I am constantly irritated when not on anti - depressants

[Coffee20]

This issue I started to have when I went through physical abuse, I started to be upset about things very easily all the time. Then when I was taking anti - depressants things got better till the point I was still impulsive but people would consider me as a very calm person.

 

After this things with my second ex, I am again very irritated and upset. I remember I let him to do pretty bad things to me and I didn't complain because I thought it would get better. It didn't get and last two months before our break up all those bad things were just exploding in me, not only in me but also outside me. I wasn't even able to think clearly.

 

Why I ask. Last two days I couldn't take my pills because I was awake all night (I was gone or doing some work). Today I slept around two hours and immediately after those two hours I woke up and felt like crying and then went all upset (about my ex) and of course I exploded before my family. Now I feel pretty stupid. Another thing is that after this break up I get all sad and upset and irritated when I am around people - I try as much as possible not to show it and I am usually successful but I am definitely not a good fellow for longer time.

 

There are some possibilities how to deal with it that I have on my mind:

- drink alcohol - help me a bit, but I can't drink every day cause I have problems with livers and it hurts when I am drunk I get depressed easily

- take anti depressants constantly - I don't want to take them for all my life and another problem with them, when I take them I usually let people to walk all over me cause I am simply "too calm"

- try to control myself more - I try as much as possible but when I have too much I explode whenever I am

- not to talk to people at all - I know that it would help me but I don't want to be isolated

- psychotherapy - I will have job since September and I will get money in October so now I can't afford it

- doing some sport - I do sport but not always I have mood for it

 

any other advice how to calm down would be welcome!

thanks!

Edited August 19, 2012 by Coffee20

[denise_xo]

Hi Coffee,

 

I don't remember what kind of ADs you are taking - but in general with ADs, it's not good to just stop taking them, as it can give you bad side effects (which it sounds like you are experiencing). Generally, when you stop taking ADs you have to step it down over a period of time (e.g. going from one pill a day to half a pill a day, and so on) because just stop taking them isn't good for you. So, some of the discomfort you are experiencing might be because of that.

 

Second, I don't understand your sentence which says "I couldn't take my pills because I was awake all night". If you think that the pills are causing you to not sleep, you should consult with your doctor and see if you can try a different type. If the two are disconnected, I'm not sure I understand what made you not take them?

 

It sounds to me that your 'irritation' are some issues that it would be good to work through with a therapist, as would the 'letting people walk all over me' thing. The latter is a boundary that we all have to navigate in life, and you can learn to navigate it - exploring how to do that in a safe atmosphere would probably do you good. It's great that you can get therapy in October - it's not that far away, so hang in there.

 

As for what you can do right now, here are some suggestions:

 

- take your ADs regularly (unless you have side effects which you should then discuss with your doctor)

- definitely do sports regularly. If you work out just for 45 minutes three times a week, I think you will find that it will impact your mental health very positively.

- have you tried meditation? It can be very good for a 'calming' effect. It doesn't have to be that much, you could try to do fifteen minutes a day at first. The results come when you do it regularly over time. It's better to do ten minutes a day than an hour once a week.

- when you socialise, try to just focus on a few close people that you trust. Is there anyone that you share these issues with, and who can also give you a bit of support when the two of you are out with people?

- and definitely stay off the alcohol. Like you said yourself, it can hugely magnify depression. What feels like short term relief can be very damaging in the long run.

 

Finally, for now I wouldn't focus on the 'do I have to take ADs for the rest of my life'. Deal with the immediate issues first, and then getting off the meds will eventually follow. However, you can also consider that a lot of people have to take a pill a day for whatever reason - high blood pressure, contraception, heart related medication, and so on - so in the grand scheme of things, if ADs are really improving the quality of your life, even taking them over time might not be the end of the world. But first things first: focus on healing yourself and developing your capacity to address your situation. Good luck

[Coffee20]

Hi Coffee,

 

I don't remember what kind of ADs you are taking - but in general with ADs, it's not good to just stop taking them, as it can give you bad side effects (which it sounds like you are experiencing). Generally, when you stop taking ADs you have to step it down over a period of time (e.g. going from one pill a day to half a pill a day, and so on) because just stop taking them isn't good for you. So, some of the discomfort you are experiencing might be because of that.

 

Second, I don't understand your sentence which says "I couldn't take my pills because I was awake all night". If you think that the pills are causing you to not sleep, you should consult with your doctor and see if you can try a different type. If the two are disconnected, I'm not sure I understand what made you not take them?

 

It sounds to me that your 'irritation' are some issues that it would be good to work through with a therapist, as would the 'letting people walk all over me' thing. The latter is a boundary that we all have to navigate in life, and you can learn to navigate it - exploring how to do that in a safe atmosphere would probably do you good. It's great that you can get therapy in October - it's not that far away, so hang in there.

 

As for what you can do right now, here are some suggestions:

 

- take your ADs regularly (unless you have side effects which you should then discuss with your doctor)

- definitely do sports regularly. If you work out just for 45 minutes three times a week, I think you will find that it will impact your mental health very positively.

