work in the beginning. My body developed a tolerance, so the doctor had to increase the dosage. The increased dosage helped for a little bit, then the same thing happened. The dosage had to be increased yet again. I realized that the antidepressants weren't helping me. I weaned myself off of them and have been off of them for two decades now. What helped me alleviate depression is exercise, eating healthy, and developing a positive mindset. If you suffer from mild to moderate depression, you can heal yourself without antidepressants. Someone with severe depression may need medication to help them but it has to be coupled with talk therapy. Drugs alone will not get you out of a depression. Antidepressants like most drugs, treat the symptoms. It doesn't get to the root cause of the issue. Your thoughts are what causes the depression. I was mired in my own miserable thoughts, consistently thinking negatively. Your mind listens to those thoughts, which creates neurochemicals that affect your body. Which is why you feel lethargic, irritable, and depressed. The converse is true. When you have positive thoughts, it creates neurochemicals that provides more energy, you feel like you're floating on a cloud. The mind and body are inextricably linked. If you don't believe they are linked, just imagine a slice of lemon. Close your eyes and really imagine it. Imagine taking that lemon to your lips and sucking on the lemon. Most people start to salivate or their lips pucker. That is a demonstration on the power of your thoughts. I posted a video on my TH-cam channel @healingcoachveota about my personal story with depression.
The story of the young father with 2 children made me think about my own life because I suffer from severe major depression, anxiety and PTSD turning my daily "life" into a challenge for "survival". IF I had to tell anyone about my experience with antidepressants I would say: DON'T, DO NOT DO IT. The consequences (side effects) are much higher than the benefits. As the excellent DW doc suggests the course of action it would be: Meditation, practicing sports, being active, schedule activities, keeping a job (something that I struggled with all my life), forming long lasting relationships (even harder). Peace and love to everyone. PS: Magic mushrooms and therapy are very helpful.
@Yuri R. A serious brand and standard dosage of St. Jones is a basic antidepressant as SSRI. It acts in the same way by increasing Serotonin levels. Where is the difference? Its just the meaning witch people gives to one or to another. Herbal is great/ chemical is a monster. Both drugs are made in the Lab. Both treat and both have side efects
Just to say I’m sure you did find them helpful but seems a bit weird someone would say “none of that cleanly produced, tested, dose measured medication rubbish for me but I will take some dodgy mushrooms smuggled in up someones bottom from knock off nick the drug dealer coz theyre natural”.
@@Acehigh-Jenkins Yeah thought that odd too. The fact is everyone is different. Some, antidepressants help, some, it doesn't. Even if you are to try them, it is essentially not a drug that you can come off of cold turkey. It's a gradual process. For people with minor issues in life, I do not think they should be prescribed them. People with major depression they should at least try them, see how they feel. Definitely a balanced lifestyle most certainly helps heeps too.
Took anti-depressant for years with only negative outcomes. Psychedelic mushrooms (Psilocybin) have had magnificent results on me. Followed by years without depression and I quit smoking after my first psychedelic mushroom experience. Luckily mushrooms worked within a very short time and had long lasting life changing results. Unlike anti-depressants. Psychedelics did not require redosing every single day and was much less severe than pharmaceuticals.
You literally admit in your statement that psychoactive drugs (medication) have their place in treating depression. Psilocybin may indeed have better results compared to Venlafaxaine especially and Setraline. Also, the range that constitutes 'antidepressants' is so wide that there's almost nothing that can be generalized among them. Dividing drugs in natural and synthetic categories is shockingly common fallacy. Cyanide and alpha-amantin are also natural.
They only talked about antidepressants in the context of their more strictly intended psychological indications (depression, anxiety, PTSD). However there's another indication for which some (tri-cyclical) antidepressants work with very clear evidence as to their efficacy, chronic nerve pain. In fact, they're the only medication that works for that besides some anticonvulsants. They physiologically contribute to nerve regeneration and the erasing of the physiological correlates of pain memory. Just felt it necessary to point that out as it's not rare for people dealing with chronic pain to have their pain be dismissed as psychosomatic and when antidepressants rather than traditional pain killers are the cure, it's viewed as proof of that dismissal. Also all the negative rep tri-cyclical antidepressants get in general is relativized in that context. They still have the same awful side effects but the alternative (anticonvulsants) has similar ones and the other alternative is spending the rest of your life with one of the strongest kinds of pain there is.
They absolutely work. I've been on the antianxiety Citalopram, since 2006. I'm 65 years old and live a normal life. Im not avoiding driving on the interstate, not staying inside during the summer because I was so afraid of wasps, I can now be in large crowds and not panic, the list goes on and on.
I've been on insulin 33 years, I have to use it for the rest of my life. Addicted or completely necessary? Same with my antidepressant. I'm thankful for modern medicine that gave me my quality of life back.
Yes I'm on the same meds as you since 19/ 99-- I can not go off them after all these years ; as iv tried and can not cope at all -- they are a good med
I tried everything I could think of before I tried antidepressants. Eventually I quit those too. I’m really not sure what to do. But I do feel grateful I tried many things. I know some that help on different occasions. It’s for sure a life long battle. I straggle with the concept of time passing me by
I've been on medications for depression and anxiety for over a decade. What I needed was environmental change and emotional support. I didn't need these medications to numb out my feelings and creativity. Anti depressants have stole something huge from me I am now fighting to get back.
That’s how I feel, I’m so lonely I need a better support system, I need friends or a partner and hugs. My cats really keep me going but I need more. And taking care of my physical health is also so important- exercise, good nutrition, sleep. But my anxiety always messes up my sleep
Some people do. There is no cure all to depression because it a category of illnesses that happen for many different reasons and need different many different solutions depending on the issues. Anti depressants are useful for some people and harmful for others. Anyone telling you differently doesn't know what they are talking about.
I know how you feel.
@@milliem8051 come to Africa you shall get all this in plentyyyy
Hello, since this the internet I ll be as hopeful as possible, mash them, snort them and wash it down with Jack, does wonders for my skin and neurons, lost a good chunk of a decade, but worth it.....
Personally, they helped me more than I can say. It was like the constant feeling of impending doom was lifted and I didn’t dissolve into tears over the slightest issue. I have more energy and feel like I can do more without being mentally exhausted from doing nothing but sit and stress.
I’m sure they’re overprescribed, but they really help a lot of people. It was the stigma like this comment section that kept me from seeking help for so long.
There is no stigma to taking antidepressants, millions of people are on them…. I wish they helped me, tried them all, they do not.
@@Blonde111 That’s absolutely not true. I’m so glad you didn’t encounter it, but i grew up on a family where children were medicated because their parents “weren’t doing their job” and “happy pills” were “a scam for lazy and weak minded people”. Mental health issues are still spoken about in hushed tones and people wouldn’t dream of admitting they’re medicated where I live, more often than not you’re just shamed for the church not being enough.
It took a lot of unlearning, but we don’t all come from a socially liberal family or area.
Exactly. The Best advice: don' t read the comments section
@@Blonde111 There's a huge stigma for people with mental health issues.
@@Blonde111 This comment section is still very respectful yet they're are few people saying just be happy,just try,work harder etc. Like these are things we didn't hear a bazillion times.
Medication helped me from severe depression after burnout and divorce. I wasn't able to help myself to get better. Without medication, I wouldn't be here anymore. Then, the psychotherapy started and helped me to live my life with joy again. After I stopped using medication, the side effects took 2-3 weeks, and after that, it was ok again. I felt dizzy and sick. Still, for me it was worth it. It gave me a fresh Start.
well said ❤👏
One thing I am shocked by is how little many people are told about side effects and potential dangers of the medication they are prescribed. I mean sure, medication comes with a whole manual on what it is, what it does, how to use it etc but doctors and pharmacists can't expect anyone to read it. These things need to be discussed and patients should be encouraged to ask questions about the effects.
As someone who was irresponsibly prescribed adderal/xanax for years, I can concur. I wish I'd known how much damage it would do and how thoroughly it would ruin my life.
Every RX comes from the earth, only problem- the gov adds their own toxic slurry that’s what gives the side affects!
@@reprovedcandy Good u found out tho, now u can stay as far away from them as possible!. Always go the natural route! U will live happier!.
@@maghamsateshkumar6355 😂🤣😅
The pharmacy n doctors should explain but since most are lazy and the internet exists they relay on that 🤦🏻♀️🙎
People need to ask why there are increasing numbers of people with depression. I would posit that it has a a lot to do with our cultural climate: bad food, lack of exercise, social media, shitty jobs, 24 hr news cycles, twitter, environmental problems and other crises. I think we all need to remind ourselves that we are all feeling similarly and that we should be kind to ourselves and to others. Kindness and compassion to all is something we can strive for.
Thank you.
I agree with you. I'm currently doing more research on this issue for a project I might get involved in. What you're saying is what all the non-sponsored practitioners are saying. And, in fact today I've just written a response to the project's initial, invitational report which includes "We need to eliminate the pervasive lack of kindness and compassion. What's needed in all our social systems is radical kindness."
Exactly, we live in a different world from 20 years ago. It’s obvious to me the spike in numbers with depression/anxiety
Well said.
The West is going through a massive decline, economically and socially.
Standards of living are going down hard, there is overpopulation in cities, tough climate.
Also people are generally getting older and more hopeless with age.
Up until losing my husband to cancer at the age of 34 I never used any antidepressants. I had chronic depression for decades due to childhood trauma and some difficulties, but I tried to cope with it in various ways, including meditation, working out, eating healthy and balanced diet, etc. Nothing helped. I was suicidal after my husband's death so I said enough is enough and give it a shot.
I wish I seek help a decade ago, my life would've been different for sure. I feel peaceful at last after a year on antidepressants. They saved my life.
Over the long period, antidepressants become less effective and the dose need to be increased, which many doctors don't tell to their patients. During this period, the drug receptors in the brain becomes inefficient, creating a permanent neurological problem.
