It's been about 3 months since my diagnosis of anxiety. I am doing really well with the medication I am taking. Infact, I feel like myself again...like a rebirth, it's great! I have been studying books about anxiety and depression and have really become aware of what it means to have a mental illness.
My personal illness is stemmed from the decrease of serotinin uptake between neurotransmitters in the brain. (Which means that I am producing a normal level of seratonin but it is not being absorbed normally when transferred to other neurotransmitters.) My medication allows seratonin to be absorbed at a normal level.
Taking medication was a huge step in healing my anxiety. I feel like myself. I can deal with stress healthfully. I laugh more, I see the good more, and I am a happier person.
Myths about anti-deppressants:
myth- Once on an anti-deppressant, you'll be on them forever.
fact- Depending on your individual experience with depression, most people enter re-mission after 6-8 months of medication.
myth- Anti-depressants will make you have a different personality and not allow you to experience "normal" feelings.
fact- anti-deppressants are designed to allow you to become your normal self again, not become a different person.
myth- anti-depressants can't really help a mental problem
fact- Depression is a physical symptom not only an emotional symptom. Medication helps balance the chemicals in the brain to maintain a healthy level.
I just finished a book about anti-depressants yesterday. It was amazing. One thing I found intersting was this:
Here's a list of a few people that suffer or suffered from mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety:
Buzz Aldrin
Abraham Lincoln
Vincent Van Gogh
Einstein
Jim Carrey
Winston Churchill
John Denver
Charles Dickens
Kirsten Dunst
Nelly Furtado
Anne Hathaway
Janet Jackson
Beyonce
Beethoven
Martin Luther
Michelangelo
Mozart
Isaac Newton
Marie Osmond
Brittney Spears