- have you tried meditation? It can be very good for a 'calming' effect. It doesn't have to be that much, you could try to do fifteen minutes a day at first. The results come when you do it regularly over time. It's better to do ten minutes a day than an hour once a week.

- when you socialise, try to just focus on a few close people that you trust. Is there anyone that you share these issues with, and who can also give you a bit of support when the two of you are out with people?

- and definitely stay off the alcohol. Like you said yourself, it can hugely magnify depression. What feels like short term relief can be very damaging in the long run.

 

Finally, for now I wouldn't focus on the 'do I have to take ADs for the rest of my life'. Deal with the immediate issues first, and then getting off the meds will eventually follow. However, you can also consider that a lot of people have to take a pill a day for whatever reason - high blood pressure, contraception, heart related medication, and so on - so in the grand scheme of things, if ADs are really improving the quality of your life, even taking them over time might not be the end of the world. But first things first: focus on healing yourself and developing your capacity to address your situation. Good luck

 

Hello Denise, thanks for your input .

I take Trazodon and Valdoxan together. And to answer your question, I was one time out with my friends so I didn't take the pill and next night I needed to do some work. If I take Trazodon I fall asleep and I needed to be awake.

And maybe you are right I wasn't that irritated like today for longer time, so it may really be the bad side effect.

 

I usually know what causes my irritation but don't really know how to handle it or how to calm down properly, then I tend to think about and solve each situation a lot and it brings drama to my life. Next thing I realized at my 17 that people walked over me for all my life (for example I did homework for half of my class but they didn't even said thanks to me, I let my first ex cheated on me, I didn't even know how to say "no", each time I get into similar situation I am so aware and I tend to be angry and irritated or I swallow it and explode later, instead of for example walking away or ignoring these people) Those anti depressants really helped me with this but I experience some kind of numbness.

 

I haven't tried meditation but I thought about it a lot lately.

really thanks again, now I think that it really can be worse because I didn't take my pills for two days now

[denise_xo]

Hello Denise, thanks for your input .

I take Trazodon and Valdoxan together. And to answer your question, I was one time out with my friends so I didn't take the pill and next night I needed to do some work. If I take Trazodon I fall asleep and I needed to be awake.

And maybe you are right I wasn't that irritated like today for longer time, so it may really be the bad side effect.

 

I usually know what causes my irritation but don't really know how to handle it or how to calm down properly, then I tend to think about and solve each situation a lot and it brings drama to my life. Next thing I realized at my 17 that people walked over me for all my life (for example I did homework for half of my class but they didn't even said thanks to me, I let my first ex cheated on me, I didn't even know how to say "no", each time I get into similar situation I am so aware and I tend to be angry and irritated or I swallow it and explode later, instead of for example walking away or ignoring these people) Those anti depressants really helped me with this but I experience some kind of numbness.

 

I haven't tried meditation but I thought about it a lot lately.

really thanks again, now I think that it really can be worse because I didn't take my pills for two days now

 

Yes, ADs tend to generally make you a bit 'numb'. However, you might just want to have a chat with your doctor about that and the pills causing you to sleep, and just see if s/he thinks that's normal or whether s/he would consider alternative pills.

 

About being out with friends - I used to carry a set of ADs with me in my purse/bag, so that I could just take them wherever I was - in that way, I wouldn't have to worry if my plans changed.

 

I firmly believe that you can learn how to say no. You have already recognised this pattern, which is the first important step. Keep working on your issues, and a stronger you will emerge

[Coffee20]

Yes, ADs tend to generally make you a bit 'numb'. However, you might just want to have a chat with your doctor about that and the pills causing you to sleep, and just see if s/he thinks that's normal or whether s/he would consider alternative pills.

 

About being out with friends - I used to carry a set of ADs with me in my purse/bag, so that I could just take them wherever I was - in that way, I wouldn't have to worry if my plans changed.

 

I firmly believe that you can learn how to say no. You have already recognised this pattern, which is the first important step. Keep working on your issues, and a stronger you will emerge

 

I guess it's normal to fall asleep after trazodon, it's also a sleeping pill so I can't really take these anti depressant if I want to be awake, but I can ask my doctor about it.

 

Which pills did you take?

[denise_xo]

I guess it's normal to fall asleep after trazodon, it's also a sleeping pill so I can't really take these anti depressant if I want to be awake, but I can ask my doctor about it.

 

Which pills did you take?

 

Prozac (first time) and Escitalopram (second round). No real side effects with either. When I first started taking prozac they gave me yawning fits, but that went away after the first week or two.

[Coffee20]

Prozac (first time) and Escitalopram (second round). No real side effects with either. When I first started taking prozac they gave me yawning fits, but that went away after the first week or two.

 

thanks Denise, I don't think that my doctor would give me prozac, she told me that she wouldn't give me strong pills although I still think that trazodon is strong pill anyway....