>>17131414
Explain these feelings to your psychiatrist

>>17131414
Finding the right medication for you can be a long and painful process, anon. So sorry you have to deal with this right now.

I had to try 5 different meds over the course of 3 years before I found one that helped my BPD symptoms.

I find that it takes 3-5 months before you can really tell if a medication is going to help you or not. How long have you been on Abilify?

If you don't like how the medication makes you feel, then definitely try a different one. Brains are weird and when you find the right one, it can be such a relief. It's worth it to switch a couple times if the side effects are too much.

I hope you find one that matches your chemistry.

>>17131439

Abilify since the end of February but stopped taking it regularly in April and have taken it every other day the last week or so because of its long half-life.

I can't tell if its me making connections where there are none or if it makes me an asshole, based on events that have come up. I start to think maybe I'm just attracting bad things through medication via the law of attraction in metaphysics (my beliefs get crazy weird off of meds... my grandfather was schizophrenic.)

BPD... are you male or female?

The shitty thing is Abilify costs a fuckload and my employer covers it but right now I could end up fired from this job based on a complaint from a customer, apparently I said a cuss word out loud and they heard and I have no idea when, can I explain mental illness to my employer?

>>17131471
I'm female. I have BPD due to abuse when I was a child.

You shouldn't change how often you take your dose of this medication... if your doctor says to take it every day, then take it every day. Don't skip days, especially on a regular basis. It can cause worsening or new effects because your brain can't adapt to the change in neurotransmitter levels that quickly.

In fact, Abilify is known for causing schizophrenia-like symptoms if you stop taking it too suddenly instead of slowly tapering off or replacing it with a similar medication first. This could explain the metaphysical thinking you experience when you go off it. It can also explain emotional reactions you may be having.

Brain chemistry is really complicated, so it's important that you tell your doctor as much as possible about what you're feeling when you take it. You should also tell them that you've been skipping doses or discontinued the medication abruptly.

You can most certainly tell your employer that you're dealing with some mental health issues at the moment. You can't have to explain it more than that... and if you really worry about losing your job for this, your doctor can write your boss a letter. They don't need to say much, just that you're trying to find a medication that works and may not be fully in control of your behaviours at this time.

I really feel for you, anon. I truly hope you can grasp control of your psyche this way. If the law of attraction is real (although, that I do doubt), then I'm sending you positive thoughts!

Look into this service - it may help you find the right medication more quickly:

http://www.cnsresponse.com/

>>17131414
medication is such bullshit, if you are taking it to humor your psychiatrist then by all means continue, but if you want to get better, and i mean really better then learn to understand and live with your own mind.

this advice is given from a person with a psychotic disorder where i maintain my mood with routines and mindfulness in order to stop from slipping into psychosis, every now and then ill "trial" some meds to humor my psych and have a monetary record of utilizing meds to ensure my gubmint benefits dont get cut.

>>17131858
Anon, don't be so arrogant as to assume that you are the model for all others. Everyone is different and some people do not have the strength of will to just fix themselves. For some of us, medication is an extremely beneficial tool.

>>17131858
Sounds fake

>>17131858
You might have anosognosia.

>>17131414
In exactly the same situation, OP.

Gotta decide for yourself if it's worth it or not.

on psymeds, symptoms are normal to get worse for 2-3 weeks
After that they should get much better (better than before the medss)

>>17133142
>anosognosia
>freely admit i have a psychotic condition
>unaware
It would be more accurate to say you have a reading and comprehension deficit.
>>17132773
I never said it was easy, but if truth be told a majority of anti-psychotics and mood stabilizers with their half-lives and side effects did more harm then good for a good many years, not to mention a procession of quaks with fancy pieces of paper on their walls signifying they are experts in their field , encouraging you to take this pill and talk to this overpaid sounding board of a person for 30 mins a week and you will have improved the next time i see you is a merri-go-round littered with disappointment and disaster.

Anyone worth their salt in the profession will tell you that medication is a crutch that can often debilitate the mind from learning the skills to cope on it's own, look into neuroplasticity and stop paying big-pharma money for over subsidized side effect ridden shit.