@@ashutoshmahajan4864 no they dont
@@judeflynn9223 I was thinking that too
you actually way stronger than you think.its a shame that the older you got you got weaker.
After my husband died I eventually had to take antidepressants as nothing else had worked. My depression was just like a black velvet cloak covering me. I had therapy. I tried and still do try mindfulness exercises. I talk about how I'm feeling. I do exercise and get out and see friends etc. I fight it. But I've suffered from depression since I started my period. Antidepressants - and I'm on the lowest dose - help me keep everything balanced and in perspective. I've tried to wean myself off them and I do well for a while, but then some trauma/stressful event happens and I feel like I need to go back on them. I do think I enjoy my life much more because of the medication.
Agreed, minor depression should have alternative treatments but for people suffering from anxiety, PTSD and depression as a result of years of trauma, this is their normal. This is how they get a chance to live within society. Childhood trauma has a significant effect on the brain structure physically as well. The question as well is are you down or depressed? There is a difference between feeling down and been depressed to a point of a black hole.
The black hole is the perfect analogy.
So true!
Few supposed sufferers of depression ever truly experience or comprehend just how black that hole can get. What most people consider to be a severe episode of major depression would be a good day for me. No depression-targeted pharmaceutical has ever even slightly helped (older generation antidepressants or new).
@@anhedonianepiphany5588 If you can try Ketamine infusion. Nothing ever worked for me until I found a doc that does low dose infusions. Was amazing.
It really hard when you know a problem and can't do anything about it
I stopped taking Anti-depressants in September of 2021. I didn't expect to get better, in fact, I thought I might get worse. To my surprise, after I went through the withdrawals, and they were bad, I got better. I wasn't told about the withdrawals. In fact, I think most people don't know that there are withdrawals from Anti-depressants. I am doing a lot better, and I don't think I will ever go back on them.
I just wanted to say that this documentary helped me understand what I went through, and the withdrawal symptoms are going to take a while to clear up. Thank you for the information. It is a good thing to know.
yoga helped me a lot with my withdrawals. best of luck to you. it is really hard.
After having gone through the medication path and suffering the side-effects.I told my doctor NO.
I was suffering PTSD.
Counselling.Talking therpasists just made me feel worse.
The police had failed to protect my anonymity when I reported a serious crime and I was victimised for 8years.
I decided that the best thing to do was withdraw and try to heal.
One day,sat in my garden I went blind in one eye for a period of two hours.
Imagine how thrilled I was when I discovered the actual cause WITHOUT the doctor's 'help'.
If your anxiety level is pushing your body to its FIGHTorFLIGHT response repeatedly your body burns vitaminB far more than it should.
I am now...3years later ...not 'better'....but "as good as it gets".
The reason,I looked for anything that was deficient in my diet and made certain I included the daily minimum throughout.
Exercised more.
Did occasional volunteer work.
My neighbours had all witnessed multiple 'harassment events' and took a dim view of the police' responses.
2 of the gang responsible have now been caught recently for knifing another one of their friends....
....the council/ police response to this is of course...
too little
too late.
But my own neighbours have been very supportive.
I might be able to go back into paid employment sometime next year,but sadly I will be unable to go back to retail due to the longer term effects of this ordeal.
But for me at least the solution was NOT
Medication
"counselling"
it was ...diet,exercise,and TIME AWAY(Thankyou pandemic,when EVERYBODY is panicking it took a lot of pressure off of me,and allowed me to heal)
I agree on that, the withdrawals can even last for a year or more and some people never get out of it.
I’m going through withdrawals now from Paxil, I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. Please pray for me.
There's lots of info on slowly tapering off - one I just saw talked about how say cutting 50% and then to 25% and then cold turkey is wrong - it should be 50%, 25%, 10%, 5%... That it's not linear tapering off, you're so used to them the initial 50% is not as bad as the final 10% even.
After 10 years of fighting a severe chronic illness without medication I finally gave up the struggle of not taking antidepressants. I was always said that you should try to avoid antidepressants because it’s a cheap way of not dealing with your feelings. This year my depression got worse due to the constant pain and I told the people around me that if they loved me they wouldn’t care if I take them. I’ve tried for 10 year and was miserable all that time and they should want me to be happy and have a life instead of sitting at home or sleeping. After about 5 weeks I noticed a difference. I started laughing at funny things on tv again. I slept better and felt like taking a shower daily. I also started making more healthy home cooked meals for myself. After 4 months of taking them I’ve become a completely different person and even though I’m in pain I can manage and started socializing more outside of my house with my best friend. It really saved my life because I was thinking of just giving up. What I mean with my story is that antidepressants shouldn’t be given out like candy and people should learn to deal with their feelings instead of instantly reaching for them. But for cases like myself antidepressants should be given from the start and not looked down upon.
But even in your case, the pills are not meant to be a life long solution. What are you doing to ensure you're not going to be dependent on them for life? Also, which one do you take. I'm thinking of starting.i was given zoloft as a teen, for only about 3 weeks. but I decided on my own at that time that I did not want to be on medication. Never went back on any pill. That was a long time ago. I'm considering it now, for reasons. I just need to be able to function in society long enough to make a living and not pass anyone off. I much prefer my solitude and my attitude lol. But my career has suffered because of it. I think I have anhedonia. Pretty sure of it
I'm happy for you that you notice a difference in your life. But this doesn't prove that anti-depressants work. If you'd taken a placebo, it might have given the same effect. Even the fact that you allowed yourself to do something that you expected others to frown upon - that you followed your own path, so to speak, may have been very uplifting.
@@Scott-got-caught R u going around telling ppl with diabetes T1 to stop taking insulin because they will be dependent on it for life? No, u don't. So, stop telling ppl suffering from depression that they should stop taking medications that keep them alive.
@carmenl163 if anti-depressants works at the same rate as placebos, that means THEY WORK. Until doctors start giving placebos, what are people with severe depression supposed to take? This person tried for 10 years without medication. Do you know how many days and nights of agony that is?
Stop telling other people what to do. The meds work for SOME.
@@corb5654 Unlike you, I'm not telling someone what to do. I'm merely saying his story doesn't proof that antidepressants work, which is what the video is about.
Lexapro and Welbutrin have given me the best life ever. I am 67. My paternal grandmother committed suicide on the 5th try. I inherited her creattivity, curly hair and likely eye color. My father was bi-polar though never formally diagnosed. My mother had a personality disorder, formerly diagnosed in her 60's. Family life was horrible . Her biologocal father was an alcoholic. I was finally diagnosed with depression at 12. Have lived with it like a dull ache in your foot. Finally 5 years ago I got the RX mix I have now. Will never stop, and I thank God I have them.
I’m so happy they work for you. It gives me hope to know they work for so many people. With lifelong trauma such as yours, they do work.
For people like me, who are just dyslexic and struggle to fit in, they don’t work.
Once again. I’m so pleased they work for you. Seems as though all the cards were stacked against you from day one.
It’s not my place to tell you if your life is worth living or not, but I do hope you never give up ❤
I don't want to argue your own reality, but are you saying you started taking them at 12 years old? During puberty when we are all going through all kinds of emotional turmoil?
Going by the age that would mean you were diagnosed around 1970, before we knew anything about these drugs. I'm curious to know if you have always taken them or if you have ever stopped?
Lies again? You Make Me Happy Blue Medical
Start Meditation, it ll help you.
@@carpo719 she's 67 and she said that it wasn't until five years ago that she got on these particular antidepressants.
I'm a doctor and I've seen antidepressants work wonders for some patients, do absolutely nothing for some, and in a few cases make things worse. It's not a panacea. There are multitudes of factors that influence how they work, their effectiveness and the likelihood of unwanted side effects, their severity, duration, etc. It is a tool in the arsenal we have as clinicians to improve people's lives but I do agree it is overused.
What about solving the cause instead of treating the symptoms, what depression is, just a symptom. You have heard about Dr. Milton Ericson
@timoteo..You hit nail right in the coffin. Too many doctors prescribe anti-depressants without learning the cause. The root cause of depression is psychological. The logical progression of depression starts with fear, progress into anxiety and ultimately takes birth in the form of depression. All these forms are happening within the psyche. But tools like yoga, meditation ,exercise and nutrition are the tools to stabilize the psyche from the constant stressors in life.
@@nc01sadh And I am sure you have all the data and evidence to back this up, yes?
You are supposed to treat the symptoms with the help of a trained professional while taking the pills , they are not the solution just a way to not off yourself in the process.
The problem is that sessions are extremely expensive for most people and there are not nearly enough trained professionals to help people.
@@nc01sadhnice yoga and meditation the ultimate tools for everything. What a joke.
As a mental health professional and clinician, this is an excellent documentary. Not one-sided, purely professional work!! Thanks to the team at DW.
I worked as a Clinical Research Associate for over 15 years and have coordinated many antidepressant trials. In my experience, the clinically significant range is usually within 3-5% difference between antidepressants vs placebo.
In my first investigator meeting, I was shocked to hear that NO ONE knows HOW these antidepressants work. We would only know if we would measure the serotonin in the cerebrospinal fluid via spinal tap….and in all the different trials, that has never been a test (very invasive)
I have taken Cymbalta and it almost killed me trying to get off. Weirdly enough, I was put on it for pain (I was not depressed at all) but once I tried to stop taking this medication, I developed debilitating depression and inability to concentrate.
Antidepressant are toxic for me and I’m glad that I’m off after many years of trying.
I was put on an antidepressant for chronic daily migraine. It didn't do much of anything to stop them, though.
Tdrdt
@@rolandburks-hy5zt addDsadddsdsdtiuuuu
Dtrdt😊teadtstetetdtdtdddysi😅utyifeßddßdsr 28:38 r 28:39
@@rolandburks-hy5zt scammer
As someone who was diagnosed with clinical depression I made a continuous decision not to take antidepressants, as it made me feel drugged and lethargic. As with most drugs prescribed it tends to be more harmful than beneficial to most people.
