When Will the Meds Begin to Work?
If you’ve just started taking a new medication for depression, chances are you feel pretty strange. I remember when I first started taking Prozac back in 2003. I was very dopey for two weeks. My boyfriend at the time was really alarmed, but after two weeks, my body got used to the new drug and I began sleeping normally instead of nodding offf at a moment’s notice.
I guess my boyfriend should have been alarmed. About a year and a half later (still on Prozac) I realised what a bully he was and left him.
Moral of the story is: the meds work gradually.
Making the Best Use of Your Waiting Time
Medication alone can’t do all of the work to help you manage your depression. You also have to help the medicaine along by noticing your thoughts. Although it may sound twee, your thoughts can have a profound impact on how miserable you feel.
Begin to pay attention to all of the self-incriminating or downright insulting thoughts you have abut yourself. Even say “Stop” out loud to help you not only recognize how often you think badl of yourself, but to interrupt that train of thought.
When you have these thoughts, try thinking, “That’s just the depression talking. I’m just as good as anyone else!”
Other things you can do to help raise your self esteem in this time are:
- Taking a slow walk every day in sunlight
- Writing in a journal
- Listening to the problems of others (so you see that you aren’t so crazy)
- Clean something
Keeping yourself busy and not putting pressure on yourself for instant improvement will also help the medications work. If you feel even more depressed, however, contact your doctor or therapist immediately.
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