antidepressants?

[Eyra Hughes]

Ive recently been to a place called cahms and they have highly recommended i should take a medication called prozac, im 13 by the way and i wasnt sure whether i should be prescribed for them or not as i know there are a lot of side effects as it has made people feel a lot worse in the past and have actually killed themselves. i have depression so i know there could be a good benefit to take them as it would help boost my confidence and my happyness and would help me sleep better. i wasnt sure what to do as i know there is the other option for cbt but there is a 5 month waiting list so it would be ages when i can just start the prozac straight away so im not sure what to do and was wondering if you have any advice or help asap? thank you

[Mohit]

Read the book "how to lift depression... Fast" . You can find it in bookstores or amazon.co.uk. It talks about ways of dealing with depression without medication.

Drink plenty of water and eat fruits nuts seeds whole grains fish lean meat etc to feel better. Also do fun activities you like with friends. Exercise outdoors regularly to feel better.

[Autumn]

If it helps, prozac is the only antidepressant tested in the adolescent age group and is the only one to be licensed for use in under 18's in the UK. Other antidepressants are used in teenagers but they haven't been tested and you're the guinea pig.

I personally think that mind altering drugs are heavily over prescribed to teenagers who see adolescent depression (which is normal and has affected the human race forever) as a mental illness. The sudden hormonal and social changes, too much homework and parents who rarely listen to their children makes you feel low and even think of ending it all. Teenagers used to slam doors, told their parents they hated them and that they wished they were dead.

The culture now is that every teenager has a mental illness, is self harming or starving themselves. We used to compare clothes, now it's medication, open wounds and mental health diagnoses. Teenagers now lie under the bathwater and claim on here that they tried to commit suicide. They aren't suicidal, if they were they would walk in front of a train or off the top of a building.

As yours is the first generation to grow up on mind altering chemicals the long term effects are unknown. Prozac will artificially raise your seratonin levels and will severely reduce your appetite. As you are developing it is possible that you may become dependant on medications to raise your seratonin levels and without antidepressants you suffer chronic depression. Pharmaceutical companies are just waiting for the money to flood in from now on.

If you take an appetite suppressant now you may find that when you try to come off prozac in the future that you can't control your own food intake and start to binge eat. Your body may forget to know when you are full as a pill has been killing your appetite and you've had to eat even though your body says you don't need food. Take away the pill and you can easily eat through your natural body signals that you have had enough.

If you aren't seriously about to jump off a 10 storey building, hang yourself or cut through a major artery in your neck then I think you should wait until CBT becomes available. Antidepressants are an easy option for psychiatrists as well as they can write a prescription and not have to support you until therapy becomes available. A think that you should also avoid social media, particularly tunblr which is very pro-self harm, and facebook which is proven to make people miserable.

One of many articles on how social media makes you unhappy: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...iable.html

Step away from internet accessible items and meet real people. Join a group such as zumba as exercise raises your seratonin levels naturally and helps you sleep well. Organisations such as the girl guides provide a great support system, fun events, opportunities for travel with the emotional support of older teenagers and adult leaders. See if your mum is up for some binding time - maybe go out for a coffee or do some baking together or even see if she will take you clothes shopping or for a manicure.

Please talk to your parents and see if they are willing to offer you the emotional support you need and make a promise to them that you will approach them if you feel bad.

Best wishes, A x

[Barry]

PROZAC SIDE EFFECTS:
I'm taking Prozac and feel numb?
I don't feel anything. I've been on it since March and recently it's not giving me anything to feel happy or sad about. It's worst today, I haven't done anything, I was meant to do the cleaning and I haven't. I'm still in my pyjamas and I'm sad, but I can't cry. I don't feel in the mood to do anything and I'm not thinking straight. My thoughts feel clouded. ~~~

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...632AA8NfYJ
I've been on a lot of antidepressants as well. A lot of them made me like a zombie, but the worst one was when I was put on prozac and it gave me a clearly false sense of happiness. It made me crazy hyper and only intensified my anxiety. It was a horrible experience.

by samantha http://au.answers.yahoo.com/activity?show=l6cNMzO3aa
i got off prozac cus it made me emotionless.... get off it... u cant b that crazy ... haha. i took celexa (sp?) and a few others... i lost track... now im drug free! woooo!!!!

Ive been on zoloft for 3 months at 100 mg and it has not worked one bit. Did i just waste 3 months. When eill i find the roght medication Prozack numbed me but now im emotionless? so my meds were changed and i got put on prozac and lamictal im numb and have no feelings accept for the occ. low-bottom-pit feeling which comes but leaves. Now i'm emotion-less. I don't like it. I just want to fee OK. Captain ?etardâ„¢

I'm starting to feel like I'm going into a dark hole.. Like I'm losing everything I ever had.. I'm not who I used to be, a fun life of the party guy who enjoyed life and relationships.. Now I'm like emotionless and cold.. Im also getting off depression pills (prozak) because it wasn't working. What do I do?
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/ans...304AAj2E63

There is no reason why you can't read up on books about CBT, and begin employing some of their techniques. Read: "Feeling Good - the new mood therapy" by David D. Burns, M.D., from your bookstore, or Amazon.com