Depression and anti-depressants

[mrgorth]

I'm wondering if your experience with divorce/seperation involved either or both of these. Ever since my wife told me she didn't love me anymore I've been on some combination of lexapro and risperdal. Recently I've also gone on welbutrin. I simply can't believe I'm on all this shit and still feel lousy. It's even tougher to believe how low I am without them. It just feels like you're dying. Before the welbutrin I was thinking of going to the ER I felt so lousy. Today, I left a message for my wife in the AM and still haven't heard back . I'm struggling with whether to call or not. I feel like I'm dating again and don't know when to do the follow up. Except of course that there is no right answer anymore.

[hermetic]

1. I'm pretty much against antidepressants

for this sort of thing. Don't know about all of them but I was on Welbutrin for a while and I realized that it made me lose my sense of caring about things like nature and music. So I said never again. A recent study shows exercise just as helpful for depression as drugs. Try to keep yourself busy, your mind active, try not to dwell on things you can't change now. Remember, there are people out here who care about you and you are never really alone, no matter how much it seems to be that way. Take care of yourself.

[LWolf]

2. paxil

I don't generally do any kind of drug; while depression seems to be genetically linked in my family, I've coped in other ways. When my marriage ended, I simply wasn't able to function. Left with the need to be able to show up at work and get through the day without a meltdown so that I could be self-supporting, I got some paxil from my doctor. It worked. I didn't feel any better; I was just better able to manage the feelings and was able to continue to funtion. I stopped using it 3-4 months into singlehood, and had an abrupt relapse. I used it for another 5-6 months, and gradually decreased what I was taking until I left it behind. By the end of the first year, I was coping without it, and never went back.

[Cheswick2.0]

3. I think the best anti depressant is excercise

Of course you are depressed, how could you not be? Divorce is like death, only harder.

Taking meds is good if it is helping. Try walking a few miles every day too.