are you on anti-depressants?

Katnip, RN · Jun 20, 2003

I'm not taking any now, but I have in the past.

It has nothing to do with nursing. It started in adolescence. Seems to be a family trait.

Flynurse · Jun 20, 2003

Same here cyberkat.

Except I am on meds now, but working to get off.

KaroSnowQueen, RN · Jun 20, 2003

I have been taking them for a year and don't know how I lived without them, quite truthfully. Unless things change dramatically in my life or chemical makeup, I intend to take them forever. It has changed my life dramatically for the better.

Probably a genetic thing, but nursing surely didn't help the situation.

Wendy Psych RN · Jun 21, 2003

I have went to a lower stress job, but still take my antidepressant (LEXAPRO). In the past I have been on everything from WELLBUTRIN, REMERON, and XANAX to TRAZADONE and ATIVAN. I hate taking meds, but I think it is totally the job.

kids · Jun 21, 2003

Yes, max dose of Effexor XR (225 mg/day) as a part of a pain mgmt program. With the year I am having it is probably a good thing I am on them (and nursing has not been the stressor).

passing thru · Jun 21, 2003

Nope.

There's so many stress relievers available to us, I try to access them when needed. E.g., get more rest, communicate with family, utilize counseling if needed for a different point of view, (sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees).

I try to obtain objective viewpoints,

work hard at coping with a stressfful situation - - -

I think taking drugs is the easy way out...it's easier IMHO _ _ to "POP a Pill", than do all the work involved in problem resolution.

And some problems take care of themselves with time,

some can't be resolved - - but adjustments are made and

we live with them....

Life is good without any chemical manipulation.....I want

to live life to the max, not be subdued with drugs.

I want to experience the highs as well as the lows.

No straight and narrow roads for me, i.e.,

no monotone...middle of the road ...type of emotional life for me.

And, I'm responding per anti-depressants.

Anti-psychotics....that's a different matter.

angelbear · Jun 21, 2003

Anyone who thinks taking meds is the easy way out needs some serious education in the disease called depression. Is a diabetic taking insulin taking the easy way out. Not hardly chronic depression has been scientifically proven to be a chemical imbalance in the brain. How can any educated nurse believe it is the easy way out? The ignorance of some people just blows my mind. I unashamedly take prozac and have for years. Trust me I would not be nearly this nice if I didnt. Nurses please get educated on this disease before your ignorance does harm to one of your pts.

sbic56, BSN, RN · Jun 21, 2003

passing thu

With all due respect, I have a few things to say about your post.

Actually, I agree with most of it, but the superior tone is a bit disturbing. I am one of those who can get through my depressions without drugs, as well. You know what I think about that? I'm pretty darn lucky, that's what! If I don't exercise, I get depressed, if I don't eat right, I feel crappy, too. I don't see my depressions as major, but many people experience debilitating depression that does not go away with proper care of self and therapy. So why is taking a pill wrong for these people, if other methods to relieve depression have been attempted and failed?

I believe anti-depressants are grossly overused. This current trend of widely prescribing them for children is bordering on abuse in my book, but that is a whole other thread. It is true that some people do want a quick fix for their ills and doctors respond all too quickly with a pill, be it an antidepressive or whatever. We are pharmacologically dependant as a society. Often, the first line of defense against our maladies, be they physical or mental, is to pop a pill and I honestly believe we often do ourselves more harm than good, but to denounce an entire class of medications because they are not for you, is a equally wrong.

passing thru · Jun 21, 2003

I totally agree with you both. See first post, I was thinking in terms of 2/3 of the nurses someone is working with being on anti-depressants..............is a heck of a lot of nurses.

Angelbear ...do me a fav and read my post...,

those with severe depression.....see last sentence of my post......

those patients are a wholly different matter.

I was in a meeting yesterday morning with eleven nurses. I think nine were on anti-depressant therapy....the discussion re: prozac vs zoloft vs ___________ (you name it) vs prozac AND welbutrin vs. ____________ some other combinations....

these nurses are experiencing divorces, boyfriend problems, abortions, credit card and debt problems, relationship problems.....

Hello??? this is life.....deal with it!

And the majority of their problems were brought on by themselves...

Clue: Don't get involved with a new guy when you're still getting rid of the last one....

Don't drag your kids home to momma and then stress out over the tension and stress , conflicts, etc...

Don't charge $30,000 on credit cards and then wail how stressed you are and how much you need to increase your prozac, .......... LOL

Who does your baby belong to??? YOU DON'T KNOW ?? waiting for the birth and the paternity tests?????????

Nursing as a career did not bring on any of these nurses problems.

Angelbear, I don't know what your friends and co-workers are doing...taking to alleviate the emotional pain...

but, it isn't necessary to say I am ignorant.

I am fully capable of determining that my co-workers are seeking medication to help them cope with the mess they have made of their lives. I don't think any of them psychotic.

I think fewer meds and some real "work" to cope with life

would help the nurses I know.

Most want to feel better but not do the work to straighten out

the messes they've made. And, yes, they go to the doctor and

say, "I'm depressed."

I'd be depressed to if I were pregnant and didn't know who the daddy was....but I don't think prozac is strong enough to

undo the damage .

sbic56, BSN, RN · Jun 21, 2003

passing thru

Darn good post. Dr. Phil has nothing over you! Seriously, I totally agree with your rebuttal post in that too many are looking for a quick fix from a pill for things that they brought upon themselves, deny it, then because they didn't learn and grow from it, are destined to repeat it and start the negative cycle all over again.

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Jun 21, 2003

It is sad to see that some blanket judgments are being made about others, in this thread.

Perhaps, you should just grab a clinically depressed person by the shoulders and tell them to "snap out of it."

Maybe you could tell someone with cancer that if they just had the right attitude and took responsibility for themselves and their actions, that ol' tumor would just disappear.

They all just need to be more like you!

I'm just reflecting the tone of some of the posts on this thread.

=0)