I might get free antidepressants from the state?

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I have been seeing my psychologist for a few years now and they say that I don't have AS or ADHD, but that I definitely have severe chronic depression and anxiety, based on a bunch of tests they gave me and from talking with me as well. They strongly feel I should get on some antidepressants and I agree with them about at least trying them out. I am currently unemployed so I told her that I can't afford them and she told me that my chances of getting them through the state(I'm in California) for free is possible. I don't want to get my hopes up...but what do you guys and girls think my chances are of this? Also, has anyone ever taken antidepressants and felt like they were actually helping? I used to take them years ago, but stopped after only about a week because I kept hearing stories of how some people would kill themselves while on it and it freaked me out. My psychologist says that more people have been helped by them than hurt by them and encourages me to give them a chance. Can anyone please help me out?

Antidepressants definitely helped me but don't expect a magic pill. As to the cost, many are available as a generic and can be purchased for as little as $4.I get my meds through the patient assistance program which is income based. The meds come directly from the pharmaceutical company for free or at a reduced cost. This helps especially with the Strattera because it is not yet available as a generic and is very expensive. I can't take any with stimulants because of tics. Anyway ask your doc about this.

lobotomies are free too

I take it you have done the right thing by physical exercising and eating well first and foremost??

Eliminated bad habits, drugs/drinking, correct sleep etc

“Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounding yourself with a**holes” ― William Gibson

As I've read, the general game plan is to be willing to try three different antidepressants for about a month each (unless there are unacceptable side effects).

Then, take a deep breath, and be wiling to try another three. That's just the way the game is played---and won. So, it might be the 5th one that really works out for you. Wow, this is what it's like to have a good day again. That kind of thing. And, yes, it might happen, just not right away.

It's just that human biochem is a very individual thing. So, something like Zoloft or Cymbalta or Wellbutrin or old school Prozac might work great for some people and not do a thing for others. In a very respectable sense, it is trial and error.
Treating depression can be hit or miss (2009 article)
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt163505.html

(I have struggled with depression from time to time. Have not yet tried antidepressants but I am warming to the idea.)

And I've read that it's also largely the same for changes in diet and exercise. Light touch experiments and it might work out and it might not. Then try the next light-touch experiment.
(And of course, over-associating with a**holes doesn't help!)

Ok everyone I am eating very healthy, I have a healthy sleep schedule, I exercise and I don't surround myself with as*holes(when I'm in control of this). I am STILL depressed and I didn't diagnose myself for the record. I was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety by my psychologist. I was just really "shy"(not sure what other word to use nowadays) when I was younger and had a lot of trouble looking at and socializing with others. I have been a lonewolf my whole life. I have always had a few good friends growing up, but I have never really had a lot of friends and I was never the guy people wanted to talk to or invite to parties, etc. I think past experiences like this and the fact that I am still treated like this to a much lesser degree in college. For some reason, I have always been the guy who most woman just look at once and decide I'm in their friend zone. People have told me many times I have a really handsome face, but that I'm really thin so I look really weak, unhealthy or on drugs to most women so they avoid me. I could go on about all my problems forever, but that is what my psychologist is for. After sharing all my experiences and emotions, my psychologist recommends I at least give antidepressants a chance. It seems like there are so many different types. Which ones are known to work the best? Which ones are the most advanced? I know they all work differently for different people, but overall...which ones are the best known to help people the most?

Don't listen to the naysayers. It can be difficult to find the right meds, but a combination of Celexa and Addersll has saved my life.

Have you looked into patient assistance programs? I got free Vyvanse for a year from Shire. Lexapro has a patient assistance program, and is an excellent SSRI closely related to Celexa.

You just fill out a form with your p-doc and the next thing you know you get a card in the mail good for a years worth of medication.

For me, a combination of Zoloft and Pamelor works very well, with Xanax to keep on hand for Panic Attacks. (The antidepressants don't stop those: maybe they're pure AS.

You can't just say "which ones work best?" -- you have to try them with your doctor to find out which works for _you_, as someone else said. I had to try several before I hit a winning combination, and it takes a long time and a lot of patience.

As for the suicide thing, that happens with teenagers sometimes (you're in college, so may be old enough, or it just might be that normal teen angst, "It's the END OF THE WORLD" if you miss the Big Party), but just keep your brain working, and if you notice yourself _thinking_ about it, STOP and call the doctor.

Antidepressants can help; but they won't make you happy.

I've been on a few different ones over the years--I have recurrent depression--and it's really not a matter of them being "happy pills". You see that myth sometimes, like people on antidepressants are all giddy and joyful all the time--that's not the way they work at all.

Depression slows you down. It's closely related to anxiety, too; and your circadian rhythm goes out of whack when you're depressed. So you end up not being able to sleep, or sleeping too much. Your brain isn't as efficient, so you're thinking slowly, or else you just can't concentrate, or else you just kind of zone out; or you're preoccupied with suicidal or death-oriented thoughts.