As someone that managed to overcome depression after quitting antidepressants the things that helped me the most are:
1. going to bed and waking early, same time every day - in other words improving sleep quality
2. cold showers in the morning which make body release norepinephrine and epinephrine
3. going for a walk in the morning - exercise and getting sunlight on face soon after waking help immensely
4. socializing more
5. omega 3
6. improving diet
7. routine
8. reducing screen time before sleep (blue light)
9. meditation
10. microdosing psychedelics
11. inositol
Thanks for that I am 70 have been diagnosed with cancer have suffered with depression all my life and suicide is something I have thought about for years so it's probably too late for me. My pennies worth is that quality of un drugged sleep is the key to health
I took them in response to an “emergency mental situation” and always thought I would be on them forever. I did not feel any effect taking them. I was told it take 6 months to take effect, then 12, then 18 months. I decided to ween off them, and have been off them for 2 years.
Do they work? I don’t know. I felt the same on them, as off them, and I finally gave up, as my “depression” was situational, and NOT a true mental condition.
A doctor conveyed a story about a developing country who were confused about doctors treating depression with anti-depressants. They said, a farmer was “depressed” he didn’t have a cow. So they cured his depression by giving him a cow.
I found a cup of coffee more effective at addressing my depression, than Zoloft.
Thanks for sharing.
this work for anxiety disorder too , I am an anxiety disorder patient too and currently decreased my medication to 1/32 dosage
why you wanna quit depression?
@estebanvicencio893 use it for something good not evil
I took antidepressants for four years and now i can say i wouldnt take them again if i go back in time. Yes, i felt "better" the first month but later it was just feeling like a zombie, i dont know how to describe it, like you are dead from inside but your mind is in autopilot. Then i finally decided i had enough and i quit them and the discontinuation syndrome was horrible, the best way i can describe it is like your brain being disconected for 1 sec every 10 sec or somthing like that. That lasted for 6 months and i can say for sure was one of the best desition of my life to quit them, i feel way better. If you are going through the discontinuation syndrome you can do it, dont give up, it will dissappear over time.
Did you suddenly just stop taking them, though? You're supposed to slowly reduce your dose
Sounds like you had the brains zaps... . I know that feeling
@@CR-rm4iy MDMA is a completely different substance, with different duration and effects. It's a phenomenal drug-taken in the right dose, a lot of people take too much though.
But MDMA is intended to be taken only a couple times along with a good psychiatrist or someone to talk us through it, because the healing is done internally by the mind.
Antidepressants are the opposite, they completely obscure the things we need to talk about and deal with. One dose of MDMA is probably far superior than taking antidepressants for years for most people❤
I am 70, and have seen enough articles and documentaries over the last 20 years to be very skeptical about using depressants. I lost my wife to Cancer in '19, and my other 2 family members in February of '21 to Covid which almost took me too. I had lots of cause to be very depressed and meds were offered but I refused. I avoided seeking any sort of "Professional" help due to the above. Once I was able, I started going to the gym every day and I did an intense sweaty session on the treadmill. There is an immense amount of research in the area of Exercise Science showing a variety of physical AND mental benefits to this type of activity. I made it through the worst of all that in the 24 months since. I continue to do my Treadmill session each day. No Drugs, no Psychiatrists, no Group Therapies, just my daily workouts. So at 70, I still miss all of them every single day, but I am in very good shape physically and mentally. I feel that I made the right decision.
That's nice but your experience does not mean others are the same. If working out solved all mental illness then there would be no mental health facilities just gyms. Some feel temporarily depressed from incidents such as losing a loved one, others have Clinical Depression, a mental health illness. You obviously do not understand the difference.
@@fainag1617 Grief is not depression. And it's natural to loose people in your life. If one cannot accept that one might get depressed, but the fact that doctors offer pills because of grief is a big warning sign. Doctors know less about the pills than those with experience from taking it. I can say this: The pills helped me for a couple of years, but they made more damage to me on the long run. Probably because I was not depressed anymore, so why continue taking them when the depression is gone? And if you're still depressed, do they really work?
All the best to you.
@@fainag1617 Its easier to take a drug than to hit the gym so that why most people prefer to take a pill. A lot of research however shows, physical exercise to be as if not more effective that pills.
@@fainag1617 Dont forget the pharmacy med industry, a conflict of interest may be present in prescribing meds to So many
There's a very big difference between reactive depression die to a life event and full blown clinical depressive episodes.
I suffer from major depression since childhood. My divorce was devastating, and started an antidepressant. I am thankful for its help.
An ssri?
I have been in Sertraline for almost a year now. It has saved my life from extreme anxiety and depression. I understand that there are people who don't think it works. I personally feel like I wish I could've started earlier. I am really grateful for it.
Maria, have you tried stopping anxiety attack or high anxiety levels simply by letting it flush over you and do nothing to try to stop this sensations ??
@@maxaspirin1799 what do you mean by this?
@@tinakris7893 hi, you must be new to this. When you stop trying to get rid of anxiety by accepting all this sensations ( heart beat, breathing difficulties, etc), and not doing anything to make yourself feel better, it goes away if you do it repetitively.
Search this people on TH-cam to lead you down the right path: frompanictoparis, Dr Claire Weeks, Dr Harry Barry, wonder boy.
@@tinakris7893 It's called acceptance and it does work
Yes but now You’re stuck with addiction
I used to have bad panic attacks daily. Ever since starting on antidepressants, they've completely gone away. The torture i went through for years is gone. No side effects that i can notice, either.
I was the same I had them daily also
Placebo. Panic attacks are all in the head.
Good for you
Same here. I had problems for years that I didn't know was anxiety. It got bad enough that it caused some concerning bloodwork, and my liver levels looked like an alcoholic's. I've found a happy medium that numbs the anxiety enough for me to function, while not impacting daily life with side effects. The dose that completely took care of the anxiety made me numb. 2 years later on and I'm functioning much better, and blood tests come back perfectly normal. Ironically, I had minor depression previously, and I still do. I don't feel that the antidepressants helped with the depression at all.
the same here. Cymbalta saved me from debilitating side effects. I am not going to stop medication till the end of my life
I've been on depressions for 3 years. Yes, it did help for 3 years. Due to the side effects, I believe doctors should monitor the effects and progress of the medication on their patients. I went through a lot of things ie, lack of emotions, felt no love, hate, happiness etc. Due to these emotions I did not want to mingle with people. And that was very scary, since I'm a happy person enjoying people and life. Currently I'm slowly stopped the medication and all ready I feel like living again.
How are you now?
Oh man! You described how I feel about 1 year. After two years of feeling only pain, I suddenly felt nothing for a year - which means neither sadness, which was a positive, but now my constant pain feelings are back with new symptoms I didn't have 2 years ago, which lead me to go to see a therapist, who made me go to see a psychiatrist and hopefully, I'll get some antidepressants that help me. Seriously, I don't want to live my life from a minute to a minute. My life feels empty and when it's not this, it's just sadness. I felt happy only once in this year, and that was when I made someone else happy. To feel happiness, it was such a strong feeling I felt a swelling under my skin. I hope I can get trough my state. I should have gone see a doctor long time ago, but I was stupid. Now, when it all has affected everything in my head after 2 years of constant depression, my thinking, self low esteem, feeling weird among people, not comfortable around people, feeling that everyone is watching me, feeling that I'm just another guy not worthy to be loved and not able to love, I wish I could travel in time and seek for help, when it wasn't too late. 2 suicide attempts 3 and 2 years back, I don't understand, how I am still alive. I haven't smiled not faking it for a long long time. I hope, there is a way I will feel different someday compared to how I have felt for 3 or four years. I want to feel alive again. I want to feel love, be loved and be happy and not alone. To everyone reading this - DON'T BE ASHAMED TO SEEK FOR HELP UNTIL IT WON'T BE LATE. Wish you all the best - mainly feeling happy/fulfilled and good health. Stay strong and fight 🖤
Edit: These are my feelings without antidepressants. I have never used them. I am just about to get some prescribed probably.
@@Gandzi are you taking antidepressants.
@@hemantchaudhary7605 No. I'm just about to see a psychiatrist and I hope he will prescribe me some.
@@Gandzi are you still feel depressed?
Just a side note...research how to take care of your gut microbiome. There is lots of research in this area about the gut-brain connection.
They work amazing for me, they quiet the noise in my head just enough to be able to use the coping mechanism that my therapist taught me. With out them I feel like I'm drowning in the ocean unable to tread water. With them I'm able to get my head above water and work on fixing my issues.
Same here, I love them , I will stay on them forever.
don't you think you have become addicted? I have thought about getting these but there is so many side effects and the high chance of becoming addicted
There is no such thing like „addiction” in case of antidepressants, they don’t have any addictive substance. Sure, you will be used to the state of feeling „normal” and happy so you would like to stay like that. But is it addiction? I would not
say so. It helps you to function, socialise and cope with everyday life. If it's necessary- start taking them. Just remember that they don’ solve the problem, they make you able and calm enough to face the problem.
So lead a quite healthy lifestyle, do sports and if you can additionally think about psychotherapy,
@@basiaskibniewska6166the only sport that would aid in my depression recovery would be us wrestling under the covers in our birthday suits. 🤷
Loneliness #1 reason for depression
yes. cannot be stated enough.
also poisons in our diet like processed sugar, seed oils, pesticides.
poisons in our tap water altering our hormones.
antibiotics destroying our gut microbiome.
lack of sunlight.
I could go on.
and people wonder why they are depressed...
I agree with this
yes.
You hit the nail on the head
PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT LONELY CAN SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION 😮
I took ADHD medicine as a child, and for a short period in college. I quit treatment because ADHD stimulants increased my anxiety, and without any medication, I experience moderate to high baseline anxiety levels throughout the day, even when exercising good self care.
When I finally tried ADHD treatment while also taking an anti-depressant/SSRI, it was transformative. Finally all the pieces fit together, and they still fit well. I can work hard all day and not feel more than normal/reasonable flashes of anxiety. Life isn't perfect, but the medicine works.
