[Patriotic1]

My therapist once treated someone who said it was an effort for her to breathe. Yes, as the commercials say, it’s more than just mental - it can be physical too.

As someone who takes effexor, your comments offend me. Before I took this med, I couldn’t think clearly. I could barely function.

I also was involved in CBT which I think makes an enormous difference. In my case, and in many others, changing one’s thinking means a lot. It can be difficult to do. It’s tough to see one’s thinking objectively, and it’s even harder to change.

Just as it is hard to do the things you cited.

But taking the meds gave me the ability to start changing things. It brought me up to a stable place. CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) helps you realize that lemons are merely the precursor of tasty lemonade.

Ya know, just LIVING when you have depression is incredibly hard work, regardless of what it looks like from the outside.

[Marie2]

What comment(s) did I make that are offensive? From the start of this thread, I have just been advocating that other therapies be tried before meds. Why is that offensive?

[mysterio]

But taking the meds gave me the ability to start changing things.

Don't let the knee-jerkers get you down. The medications are a positive thing. The pick-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps crowd is often good intentioned, but they are far from experts in the field of psychiatry.

I have an anxiety disorder and have decided to go without the pills for my own reasons, but I would never deny another the opportunity to receive medications, nor would I brow beat them for doing so. Good luck in your treatment, and I hope your program works well for you.

[iceskater]

Ya know, just LIVING when you have depression is incredibly hard work, regardless of what it looks like from the outside.

Exactly. Sometimes you don't know how far down in the deep, dark pit you are, until you aren't.