Are anti-depressants worth it?

I am resistant to taking most medicine. I've more than once talked the docs down to mega-Motrin from Vicodin.

I think antidepressants are good for some people. I am working on weening off them now (in conjunction with my VA p-shrinker).

Initially, I refused. I'm horrid at regularly taking meds. And I don't like the idea of needing a pill to regulate my moods. I think I'd rather ride the ups and downs without medicine.

But the docs made two points to me. One, the meds are in conjunction with therapy. As I progress my dose will shrink. Two, my depression and mood would be much improved by taking them in conjunction with the therapy.

Both were true. For me.

My wife takes them. Because of family history and a disease that has a prevalence of depression that comes with it. They really help her. Likely she'll take them forever.

To me. You should consider why you need them. Is it a temporary thing? Or is there a family history of depression. And talk to the psych folks. Have a real dialogue. Tell them your concerns and if applicable your desire to not take them forever. Tailor your treatment to your needs.

They really helped me focus and lessened my depression. To me that was worth it. And now I'm back to almost where I was before.

As a health care provider, I have learned that different things work for different people. Holistic methods may work better, pharmaceuticals may work, or therapy may do the trick. I admit, I was a skeptic about psych meds until I experienced GAD so bad I didn't sleep for 7 days. My provider was very professional and receptive and put me on low dose meds. I must say the difference was night and day. Yes there are some minor side effects, but I would rather deal with them than the anxiety any day.
So IMHO, if you find something that works, stick with it.

For a person with Anxiety especially General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Major Depression, each day presents challenges. With GAD you ruminate over and over and sometimes over the simplest things. The show 'Monk' chronicled a realistic look at Anxiety and in his case Depression and OCD. The problem may be far worse than with him and it debilitates a person to the extent that maybe they can't leave the house or become so obsessive they brush their teeth over and over and over.

Drugs help but therapy is needed as well. There are no magic bullets, no panaceas that make life pleasurable but tolerable. And then working through whatever issues ail you. So I would yes to medication and adjunctive therapy as critical in managing these problems.

The problems are so stigmatized like being all in one's head or being generally crazy. There is scientific proof that the brain constantly is adjusting to it's environments and sometimes medication may be necessary. Like degrees of trauma the mind operates in the same way with different levels of anxiety and stress. Some can cope, others cannot. When we do nothing, the person is capable of anything.