We shouldn't push people into thinking anti-depressants are for rare and temporary treatment, or that they are risk-free. Instead, it really depends on you.
As human beings we evolved to have imperfect brains and bodies. Maybe for some of us it does make sense to take certain medications for life. In my experience, behavioral/environmental factors are not the primary roadblock in feeling good and engaged with your life. I could eat well, go to group exercise activities 4 days a week, get sleep, make enough money to pay my bills, have loving friends and family, but I can still physically feel crappy and mentally unfocused.
Sure, I could stop taking my ADHD medicine any day. I also wear eye glasses. I could theoretically go about my day without my glasses, but why would I? The medicine makes that much of a positive impact, almost doesn't make sense to go without it now, unless and until there are better solutions, whether those solutions are in the form of a pharmaceutical compound or not.
There is risk in everything. Knowing how I lived my life for my 20's, if you told me the medicine I take would shorten my life expectancy by 3 years, I would still take it. It's good to connect with the debate about this, and this debate is about anti-depressants and not ADD/ADHD medicine, but in my experience it's important for people to have the opportunity to try treatments that could significantly improve their productivity and quality of life.
I had the exact same experience. Thank you for sharing. Made me feel better because sometimes the stigma made me second guess myself.❤
Good luck if those stimulants are ever out of reach. I watched my neighbor go through that. He was a prison guard and needed to be hyper alert but when he retired he wanted off the speed, it was a total disaster.
The Band-Aid cocktail of amphetamines and other drugs is not going to help in the long term, because the ability to self adapt is removed and you are stuck on a daily dose of drugs.
@@petersuvara would you say the same to someone needing insulin?
Thank you for sharing.
I spent 10+ years trying to ‘cure’ myself of depression which also brought along anxiety among other mental issues. My initial treatments of therapy and medication got rid of depression. But I had to live with paralyzing anxiety for years after that, one where therapy didn’t help. I decided to try medication again and my quality of life improved significantly to what I’d call a normal life.
The documentary is generalizing that antidepressants don’t work period which discounts the countless experiences of people who benefit from the medication. There were times in my life where therapy had no effect on me but medication did, and other times vice versa. We could also make a broad statement on how therapy is ripping off people with mental illnesses, but that would also be wrong.
Each individual is so unique, hence would need tailored treatments specific to their condition. Some need a combination of therapy, medication, and changes in their lifestyle, some others need only therapy or only medication.
I've tried to stop taking antidepressants on two occasions, and I end up feeling worse off them. They even me out. They don't cure you, but they can help you become more responsive to therapy.
This is my experience, I understand that others may have a different experience
It's withdrawal. Relapse doesn't happen overnight like that. If you were taking meth and stopping made you worse, you wouldn't assume it's helping you. If a very slow taper over many months or years doesn't cause the same symptoms, it's definitely withdrawal
@mcb00 It wasn't withdrawal. I tapered down very slowly over a series of months to avoid a nasty withdrawal.
My anxiety and intrusive thoughts rebounded to an uncomfortable level following the withdrawal period.
I remember quitting and going through serotonin syndrome. I told my psychiatrist that I was experiencing this and he said he had never heard of it. He was one of the lead physicians of the clinic...
I told my GP that I couldn't take an SSRI because I'm currently taking 5-HTP. She just looked at me confused before asking me what 5-HTP was. I then mentioned Serotonin Syndrome and she looked every bit as clueless yet again.
What do you mean? You had serotonin syndrome so you quit or stopping meds sent you into serotonin syndrome. Because the latter doesn't really make sense; it'd more likely you were experiencing withdrawals.
Good vid showing both sides of the argument. I’m cylclothymic … 59… suffered from chronic depression since I was a child with occasional manias and highs. I was first diagnosed in the army age 22 after a reactiive-psychotic episode. Been on meds for years (SSRIs and SNRIs) but came off 6 months ago as the depression was “leaking through”. Coming off was hellish: night terrors and nightmares, paranoia, sweating, crying… but I got through it … because I didn’t know who I was, felt dull, compliant, bland, zero libido. Like in the vid I thought the withdrawal symptoms were a return of the depression but now I seem to be through this transition I feel I kinda am “me” again… intense and extreme thoughts and feelings … but “me”. I also gave up all alcohol. This helps enormously. But this off-meds place feels potentially dangerous, with occasional suicidal ideation. Reluctant to be back on meds and aware I need to build in safety measures - art, music, walking, friendship etc. Therapy helpful but not a panacea: I realise this is what’s happening for me, it is my life, my burden, who I am… but the darkness can be terrible… and sudden and unexpected… and Im not good company much of the time.
I wanted to ask if you have bipolar disorder?
it's the age old decision. Off meds and be yourself, but quite dangerous too. Or be on meds and feel like a grey version of yourself, but relatively safe. It can feel like life has really has ripped you off. Ots like, here is a poop sandwich. One side has pepper on it, the other has salt. You must choose a side even though you don't want to. Once chosen, we will force you to eat it. Maybe a bad example, but I hope you get the idea. The most important thing, is to never punish yourself for the emotions you're having. Take notice of what you know is you, and what is the illness. Most of all, be good to yourself :D
Yep a lot of people experienced these hellish withdrawals and they still try to hide them and not talk about it so that they can sell more and more of this poison.
I'm having a hellish time getting off an ssri. Cptsd since childhood. Life is hard. May you, I and so many others heal our wounds and find peace. Some kind of joy would be a real blessing too. Take good care. ❤
@@dot347 Definition of EVIL?
I am in the same predicament. I stopped zolaft. Now, I am convinced to get back on it again. I am going through tough times at the age of 65. I survived a heart attack in 2016, and my wife from breast cancer in 218. She is 4 years older than me and a recovered alcoholic. AA helped her life. Her addiction is carried on with smoking. I am anxious and worried most of the time. I am overwhelmed with so much home project that I don't think I will be able to finish them by myself. All my ambitions of DIY are stunted by my depression. I am doing all I can to attending Al anon. This documentary was an I opening. I hope I can get back to being happy and inspired. Love all.
I think, they don't help if the depression is caused by circumstances such as poverty or other traumatic experiences (like in many cases).
exactly..reactive vs clinical
I totally agree, i think it depends on if the depressions cause is internal or external
most things are situational.
Hi, I had a traumatic experience, that was my fault. I stressed b4, and after,.. now have depression... im afraid of mental doctors [ psychiatrist ].. being labeled correctly or maybe not.. and medications. I'm so afraid.
Q- to go get help... or ruff it out with vitamins, excersize and time.. trying to let go, My life has been altered because of event. No Job, etc.. all no's..
Wondering if I don't need meds...
@@klanderkal I’m an American; but, (because I lived in Germany) our societies are very similar and the issues we face in late life are essentially the same. Loneliness is, in my opinion, the biggest problem we face. And I think our families and doctors often mistake what are signs of loneliness for depression. My primary doctor started giving me anti-depressants about 6 months ago. And all they did was make me sleep too much and we never addressed the root causes of my problems. I was feeling alone and what I needed most was a friend who was my age and facing the same things I was feeling. I stopped taking the antidepressants and I started thinking for myself and now I’m looking for a friend who is suffering alone from nothing more complicated than needing someone to talk to who understands my problems and I can I can understand their problems. There’s a significant difference between being a Senior Citizen and being an elderly citizen.
I will never stop taking my meds. I have never felt normal until I started taking them. Some of us has to accept the fact that some of us needs the meds to be stable.
But I believe that only doctors who had the proper training should prescribe these meds
I genuinly dont believe that, unless You’re schizofrenic
@@eijeurwass2076with respect, no one really cares what you believe
They helped me a lot when I was seriously depressed but I stopped taking them slowly after 6 months because I did not like the idea of dependig on the pills and the money I was using to buy them.
If I'll ever get severely depressed again I'll ask a psychiatrist again to prescribe me meds but for now I can survive without them
@eijeurwass2076 if you're going to be vicious, you might care to pay more attention to your spelling and grammar
I can say that for me they have been a life changer. There are side effects. Yes. But, the side effects of depression is way way more disruptive and painful.
same
Try akathisia
If they're helping you keep, taking them. If you can ween off them, do it. If you're not on them, don't start. In every situation, go to the gym regularly, eat as healthy as you can and go to therapy at least once a week with a therapist you like. Depression never ends even with magic pills. You have to work at it and there's no exact routine that works for everyone.
Gym: some like yoga, some cardio and swimming, some weights.
Food: just as diverse and ever changing.
Therapy: you'll almost always go through a few therapists before you find one good for you.
Very good documentary. I wish this was more common knowledge.
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.
I’ve been on multiple meds since 15 and I can only speak for myself but, I know what happens when I stop taking them. I will never stop taking them,even though I hate them. Too much to lose❤
💯‼️
It’s not the over prescribing AD meds that concerns me. As a recently retired US pharmacist, worked several geographical areas, a typical scenario, a mom with a career goes to her gp and TELLS the dr she needs prozac or XYZ for her self diagnosed depression, as she heard from work colleagues is an instant “happy pill” !
Next one, takes Johnny to his pediatrician, mom gee wiz doc my Johnny could be doing better in school and he’s driving me nuts so will you kindly call in a rx for the chemical “babysitter” aka Ritalin, Adderal, Concerta or others.
Johnny is voila (though zombies out) an A student and we did practically nothing, it was the pill darn it.. neither me nor dad have time to do any PARENTING. I ask now then “big Johnny” is 18 and ready for college, the old pills don’t anymore, what then ? ?
Brave and realistic. Good luck.
Hi
How are you now?
Can you share contact please
More paid promotion...
Depression is an effect of some situation in life, some can let go of events faster than others, those who can can move on with new things in life, some just cant let go of cause of depression , best remedy for depression is knowing what causing the depression, then accepting and being content can resolve many depression problems.
Antidepressants saved my life, without it I could never have finished college or held a job, however it can't cure you 100%, you need social support and frankly you need also lots of luck...
