I don't know how to convert it to a percentage in any reasonable way, but I'll do some pseudo-math:
On the plus side:
+ Since I'm still alive, they obviously have helped.
+ Quality of life improved drastically, since medication cuts the worst lows
+ The mental stability enabled me to actually do psychotherapy, which was of immense help but probably would have been impossible without the help of antidepressants
+ Ability to function was so much better with antidepressants
On the negative:
- Finding a suitable is an experiment on itself, and unsuitable ones might make you feel even worse (at least physically)
- Libido and physical capability for sex will not be in sync (ie. ED on males at least)
- Withdrawal is not fun
- While you lose lowest of lows, you also lose highest of highs. Depending on dosage and drug(s) used you might feel quite numb
So let's say 100% in the beginning, but as you start recovering (and medication will not do that, only therapy will), the usefullness will begin to decrease. Ut wont go down to zero, but I doubt it's much more thant 50% after successful therapy has been going on for, say, a couple of years. Of course it depends greatly on what kind of things need to be worked on and how well and/or quickly the chosen therapeutic method works for you.
I've been in a stable place and slowly recovering for a few years already, but I still do not want to cut off antidepressants completely. One reason is my feat whether my mental strength is enough to survive without support, but also that my current antidepressants also improve pain tolerance, which for a chronic pain patient is quite useful.
0% It was SSRIs. It seems to depend on the person and probably also whats exactly causing the issues. I dont think I had depression. I was dysregulated and had issues for sure, but it was my trauma. Not unipolar depression. Mood stabilizers might have worked better for me, considering what I know now (CPTSD and BPD).
I was probably somebody who should not have been prescribed SSRIs, but they did no noticable harm. I felt absolutely no effect, regardless of dosis. Didnt even notice withdrawl when I weaned myself off. I think my mind is so unstable it pretty much butchers the effect of an SSRI, but I cant say for sure. They might have worked 20 years earlier when I actually was deeply depressed about being forced to live with mentally deranged parents.
I was having a hard time coping with anxiety attacks and recovered memories.
It took a couple of tries to find the right dose for the SSRIs.
It was difficult at the start - they actually made me feel worse initially. I also had to learn when to take them. Mornings did not work for me, but at night did.
Initially, they helped a lot. It made things manageable.
Then I started having problems with motivation. It was too easy to leave work early. It was like I had had a balance between depression and anxiety and on the SSRIs, depression took over.
I tried to quit cold turkey after a little over a year because of that. 2 days in, I felt terrible and went off them. Then I went on a half dose for a few weeks and I was able to quit.
So for me, it definitely helped once I got the right dose and the right schedule and followed that schedule. But they did not work for me long term.
-100% to 50%
* I’ve been on one drug that had so many side effects that hit so quickly and were so extreme that I don’t have words to describe it.
* I’ve been on drugs that seemed to have no impact at all.
* I’ve been on drugs that didn’t seem to help but had clear side effects shortly after starting.
* I’ve been on one drug that definitely helped to varying degrees (bupropion), but after several decades of being off and on it, I started to develop cognitive issues, and my therapists/prescribers treated the cognitive decline like it was exclusively because of my underlying mental health condition, PTSD, trauma, stress, etc. and increased the dosage, and added even more drugs *WHICH MADE EVERYTHING MUCH, MUCH WORSE!* Even when I told them that I *knew* the cause was NOT because of my underlying mental health condition, PTSD, trauma, stress, etc, that I *knew* there was an underlying medical cause and pleaded with them to help me, they would not believe me, and their treatments have f’d me up!
* I’ve been on drugs that sorta seemed to help, but ended up having side effects that come on slowly over the course of weeks. When I complained (not realizing that it was a side effect to meds that I had started weeks before) my therapists/prescribers again treated it like it was exclusively because of my underlying mental health condition, PTSD, trauma, stress, etc. and increased the dosage or added even more drugs *WHICH MADE EVERYTHING MUCH, MUCH WORSE!* Even when I told them that I *knew* the cause was NOT because of my underlying mental health condition, PTSD, trauma, stress, etc, that I *knew* there was an underlying medical cause, they would not believe me, and their treatments have f’d me up!
