SSRIs not working

[mollymoon]

Hi everyone,

About 6 months ago I started taking medication. My gp diagnosed with me social anxiety disorder. Since then I've been going to a psychologist who has been wonderfully helpful for my social anxiety but I still feel really depressed. I have improved with social situations- but I am now completely socially isolated having dropped out of uni.

I also started self harming at around the time I went on another medication. I don't know how to bring this up with anyone because i feel like it isn't related to social anxiety- I haven't been to my psych in two months because I moved a few hours away.

I am disappointed because I feel as though nothing I do is going to help me stop feeling miserable- it's kind of like trying to treat lung cancer on someone who still smokes- I am completely socially isolated and can't make friends. I need to get my licence and a job too.

Thank you!

[Doolhof]

Hi mollymoon,

I'm certainly not a professional, but I would like to highly recommend that you go and see your Dr and have a talk to them. It has been my experience in the past that some medication can cause issues and have side effects that hinder us. Your Dr will be able to help you with this.

It is important you let the Dr know what you have shared here. You can write it down or print out what you have written here and show the Dr.

The Dr may need to change the medication to one that suits you better.

Finding someone else to talk to can be beneficial also.

You may find it beneficial to use the beyondblue phone support service to talk to someone about how you are feeling.

Once you understand what has triggered you to self harm, you will be able to deal with those issues and improve your life.

Once again I would recommend a trip to the Dr.

Wishing you all the best from Dools

[romantic_thi3f]

Hey mollymoon,

Welcome to the forums and thanks for getting in touch!

Hmm so just to recap so I understand it all. You went to the GP first, got diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, went to the psychologist who was helpful but since then have moved and haven't seen your psych in 2 months. and now you're feeling like you are depressed more so than anxious so none of the psychologist's advice is really helping you now. Is that right?

Even though social anxiety kind of stands on it's own, it's totally normal and common for people to have both anxiety and depression disorders (I do!). They can link together pretty easily so it's not uncommon to go to your GP and talk about what you're struggling with that's different from your anxiety.

Is that something you've considered doing - going back to your GP?

If you got a lot of benefit from your last psychologist with anxiety, there's a great chance you'll get a lot of benefit from the next one. Sometimes the techniques for anxiety and depression overlap a little - like checking out your thoughts and how realistic/helpful they are or changing your behaviours to help your mood. I know that it can feel like it's never ending, but know that that's just a thoughts and thoughts aren't facts.

Hope this helps!