To add to your list - good psychologist as well 🙌🤍
Same for me.
Also I just had to adjust expectations and life style.
Antidepressants helped me with some symptoms and I survived. Now I am officially not depressed but depression changed my personality, energy levels and motivation forever.
@@ugnepadeginskaite6534 Absolutely
@@ugnepadeginskaite6534 very true, it is easier to find a good psychiatrist, but good psychologists are difficult to come by
@@agnediciuniene9861 you said the best word, "survived", depression is really pervasive, it affects all aspects of life and personality, the essential step is to survive, pills help with that but can't balance the entire long list of lufe changes
For me, this documentary, which is excellent, hits home as I have been on antidepressants for almost 13 years now. With three psychiatrists and one neurologist, I have been prescribed different meds to treat OCD and depression like Zoloft, Prozac, Anafranil, and some of which I can't even remember their names lol. I have tried to taper off several times, and the last try was the one that made me realize how really hard it is to basically function without antidepressants. Antidepressants may help one build a bunker to protect themselves from some of the strikes of the different mental illnesses and even push them back to a certain degree and for a certain time, but they never give sufferers a decisive victory against their suffering. In fact, you are always constantly living with a fear for your sanity should antidepressants not be around. If I could go back in time, I would probably take a different route. I know that experiences vary from one person to another, but I think relying on antidepressants for too long is just life-screwing.
Yes my friend I am screwed on serequil tapering off now …wish me well
@@cristinaevans139 I wish you well, friend! May your withdrawal be smooth and successful. Keep up the good fight!
And now we know that these drugs don't work
@@1unsung971 I wouldn't say antidepressants don't work at all for all people as I'm neither an expert nor all folks view antidepressants unfavorably, but, from my perspective as a sufferer, I believe they are truly overrated in terms of effectiveness, and their long-term safety is highly questionable.
@@youl1687 latest science findings point to SSRI antidepressants as being ineffective, ie Serotonin reuptake is not inhibited.
This documentary is great for the people who have some *blue* days but are functional. But incorporate trauma, dysfunctional family, health problems you end up favoring your bed every day, rejecting invitations, even miminmizing showering. I resisted taking one for a long long time. When I finally asked I was grateful. A shower a day, a recent dinner party, shopping for groceries are things I'd never imagine in the past. The nay sayers can blab away.
For my experience, anti-depressants were just a placebo, a placeholder and yet another treatment of the symptoms... that did nothing to address the problems themselves.
My depression is not chemical.... it is social, financial, physical... it is that life is an ongoing struggle where the only true escape is death.... that said, I will see it through as best I can, hoping that one day... we treat the causes and not just the symptoms. That one day, pleasure in life; the means to enjoy the time without sacrificing ALL the time for the means is not solely the domain of the privleged. I work, I sleep, I work, I sleep... and that is all.
The problem is with how society is structured. Our brains have not evolved to keep pace with such a fast paced life.
@@snowflakemelter7171 It's not only that it's fast paced. It's an extremely inhumane, unloving society in general. We need to build a new world. And we're gonna.
Facts
Right... It's completely natural to feel angry or sad about being enslaved and deprived of the things that make life worth living. Life needs to be more than toil and loneliness.
@@_Painted I feel the same way, thats why i refuse to take an anti depressant. I want a different life, not a fake feeling.
thank you for such an eye-opener documentary. I witness how easily anti-depressant medication has been prescribed with little emphasis on side effects or alternative means to help the patients, such as meditation, praying, therapies, etc. I sincerely hope your documentary shifts the approach to helping those who suffered from depression in the right way. Thank you.
Off and on anti depressants all throughout my teens and early adulthood into my late 30's. I developed some bizarre side affects similar to tardive dyskinesia and ultimately decided I had enough with doctors experimenting with different medications on me. I had also gained 80 pounds! That's 8-0. Ultimately it has been me diving as deeply into my therapy more than ever before, attempting to implement the wisdom I gain from experience over time and a reasonable diet and exercise. Practice reasonable mindfulness. There just is no magic pill. And until I did more research for myself on the efficacy of ssri's I too was lock step with my doctor's suggestions, not no more.
You done well to get off them some people are left with permanent damage after longterm use or can't stop them at all
What meds were you on ?
Exactly. Therapy, mindfulness, exercise.... 👍👍🙏🙏🙏🙏❤️
you werent on ssris, sounds like you were on anti psychotics or mois
I've already survived 3 depressive phases - coming out of the 3rd now - and none of the antidepressants had an effect on me in the first phase, so I stopped using them both in the second and third. And I ended up understanding that depression has its own process and transition time. That's my experience, I'm not generalizing.
I have had several depressive episodes. Always used medications to help me. Never thought about letting depression run it’s course without medications. Of course we all have different genetic make up and different levels of resiliency and life skills.
@@shidehhafezi6826 Robert Whitaker's excellent "Anatomy of an Epidemic" says that - before the psych drugs, the normal course of a depression would average around 3 months (longer for some of us, shorter for others). But now, the psych drugs are making the depressions chronic, repetitive, and digging channels in our brains that we fall into under stress.
For all American youth you are not depressed alone there are millions of people depressed on the earth . Future is front of you. Meanwhile i can remove your depression within a month you are requested to do these 2 things early morning 1 hour before sun rise chant OOMM slowly start and go high pitch came down gradually MMM drag as much as you can . MMM as much as can say this creates vibrations in your mind . Recite 40-50 times.Once you are done do breathing exercise inhale 4 seconds exhale 8 seconds do 20 to 25 times and go for meditation just concentrate on your breath. Do it in the evening also 1 hour before sunset. Trust me there is no need of any medications nor need any doctor within a month all your depression you will have a new life. This is being done way centuries back this is not new technique.. For time being please put religion in the shelf . What you need is your health first .when anyone die religion you Cannot take with you.God bless you kids.
Such a timely, insightful and thought provoking Documentary. Thank you DW for your ongoing brilliant work…in this case, potentially life changing!
Great content from DW. I'm seeing more and more. Please keep it up.
The final few seconds were fantastic. It showed a family working together to help the hurting person (with a supportive kiss). The scene emphasised a central idea in the documentary - that one major & still-unexplored cause of depression is our social environment.
Thanks a lot for watching and for your positive feedback. We appreciate you taking the time to comment and are glad you like our content!
I could not agree more!
No lows but no highs either, a sense of being "broken" in some way and unresponsive emotionally to everyday situations and social interactions eventually leading to a withdrawal into the self not wanting to intrude on others with my condition and a fear of being judged. I was less "normal" on medication than I was off it. A brief recounting of my five-year experience with antidepressants. I no longer do them, and I appreciate and accept that life has to have lows as well as highs if there is to be any colour in it, otherwise it's only shades of grey.
So true 100% with you on that
I tried multiple medications before I found one that worked for me. I don't like to feel no emotion but I had that problem on a couple of different ones. The one that I take now I can feel happy or sad but it helps me cope.
which one did you take?
Everything this!!!
Numb is good
This video is depressing. I'll keep taking my medication thank you.
They are talking about antidepressants as if they were made to hurt people. :D It is all so irrational. I have been on Cymbalta for years and I think it saved my life. I will never stop
Same here: the first choice didn't work for me, I would function like a zombie but then my doctor prescribed me something else and thanks to that I can function normally with no significant side effects. I felt numb WHEN depressed, with antidepressants my emotions came back. I've tried psychotherapy when clinically depressed and I couldn't handle it (because I wasn't in touch with my emotional side, everything seemed pointless). They also help with OCD.
I see people with mild to moderate depression take pills and still not feel entirely ok but they are often reluctant to make any changes in their lives. So they keep doing things that would make a healthy person feel poorly and the antidepressants can't cure that.
But if it's a serious case you might not be able to participate in any activity aimed at making you live a better life (cause you have no energy, attention span of a snail , severe anxiety etc.) without medication that works for you (!) and stabilizes the situation at least a bit.
Still, the antidepressants might be prescribed too easily: I know people who took them for some time and then stopped and nothing happened - or maybe something happened - they stopped having side effects so in their case it was better not taking pills since they experienced some drawbacks and not the positive effects of the medication they didn't need:)
@@adriannagorowska Totally agree! Antidepressants do work ONLY if prescribed in justified case - i.e. in case of severe depression, debilitating panic attacks, OCD or if psychoteraphy does not help. If given as a panaceum to any emotioanal problem - they will not work. Sorry to hear about your illness :(
@@adriannagorowska There is also one more thing - withdrawal syndroms are overestimated. I admit, they happen to some people, but still there are people who do not experience them or who suffer only from very mild and temporary withdrawals that can be easily handled with tapering. I personally never had any serious problem with it. I also experience no withdrawals if I skip a few doses of cymbalta - the drug considered notorious for withdrawals.
Lol
I'm off this medication after almost 30 years of use. I can't tell in words the hell I suffered to stop. It's not only medical withdrawal, it's far more than that, terrible thoughts and dreams. I had to stop because my kidneys and bladder have suffered serious damage. This is something Dr's don't tell patients. I had to research this myself.
Congrats. My sister actually went to detox because of antidepressants. A private one.
Hello, can i ask you which synthoms did you have and how long did they stay?
I have been on anti-depressants for 7 years now. Some terrible side effects were insomnia, feeling more depressed, having blood-bath unexplainable nightmares, vivid weird dreams, vomiting and recurring depressive episodes. Dosages were increased, changed types and increased. Anti-depressants do help me from jumping off cliffs but they don't really help in making myself better. I'm now finding ways to add supplements such as Vit D3 and just get my body moves even when I don't feel like it. I'm tapering the dosage because I'm so tired of being in this mode. Numb. Not knowing what's normal and what's not.
Truly sorry for your condition. I would strongly recommend you checkout Dr Berg's TH-cam health channel & maybe reach out to him privately. He has helped many people to improve their health, well being & quality of life
I also would recommend some holistic approach, meditation, breathing techniques, natural stones & crystal application plus super food (eg probiotic for healthy gut system as it has relation to mental state too) Of course exercise or sports activities are highly recommended..All the best 🙏❤️
Medication itself solely isn’t the solution. It has to go hand in hand with talk therapy.