>>17133563
>My personal experience universally applies to everyone else, all who have unique brain chemistries

Look dude, you do what works for you. If you can find a way to feel better without meds, great. If meds work for another person, that's great too! Isn't seeing people feel better and happier more important than your bitter feelings about your own experience?

There is a genetic test they can do where they check to see which medications would be most agreeable with you. This really helped in finding something that worked for me.

Like others have said its a process. Your goal should be to have ideally no side effects with positive results at the same time. Until then keep bringing up the issues that come up so the psychiatrist can adjust the medication until it works.

If you don't like the symptoms of your medicine, talk to your psychiatrist and work out another medication.

>>17133581
but the problem is if you are operating under a delusion that the medication is helping you when everyone else in your life can see it isn't yet you are "happy" with this delusion, does this still make it alright to keep drugging yourself ?

>>17131414
Here is Anon McAnon's 100% honest view on psych meds:

In theory, the goal behind psychiatric medicine is to target the certain parts of your brain that are causing you to feel anxious, depressed, suicidal, or whatever. They ultimate goal of the pills is to numb you. Not to cure you and make feel life is worth living again, but to numb you. Numb you to the point you no longer feel like you did before, but also to the point you don't really feel happy either. They are NOT magic cures. While you're on them, your psychiatrist will try to get you into good habits t the point you can stop taking pills and move on with you life.

In theory.

In reality, once you are diagnosed with whatever you have, the doc will then offer you a list of possible pills that can work for you. The thing is, when it comes to choosing the "right" kind, it is pure chance and dumb luck. Some people end up only having to take the first kind they're on and everything is good. Other end up going through 5 sets before they move onto the sixth.

Now assuming money isn't an issue for you to where you can pay if necessary, another thing to keep in mind is that if the pills don't work, they can seriously fuck your mind up. I was on Prozac and Effexor. On Prozac, I wanted to kill myself just about every day and could hardly get out of bed in the morning. I'd come home and drink myself to sleep on a regular basis. On Effexor, it wasn't that bad, but when I realized how monetarily fucked I was going to be and threw them away and GTFO of the therapy ASAP, my mind went to mush for like a week (I know it was a bad idea, but still).

Right now I have been taking testosterone supplements and they have been a God-send. Seriously, I swear on my fucking life that if you start taking them you WILL see a positive change in some way, shape, or form.

>>17132773
>"I've never been on psych meds but I totally know what I'm talking about."

>>17133669
People who have high blood pressure take medication to stabilize it. People with chemical imbalances in their brain take medication to stabilize it. Brains are extremely complicated, so sure, maybe every pill in the world didn't work for you, but dismissing the millions of people who do benefit as "being delusional" is both cynical and incorrect.

>>17133826
read
>>17133687

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>>17131414
>However when I do take it I feel dull and lifeless, like my soul is being suppressed.
This is not surprising. Abilify is aripiprazole, it's an antipsychotic, they tend to do this.
However (like any other side effect) that doesn't mean you should accept it, go tell your doctor and they'll switch you between different antipsychotics until you settle on the best one for you.

>>17133687
>They ultimate goal of the pills is to numb you. Not to cure you and make feel life is worth living again, but to numb you. Numb you to the point you no longer feel like you did before, but also to the point you don't really feel happy either.
Bullshit. Many disorders make you cold, hard, and numb, take away your emotions and feelings for those around you, and turn you into a kind of zombie (anhedonia, blunted affect, etc). Pic related, schizophrenic shit does this in particular (ie what OP has).
Many psychiatric medications specifically FIX that numbness.
Like, say, every fucking dopaminergic drug (eg bupropion is often prescribed as an adjunct to treat anhedonia in depressed people).
>While you're on them, your psychiatrist will try to get you into good habits t the point you can stop taking pills and move on with you life.
Some disorders don't work like this. Classic schizophrenia, for example, is caused by defects in the brain. It starts when egg meets sperm, and stops when you die. The meds are harsh, much much harsher than antidepressants for example, but they're usually necessary to allow the person to function in daily life, hold a job, have friends, live independently (ie not in an institution), sometimes even get married and live happily ever after and all that shit.

