l have had depression since my early teenage years. l am now 17. l have been perscribed antidepressants before, but have never taken them. How will they make me feel? Will l have more confidence? Will l feel more comfortable in social situations? l am sick and tired of feeling nothing and l wanna live life to its fullest. Any advice?

If they r prescribed by a qualified GP then it should be ok. Look up the brand ur going to take, for side effects etc, reviews or whatever. l take them as well, & they will not work straight away. It is a buildup effect. The pill releases serotonin in ur system making u feel happier. There is nothing wrong with them. Take only the prescribed dosage, & no more. these r not fun pills to be taken at any dosage nor r they get happy now pills & only take them when u feel down. It needs to be constant to work. If they do not work after a week or so, go back to the doctor.

Firstly, l am not a doctor. l know people with depression. My one friend refused to try medication for several years. She started medication & felt much better. She then stopped without discussing it with her doctor. She felt very depressed, was crying, etc. It was horrible for her.

She & l had a talk about this at length. Her thing is she hates to take pills. Who doesn't? No one enjoys having to take a pill. But if it helps u lead a fuller, happier & more productive price? l think it is more than worth it. It takes only a few seconds to take a pill. The benefits r a much better quality of life. In her case, she has a chemical imbalance the anti-depression medication corrects. It makes her body run like it is supposed to.

Only u can decide to try the anti-depressants. l hope u have a frank discussion with ur doctor, especially as to why you've not tried them before. You may have to try more than one, to find one that works well for you. Will they help you??? You will never know until u try - under ur doctor is guidance.

l hope u take ur doc is advice & give them a try. A better quality of life may be in ur immediate future. My best wishes to u & l hope u find something that will help u soon.

When u start out on ur antidepressants, u may have some reactions like nervous stomach, diarhea, & maybe a little bit of difference in sleep pattern. After about a month, ur body will have had enough time to regulate ur medication along with the symptoms the pills r giving off. After about that first month is through, u will really start to notice a DRAMATIC difference if put on the correct drug & dosage. You will also hear a lot of people make comments on how nice it is to be around u & that u seam happier & look happier. You will have people that u once thought distanced themselves from u have really been there all along & it was really u that distanced yourself from them. You will feel for once in ur life what normal people go through, & what normal depression (short term) feels like. So what r u waiting for? Start getting ur life on track. Who knows, u just might find out that you're life is worth it & u r very important to the people in ur life. Before u know it u will be on cloud 9. Now, this is the hardest part of the battle for depression once you're to that point. Everything will be so nice & u will finally feel in control of ur life. That is when most people stop taking their meds. They're perfectly fine for the first few weeks. Then things start to slip. Then things spiral out of control & before u know it u feel worse than before u started the meds. The reason why is because ur body is crashing. It needs those meds. Once u start, do not stop unless ur dr. says otherwise.

As a person who suffers from ''situational depression l strongly believe that any anti-depressant should be only PART of the solution. Counseling is the other extremely important factor. It is not about taking a pill and making things ''all better'';it is about finding out how you became depressed and how you can handle the cause. Counseling and medication should work hand-in-hand in helping a person feel better.

You have to stick with it. There are many kinds of meds now. Your doctor will work with you until you find one you like.