Hi. Along with breath work, nature walks, plants în the apartment, healthy food, nice old comedies and other things.. you need a relationship with God. I know how it sounds, but understanding why we are here and why things are the way they are will help you în ways you dont expect. Just know the things written în the Bible are true and He is like that. He loves us and wants us to know Him and love Him. And we should behave as He wants us to, because thats the only way we can have peace and we wouldve had that if we all behaved the same way. But we are individual and we have free choice. He îs always with us and He does loves us. Call Him now if you havent and believe in every word you have from Him. He îs as He says He is and you can count on that. No matter what happens, know Lord Jesus is the way and even în the most terrifying moments you wont be alone. I wasted time on different stuff and I want to help others not waste their time for we really dont have much more time. Really. Its getting really bumpy and we all need to act now if we havent yet. I hope this helps.
I ve had panic attacks for years and i left the medication gradually and slowly as it must be. 3 years later the panic attacks came back. Now on menopause i m happy to take them as the med has helped me with the symptoms. Its so personal.
Without my meds I would not be married for 25 years, hold down a job I enjoy, be around for my grandsons. I use both talk therapy and meds. It works for me.
Did you take them through pregnancy? Was it okay?
@@sky0799 I did take them through my pregnancy and it was okay. Our son is an adult now and is doing great.
Its helpful in the very short term for bad cases of depression just to take the pressure off, but after that they are worse than useless.
I've had clinical depressions for half of my life. That's over 30 years by now. without them life would not be possible. Of course there are very serious side effects. But believe me- severe depression for over a year is way worse.
Nothing emotional is treated by something in exterior, even medicines. You just give a pause in your suferring, adding more troubles for tomorrow. Treat inside!
@@metat155 very dangerous
nonsense. This is like telling a diabetic not to take insuline.
@@metat155 Your assumptions are deeply flawed as emotions are a result of biochemical processes.
what are the side effects
@@Riyuzako7 palpitations, dizziness, fatigue, can't concentrate, numb.
This video is so right on . I was on them for 14 years . These interviews are fantastic 😵💫
I see them as akin to pain medication - they help to treat the symptoms but not the underlying issue. Of course, someone with a broken leg will not live their whole life on pain meds without treating the injury, but their usage is often necessary to make the healing process bearable. Similarly, therapy can be used to treat the underlying causes of one's depression, but the increase in serotonin provided by antidepressants can facilitate this process by allowing the patient to better engage in treatment. It could also allow them to better function in their day-to-day life, also possibly reducing depressive symptoms.
and what if there is no underlying issue, but a medical one that is due to low levels of body chemistry? In clinical depression there often isn't "an issue". Depression due to issues are found in reactive depression which is a very different form of depression to clinical depression.
I have been on SSRIs since I was 13, going on 23 years. I just tapered down to zero mg a week ago, and wow the irritability, dizziness, nausea, brain zaps, anxiety and flu like symptoms have been almost unbearable at times. But I’m not going back to taking those pills.
i understand that some people feel theyve been harmed by antidepressants. but for me they turned me from a quaking mass of suicidal dysfunction into a fully functioning, stable human again.
Exactly
On continued anti-depressants I was having dangerous side effects including incidents of rage that came out of nowhere, I was also unable to be happy or have any strong positive emotions, couldn't sleep properly, and it was interacting with other medications I had to take resulting in horrible twitching at night in my legs and face. This didn't seem to bother my psychiatrist at all, she seemed to think I was just another troublemaker who didn't want to take their medicine. When I quit taking them I felt instantly better as soon as they wore off, mentally and physically. My life wasn't fixed, but it was mine again. People wouldn't force dogs to live the lives we lead ourselves. I don't know what makes people believe these drugs are the answer other than profit making companies telling them so.
I had similar reactions to them as you did. I felt absolutely no joy. Everything felt so pointless because they elicited no emotions from me. I would go through a random range of intense anger, uncontrollable crying, nothingness and severe thoughts of ending it. I only took it for two days and it was a roller coaster ride of intense emotions. I also ended up emailing my doctor a very rude letter because I felt so angry. Then after I stopped taking the medication and I had my mind back I told my doctor what happened and he just nonchalantly said it takes 3 months for it to work. And that we can try other pills. I felt like I would never make it to the 3 months. And the lack of concern they have over something that can mess you up so much is really shocking. I am also never taking any of those kinds of medications again
I'm glad you were able to think for yourself and stand up for what you know as normalcy
You are totaly right man
I, too, am shocked by psychiatrists' seeming apathy toward patients-- compassion fatigue, perhaps? 🤔 It's horrifying, though, & makes it harder to trust any of them.
Please stop believing the anti depression drugs when there is natural way to control depression . As an ex psychiatric patient i got rid of it by chanting OMMMM 1 hour before sunrise .Start chanting slowly and go on high pitch and slowly come back but at the end MMM drag as much as you can . When you drag MMM at the end MMM vibrations starts in your mind this where you get back vibrations in your mind. Chant as many times as you can and after couple of chants you hear OMMM surrounding you. Followed by meditation concentrate on your breathe. Repeat the same in the evening 1 hour before sunset . Within couple weeks you will start new life. All depression gone.this is not new thing way centuries back saints have been enlightened by doing this. Trust me i got rid of depression by doing this cost less technique
Ssri helped me, bigtime. Got rid of my social anxiety so i can actually have a conversation without my face turning bright red. Im happier just with that but also helped me quit drinking due to being depressed. So many positives, little negatives
As always an excellent thought - provoking documentary. I imagine the team at DW full of creatifs because you always come up with cutting edge themes. Wonderful. Thank you.
Buproprion helped me quit smoking. After being on it for a few days, just the idea of smoking a cigarette increasingly made me feel nauseous, and that definitely wasn't a placebo effect. I can't personally speak to how effective it is in treating depression, which wasn't what I was taking it for, but it definitely does something.
Buproprion is great. SSRIs didn't help me.
That they help to give up smoking is great as well.
Buproprion is even used for obese patients.
I took that for a few months. Welbutrin, I think. I'd never actually felt something from an SS/SN or any other drug but did with that. Very strange one
@@T.vango1, Buproprion is available in 75 or 150 mg tablets taken twice or three times per day or 75 or 150 mg extended-release tablets taken twice a day or 150 or 300 mg all day tablets taken once a day.
@@T.vango1, what are you talking about?
@@Taric25 anyways greetings to you from Oslo 20.53 lokal time. 8.53pm
Sertraline stopped me ending myself after my daughter was born and I lost my marbles.I'd been surviving 1-2 hours of broken sleep,little food,and brief sink washes for the best part of a year. No one around me supported me, and said I was weak and didn't know I was born for wanting any help,apparently women used to "not moan and just get on with it".It was a major pain having to book in the doctors for every new pack of tablets though and I stopped purely because it felt like another chore on the long to-do list.
I watched the whole DW Documentary and it was really eye-opening. Depression is an illness that severely disables the person who suffers it from integrating into social and productive life and also brings along deep inner pain to the person. Isolation and anguish are words that come to mind. It is an illness that is highly uncomprehended by many people, also including the sufferer’s closest ones; and it is even stigmatized and demonized by the uninformed or by the ignorant. But the reality is that it is likely a very common illness, despite what people might think. According to current research studies, it is estimated that one in three women and one in five men in the United States have an episode of major depression by the time they are 65. Furthermore, research sources claim that worldwide people suffering depression are around the 251-310 million mark and counting. Why do I mention it? To make you aware that someone close to your heart might be suffering silently in this very moment from depression and your insight about him/her might be just wrong. To let you know that you are not alone in your suffering if you are suffering from it-that there are millions of people going through the same feelings and thoughts that are currently disrupting your life. It is time to be there for each other, rather than setting a rigid judgmental attitude toward others.
*My thoughts on the documentary: Personally, I totally agree with the fact -as the documentary brings up- that other alternatives that are side-effects free must be primarily contemplated and recommended by the psychological professionals before advocating or jumping into the antidepressant pill wagon. The same problem as in other health cases and crisis (e.g. food industry crisis and the last worldwide health crisis) can be seen here: the same people that are presenting a commercial product, can’t be the ones funding those same studies to prove the efficacy and safety of such product: there is clearly a conflict of interest. And it is highly probable that the results of such study would be biased or flawed. My experience is that antidepressants might help for a while, but not in the long-term. And what are the consequences of using antidepressants in the long-term? Go and ask the pharmaceutical company that heavily endorsed and promoted such antidepressant or to your psychological healthcare provider. I assure you won’t have a proven factual answer. Thanks again DW for doing critical and unbiased journalism. We are truly needing it nowadays!
It's our Western, unnatural, easy to live modern technological society. Things were more hard back then but it made life more meaningful and purposeful.
No form of treatment is risk-free or side-effect-free. Whether talking therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, medication or other forms of treatment are mandated or advisable depends on every case and the circumstances. It is a weighing of pros and cons. But please do not make the assumption that other forms of treatment other than medication are risk-free or have no side effects. That would be plainly wrong and in some cases, quite dangerous.
Melancholia is always a popular state of being, if you read literature. I don't think we get more depressed as humans, we are just more obsessed in becoming 'happy'.
You're wrong. Long term meds have been what have kept me functioning. Without them I don't function. I'd rather function with side effects than not function at all. That's not to say they cure it completely, but they do reduce it to the point where you can function, hold down a job and have some semblance of a normal life. Without them, none of that is possible.
🥹
Just my experience antidepressants don't work or nearly don't. I had depression and severe anxiety. What they do is they make you zombie like,you want sleep,loose cognitive strenght etc. I changed at least 6 different meds, eventually I decided its not worth it. I changed my life,my enviroment,started exercise big that's what changed my life to good.