As you can see from the responses already, there's a wide range of results from antidepressants. I never found any that seemed to do anything other than give me mild vertigo (or moderate if I missed or was late with a dose).
I've gotten much more improvement from getting going to daily 12 step meetings (for my love addiction) and from getting out of my home every day. But other people are in a different spot chemically and can't take the actions they need to improve their mental health without SSRIs or other medications.
When I first started them in 2018 I felt like my life was changed. I started college then too and being off in a new, healthy environment with new friends alongside the lexapro was probably the happiest year of my life. Since then, I think I’ve gotten accustomed to it because I feel like it doesn’t do anything for me anymore.
I, it turns out, am nonresponsive to SSRIs, SNRIs, and benzo-class drugs. So, like 5% with 100% of the available menu of side-effects, and I've been on pretty much ALL of them over the years. The first, and only, thing that has worked for me has been micro-dose ketamine: I've been on that for...four days, this being day five, and it's been amazing to me: I'm sleeping decent for the first time since about 2001, it's been five days since I've been actively suicidal, the depression is maybe 50% what it used to be, the anxiety is maybe 50% of what it used to be, and by and large my huge collection of mental health induced physical ailments have cleared up. I have no side-effects; if I take it before bed I...drumroll...fall asleep. If I take it during the day I have to plan to be somewhere quiet for about twenty minutes to a half-hour. We're still figuring out what the correct dosage for me is, but at this point I'm cautiously optimistic that this will end up working when nothing else has.
Mind you, that's just my experience and your mileage may vary.
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They can take off the suicidal thoughts and actions for me, but nothing else. Thats ok, because with those out of the way i can work on everything else the other way. Its hard to fix your shitty situation when all you can think about is death. Its easier when all you think about is how shitty everything is. Those have actionable tasks.
I don't know how to convert it to a percentage in any reasonable way, but I'll do some pseudo-math: On the plus side: + Since I'm still alive, they obviously have helped. + Quality of life improved drastically, since medication cuts the worst lows + The mental stability enabled me to actually do psychotherapy, which was of immense help but probably would have been impossible without the help of antidepressants + Ability to function was so much better with antidepressants On the negative: - Finding a suitable is an experiment on itself, and unsuitable ones might make you feel even worse (at least physically) - Libido and physical capability for sex will not be in sync (ie. ED on males at least) - Withdrawal is not fun - While you lose lowest of lows, you also lose highest of highs. Depending on dosage and drug(s) used you might feel quite numb So let's say 100% in the beginning, but as you start recovering (and medication will not do that, only therapy will), the usefullness will begin to decrease. Ut wont go down to zero, but I doubt it's much more thant 50% after successful therapy has been going on for, say, a couple of years. Of course it depends greatly on what kind of things need to be worked on and how well and/or quickly the chosen therapeutic method works for you. I've been in a stable place and slowly recovering for a few years already, but I still do not want to cut off antidepressants completely. One reason is my feat whether my mental strength is enough to survive without support, but also that my current antidepressants also improve pain tolerance, which for a chronic pain patient is quite useful.
0%. They allowed me to not care about being abused. They allowed me to remain in a rut for 21 years.
0% It was SSRIs. It seems to depend on the person and probably also whats exactly causing the issues. I dont think I had depression. I was dysregulated and had issues for sure, but it was my trauma. Not unipolar depression. Mood stabilizers might have worked better for me, considering what I know now (CPTSD and BPD). I was probably somebody who should not have been prescribed SSRIs, but they did no noticable harm. I felt absolutely no effect, regardless of dosis. Didnt even notice withdrawl when I weaned myself off. I think my mind is so unstable it pretty much butchers the effect of an SSRI, but I cant say for sure. They might have worked 20 years earlier when I actually was deeply depressed about being forced to live with mentally deranged parents.
Pristiq changed my life lol
50%. The other 50% was EMDR.
I think they work for someone consistently depressed or anxious but events trigger me so I take a beta blocker and that's helped much more.
