What It's Like Having A Therapist/Psychiatrist And Being On AntiDepressants (Long Title I Know)

Growing up, I had a lot of hesitation going to therapy. And I had even more hesitation going on medication. I was surrounded with stigma and people having bad experiences with therapy, on top of all the stories of antidepressants making people feel like robots on autopilot throughout life. But I was also surrounded by sadness, anxiety, and depressing thoughts that slowly became more and more harmful to my health, so I decided to dive head first into the world of self-help, mental health, and mental stability.

Therapy:

At first, I had a pretty bad experience with therapy. Well, I actually had multiple bad experiences. Throughout high school, I went through a few therapists and eventually decided it wasn’t for me. Until after I graduated. That was when I realized I needed more than therapy. But let’s backtrack to what the whole therapy experience was like. Honestly, having someone to talk to was nice, but you have to make sure you’re in the proper mindset to divulge certain information about your thoughts and feelings. Unfortunately, I wasn’t. It took me a long time to trust my first therapist, which is normal don’t get me wrong, but it didn’t work in my favor considering my therapist didn’t inform me she was just an intern until the last minute when she was packing her bags and shipping me off to a new therapist, metaphorically speaking of course. That made me even more scared to trust people with my feelings, especially therapists. After that, I had a couple more therapists and they didn’t work out for me either, I just didn’t connect with any of them. And then I graduated high school. Which had me feeling over the moon, but under the weather. I was still feeling sad quite often and my thoughts weren’t getting any better, in fact they were worse. I was nervous about where I was going with my life now that school was over. I knew I wasn’t going to college, so I began working longer hours and saving up some money. I thought that extra income would make me feel better, but it didn’t, so eventually I got a psychiatrist, who I currently still have today.

Psychiatrist: If you didn’t know, you have to have a psychiatrist to get prescribed any mental health medications. Which is why at first, I thought I was just going to get prescribed some meds and that would be it. But that was so far from the truth. I struck gold with my psychiatrist. She was willing to sit and talk about my problems in depth so she could truly understand where I was coming from. And it also helped that I felt way better about talking to people about my thoughts and feelings as well. And she had me do some activities and paperwork just so she can further understand the inner workings of my cloudy brain. She made sure I was engaged and comfortable opening up with her before we made the ultimate decision that I should be on antidepressants. I recommend that if you can find a psychiatrist who is willing to do more than just throw medication in your face, you should definitely look into talking with them if you feel like you need someone to talk to or someone to help you with your thoughts and emotions.

Antidepressants: I started off at the lowest dosage of Zoloft; 25mg. I know, super low. But to be fair, even though I was having some dark thoughts, I was still trying my hardest to have motivation, healthy lifestyle habits, and just overall I was working on bettering myself, so when I talked to her, she just wanted to test the waters and see how I was with the lowest dose. Eventually, I ended up going up to 100mg, which is my current prescription, and that’s because I began taking on more projects, plus COVID happened, so there was a lot going on. All that extra stress sent my brain on a turmoil, and as my psychiatrist switched over to phone sessions, she began to see my need for a higher prescription. And throughout the time I’ve been on medication, not once have I ever felt like a robot. If anything, I’ve felt more in control of my life. Now I’m not promoting that everyone goes out and gets on antidepressants. This is just my personal experience for anyone deciding if they should take that extra step to improve their mental health if they feel it’s necessary. The only side effect I’ve had since starting Zoloft is nausea, which I easily resolvedly taking the pills at night on a full stomach instead of first thing in the morning. Other than that, I haven’t experienced any of the bad side effects that could come along with taking Zoloft, however that could change from person to person. Talk with your medical professionals before starting any new medication.

Honestly, I would count my experience as a definite success story, as it can be for anyone if you find the right person and environment. There are plenty of websites to research your options near you and that are included in your insurance. I looked directly on my insurance website for psychiatrists near me that had the services that I needed, and you can do the same as well. There’s also other websites to see reviews from past or current patients like vitals.com or even just Google. Do your research and I’m sure you’ll find the perfect therapist or psychiatrist for you (but also remember you may have to go through a few before you find the right match)