My secretary took Prozac and it worked. In fact, it worked so well she stopped taking it. It nulled out the "lows" but also the "highs" so she felt...nothing.
She decided she'd go back to feeling something, and so she stopped taking it.
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Years ago, after a failed romance, I was placed on a tricyclic antidepressant (Adapin?) for 3 months. It is an experience I would not have missed for anything. As I explained to the doctor, it was like having a heavy raincoat on. Depressing thoughts still came, but had no purchase; they ran off like water from the back of a mallard.
I don't know; the placebo effect might be present, but I guarantee these things work for the majority of people.
--Boris
This is after a pretty hectic two years involving a divorce, moving from the Netherlands, to Belgium, back to Britain, and various flats, cities, and other jobs.
But then I remember some of my American heroes such as John Quincy Adams. JQA suffered from what would be called clinical depression today, "melancholy" in his day. Yet by force of will, he got up in the morning and carried on.
I remember what my other hero, Calvin Coolidge had to say:
"Nothing in the world can take place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
I have had moments of depression, but with family and friends around, I've picked up and carried on - partially because I have no other mode of existence. No drugs required. I am of the opinion we're all overmedicated as it is.
Regards, Ivan