I have been on anti-deppression ( ssri) meds for almost a year now. I am not literally depressed nor do I have anxiety features except that when I am too tired physically, I start having manifestations of anxiety attack, and I have every reason to believe that I inherited it from my mother's side. My mother, and brother also struggle with anxiety attack and so do 2 of my cousins and a niece. I am so thankful that my anxiety attacks have lessened and I have incorporated breathing techniques, exercises and every cognitive behavioral therapy to keep me cool, calm, collected and not exhausted.
CBT has helped me immensely.. SSRIs and MOAIs just wrecked me. I agree with your self analysis of it coming back when exhausted. It's almost I have a circuit within me, when it's operating at below 90% capacity I'm fine, over that and the cracks start appearing.
Great documentary! Thanks for educating people on this topic.
Thanks for watching :)
Conflict of interest ..... and handing out prescriptions. Severe withdrawal is what I experienced for long periods. Refuse to be on them ever again.
From personal experience. I took them way too long. Talking about years. It was really helping in the beginning together with therapy but after a while you feel numb. But after a lifetime of numbing yourself out with other things I guess this is harder too understand and realize about yourself. Yes, I came in with depression as it is the reason why most people come into contact with mental healthcare for the first time and I was treated just for that. Too make my point is that they do not address the underlying problems that cause the depression. If you developed a personality disorder then those drugs do not work. if you are already emotionally detached then taking drugs that wil not let you experience highs and lows are not helping.
In the end it is very individual, but I do think those anti-depressants are prescribed way too easy for too long without digging deeper into root causes. It certainly is cheaper to prescribe pills. The serotonin explanation is never proven. They do not know how the brain works.
Antidepressants ruined my life. I was prescribed an SSRI because I was withdrawn for a summer as a teenager. The SSRI made me irritable, which then led to a false diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder Type 2. I was then prescribed more drugs which kept me in a drug-induced haze which ruined my life. Eventually, I discovered the book Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker and other critical psychiatry books and realized what was happening to me, so I slowly tapered off the psych drugs. I lost years of wages and a social life to these drugs. There has been no justice for what was done to me. Psychiatry and pharma are overdue for a reckoning.
Also, regarding the comments of people saying how much antidepressants helped them: I'm glad you feel that way, but I thought I was being helped too while I was taking psych meds (as prescribed). But after I tapered off of them I can now see that my life was worse on them and I couldn't recognize their impact on me. People should be aware of "medication spellbinding" and Dr. Peter Breggin's work.
@@americanhealthcaresurvivorI’m sorry to read this, are you doing better now off them?
It saved my life. Really did. Slowed me down so i can live normal. They’re not magic, u still need to workout, sun exposure & eat clean. Once u found the right med and been on it for years, even ppl around u can see you’re some what alive. Unlike the person u were. I have clinical severe depression. Runs in the family heavily. It was either i give meds a last chance, or i was on my way out. I fought for years to not take them, until i lost everything including myself.
When you look forward toward a documentary, with as much eagerness toward a video game or an entertaining media, you know the documentary must be good. As always, I don't think this will disappoint as DW is high quality content! Thank you for talking about this DW, as a person who was diagnosed with clinical depression and took treatment for 6 months, looking forward to see what is in this doc! Keep up the good work!
Thank you for watching and sharing your positive feedback and your experiences :)
every time i stopped SSRI, few weeks later my anxiety always went back, i was so nervous with everything, in my case therapy with few therapists did not help, i also workout few times a week, but i can not give up my med, it just increases quality of my life i am calm and not nervous, and i never had depression, i take them for anxiety, GAD and panic attacks.
This is some great journalistic work. Showing how it is. No obfuscating, show both sides. Really good. I'm a year now on antidepressants and pain killers trying to ween off them after being on them for more than a year. Since my surgery I now feel better and want to come off it but its very difficult physically and emotionally from both type of meds. But I gotta do it. Its just not natural
Did you manage to come off ??
@@kisa5221 yes I was fortunately! Not without difficulty and something I wasn't even versed with, psychedelics. I'm off everything now and feeling good
31:04 YESSS! I feel this. With severe, severe clinical depression... between the meds I've been on vs changing my social/geosocial/economic situation w/o meds, the latter was the most effective and best thing I ever did. But its damn near impossible for most people to change their social/geosocial/economic situation because that requires resources... resources that many -like me- dont/didnt have. If they did they prob wouldn't be in that situation in the first place because the resources would be on hand.
I stopped taking those cuz they made me slow or unable to defend myself in case someone attacked me. Which has happened quite a few times. It’s true that Ad’s only numb the pain, not act as a remedy. I found focusing on a goal and giving my all to it solved most of my problems . In addition I keep an optimistic view that things in the future will work in my favour if I become a better person by focusing on my goals. I also go for runs cuz it calms me . Also, I drive a lot to calm myself .
Can you tell me which things you did in the past that made you happy today? And which things have you done in the past that you regret?
Havent seen this doc yet but I'm about to. What I can say about myself is that I found out I have PTSD after I suffer years with alcohol and cannabis abuse for depression and anxiety. I can say that my antidepressents have worked very well for me. I had to find the right one but it works. I'm on 40 mg of Paxil.
And now you're addicted to something worse than alcohol or weed. I suggest to stop using them. You're only financing Big Pharma. Use placebo's instead. They're cheaper.
Watch out, people can gain a ton of weight on that.
If you ever decide to get off it, proceed super slowly!!
So whats the plan now, medication for life?
The withdrawal is horrible. The first anti-depressant I used 15 years ago caused restless legs, and part of the withdrawal was locked jaw and severe headaches. Yes, your body gets dependent on it!
As someone who has suffered from depression and taken antidepressants, I can say for me they did more harm than good. I found that having to take medication made me realise how unhappy I was and actually made it worse because I felt like I needed to take drugs to make me happy even though I felt almost no effect from them. I actually started smoking weed and spending time with friends and found that I was way happier than if I was on medication. I even stopped taking it before the doctor said to and when I went to see them, they noticed that I was way happier and said I didn't need the medication anymore, despite not knowing that I had been off the medication for over a month. For me I would say medication doesn't help, improving your life and situation you are in is the only way to get over depression but you need to have people you are close to help you move forward
doesn’t sound like you’re depressed just unhappy with your living situation.
@netrify9616 isn't that depression, in any case I was prescribed drugs by a clinician and they felt like they weren't working. The story still remains the same, I looked at what made my life bad and changed that. Depression can only be cured by changing what causes you to feel that way. Drugs can help some people but more people would benefit from changing their lives than just medicating
@@patrickwilliamson29 no you could be a multi millionaire with no worries and still be depressed
Thanks for sharing this eye-opening documentary. Educating the public is very important, cause as we see we usually can not just trust the professionals, studies or the corporate system.
Big Pharma has no benefit in keeping the people happy or healthy. Their only benefit is money. Open your eyes.
I experienced very difficult very real withdrawal symptoms and am grateful to have found credible forums supporting what I was going through in order to report this to my doctor. I was taking a low dose for chronic pain so feel lucky to have recovered relatively well. Don’t ever hesitate to reach out for support for how to slowly taper off when stopping or changing a medication. I am so grateful to feel like myself again. It was like a door opening once they were out of my system.
You were very lucky you had found the fitting doctor.
I used to suffer from a lot of these things and there is hope. I think these things come from stress from life, confusion on where to go next and a dopamine problem under the surface maybe. Some people may need medication but not all. God bless
After suffering fir years with panic attacks and anxiety there is no way I would give up antidepressants
I really admire the interviewer and how he did not shy away from asking certain harsh questions to the doctor who was promoting antidepressants. DW documentary puts forth a balanced view, never siding any one stance. Just asking enough questions to get all the information out there and let the viewer decide.
I stopped taking that crap an SSRI, I was diagnosed with diabetes. No matter what I did I couldn't get it under control, then the diabetes check came for a few more months than insulin.
Then I saw a message about the ssri and the cause of diabetes, I started to reduce it and almost immediately the sugar levels improved. Now I am almost off all diabetes medication, but I was also able to reduce other medication.
Unfortunately I have a very serious PTSD, which I now keep under control with oxazepam at times when things are not going well.
At the moment I am doing terribly, because of the Jewish hunt in Amsterdam Amsterdamprogrom. Second generation war victim.
But never SSRIs again, that is pure suicide
I've been taking citalopram for years and as helped me. I do. There are some side effects, though. You shouldn't just stop taking anti depressants, your suppose to reduce your dose gradually
DW's not afraid to ask the big questions, thanks for producing and sharing!
As someone who experienced depression, when I used them, my mind was finally able to let go and relax and I was super greatful for the feelings of comfort and relaxation I had after years of tense feelings and anxiety that I had no idea as to how it had gotten to that point... Life just builds up on you...
So I am greatful for the treatment. I did notice as well however that it did change something about me so I decided to be greatful for the help and after a month. I was done with it. Pro-longed use could really damage you, I mean that feeling was really numbing after the relief... Not good.
the general rule is wait 3-6 weeks... I don't feel you know what you are talking about.
@@AndTecks it might've been around 5 weeks, so yeah...
@@ellycat2155 I don't mean to sound rude but I thought I was depressed a few times before I was ACTUALLY depressed. If you are doing good... I am really happy for you. (Also I am no0t saying you weren't depressed. Just be open minded)
@@AndTecks look there's no exam here. I've expressed my personal experience and that's it...
It helped and I was able to move forward in life thereafter, it was enough for me. You may decide differently for yourself, that's okay...
@@ellycat2155 Yeah I agree
They're effective in adding dividends to shareholders of pharmaceuticals
wow what a comment , brilliant
You're absolutely right about that. Big pharma, doctors and the government all share the same bed and get rich off of it.
Oh gawd
I was severely traumatized years ago as a teenage, got diagnosed with cptsd. Spent my whole life fighting cptsd. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my wife recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms.
I was a very creative person, a painter and musician, and I was on Paxil for 5 years after a anxiety attack. I slowly weaned off this drug, but I have next to zero creativity now. I believe this medication gave me a chemical lobotomy. Thanks, Doc, you put me on the wrong drug!!
