I'd like to get help soon but if I'm prescribed meds, I don't get what are they actually are able to do and how they could change my personality, when its the flaws and problems within me that I feel make me depressed - does a pill really change those?

Thx,
HSJB

Hi, HSJB;
Meds don't change your personality. The only thing they do is correct an imbalance of neurotransmitters, (chemical messengers in the brain). These neurotransmitters effect our moods. So the meds are designed to balance out what is believed to be a paucity of the neurotransmitters in the brain, leaving more, therefore, regulating our moods. Your personality will remain the same however. You may behave differently, though, because you won't be so depressed.

Problems can be address with therapy. Indeed, therapy and meds are known to work best together, rather than one or the other. So, for the quickest and best results, use medication prescribed by your doc and therapy by a qualified social worker or other counselor.

Peace

if you are truly, chemically depressed/anxious, then yes they work.

too many people just feel a little blue, the docs prescribe and then they don't work. This leads to the reports that meds don't help, ehich is complete bunk.

As historyteach said, meds will not change your personality, and they are not prescribed to do such. Meds are prescribed to correct imbalances in chemical makeup in your brain transmitters, in disorders such as depression and psychosis. And yes they are very necessary and very effective. They can be compared to a physical illness ... sure, you can be sick with cancer and not take medicine, but the cancer will make you feel worse and you will only get sicker; whereas if you take the medicine prescribed your symptoms will improve, you will feel better, and some forms of cancer will go into complete remission and may not return at all.

Personality disorders such as borderline, paranoia, histrionic and things like that are aspects of your ingrained personality and those are treated with a combination of meds to kind of give a calming affect to the more extreme aspects of those disorders, but they must be accompanied by behavioral therapy so that the affected person can change those traits within him/herself. And it's VERY hard work to change ingrained personality traits.

As an example (and I don't mean to offend anyone, but this is how it was explained to me by a friend), and I don't mean to say that heterosexuality or homosexuality are disorders: Consider a person is a homosexual (and I believe that sexual orientation is a trait we are born with, not one we choose to be). Behavioral modification therapy like what is used to change a person's ingrained personality could be likened to a person trying to force him/herself to force him/herself to chane from being homosexual to heterosexual. It's a very difficult undertaking. And it would take years and years of extremely intensive therapy and a true desire to change. Now that's an extreme example, but I think it gets my point across as to how behavior therapy for personality disorders is much more important than medicinal therapy for personality disorders.

Antidepressants have alleviated my depression, which has improved my mood, outlook, and behavior. I'm still the same person, but a much better person. My darker characteristics have receded and the brighter, stronger, more positive qualities have come forward. The medication doesn't change you at the core, but it does change some things about you that need correction. Of course medication doesn't solve your problems, but it does make you more capable of solving them.

well said!

...... I didn't want to take medication but eventually accepted that anti-depressant tablets and a beta-blocka make me feel a lot better. I am able to get out of bed each morning, I can cope with most of the daily tasks and Hubby and I have a life again. Otherwise I sit in a chair staring at 4 walls unable to eat, sleep, talk, concentrate ........

Taking ADs can lift mood which enables the sufferer to view life differently. ADs can help someone deal with life in a better way. If a person feels lighter in mood then the thoughts in their heads go away or they can deal logically with what is happening 'in there'. A psychotic personality needs a different approach and different medication regimes. Talking with a doctor will give the sufferer more idea as to what types of 'help' are available.

Good Luck!

Medication will give you a boost to help you pull yourself out of the hole you're in. They are not magic pills that fix everything, they just help you get going. You may have to sample a few to see what works, and you must give each one adequate time to work, but if you're willing to try it will probably help.

the meds have helped me. there not an instant fix but i have found them to be an excellent aid in helping me dael with the stuff going on in my life. still have have good days and bad days, but the meds seem to cal the extremes of my feelings.

They are working for me.

They haven't changed my personality. In fact, the people who know me best and for the longest periods of time have all commented in the last six weeks or so that I seem "more myself." I'm talking about my parents, my husband, and my roommate/best friend of seven years. These are the people who have seen me through life's ups and downs, eaten dinner with me nearly every night, etc. They all seem relieved to be getting me back. Based on this experience, then, I'm going to say it's the Depression that alters one's personality. The right ADs can help you get "you" back.

I'm not back to where I want to be. I don't feel quite like "me" yet. I'm not as strong, as intelligent, as creative, or as capable as I used to be. Sometimes, I don't know how I'll ever get back to being that person. The meds are giving me back some of my lost mental clarity and concentration, though. They're giving me back some of the energy that I need in order to get out of bed and go to work and just plain function in the world. They're making my body less sore and more responsive to my commands. My brain feels more connected to my body. I feel more alive. I no longer feel like jumping into traffic, yet lack the energy to do so. I no longer shuffle about so slowly that people on the street yell at me to move faster. I no longer put myself in risky situations simply because I lack the ability to care about my own safety or recognize risks to my safety. Basically, ADs have saved my life.

I was skeptical, too. I refused to take the meds or to accept the doctors who suspected Depression. I thought ADs were overprescribed. I thought it was insanely dangerous to mess with your brain chemicals. I thought there was no way that Depression could have such a physical effect on the body and that it was a crap diagnosis. I thought Depression was a character flaw and something that I could overcome on my own. I thought feeling sick was preferable to the stigma of being labeled mentally ill for the rest of my life. My skepticism cost me my career and two years of my life. It also very nearly killed me. Getting on these ADs in order to start to repair that damage is the best thing I've ever done.

Every situation is different. If you are worried, get a second opinion. Get a third or fourth opinion. Try other solutions. If several doctors suggest ADs and nothing else works, though, don't be afraid to try the meds. Yes, there are risks. Yes, there is uncertainty. If several doctors think that you have Clinical Depression that can be alleviated by ADs, then you owe it to yourself to at least give their advice a shot. It might just save your life.

I could not have said that better myself, palabravampiress. Thank you, thank you THANK YOU! You have given so much hope to so many...

Hi HSJB,

I had a terrible attitude not just towards medication but about everything you could remotely associate with mental illness. All of it was for other people.

Needless to say, some of this has eroded over time and I don't feel as acutely a loss of self because I have to take something. Pointedly, a recent (unavoidable) change in medication makes me ever grateful for the medication I was on.

^^ You are welcome, Lindsay. I'm glad to help. :-)

For me, I did not reap any benefit from medications. I was put on many during my teenage years and never found the relief that I so desperately sought. I have been off meds for about 3 years now and if anything, I feel better.

Cognitive, nutritional, and psychoanalytical (inner child) all have increased my inner strength, confidence and progress.

I assume that there are many others out there who are missing the true source of their depression: low self-esteem and poor coping skills.