Discussion»Statements»Rosie's Corner» Why would any person who is depressed take anti-depressants when potential side effects can include increased thoughts of suicide?
For your information Rosie, I have been on a course of selective seratonin uptake inhibitors since October (at the lowest dose of 50mg) for anxiety and low mood - they have helped me and I may be able to come off them later this month. I did not experience any side effects except loss of appetite and mouth dryness in the first week or two. I did NOT experience increased thoughts of suicide, even though the enclosed instruction leaflet warned me that this was a possibility.
I don't claim to have any academic knowledge in this field. However, I think it is useful to bear in mind that what we conventionally call "depression" may encompass a range of undesired mental states - sadness, grief, anxiety, self-criticism, anger, obsessive thoughts, and so on. For example, some people may find that suicidal or self-destructive thoughts tend to be associated with anxiety, anger and self-criticism rather than sadness or melancholy. It is possible that, if such a person takes a pill that gives their mood a bit of a lift, it may weaken the "melancholy" aspect of their condition, but the anxiety and self-criticism and so forth may remain unabated, and may even seem to have become stronger because there is no longer anything to mask them.
It is also possible that someone who is in a deep depression is less likely to be a high suicide risk because their condition may make them apathetic and lethargic. Indeed I have heard it said that people with bi-polar disorder are unlikely to attempt suicide in the depressive phase of their illness.
My advice is, if you are considering going on a course of medication for depression or anything else, do your own research, and if possible, ask people your own age and similar lifestyles who have been on the same or similar medication.
Hi sweetie (pardon the familiarity but that's the word that came to mind so I went with it m'dear!) HAPPY NEW YEAR REV. Thank you for an excellently informative and thoughtful reply. I've been "in the dumps" on occasion in my life but always for a very brief time. I have a friend who suffered from "clinical depression" and he said there were days he didn't see the point of even getting out of bed. So when I see these meds being advertised to mitigate depression and they all have the disclaimer that if you get suicidal stop taking it I wonder why would anyone chance it? Of course I expect they are all (like you) under a doctor's constant guidance so maybe there are early warning signs to tip them off that something is not working. Your reply is an A+ topnotch educational report for which I thank you! Happy New Year Wednesday 2020 Rev! :)
This post was edited by RosieG at January 1, 2020 8:05 AM MST
Reverend Muhammadovsky 