Paxil saved my life.

I'm convinced depression can be genetic. Further, I'm convinced my mother's mothers' side of the family suffered from depression for decades but they were never diagnosed nor treated. Mom always thought (because she was taught and wrongly, imo) it was a sign of a weak faith Christian for one to be depressed. Personally, I think that makes as much sense as having a broken leg and "thinking" it whole again.

For the first forty years of my life, my depression was not diagnosed, therefore, not treated. When it was correctly diagnosed and medication begun, it was, literally, a miracle in my life. On the 9th day after taking Paxil I woke up and my first thought was, "THIS is what normal feels like!"

I was on Paxil nine months, long enough for my body to begin producing Serotonin (which it had never done before). Serotonin is the naturally produced chemical which helps regulate emotions. After my body began producing Serotonin I've never needed Paxil again. But, if I had to be on Paxil for the rest of my life, guess what? That's not a big deal. Some people take an aspirin every day for their hearts, some take insulin to regulate their blood sugar...why should taking Paxil be any different?

Sometimes meds don't mask the problem, they fix the problem. Sometimes God uses doctors and meds to fix us. Sometimes God can't give us an answer because we already know too much and aren't listening anyway.

Depression caused by a chemical imbalance is quite different than depression caused by a turn of life events. Not to say one is worse than the other but with a chemical imbalance one simply can't work with a therapist and get well. That's as silly as saying my diabetic cousin who needs daily insulin shots can "think" his insulin levels well and not take his shots.

Please, for those who need meds...there's no shame in taking medication. Would you council a friend to walk gently on a broken leg until it had time to heal? No, you would council your friend to get medical help.

Take your own wise council.

Thank you speakermom for your insightful comments. And thanks to those that have emailed me privately. Your support here is something that I already love and cherish. When I received my T shirt from Dotsie (which I hadn't realized I was part of a contest!) she also sent me flyers and book marks that I have already passed on to other boomer women writers, and even a younger mother who really needs a healing support group.

I already love and appreicate you all, and if you would ever have the time to e-mail me and let me know a little more of your background that I may have missed by just coming on board, I would love it.

Thanks again,

Sherri

Dotsie,
I have just joined this website and love it. It is just what I have been looking for. I read your post about mental illness and it struck home. I have had an experience with acute depression in my family and I can tell you it is real. My wonderful, strong, brilliant father had two bouts with it. Once in 1988, when we had to hospitalize him. Therapy and drugs did not help. The only thing that saved his life was Electric Shock Therapy. We were lucky to have him aroung for 16 more years. We lost my mother, his wife of 52 years in 2000. He was fine for a while, but to make a long story short, he sank back into a depression and took his own life this past December, before any of us could help him. I know he is at peace now, but it still hurts. Members of my family are attending support groups and consultations from a wonderful facility that is helping us. Mental illness and depression are real. Medications do help. Anyway, just thought I'd share. This has been the hardest experience of my otherwise happy life. Depression is hereditary, though, so we are all aware of it in our own lives. I love boomerwomenspeak! I have laughed at lots of the posts I've read. The best one was the one about slumber parties! I did try to lift someone off the ground while meditating. We also used to sit in a circle holding hands, closing eyes and someone would lead in trying to contact things in the after-life. How weird is that!! Mostly, we just danced and ate junk!! Hugs,
Sweet T.

Chatty Lady,, don't be hard on yourself.. JUST GET EDUCATED!!! Its the best way to learn about Mental Illness. Its a very serious problem and so many people have it. So many fall through the cracks of our society cuz they cannot get treatment.. That's why there are so many people out on the streets. Its really sad..
My husband has Bipolar and without meds he would be who knows where...We all need to educate ourselves!!! Its very important. A lot of it is inherited!!!

I am happy to say that my meds are working and I am also getting counseling for depression. I got the double whammy, both parents were very depressed people. I am working to overcome ...and I will!

Sherri

Oh wow. Heavy topic but much needed. I resisted taking Prozac because my church taught it was for the weak and God could help me overcome anything. Well, I tried and then that belief made me doubt God because He wasn't helping me feel better.

My doctor told me that when a child is raised in an abusive situation, which I was, it chemically alters the brain and then, here comes depression. I will be on Prozac for the rest of my life and it's fine by me. I'm not strong enough to alter the chemicals in my brain back to what they should be.

I've tried being drug free and it doesn't work for me. I cannot motivate myself. And I suffer from OCD and Prozac helps keep it under control.

I used to believe we should pull ourselves up by our boot straps but the truth is...some of us don't have boot straps or boots so it's impossible.

Hi all,
I'm sorry I didn't start reading this posting earlier. About 5 years ago I started having anxiety attacks where I thought I was dying and was afraid to fall asleep for fear that I would never wake up. They were infrequent and mild so I didn't do anything about them. After I got pregnant with Ana and gave birth the attacks became more frequent. I couldn't sleep at night between the nursing the baby and these attacks. I didn't even share with my husband because I thought I was being silly. Finally I did tell him and he suggested that I talk to our new family doctor. So I did and he prescribed PAxil. I no longer have those anxiety attacks. I do have to watch my caffeine intake though because that can cause similar attacks if I have too much and I am hoping some day to get off the medicine by letting Christ into my life. But until that time I am grateful for the medicine and thank God that there is something that can help me with this problem.
My daughter has been diagnosed with depression and is on medication for it. She is much easier to deal with when she is on her medication. I can tell when she isn't taking it just by the mood changes. She has tried to commit suicide and been on downward spirals where I don't even recognize the person she is. So I thank God for her medication everyday too. Maybe someday she will find a way to stop taking her medication but until that day I am so thankful that there is a way for her to control her depression.

Chris(angel)

My doctor once told me "if you had diabetes, you would take your insulin as prescribed wouldn't you?" I readily agreed with him and he said that taking medication to alleviate a chemical imbalance in the brain is no different from a drug taken to alleviate glucose imbalance in the body. Wow, that gave me a whole new way of thinking about having to take meds. I like some of the other women who responded to this post had NO REASON to be depressed. No one died, no one was sick, I was happily married, two great kids, etc. and yet I was forcing myself to get out of bed in the morning and attempt to be normal. I know that kind of depression is not the same as being depressed after a disturbing life change. I too, will probably be on some type of med for the rest of my life and I have learned to accept it. By the way, the reason the doctor pointed this out to me was that this was the third time I had tried to "cold turkey" and get off my med. I was in the throes of a horrible panic attack which scared all of my family, had to be taken to the hospital, etc. I never want to go through that ordeal again. I do not think drugs should be taken lightly and you should always question, question, question your caregivers to be sure you are being treated properly.

That sounds like the very words my Dr gave to me. I am doing well on my meds and also getting therapy. I too, will be on meds all my life, but I do hope to be able to cut back on them some, once I know about my retirement and now that Heather and the kids are moving out.

I agree, you can't change a chemical imbalance without meds. I can't remember who, but someone from BWS also advised me to get professional therapy, that has helped me a lot.

Sherri