Opinions - a long time on ssri's

[the big bad i said no!]

hello, im new to the forum . ssris have been an ongoing part of my life for about 5 years now, which i thinks quite a while and i think my brain is to used to them. i often wonder if i just stop i will be better than if i take them. i suffer from anxiety and depersonalization stemming from events in my past. im in the process of starting c-b-therapy and am wondering if an end to ssris before this will help me 'feel' who i really am? i seem to rely on knowing that because i take ssris that its making me 'better' but when its been such a long time you are used to your self, your mind, pumped full of ssris everyday is this really you? i feel i need to experience a drug free me and maybe these problems that started so long ago arent there anymore and any anxious feeling/thoughts i still get are just because im pumping my brain full of anti-depressants everyday. but if i stop though and after and side effects (which i expect), i feel worse and the anxiety returns as it was years ago does it mean i need these pills forever?
sorry to blabber on, was just hoping for some input from someone in a similar boat. muchos lovex

[Heretic.Ape.]

I would recommend staying on your medication for now and talking to your physician about phasing them out as you progress in your cognative-behavioral therapy. What school of therapy does your therapist subscribe to, if you don't mind my curiosity?
Oh, and don't worry about being on pills forever. Behavioral therapy has been found more effective than drug interventions in recent metaanalysis. Just find a good therapist and stick with a good behavioral therapy plan and you will be able to take your emotions into your own hands rather than depending on meds

[Heretic.Ape.]

Also, physicians are notorious (in my experience) for advocating staying on meds. If you do not want to be on meds anymore and your physician says you should stay on them, listen to his reasons, talk it over with your therapist, and if you are not convinced that meds are right for you or necissary and you have a good support setup, you can stop taking your meds. Be careful with this and stay in contact with your therapist and physician. You may want to look into ACT, a therapy that has proven successful with anxiety. It is mindfulness based. A simple exercise used sometimes in mindfulness interventions is a very simple technique called "soles of the feet". When you find yourself (in this case) feeling anxiety you would stop, take a few breaths, and focus your attention on the sensation of the soles of your feet. This derails the thought process that you are stuck in and centers you in a more grounded, body consciousness.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

[the big bad i said no!]

thanks for such a quick reply! duno but if your a uk resident and your up as late as me then thanks even more so. i basically have a big say over my meds with my trusty gp, as ive been on so many over the years (mostly ssris). i was diagnosed with depersonalization disorder about 5 months ago, (which i know ive suffered from for years anyway) and put on a weird combination of lamotrigine and sertraline (the srri im on at the mo). i stopped the lamotrigine as it wasnt helping over the last few weeks and am alowed to stop the ssri if i feel it will help. basicly my gp dosent know much about depersonalization disorder and i had to see a specialised shrink and the Priory to actually find someone that understood, so the situations difficult as they basically leave it up to me and how im feeling. the cbt is going to be carried out by a specialist that knows alot about depersoanlization disorder (which is costing a bomb, lol!), so maybe i should wait and ask his advice? duno if you know what i mean, but when i get an idea into my head, i.e. lets stop all my meds, its gota be better, etc. it seems like the best idea....?

[Heretic.Ape.]

I am not familiar with depersonalization disorder. Definitely consult your therapist before taking any action. I suggest skepticism, however, if you are told you will be on meds for the rest of your life. The majority of disorders can be effectively treated through behavioral analysis to make meds unnecissary. It takes time, committment, and effort, but I feel is worth it. I mention this because many physicians and therapist alike have grown all too comfortable with simply writing perscriptions and sitting back and listening to clients talk for their very expensive hour on the couch. If you do not like being on meds, don't settle for someone who isn't going to really try to help you. If you just want perscriptions and to talk about your problems you can just get your gp to perscribe and write a journal (this is actually a very good idea--the journal--writing about your feelings is in many cases as effective as talk therapy and much cheaper it also has proven in repeated studies to boost the immune system and mental performance). Good luck getting this all sussed out.

[the big bad i said no!]

cheers for all the input and thanks for the pm offer. i dont really have anyone that close that really relates or has any experience to talk about these things. if your up for chatting over im sometime that would be great.

[Heretic.Ape.]

I don't have an instant messanger but feel free to pm me. I don't imagine I can be of much help with depersonalization disorder but I'd love to hear about it and I'd be happy to look into it further for you.

[bob_arctor]

Been on SSRI for several years myself. An interesting read dealing with such questions as you seem to ponder is the book "is it me or my meds" by sociology professor David Karp. I haven't read it myself, but heard a review on it and it sounded worthwhile. Not a alarmist "SSRI are evil!" like prozac nation seems to have been for example.

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• By the millennium Americans were spending more than 12 billion dollars yearly on antidepressant medications. Currently, millions of people in the U.S. routinely use these pills. Are these miracle drugs, quickly curing depression? Or is their popularity a sign that we now inappropriately redefine normal life problems as diseases? Are they prescribed too often or too seldom? How do they affect self-images?
  David Karp approaches these questions from the inside, having suffered from clinical depression for most of his adult life. In this book he explores the relationship between pills and personhood by listening to a group of experts who rarely get the chance to speak on the matter--those who are taking the medications. Their voices, extracted from interviews Karp conducted, color the pages with their experiences and reactions--humor, gratitude, frustration, hope, and puzzlement. Here, the patients themselves articulate their impressions of what drugs do to them and for them. They reflect on difficult issues, such as the process of becoming committed to medication, quandaries about personal authenticity, and relations with family and friends.
  The stories are honest and vivid, from a distraught teenager who shuns antidepressants while regularly using street drugs to a woman who still yearns for a spiritual solution to depression even after telling intimates "I'm on Prozac and it's saving me." The book provides unflinching portraits of people attempting to make sense of a process far more complex and mysterious than doctors or pharmaceutical companies generally admit.

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