Antidepressants are not "addictive"- fgeyre not like heroin where you physically get addicted and get sick if you stop taking it. Depression and other mental Illness has a lot to do with chemicals in the brain- serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. In depressed/ anxious people these chemicals are out of balance. Finding the right med can be hard because it's hard to know which chemical is out of whack- but most people find their first or second abtideoressant is the one. Some of us are unlucky in that it took a few more tries but that's rare- we're just very unlucky.
would you be ok taking an insulin pill of you had diabetes? Would you take a heart medicine if you had a heart disease? Why is a brain medicine fur a mental illness any different? Maybe you don't need one- that's for you and your dictir to discuss. Therapy and lifestyle changes can help a lot. But so can pills.
please don't self medicate by buying St. John's wort- just because a herb is natural diesnt mean it's safe or that it works. St. John's sort can be effective for mild depression but it has side effects too and clashes with many medications causing bad reactions- so it clashes badly with antibiotics, birth control, even some common painkillers.
please seek proper treatment. Your anxiety is making you terrified of it- but that's anxiety! The thing is any treatment- whether it's medication or therapy- will make the anxiety better, not worse! Imagine if your anxiety was 90% better!
oh and for the record- because the antidepressants are changing your brain chemicals they often cause some slight side effects- for most people they feel a little loss of appetite or a bit sleepy/ sleepless for a few days or a week then it goes away and they start seeing the benefits- it sucks that you get side effects at all but they go away.
Your doctor will tell you how to wean on and wean off them safety. Don't ever increase or decrease the dose or stop then without the doctors ok because it sends your brain chemicals of of whack- I'm betting your husband stopped his antidepressants too quickly and then got brain zaps (it's very common). That's not a sign of addiction- it's a sign that the chemicals were quickly changing. So always follow your dictors advice and if you see symptoms then ask if you can start at a lower dose. Or wean on/ off slower. I gave myself 2 months to wean off my last abtideoressant and that was totally fine!