Sure things like depression and ADHD are massively over-diagnosed and over-medicated, but what OP's got is different.

>>17133908
>medicate everyone who makes me feel uncomfortable
T.B. Pharma

>>17133928
>Depresssd people are perfectly happy the way they are

>>17133971
>depression is a period of time after and before you are happy.

>>17133928
Sure you're replying to the right post?
The goal of psychiatric treatment is to improve the patient's life, other people's feelings don't really matter.

Sure sometimes things go wrong and making other people comfortable becomes the goal: this happens when people other than the patient and doctor are making decisions (eg psychosurgery, ADHD, etc).

>>17133977
Sometimes that period of time stretches into years and severely affects your ability to do what you WANT to do. It might not be true for you, but for some people, mental illness is so debilitating that you can't just think your way out of it. Medication is a way to improve your condition to the point where you can function enough to help yourself.

lulz. sorry.


I have been chased by illuminatis for all my life. They tried to kill me over 200 times. Every girl I went out with or she liked me were recruited and got credit cards and good life with privilege.

The only relationship I had was fapping and prostitutes.

Couldn't pass undergrad due to most my of lecturers were recruited or were illuminatis. Failed so many subjects. Had to redo about 4 subjects about 3-5 times.

Illuminatis were invading my home each time am out, with the help of Australian Federal Police. My computers were scanned and spyware placed. I got bullied by the Australian Media. I ignored them.

Still not happy?

geez.

>>17134338
Are you aware that you are schizophrenic?

>>17134447
It's just some faggot pretending to be schizo ironically in a bid to give an anecdotal example of why some sheeple should be medicated, pay him no mind.
>>17134287
You do know how powerful the mind is right?
But it can be a double edged sword for example:
If there is some deep seeded undealt with shit that you have put in a box and refused to deal with repetitively, it will start to leak into other areas of your psyche manifesting as anxiety, depression, or even a psychotic illness, granted being able to undo or correct the cause of the initial problem may be out of your power the fact that it was not resolved is what causes the real problem, resolving it can be as simple as dredging it up from your memory and using your cognitive mind to find some resolution in the here and now that, to reenacting the traumatic experience and doing something different in the here and now or even just accepting that it happened.

>>17134567
>>17134287
You're both right. Sometimes therapy is enough. Sometimes pills alone are enough. Sometimes people need both. It's a debate that has spanned decades, but the consensus among psychologists today is that mental illness has a combination of factors, both bilogical and the patient's life situation. Therapy can't balance your brain chemicals, and pills can't help you with handling life's challenges better.

If something makes a person happy and it doesn't cause harm to themselves or others, than I'm happy for them.

>>17131414

You should deal with your experiences instead of dulling your mind to the point where they don't bother you.

Only by working on your experiences and accepting your past can you move into the future.

Always remember that life is the future, not the past.

Also, get some vitamin D. Many who feel low-energy and depressive are simply lacking the D (huehue)

>>17134567
>It's just some faggot pretending to be schizo
You could be right. But. I used to work for a home security company, and I've spoken with many paranoid schizophrenic customers who spouted stuff exactly like that.

>>17134603
Ever break a bone? How did you treat it?

It's called mental ILLNESS for a reason. It would be great if happy thoughts and vitamin D made it go away. If that was the case, millions of people wouldn't continue to suffer. Get a broken bone, treat it with a splint. Have a broken brain that doesn't produce the normal amount of serotonin, treat it with SSRIs.

>>17134626
>>17134593
>you should not change your behavior to manage your illness
>you should take drugs with side effects like; weight gain, liver damage, light headedness, loss of ocular focus, uncontrollable liver damage, drowsiness, headaches, sore muscles, sore joints, drooling, slured speech, loss of coordination, mania,psychosis, depression, cotton mouth,rash,swelling, forgetfulness, renal failure, spastic colon,sleeplessness... and the list goes on...and on...and on....