Unlike normal sadness, with depression you're kind of stuck in a cycle--you can't cheer yourself up because you've lost the idea of how to do it, or even lost the concept that it's possible. Which obviously sucks.

So, when you take antidepressants, what they do is give you a bit of an edge in fighting off that slow, dazed, tired, anxious, dull feeling that depression gives you. The effect I get is mostly that it gets just a little easier to drag myself out of bed, a little easier to work on something useful, a little easier to go outside or clean the house; I'm thinking just that much more clearly.

It's actually a rather subtle effect, but it can be just enough to make your recovery faster than it otherwise would be, which is good because you can lose months to depression, and shortening that is a Good Thing.

The other aspect of antidepressants is the placebo effect. Don't dismiss it--it's powerful. Taking antidepressants basically gives you hope that you can recover, and hope for someone who's depressed is very hard to come by. So you may see improvements even before the two, three weeks it usually takes them to start having actual effects.

You have to keep fighting it, of course, for whatever value of "fighting" you're capable of at the moment. There have been days when "fighting", for me, meant getting out of my bed and going to the refrigerator to force down an apple. But whatever you can do, you should. The people who think you ought to be able to "snap out of it" are dead wrong, but so are the people who say you can't do anything to combat depression. You totally can, even if sometimes it's only small things.

Oh, yeah, and see if you can get yourself a sensible shrink to bounce ideas off of. It really helps, because once you've had depression even for a short time, you get these mental "habits" that tell you unrealistic things about yourself and the world--you know, like you suck or you'll never do anything right or whatever. A decent counselor can help you replace those ideas with more realistic ones.

As far as side effects go: There are many different antidepressants. If you get unacceptable side-effects, don't just keep swallowing the things. Go to the psychiatrist, tell him, "I'm breaking out in purple spots!" (or whatever), and ask to try a different one. Sometimes side effects vanish after your body gets used to the medication--a week or so--but other than that, you really shouldn't have to take pills that make you feel miserable; not for depression. There are so many options it would be silly not to try a different one. Same goes for the pills not working after about four weeks. If you can't see improvment and neither can your friends or your counselor, then go and say, "Okay, I'm still depressed; I wanna try something else." Totally within your rights. You stay in control of your treatment, and it goes a LOT better.

Good luck.

I've tried antidepressants that have helped me, and antidepressants that have done nothing.

They're not a magic pill, you have to do some work, too. You have to combine taking the pills with getting proper sleep, proper food, exercise. It helps a lot if you have a routine. Like Callista said, they can make it easier for you to drag yourself out of bed in the morning, but you still have to do the job of dragging yourself out of bed.

There is hope, when you combine pills with proper lifestyle choices.

Alright well for those who have mentioned that antidepressants helped you but didn't make you happy...could you elaborate? I know that it was mentioned that it clears your head of negative thoughts so that you aren't wasting away just dwelling on things that go along with depression. I don't have any trouble really getting out of bed on a regular basis because I am going to college and working towards a degree and I write songs and those are honestly the only two things really keeping me alive now. I have thought about suicide or homicide often and I have anger and trust issues with society. I have my reasons, but I go over all this with my psychologist. I also to bounce ideas off her in regards to useful positive self talk methods, which I have been practicing lately. It helps but this of course is no magic trick just as antidepressants aren't magic pills. Well I am disappointed to hear nobody claim that antidepressants make you happy or at least make you more positive. I mentioned in an earlier post that I once tried my friend's prescription Adderall(I just took the recommended dose) and it gave me all this energy. It was great. I felt like all the negative thoughts cleared away from my mind and I was able to focus intensely within the present and whatever task was at hand. I also noticed that I was more social and happier in general...but was this just some sort of high and not what I thought was the cure for depression? I am thinking that I have a chemical imbalance in my brain, which causes my depression and overall state of mind. I was thinking about getting some sort of test done to check if this could be the case. If they found out that I do in fact have a chemical imbalance of neurotransmitters involving serotonin and norepinephrine, etc. could they possibly get me on some sort of medication that would fix this imbalance...which I am assuming could possibly change my state of mind? I speculate because last time I checked, the connection between a chemical imbalance and depression where just theories? I have always been a really quiet, mellow and low energy kind of person...so I am assuming an antidepressant with a more stimulating effects as opposed to a relaxing effect would work for me? How do they go about choosing which pills are most suitable besides this?

Let me tell you about two magical medical cures:

1) Exercise
2) Good company

These are often capable of ending psychological problems that people otherwise try to stop through mind-altering drugs. I bit my teeth and avoided using any sleeping pills to cure my summer insomnia. Now I have little sleeping problems. In fact they're negligible really.

How about some: Ritalin, Valium, Oxycontin, Vicodin, Diazepam and Benzodiazepenes?