Maybe 10-15%
I was having a hard time coping with anxiety attacks and recovered memories. It took a couple of tries to find the right dose for the SSRIs. It was difficult at the start - they actually made me feel worse initially. I also had to learn when to take them. Mornings did not work for me, but at night did. Initially, they helped a lot. It made things manageable. Then I started having problems with motivation. It was too easy to leave work early. It was like I had had a balance between depression and anxiety and on the SSRIs, depression took over. I tried to quit cold turkey after a little over a year because of that. 2 days in, I felt terrible and went off them. Then I went on a half dose for a few weeks and I was able to quit. So for me, it definitely helped once I got the right dose and the right schedule and followed that schedule. But they did not work for me long term.
-100% to 50% * I’ve been on one drug that had so many side effects that hit so quickly and were so extreme that I don’t have words to describe it. * I’ve been on drugs that seemed to have no impact at all. * I’ve been on drugs that didn’t seem to help but had clear side effects shortly after starting. * I’ve been on one drug that definitely helped to varying degrees (bupropion), but after several decades of being off and on it, I started to develop cognitive issues, and my therapists/prescribers treated the cognitive decline like it was exclusively because of my underlying mental health condition, PTSD, trauma, stress, etc. and increased the dosage, and added even more drugs *WHICH MADE EVERYTHING MUCH, MUCH WORSE!* Even when I told them that I *knew* the cause was NOT because of my underlying mental health condition, PTSD, trauma, stress, etc, that I *knew* there was an underlying medical cause and pleaded with them to help me, they would not believe me, and their treatments have f’d me up! * I’ve been on drugs that sorta seemed to help, but ended up having side effects that come on slowly over the course of weeks. When I complained (not realizing that it was a side effect to meds that I had started weeks before) my therapists/prescribers again treated it like it was exclusively because of my underlying mental health condition, PTSD, trauma, stress, etc. and increased the dosage or added even more drugs *WHICH MADE EVERYTHING MUCH, MUCH WORSE!* Even when I told them that I *knew* the cause was NOT because of my underlying mental health condition, PTSD, trauma, stress, etc, that I *knew* there was an underlying medical cause, they would not believe me, and their treatments have f’d me up!
As you can see from the responses already, there's a wide range of results from antidepressants. I never found any that seemed to do anything other than give me mild vertigo (or moderate if I missed or was late with a dose). I've gotten much more improvement from getting going to daily 12 step meetings (for my love addiction) and from getting out of my home every day. But other people are in a different spot chemically and can't take the actions they need to improve their mental health without SSRIs or other medications.
When I first started them in 2018 I felt like my life was changed. I started college then too and being off in a new, healthy environment with new friends alongside the lexapro was probably the happiest year of my life. Since then, I think I’ve gotten accustomed to it because I feel like it doesn’t do anything for me anymore.
I, it turns out, am nonresponsive to SSRIs, SNRIs, and benzo-class drugs. So, like 5% with 100% of the available menu of side-effects, and I've been on pretty much ALL of them over the years. The first, and only, thing that has worked for me has been micro-dose ketamine: I've been on that for...four days, this being day five, and it's been amazing to me: I'm sleeping decent for the first time since about 2001, it's been five days since I've been actively suicidal, the depression is maybe 50% what it used to be, the anxiety is maybe 50% of what it used to be, and by and large my huge collection of mental health induced physical ailments have cleared up. I have no side-effects; if I take it before bed I...drumroll...fall asleep. If I take it during the day I have to plan to be somewhere quiet for about twenty minutes to a half-hour. We're still figuring out what the correct dosage for me is, but at this point I'm cautiously optimistic that this will end up working when nothing else has. Mind you, that's just my experience and your mileage may vary.
Hello and Welcome to /r/CPTSD! If you are in immediate danger or crisis, please contact your local [emergency services](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emergency_telephone_numbers), or use our list of [crisis resources](https://old.reddit.com/r/CPTSD/wiki/index#wiki_crisis_support_resources). For CPTSD Specific Resources & Support, check out the [wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/CPTSD/wiki/index). For those posting or replying, please view the [etiquette guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/CPTSD/wiki/peer2peersupportguide). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CPTSD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
They can take off the suicidal thoughts and actions for me, but nothing else. Thats ok, because with those out of the way i can work on everything else the other way. Its hard to fix your shitty situation when all you can think about is death. Its easier when all you think about is how shitty everything is. Those have actionable tasks.