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Is it ok not to take antidepressents
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Hi Relay,
Medication doesn't work for everyone. I'm no expert, but I can tell you that from my experience, antidepressants helped when my emotions were really in turmoil, but they didn't fix my problems. I had to do that myself with the help of psychological professionals and people close to me. For me, it was a crutch that actually caused more problems for me in the long run, but I can't say whether it will be the same for you. I would strongly recommend consulting with at least one professional whom you trust. If you do decide to forgo medication, then ensure that you have people who can help you through the hard times. Standing up for yourself doesn't mean standing alone.
Good luck.
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dear Relay for life, if I could encroach on this topic, and I do accept what has been said as everyone is different, and where people stop and then start medication once again, so in reality they shouldn't have stopped.
How can we measure what 'mild' is, where a person could consider their condition as mild compared to someone else who believes it's merging towards serious, and please note that I'm not trying argue on this, but just another point of view.
What does worry me is that you maybe able to work through this mild depression, which would be great for you, however it can leave you open to falling back into it, so you're always susceptible.
Medication can have varying degrees of success, such as the antidepressant (AD) I now take and have been for about 15 years or more, didn't start to work until a few years later, but I had to be taking something because my depression was serious.
It's always good to discuss this with your doctor, because there maybe other alternatives to take. Geoff.
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Hi Relay for life. I can only speak from personal experience - I got through my first bout of depression without medication but I had to make some serious changes to my life - mainly change my job/career (I worked in advertising) and go to counselling for about a year.
Much to my distress it did come back as post-natal depression. I couldn't go on medication for a year as I was breast feeding twins. I thought it would pass but it didn't. I eventually relented and went on medication and it saved my life.