Try to start going to creative psychoterapy and creative workshops.
That doesn't happen to everybody. I had the total opposite experience. Without them, no drive, no creativity. With them, my creativity returned.
i have experienced it too.i havent taken drugs or pills.i noticed something very very important.i looked around me which people surround me.who has a positive and negative impact on me.i ended friendships with those who werent good for me.i started to analyse what causes my problems.the past with family, stress etc. i step by step talked about it with a doctor and i saw that i got better step by step.i believe that mental illness is also linked to physiological condition, so i started to train.it helped me so much.now knowing and believing in positive change and seeing the results makes me so happy.drugs only mask the problem.you have to grab the problem, analyse your condition and turn around.sports is such a good way to change your mood.i love it ❤️
Exactly! Living with my sister caused me to drink . I should of never moved in with her.
35:30 “it’s a tiny problem”, says the doctor supported by companies and a mediocre amount of evidence on how to taper off an antidepressant healthily - and each of them must have its own method of withdrawal - so many people are advised to cut the dose in half then a quarter (if so) and stop abruptly in a few weeks (I’ve been there once in the past). A substance that took months to work (IF it worked) and made changes in the brain just can’t be resolved in the blink of an eye! It makes no sense. I’ve been taking antidepressants for 16 years, and on half of it a combination of 2 or 3, and looking back I feel doctors most of the time looked clueless about what to do with me. If I don’t say “I want to try another one please, it’s already months of suffering” they’ll just keep prescribing it, maybe with a higher dose (whose efficacy is debatable depending on the drug) despite my complaints and all my effort to make myself clear. Don’t they know the drugs they prescribe to realize their limits and the moment they need to be substituted by another one? I have a routine of physical exercises, I’m back to psychotherapy (did so many years of it already), but I don’t know if I'm being actually helped by the antidepressant duo I’m currently taking (vortioxetine and bupropion). Recently I left desvenlafaxine, and the transition to vortioxetine, as advised by my psychiatrist, of ONE fkin week taking both and then off to just the new one gave me A LOT of side effects and withdrawal syndrome (desvenlafaxine is one of the worst, as I discovered later), I’m so pissed! So, from now on should I argue with doctors because they don’t seem to make sense? Once again I’m looking for a new and better psychiatrist. And I won’t fully trust them anymore. I'm not a skeptical now, I just want to take lower doses of the best ones available for my case, coz everything else there is in reach I’m already doing. I’m tired of this.
I am so glad to see this topic tackled. Too often speaking to the effectiveness of psycologically targeted medication is taboo. I would love to see a follow up to this with Doctor Christopher Palmer's Brian Energy findings on the metabolic basis of mental illness- his book Brian Energy is new and utterly life changing particularly for the understanding of depression.
I’d be dead if I didn’t have them.
my choice is not to be. it's better than to be on pills
Placebo , that's what is becoming apparent
The medication does nothing useful, but the BELIEF they do, means you fix yourself,
But you need to believe in an outside HELPER , rather than believe in yourself
why do we know this ? because all research shows LSD works and therefore the comparable data for SSRI's disappears
Because we can see biologically LSD works, but we have ZERO evidence that we can see, that SSRI's work
Based on default node network activity
So you are not a normal person in control of yourself.!
Bull shit
You’ll be dead if you keep taking them
Ive been using antidepressants for three months bc I have anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Before getting started to use medications I was awful. I felt awful in my life all the time. I couldn't give my attention to anything, I couldn't walk outside properly without getting anxiety. When I meet someone I couldn't stay still. It was awful days but everything started to change after getting antidepressants. It's incredible thing to me to get those amazing things. I never wanna quit using antidepressants. I no more feel negative. It's amazing.
They are absolutely life changing for OCD. My life was utterly unmanageable before antidepressants, and now I am productive with a career and an awesome mom. I still struggle, but my anxiety is at an acceptable level. I know I can handle the noise my brain throws at me and I am thankful everyday for the scientific breakthroughs that make normalcy possible for me.
No one knows how to solve this problem 👉 The Connections (2021) [short documentary] 💖
Here's a solution. Look in the mirror every morning and say 'I'm not fucking depressed' then drop down and do as many pushups as you can - Every morning. The other option is to keep the pharmaceutical companies rich by being a customer for life.
the effect decreases as the bran adapts to the presence of the drug. Long term, they create more problems. Speaking from experience. Also alot of research.
I’m so so happy for you x
I used to suffer from bouts of depression most of my life. I tried antidepressants, which seemed to work in the beginning. My body developed a tolerance, so the doctor had to increase the dosage. The increased dosage helped for a little bit, then the same thing happened. The dosage had to be increased yet again. I realized that the antidepressants weren't helping me. I weaned myself off of them and have been off of them for two decades now. What helped me alleviate depression is exercise, eating healthy, and developing a positive mindset. If you suffer from mild to moderate depression, you can heal yourself without antidepressants. Someone with severe depression may need medication to help them but it has to be coupled with talk therapy. Drugs alone will not get you out of a depression. Antidepressants like most drugs, treat the symptoms. It doesn't get to the root cause of the issue. Your thoughts are what causes the depression. I was mired in my own miserable thoughts, consistently thinking negatively. Your mind listens to those thoughts, which creates neurochemicals that affect your body. Which is why you feel lethargic, irritable, and depressed. The converse is true. When you have positive thoughts, it creates neurochemicals that provides more energy, you feel like you're floating on a cloud. The mind and body are inextricably linked. If you don't believe they are linked, just imagine a slice of lemon. Close your eyes and really imagine it. Imagine taking that lemon to your lips and sucking on the lemon. Most people start to salivate or their lips pucker. That is a demonstration on the power of your thoughts. I posted a video on my TH-cam channel @healingcoachveota about my personal story with depression.
The story of the young father with 2 children made me think about my own life because I suffer from severe major depression, anxiety and PTSD turning my daily "life" into a challenge for "survival". IF I had to tell anyone about my experience with antidepressants I would say: DON'T, DO NOT DO IT. The consequences (side effects) are much higher than the benefits. As the excellent DW doc suggests the course of action it would be: Meditation, practicing sports, being active, schedule activities, keeping a job (something that I struggled with all my life), forming long lasting relationships (even harder). Peace and love to everyone. PS: Magic mushrooms and therapy are very helpful.
I can relate so much,I hope you on your way to wellbeing and trully all best to you!🙏
I've done everything you said, didn't work for me. I was almost institutionalized. Glad it worked for you.
@Yuri R. A serious brand and standard dosage of St. Jones is a basic antidepressant as SSRI. It acts in the same way by increasing Serotonin levels. Where is the difference? Its just the meaning witch people gives to one or to another. Herbal is great/ chemical is a monster. Both drugs are made in the Lab. Both treat and both have side efects
Just to say I’m sure you did find them helpful but seems a bit weird someone would say “none of that cleanly produced, tested, dose measured medication rubbish for me but I will take some dodgy mushrooms smuggled in up someones bottom from knock off nick the drug dealer coz theyre natural”.
@@Acehigh-Jenkins Yeah thought that odd too. The fact is everyone is different. Some, antidepressants help, some, it doesn't. Even if you are to try them, it is essentially not a drug that you can come off of cold turkey. It's a gradual process. For people with minor issues in life, I do not think they should be prescribed them. People with major depression they should at least try them, see how they feel. Definitely a balanced lifestyle most certainly helps heeps too.
Took anti-depressant for years with only negative outcomes.
Psychedelic mushrooms (Psilocybin) have had magnificent results on me. Followed by years without depression and I quit smoking after my first psychedelic mushroom experience.
Luckily mushrooms worked within a very short time and had long lasting life changing results.
Unlike anti-depressants. Psychedelics did not require redosing every single day and was much less severe than pharmaceuticals.
Mushroom did nothing for me, antidepressants worked better
You literally admit in your statement that psychoactive drugs (medication) have their place in treating depression. Psilocybin may indeed have better results compared to Venlafaxaine especially and Setraline. Also, the range that constitutes 'antidepressants' is so wide that there's almost nothing that can be generalized among them. Dividing drugs in natural and synthetic categories is shockingly common fallacy. Cyanide and alpha-amantin are also natural.
No one knows how to solve this problem 👉 The Connections (2021) [short documentary] 💖
They only talked about antidepressants in the context of their more strictly intended psychological indications (depression, anxiety, PTSD).
However there's another indication for which some (tri-cyclical) antidepressants work with very clear evidence as to their efficacy, chronic nerve pain. In fact, they're the only medication that works for that besides some anticonvulsants. They physiologically contribute to nerve regeneration and the erasing of the physiological correlates of pain memory.
Just felt it necessary to point that out as it's not rare for people dealing with chronic pain to have their pain be dismissed as psychosomatic and when antidepressants rather than traditional pain killers are the cure, it's viewed as proof of that dismissal. Also all the negative rep tri-cyclical antidepressants get in general is relativized in that context. They still have the same awful side effects but the alternative (anticonvulsants) has similar ones and the other alternative is spending the rest of your life with one of the strongest kinds of pain there is.
They absolutely work. I've been on the antianxiety Citalopram, since 2006. I'm 65 years old and live a normal life. Im not avoiding driving on the interstate, not staying inside during the summer because I was so afraid of wasps, I can now be in large crowds and not panic, the list goes on and on.
Yes but You’re addicted to a substance, which is almost impossible to quit.
I've been on insulin 33 years, I have to use it for the rest of my life. Addicted or completely necessary? Same with my antidepressant. I'm thankful for modern medicine that gave me my quality of life back.
Yes I'm on the same meds as you since 19/ 99-- I can not go off them after all these years ; as iv tried and can not cope at all -- they are a good med
I tried everything I could think of before I tried antidepressants. Eventually I quit those too. I’m really not sure what to do. But I do feel grateful I tried many things. I know some that help on different occasions. It’s for sure a life long battle. I straggle with the concept of time passing me by