>>17134593
This is just fuzzy hippie bullshit, "mental illness" is not a single general phenomenon.
Some things that used to be considered psychological, like epilepsy or narcolepsy, are now considered to be purely biological, and are neurologists' responsibility now.
Then there's things that are predominantly biological, like classical schizophrenia, OCD, or Tourettes: all are strongly inherited (if your identical twin has it, you do too), and can be caused in simple animals like mice/rats by fucking with their genes.
Moving up, there's things that predominantly psychosocial, like ADHD and depression.
Finally, there's purely psychosocial shit, like the cluster-B personality disorders.

>>17134626
It's not that simple. Those dumbasses that rage against big pharma are often wrong, but in the case of SSRIs and such, they're right: pharmaceutical companies were incredibly irresponsible to promote early monoamine models to the general public.

Serotonin levels are now thought to play only an incidental role in the biology of depression. For example, after looking into how tianeptine works, we found out that it does basically nothing to serotonin at all, yet it's still among the most effective antidepressants.

Newer drugs like esketamine and rapastinel affect glutamine neurotransmission instead, and are proving far more effective than serotonin modulators. The funny thing is that big pharma companies haven't become more altruistic, they're still chasing the profit. They're getting preferential treatment from the FDA by applying for approval in chronic, treatment-resistant depression: the more truly biological kind, the kind we only call treatment-resistant because their earlier band-aid serotonin boosters (as well as therapy and time) miserably fail to treat it!

Like Churchill said, you can always trust Americans to do the right thing, after they've tried everything else first.

This thread has really made me quite sad. I've just started Zoloft after a six-month period of going without any SSRI after a bad experience. I've always been a little off since I was young, but things went downhill after my cancer diagnosis/chemotherapy and a long-term relationship falling apart all happening at once. The amount of ignorance here is scary; I can understand not wanting to give "Big Pharma" money, but why do you feel the need to be offended/belittle people if they've found something that works for them, or if they're going to the effort to find something? That six month period I went drug-free and saw a psychologist every off week. Generally, I feel amazing, but my lows are ridiculously low to the point where I've lost my job and almost my family. I'm going in for testing for BPD in a few days - would explain a lot - but please, tell me again how I'm just not getting enough sunlight.

Everyone's different. You never know what the people around you are honestly going through. It's great to use your own experiences to help others and discuss things, but being condescending - especially when it comes to something like mental illness, where your words on a chinese cartoon forum can seriously affect someone's wellbeing - is just a pretty terrible thing to do.

I can understand the idea that a lot of people taking SSRIs are maybe going to a extent that isn't needed, or are misdiagnosed, or something along those lines. At the same time, people are going to find something that works for them, and if it fucks them up to the point where it makes their life worse they'll stop taking them, you'd think? So where's the downside? Some people need it more than others.

I'm not even the most educated here, evidently, but I really can't see why anyone who's dealt with anything close to what I've dealt with - and thankfully, I'm not even that bad/sick compared to some people - can oppose anything that helps people that are struggling with themselves. Sure, basic counselling and behavioural adjustment might work for some people, it might've worked for you, but you can't speak for everyone.

>>17134626

Look, when you have a depression that stems from a broken heart, you do NOT need mood altering substances (except for a bottle of whiskey for the first couple of days)

There are SO MANY cases of depression that could be solved by a good talk and a shoulder to cry on, and then MOVING ON.

And if that doesn't work, then therapy is the next option.

SSRI's are monsters that are only needed in 20% of the cases where they are prescriped, and they have horrible horrible side effects. Every drug that messes with the brain has some pretty serious side effects, but SSRI's take the fucking cake.

Much of what we in the modern world call depression is simply feeling sad. It's fucking normal to feel sad over bad things. That's how we deal. And they you deal. And then you move on.

And big pharma is not interested in treating the cause of your depression, they are only interested in treating the SYMPTOMS.
But the cause is still there, underneath it all. So you will need those meds for the rest of your life because you didn't try to DEAL WITH LIFE.

Urgh it makes me angry. Sure some people have clinical depression out of the blue and need serious meds to stay relatively functional, but there are a vast majority that need someone to talk to and to deal and to move on.

