Has your doctor suggested you take anti-depressants to help you cope with your depression? If you are hesitating about taking these medications, you should read this article.
Managing The Side Effects of Anti-Depressants
If you have taken anti-depressants before and did not react well to your medication or suffered from unpleasant side-effects, you should let your doctor know. Make sure you gave him or her the name and the medication you were using. Not all anti-depressants have the same side-effects: you should react differently to another type of anti-depressant. Do not let this first experience scare you and keep you from considering taking anti-depressants to cope with the symptoms of your depression.
Talk to your doctor about the dosage of your anti-depressants. If you have never taken this kind of medication before, you might have to start with small doses and increase them progressively. This is a good way to proceed if you are afraid of taking anti-depressants. You can change the dosage of your anti-depressants at any time during your treatment after checking with your doctor. If you wish to stop taking your medication, contact your doctor first. You should not stop taking a medication overnight: your doctor will probably advise you to decrease the doses you are taking progressively.
Types of Anti-Depressants and Their Side Effects
Do not expect your medication to work right away. Certain types of anti-depressants become efficient once your body has absorbed a certain quantity of the medication, which can sometimes take a few weeks. You should start feeling better after a couple of weeks if you keep taking your medication. Talk to your doctor about possible side-effects so you know what to expect. It will be easier to deal with a worsening of your symptoms or other issues if you understand they are caused by your medication.
Consider other solutions before taking anti-depressants. You could perhaps try making changes to your lifestyle such as getting a new job, exercising more frequently and taking control of your eating habits or sleeping patterns. Practicing a sport, a new hobby or an artistic activity could be very helpful too. All these things should be used in combination with taking anti-depressants to help you get used to living a more constructive life. This will become helpful once you decide to stop taking anti-depressants.
Taking anti-depressants will help you cope with your depression on a daily basis, but they should not be used as a long-term solution. Keep in mind that one day you will have to stop taking your medication and should prepare yourself to living a different life. Some patients need to go through therapy for this: if you are unable to think of concrete solutions to feel happier, you should schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist or a psychologist to do some work on yourself. If you are not sure about therapy, get a professional opinion from your usual doctor.
Do more research about anti-depressants if you are still unsure of what you want to do. Keep in mind that this is one of the best ways to cope with your depression.