My Experience with Antidepressants (SSRIs)

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS research the medication/drugs you take and their potential reactions. do not mix drugs that shouldnt be mixed. Don't take mushrooms or MDMA or other drugs that affect serotonin while taking SSRIs or MAOIs. :D be safe and smart! BIG NOTE - Do not want to imply that SSRI's, Benzos, and SNRIs, etc do NOT WORK for anyone - in fact they've saved lives! I just want to bring awareness to the fact that some have paradoxical effects. Mental health treatment tends to cater towards a more biological solution (medication) as a first resort. Doctors also tend to have a weird power dynamic with patients because they assume they know better, and in turn don't take the patients thoughts about their own feelings as rational or legitimate. This is a flaw in our medical system. weird brain. I've had paradoxical effects to so many drugs, even Xanax would make me more anxious, irritable and kind of crazy and hyper, and doctors usually have to give me almost the max dose of anesthesia when I go in for any kind of operation (was wisdom teeth) because if not I'll wake up in the middle of it (really happened). So essentially everyone is so different, I think that the main thing though is that our society tends to focus mainly and almost solely on a biomedical treatment of mental health issues, when there's little evidence that that model has improved or significantly changed for the better mental health issues. In the 1980s this started because companies realized they could patent these drugs and thus changed their names from hypnotics, anticonvulsants and tranquilizers to "anti depressants," "anti anxieties" and "anti psychotics". They also changed the language regarding mental health and began calling them illnesses, as it created a more medical (chemical imbalances which really has no solid evidence) than psychological feel to them, promoting drugs as the number one treatment option. Drugs maybe can work for some, but they aren't the solution. I think mental health needs to be viewed holistically - your environment , thought patterns and relationships are more important focuses. Remember to trust your own experience! Never stop without researching/consulting your doctor...especially not benzos!!!! Good luck!