They make my life livable. I don't know what I would do without them. (and the insurance that covers them)

I just can't believe how very much Zoloft helped Me function in a day with daily (several panic attacks)...Since on the drug I have not had one at all....It has given Me hope, confidence, & joy...I was agoraphobic & I have been venturing out & doing things I NEVER would have done!....I Am SO thankful to have My life back!!!

 i tried several over the years, with no results other than nausea. I am on Pristiq now and it is perfect for me. it's very hard to find the right thing that works for each person who needs it.

With unipolar Depression, tricyclics pushed me into Mania in my teens, thirties and fifties. I am better with natural foods and exercise I enjoy. Outdoors helps and a SAD bank of UV lights.

I lost my husband to Paxil. After just 28 days of taking them, he shot himself. Now my kids have no father! These are terrible mind altering drugs and I will never take them nor will my children. For anyone that is depressed or feeling down, I suggest talking to people about how you feel and working out. The drug companies are only out to make money and they don't care how many people are dying every year from suicides because of these drugs. If you don't believe me, look up some of the most famous suicides including Columbine Shooters. These are serious mind altering drugs and they should be removed from the market and not be sold! I am still waiting for the day when the lawyers come out and advertise for people wanting them to contact them because they lost a loved one to these drugs. The day is coming believe me. The corner and police departments see this all of the time in suicides. The FDA is hiding behind the real results from antidepressants and no one should trust the FDA or the government when it comes to dangerous antidepressants.

I tried them Paxil and a few others, they worked a bit, but the side effects were unbearable. Coming off Paxil was very difficult . I was worse for a time. Check out The Depression Cure by a University of Kansas Professor Dr. Stephen Ilardi. It is drug free and makes alot of sense. It is what I am trying next.

No doctor should be permitted to prescribe an antidepressant he hasn't used himself.

They hand this stuff out like aspirin, with no idea what they are doing except that the drug company's representative told them it should help, and if not this one, then that one, or the other one, or one beyond that; anything but consider the possibility that depression is not the problem.

Doctors should lose their license if they prescribe antidepressants before they have explored other causes for feeling low such as sleep apnea, chronic infection, or diabetes.

Seriously, before you let your doctor push antidepressants on you, get a sleep test first. Sleep apnea was my problem, but my doctor had assigned "depression" as my disease, and would not consider anything else. I fired my doctor and asked the next doctor to order a sleep apnea test. After months of misery due to the side effects of one antidepressant after another, a CPAP machine solved my problem in a few weeks.

My doctor was very forthcoming about antidepressants when I first started. He told me they are not a cure, they do not work about 30 40% of the time, there is no test or scan they can give you (except a brain biopsy) to see if you neurotransmitters are out of whack and it is somewhat trial and error. I hit it with lexapro. I have experienced several serious life events in one year - job loss; spouse died; MRSA infection..etc.--but you know i feel ok. No side effects. Able to do more than survive..etc. I still have bad days..but they seldom last more that a few hours or maybe a day.

I could not have done it without the anti-depressants.

I went from a depressed sleep All day, didn't give a ?* to see or talk to people. To a person who now wants to live and to see the sun come up in the mornings! Big medical problems with NO insurance helped the depression, now with antidepressants I cope and want to see those sunny mornings

Thanks for Lexapro

To all of the people who are on antidepressants, I feel for you because I have been there. I started taking them when I lost a child and have been on just about every one that has ever been put on the market. I suffered tremendously and so did my husband while I was taking them. I just didn't realize how bad I really was until I decided I would come off of them. I nearly lost my mind coming off of them due to the withdrawals I had but after a week and 14 pounds later, I feel so much better now. I know I really needed something at first when my child died, but I think I got so involved with taking medication that I didn't want to go without them. I thank my husband and God for helping me to see the light and although I still have days when I get depressed, it doesn't take much for me to pull myself up and start the day all over again without that depression. I don't think that I would suggest anybody else do what I did, but I am glad now that I did it. I feel GREAT!!!

my personal experience is that prozac works great for me with little or no side effect. i once tried buspar and it was awful. i think the right medication is key and it differs likely with each persons brain chemistry. thankfully i found prozac in a low dose very helpful . not drinking or using drugs to change the way i feel is key also.

I've been dealing with depression since I was 16 years old, been on antidepressants for 20 years now. They are a God send to me. I tried all kinds of ways to deal with it before that. They aren't "happy pills" for me. I still have down days, but they're normal down days, and I can enjoy my family and my life. Without the drugs (and I have tried going off them periodically) I cannot function. I think they are over prescribed by under qualified doctors, but for those of us who need them, they are literally lifesavers

I have PTSD and anitdepressants and anxiety meds. have been a God send! sure beats flash backs and night terrors!

I have found Lithium very helpful for my bipolar disorder. However, Lithium is not a durg, it is a mineral/salt and on the elements chart. Much of it is mined in Nevada. Taking a unique form of salt that is natural is not the same as taking a "drug" per se. If not Lithium, I recommend all bipolar people try and find something that works for them. Without it, real bipolars engage in VERY dangerous behavior. There is also some thinking that bipolar is more of a medical disorder not a mental disorder though it presents itself as such, thus, your GP can help almost as well as a psychiatrist after correct diagnosis.

Most of my sisters and I all from mild depression. We each take a different anti-depressant, and we have all seen major changes in how we are able to deal with stress since we started on them.

i have tried just about all of the newer drugs and they worked for awhile. i always ended up suicidal. finally my doctor gave me Emsam (an MAO inhibitor). What a Godsend! I have never in my life felt better, happier, more clear headed in my life. I have had not a single side effect other small red patches on my belly due to the patch adhesive. I can live with this! This is a newer low dosage drug and there are no dietary restrictions.

I have been taking Prozac for some 17 years now. I know of no side effects during this time. I still am a very serious and very emotional person, but it does not get out of control. I can still tear up while watching "Sound of Music" when Maria is in the convent and the Mother Nun sings that song because I have been at that place most of my life - accepted by none and appreciated by none. But I have learned to live with rejection because I have learned that it is not my fault - it is theirs. Each time it happens, I now say, "Lord Jesus, I know how you feel." My experience at being a depressive is that we are sensitive people who care too much. Even so, I would rather be this way than to be like those who care for none but themselves - like those who pay themselves $100,000,000 a year, the wages needed by 2,000 families.

I kept insisting that I really was feeling tired and distracted, but my doc and therapist wouldn't believe me. I needed to see an endocrinologist and get my low thyroid diagnosed, but they were so locked into prescribing antidepressants for everything that they couldn't be bothered to do their jobs and diagnose a medical condition.

I have been taking Prozac for some 17 years now. I know of no side effects during this time. I still am a very serious and very emotional person, but it does not get out of control. I can still tear up while watching "Sound of Music" when Maria is in the convent and the Mother Nun sings that song because I have been at that place most of my life - accepted by none and appreciated by none. But I have learned to live with rejection because I have learned that it is not my fault - it is theirs. Each time it happens, I now say, "Lord Jesus, I know how you feel." My experience at being a depressive is that we are sensitive people who care too much. Even so, I would rather be this way than to be like those who care for none but themselves - like those who pay themselves $100,000,000 a year, the wages needed by 2,000 families.