Should You Take an Antidepressant?

Millions are distraught over the unraveling U.S. economy-retirement account losses, layoffs, and pay freezes all have contributed to a degree of stress not seen before in decades. If you are one of the many who is suffering from increased stress as a result, should you consider going on an antidepressant such as Zoloft, Lexapro, or Celexa?

First see if a dose of realism and some self-help reading doesn't help you. Spend an afternoon at the bookstore reading your favorite self-help author, such as Deepak Chopra or Dr. Wayne Dyer, and see if their insights can help you realize that you are still very fortunate to be alive and sentient-even if you aren't worth quite as much as you were last year!

If this doesn't help, try to read some present moment awareness or Zen Buddhism books. I personally recommend The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle-the insights in that book will help keep you grounded, even as external pressures from work or your financial situation attempt to stress you out.

Remember that many others are facing similar pressures and are able to cope successfully. If this realization still does not help, schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist (someone with an M.D. who can actually prescribe medication) and tell him or her about your recent stress.

If the psychiatrist feels you would benefit from a modern SSRI antidepressant or any sort of anti-anxiety medication, they will likely prescribe this to you. It is very crucial to follow up with your psychiatrist on a regular basis, and to make regular appointments, so that he or she can gauge how you are responding to the antidepressant.

Sometimes it takes a few "tries"-in other words, testing a few different medications-before you find one that makes you happy and returns you to a state of well-being. Also, your psychiatrist may experiment with your dosage to find the right dose for you.

Never attempt to change your dosage on your own and take it only as directed by your doctor. Also, you should never quit an antidepressant "cold turkey" (all at once) as you can develop serious withdrawal symptoms if you do so, and may risk mood abnormalities. Ask your psychiatrist how you should ease off of the medication if you are having adverse side effects-your doctor will give you a more gradual schedule for getting off the medication so that you do not risk any of these withdrawal symptoms.

Also, if you are the kind of person who drinks heavily after work (or even moderately), this may have to change. Many antidepressants interact with alcohol in unusual ways-definitely do not drink as much while on an antidepressant. In fact, alcohol is considered a depressant, so you may not want to drink at all while taking an antidepressant medication-in fact, many medications will say right on the label that alcoholic beverages are prohibited while taking the medication.