And also vitamin D deficiency, which has many of the same symptoms as depression, which is the reason why nordics living in dark and rainy countries are such high consumers of happy pills

>>17134822
Change your behavior, formulate a routine around your chemo regime and continue seeing the psychologist, the last thing your body needs right now is more drugs. Accepting you feel low is a start, you also should accept that this is not how you will always be, yes you could be dead soon but you are alive right now, arguing on a chinese cartoon image board : )!

Is it really worth it to put chemicals in your system prescribed by someone that does it for a living because the world can't see it any other way?
What happened to CBT or finding your inner strength? It always seems to be the easy way now by giving people meds which leads to not being their genuine selves. I was put on meds when I was very young and no one told me about these awful side effects I got either.
Also anyone in this thread who is supporting meds and has never been on them please get a grip. Know that you are oblivious with your heart in the right pleace.
>People should feel good! Take these!
Stop

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>>17134912
>Every drug that messes with the brain has some pretty serious side effects, but SSRI's take the fucking cake.
Actually they're considered among the safest psychiatric drugs, that's why doctors hand them out like candy (eg i took escitalopram for 6 weeks and it did absolutely nothing, might as well have been taking sugar pills).

Just look at what people were using before SSRIs: tricyclics are significantly worse. I remember reading a study recently comparing a next-generation experimental antidepressant to amitryptyline (a tricyclic) and Zoloft (an SSRI) in rats by increasing the dose until it worked:
>new one worked immediately at low doses, few harmful effects
>Zoloft had to be increased to a massive dose to get the same benefit
>amitryptyline always killed the rat before getting there
Then there's the even older MAOIs ("you have to wear a medical bracelet that says "I TAKE ANTIDEPRESSANTS", your favorite cheese is now deadly poison, and you can't take those decongestants since they'll kill you")

And of course, since we're in a schizo thread to begin with, all antipsychotics are much, much worse. Since they lower dopamine and have god-awful side effects they have attrition rather than addiction: healthy people are lining up around to block to get Adderall because they can't study for 8 hours, but people had to invent depot injections of Haldol because even psychotic people being tortured by hallucinated demons refuse to willingly swallow it.

>Sure some people have clinical depression out of the blue and need serious meds to stay relatively functional
The most tragicomic part is that these people usually get the least benefit from SSRIs, which mainly help with symptoms rather than addressing the root cause.
Thankfully around 2020 we should be seeing the first of the new drugs hitting the market, they're a huge leap in the right direction.

>>17134962
>What happened to CBT
Same thing that happened to prescribing diet & exercise. Pills are easier.

>>17133687
Do you really take testosterone

>>17135160
shh dont interject with facts and reason!
>this is 4chan

>>17135310
Yes

>>17136300
do you get extra hair on your balls ?

>>17137319
No

>>17138263
so are you just test deficient ?

I'm pretty sure I have brain problems [read: depression] but because it's not crippling and prescription drugs are a big NOPE for me I've been looking at St. John's Wort, SAMe, cannabis (legal medically and recreationally in my state) and/or various and sundry nutritional supplements like fish oil, folic acid, etc.

Anyone have experience with anything I mentioned?

>>17138859
>prescription drugs are a big NOPE for me
Why? Scared of doctors, or pharmacists?

>>17138859
>St. John's Wort
Works, probably mostly as an SRI (inhibits monoamine reuptake).
>SAMe
Works a little bit by boosting serotonin levels.
>sundry nutritional supplements
Most are bullshit, but go ahead if you want. Take something with B9 and B12 in it if you're taking SAMe.

Don't take high doses of the st john's wort and SAMe at the same time (too much serotonin is toxic).
If you have an 5MTHFR defect (ie T/T, which is not rare, iirc 10% of europeans, 1% of africans, 20% of chinese) then don't take SAMe (you'll not only get no benefit, it'll cause harm by leaving shit-tons of homocysteine lying around).

>>17138350
I would assume.

>>17139235
>Why? Scared of doctors, or pharmacists?
The drugs. I've known a number of people (some related to me, no less) on prescription drugs for mental illnesses and I'd rather live with the mental illness - even if it kills me - then subject myself to that.