wear it like a badge ... i find it helps. pisses off a lot of other people, but helps! ;)

LOL...it'll never stand up in court. That wasn't me writing, that was my evil twin Francesca.

No Spexx...I actually tend to lean towards the leaders rather than the followers. Since I'm not quite sure about your intention with that question I'll let my guard down and answer honestly. I've been dealing with anxiety, amongst other things...like not relying on weed to calm my nerves and help me sleep, and to make me feel "normal". I had been doing really good...at least at not smoking...and then I kinda dropped the ball and continued on my path to self destruction. It had been a few weeks since I had seen my therapist, when I went in for my appt she had noticed the change and we talked about it. She thought that having anti-depressants to help me deal with the anxiety would help me to continue to stop using pot as my clutch.

And there ya go...

Good info, good reads...thanks Phil.

Just curious. I thought I needed them a long time before I started them, but I was always leery of the stigma attached - you know, the "people on pills are weak or crazy" kinda attitude that some people have. Only one of my friends or coworkers admit to being on medication. If I'd had a pool of friends saying what has been said in this thread, I would have started long before I did.

Was reluctance to get counseling part of the puzzle as well?--for everybody, I'm not picking on spexx? Or can you pretty much say, "hey, I want some zoloft" and get a prescription?

My doctor, oops, Primary Care Provider, gives a written questionnaire. :cool:

I was prompted - in part - to see my GP by discussions on these threads. By the time I went to see him I was barely functioning anyway, but discussions here took some of the stigma away.

I also didn't recoil in horror when he suggested anti-depressants because of here.

I was offered counselling at the same time as the drugs. The point at which my GP saw me I was already incapable of working, so starting on drugs immediately wasn't too much of a stretch.

I talked to my doctor, who referred my to a psychiatrist. I was surprised that the interaction with the psychiatrist - it went something like this:

Dr: why do you think you need medication?
Spexx: because blah blah blah
Dr: ok, we'll start you on this. I'll see you in a month. If this doesn't work, we can change it.

No talk therapy at all. I had reluctance to therapy, for reasons similar to my reluctance to meds, but by the time I saw the psychiatrist, we'd been in family counselling with a psychologist for a couple of months.

I was a psych major. Though I know talk therapy can be very helpful, it is as trial and error and the meds; it can take quite some time to find the one who is right for you.

Hopefully, when I have money to plop down the co-pay once a week I will find someone suitable. I know I could benefit...but I've seen and heard of some real doozies: those who just tell you what you want to hear, which doesn't help anyone, those who have no idea where you're coming from, etc.

screw the stigma SG : there are approx 5 million people on anti - depressants in the UK. there are even trace elements in the drinking water because so many people are pissing it into the system.
seriously, if someone has a chemical imbalance, there really is no shame in treating it.:cool:

youre welcome.

If you are taking meds and not doing something to get to the root of the real problem you are wasting your money.

I thought the root of the real problem was (often? usually?) a chemical imbalance. Isn't that what the pills are for?

Chem imbalance or not, if you are depressed or anxious it is about something... that needs to be discussed and dealt with. Tools need to be given and practiced.
Just handing someone meds does nothing toward that other than putting them into a frame of mind to help them receive that information and put it into action... nothing more.
They do not "cure" anything without the work and tools professionally given & monitored.
This is why I have problems with most Psychiatrists, they have lost their calling.