How do you know if an antidepressant is working?
I think venlafaxine has helped with my anxiety, but I'm even more dissatisfied with my life than before, like I've woken up at the bottom of a well. I've wasted the last 10 years of my life and now there's no way to get in touch with everyone else.
stop posting gondola you're going to ruin it
I'm also taking that shit and it's not working, going to kill myself soon.
One of the side effects for anti-depressants is more depression and anhedonia. Why would anyone take a med like that?
I'm on St. John's Wort and Abilify right now though, and I can feel them helping me. SNRIs aren't as bad as SSRIs, so it's good that you're on one.
How long have you been taking it? It can take like a month to kick in. I don't know why psychs don't prescribe a immediate-acting med like an opiate or ketamine/methoxetamine to fill in the despair you feel while the medication's taking its time to kick in. That could literally save somebody's life. They do that with benzos and SSRIs for anxiety because benzos are dangerous but immediate.
I take venlafaxine as well, and it's the most effective anti depressant I've ever taken. If you just started on the med then you need to wait for your brain to become acclimated to it. You will feel worse before you feel better.
Additionally it sounds to me like you'd benefit from therapy in addition to medication. Meds won't magically make your negative thoughts disappear. That med specifically will diminish the chemical response to negative stimuli, so you will likely feel less bad about things you normally feel very bad about.
You need to treat the original thought in addition to how your body processes it.
>>24588667
Like it's ridiculous that you have people who are suicidal in the psych ward and they don't give them a nice low dose of ketamine every couple days. It'd be amazing to do the ketamine during therapy too, have some kind of talk therapy session during the first hour after your dose. It could help with a lot of things. Psychedelics can cause a nice afterglow too that can cure depression, but there's a risk of a bad trip (although you'd probably be microdosing if it was medical grade LSD or psilacetin or something).
FYI, this is not the place to go if you're looking for realistic assistance. Google psych providers near you. You will get a lot of shit tier answers here.
-psych provider
>>24588933
How do I not be depressed? I'm already seeing a psych and a therapist and they don't help.
Takes a few weeks for the meds to kick in.
>>24588667
I'd guess addiction risk and pills being toxic making suicide possible.