What Am I Supposed To Feel After Taking An Antidepressant?

I was diagnosed with BPD 18 years ago as a teenage. Spent my whole life fighting BPD. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my mom recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms.

I have never watched anyone who can explain things as well as you do, Dr. Marks. You are so thorough and go into such depth and yet you can still make all the complicated, scientific information easy for us to understand. Thank you.

My sertraline dose for anxiety was recently doubled from 50 to 100mg. What a difference! After only four weeks I actually noticed I was at peace and happy for a change. The side effects are a little severe, but it's worth it for me to finally feel this way after a couple of decades of living in constant fear, worry, overthinking and perfectionism. Don't be afraid to let your doctor determine what's best. Sometimes it really works.

Wellbutrin was the one that made a difference for me. I can actually wake up in the morning, ready to start my day and actually enjoy my day without brain fog, constant tiredness, and I'm not cynical and depressed anymore. Finally. It's a shame that it took me until almost age 30 to feel normal. I still have my not-so-great days, but at least I can feel just okay again, content. That's all I need.

There is no hell like the human mind. Is an understatement. If you get help from a doctor you're one in a million or you just thought you had a problem.

It puts you into a state where nothing matters in a good way. You truly don't give a shit about anything and you're just happy as fuck as a result, because nothing matters. Nothing matters, nothing means anything, there's nothing to do, there's no point, there's no goal but there's also no boredom, there's no negative meanings attached to the meaninglessness, it's just perfectly meaningless and it's awesome. You're basically just like sitting like a cat on a windowsill enjoying whatever experience is before it, just being and it feels amazing. 🦄

Right on the money! My dose of Wellbutrin was increased this week, and already I feel less foggy, less numb. I actually can say that this morning I felt joy. Yes, there is a lot of snow outside, but the sun is out. Yes, it is bitter cold, but the sun feels nice coming through the window. I am on so many medications that I ask my doctor each time to review them, this time I don't care so much for these pills whereas before I would not want anyone to know. She also prescribed me Rexulti and that made another positive change. I really feel better than two months ago, for instance. So slowly but surely the ship is coming around.

I have struggled with mental illness and my mental health since I was a kid. Before I even knew what those terms were. After years of depression, anxiety, and even an attempt to take my life, I never thought I would be able to live without psych medications. I clung to them because it was the only thing that made my mind quiet, but it also made me a zombie. Microdosing has given me control of my mental health for the first time, and they essentially gave me my life back.

The story of my life. After the military I lost all motivation and happiness. I'm fighting to get it back but it's a very slow process and an up and down process with the utilization of medication.

Thanks, doctor. I don't remember anyone ever discussing how you're supposed to feel on antidepressants. I think a lot of patients have unrealistic expectations and therefor, stop taking their meds.

God bless you guys😁 We will all get through this anxiety/depression ❤️

I have been taking a SSRI since I had my residency training. I love this short video. Thank you.

thank you so much for using generic names alongside brand names for medication. as a european viewer, this makes it much easier to follow along and understand what we're talking about. in general, thank you so much for all the work you do on education and raising awareness around mental health conditions and treatments!

The edits on your videos have some details that crack me up. Like the b&w image of you in your residency, 24 years ago.

Thank you Dr. Marks. Your explanations are so clear and extremely helpful. I sincerely appreciate your videos ❤

Thank you for explaining this in a way that no one else has! This makes a lot more sense now

The way i interpret is that depression is having needs and desires that you believe or feel you can't meet, and feel unsupported to get those needs and desires met. (desires such as wanting to feel loved or valued, or have friends, or just not be ignored and neglected) The harder the pull of "wanting" to meet those needs, the worse the depression feels. Basically, the belief that you can't meet those needs is like a chasm in between you and the thing you desire. The meds decrease the pull of the desires. It makes you not care or want the desires anymore, or think that it's that important. That's the "Numb/Zombie" feeling. Blunting desires. But then... you can tell it's blunted, and also doesn't feel good or normal. The meds can also make it easier to distract yourself from what your true wants are. I know my depression comes from mere neglect. I used to think my depression was so random, and until I understood that my "Depression only goes away sometimes" because I find ways to distract myself, until that distraction is used up, and I have to find another one, and finding another distraction isn't always practical. I have to sit around, feel depressed, and wait for one to become available. Hence, the random.

This was the best explanation of how antidepressants work and how we may feel when starting that I have ever seen. Thanks Dr Marks!❤

The numbness was too much for me. It does a number on relationships. You become indifferent to anyone and everything. What really did it for me was being in dangerous situations and feeling zero fear. It made me understand how people can do messed up things while taking theses medications.

Another incredibly helpful video Dr. Marks! Anything that helps me to evaluate my emotions and feelings critically is amazing! Thank you again!