genkicolleen: I'm coming in to the conversation late, but I take medication every day, too. Mostly vitamins and minerals, which help to keep the worst of my fibromyalgia pain at bay. I don't know whether I have trouble absorbing these things in general, whether it's because of my restricted diet, or a combination of the two. As for prescribed meds, among others, I take medication for anxiety and depression. There is a stigma attached to antidepressants, and I really don't understand it. You're not less of a person because you can't "deal" with stress and depression. It's no different than being diabetic or having high blood pressure. It's an imbalance that can -- and should -- be treated, and yet there is this perception that you're less of a person because you need these things!
Why is that? At least some of the people reading this are now thinking that I'm less of a person because I take these meds, and I don't care. I am who I am, and that hasn't changed since you found out that I take *gasp* antidepressants! I am still the ever-optimistic you knew before you read this post. I need medications to keep my body running properly, and there should be no shame in that, and so I say it loud and proud. I take medications because I need them, and my health would suffer terribly if I didn't have them. I know because I came close to dying three years ago (no, not because of depression), but those health woes are a whole different story. I've been doing much better since starting some new meds and vitamins, so no worries there :)
The above was directed at no one, I was just thinking about it because of something a "friend" once said to me about depression meds. There are many reasons we are no longer friends, and this is just one of them.
As for recreational drugs and alcohol, I do neither. I can't stand the taste of alcohol, nor the effect it has on me, and I detest the feeling of being drugged (which is why I balk at any prescribed drug that has the effect.) My dentist offered me nitrous (aka laughing gas) when I was last having work done, and though the work took FOUR hours, I declined, 'cause I absolutely can't stand the feeling.
To sum up I don't think that anyone should be judged based upon the meds that they need to take. As for the other drugs and alcohol/cigarettes, as long as they're not hurting themselves and/or others, it's their own choice, and I can respect that :)
There's a stigma because to a lot of people, antidepressants equal "crazy". And "crazy" people are portrayed as everything from wacky goofballs to homicidal maniacs.
In agreement with you, such a stigma should not exist, and brain chemistry should be seen on the same level as any other kind of physical ailment - something to be treated, and that's that.
Far as alcohol and drugs go, that's up to each person, no judgment attached unless you're doing such profoundly stupid things that you're putting other people in danger or you're so far gone with addiction that you're doing bad things to people to get a fix.
Have drank til I lost the ability to speak and have taken pills to the point that I fell out of my chair, hit the floor, and didn't even feel it. (Well, not til the next day where I found I'd landed on a piece of cardboard with those stupid packing staples in it. Had a few holes in my arm as a result. -laughs-) Wouldn't recommend such things to people, but most people aren't doing that.
(Also, feel compelled to mention this just because - if you're having a really, REALLY bad day and you're waiting for the anti-anxiety pills to kick in? Give them a few minutes. Whatever you do, resist the urge to take more in the hopes that something will activate faster. They'll kick in, trust me. -laughs-)
