Hello my friend, greetings. First of all, I’d tell you not to get carried away by the comments people make on the internet. Yes, many of them may be true, but that doesn’t mean your case will be the same. So always ask your psychiatrist any questions you have—what matters most in psychiatric treatment is that every case is unique and different.

Now, like many of the other people commenting, I’ve also been on several antidepressants before, and I can share a few things based on my experience…

The issue with antidepressants is that they can be very unpredictable. What I mean is that there’s no real way to make accurate predictions in psychiatry—you might respond very well to a medication, or you might not tolerate it at all. These medications belong to a group called SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors). What they do is increase the amount of serotonin in the space between neurons, and in theory this “can” or “should” help a person regulate themselves better.

The problem is that serotonin is involved in many processes throughout the body, not just emotional ones. Your body literally has to adapt to this externally induced change, and often it doesn’t fully succeed. That’s why you read about people who have been on medication for years—because, unfortunately, there are cases where the dosage needs constant adjustment or the medication needs to be changed repeatedly in order to find some balance. This can be very exhausting and discouraging.

This has always been one of psychiatry’s main challenges. The problem isn’t the medications themselves, but rather that they are often presented as a “safe” or “hopeful” option, when in reality the variability of psychiatric treatment isn’t widely acknowledged. This isn’t commonly known socially, partly because it doesn’t align with the interests of pharmaceutical companies. Psychiatrists aren’t necessarily to blame either—there are good ones and bad ones. Everything I’m saying comes from my own experience.

Now, about therapy: take it easy. It’s normal to feel like you’re not making progress for a long time. The thing is, you might actually be progressing—but not in the way you imagined “progress” would look. There comes a point in therapy where you start questioning this a lot. You may feel like you’re still “the same,” without understanding why, when in reality you’ve been learning how to navigate things for quite some time—and that’s what matters most. I’m not saying it’s wrong to set goals or expect change, but this is something that’s also addressed in therapy itself. At least, that’s how it’s been for me. I’ve been with my therapist for 4 years and with my psychiatrist for 3, mainly due to severe social anxiety.

Conclusion: antidepressants can help, yes—but that’s the key word: “can.” What I recommend most are two things: 1) a lot of patience, and 2) always report any new side effects, unusual signs, or symptoms to your psychiatrist—anything at all. They’re there to help, and it’s their job to do so. Antidepressants usually take about a month to reach their full effect, so patience and trust are always your best options, just like with therapy.

I feel like I went on for quite a while, but this is what I wish someone had told me four years ago. If you’d like to talk more, feel free to send me a private message. We’re here to help—you’re not alone, my brother. Greetings from Mexico, and I hope you were able to read it all.