›› Counseling Anti Depressants
So many doctors
today are prescribing medication to address all manners of mental and
emotional afflictions - from depression, to eating disorders, to
obsessions and phobias - yet, only a handful are as eager to suggest
that their patients enter into some form of counseling.
I am writing from experience. I have been prescribed a variety of
pretty pills to help me to deal with chronic depression. Thankfully, I
have been among that small percentage who have benefited from ongoing
counseling over the years.
My first encounter with counseling was two years after my son was born.
I had been doing my level best to be a good mommy, getting up early
every day and getting us out of the house. We would usually head over
to our community play group for the morning. Then we would spend the
afternoon in the park or go for long walks seeing the sites of downtown
Toronto. However, even though I kept active, I found my spirits to be
down in the dumps.
Finally, I called a
women's counseling center and embarked on a three year stint with an
amazing therapist whom I will always remember fondly. It's really
amazing how talking to someone who gently directs your thinking can
work wonders, when coupled with the right anti-depressants.
By the end of those three years, I was a changed woman! Gone were the
dark days of depression, feeling lethargic and powerless. I got a job
as a Creative Manager for a local advertising agency and for once in my
life felt like I was in control!
Things were really good for several years. Although I had suffered some
post partum depression after the birth of my son, after having my
daughter, five years later, I seemed to be fine.
We ended up moving
to Winnipeg, Manitoba when our daughter was about eight months old. The
spirit of adventure and our plans to start an advertising agency of our
own kept me motivated and moving.
Then suddenly, my mood started slipping again. It turned out that the
anti-depressants that I had come to view as my best friend at times,
stopped working. I had great difficulty finding a regular family
doctor, and ended up bounced around from one walk-in clinic to another.
Finally, when I was at my breaking point I found a very good doctor.
Again, I was among the fortunate. This doctor quickly helped to remedy
my situation balancing out my mood with the right medication and
strongly urged me to enter in to counseling once again.
In the beginning I went every week, however, as things started to
improve and I started to get back to feeling more normal, we were able
to ease off to have sessions on an as-needed basis.
Having experienced the great assistance that anti-depressants coupled
with professional counseling can provide, I am a very strong advocate
for exploring options, not exclusive to medication, when treating
mental and emotional disorders.
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A Healthy Dose of Good Advice
