I am the wife of a survivor who is in his first 6 months of recovery. Since finally opening up and seeking help, my husband has been triggering like crazy and largely has been severely depressed.

This is becoming more evident physically. Drastic weight loss, hair loss, headaches, body aches, and digestive problems. It's almost as if he cannot physically accept therapy when his body is such a wreck.

Has anyone been through this? I understand that anti-depressants under the right dosage and monitored carefully can help. He is against them based on the opinion of a friend who recently went through therapy from her own issues (not CSA).

I worry that this opinion is denying him a valuable tool in recovery and is worth talking about. I don't know much about antidepressants and CSA so I am interested in any and all feedback.

Well I hate drugs and I hate shrinks. Here is the problem that I see with mental health and medication: It's practitioners are only slightly more reliable than voodoo witch doctors.

With that being said, I saw a psychiatrist back around 2009 who gave me the anti-depressant Lexapro. In 2009 I was still in heavy denial that deep CSA issues existed in me so I was medicating a general feeling of worthlessness. In my case, did pull me out of my severely depressed state and got me functional again. I do think, however, that antidepressants are overprescribed .

Excuse me while I climb onto my soap box now.

There. OK. Ready?

Ever wonder why there are like 100 kinds of anit-depressants on the market and why so many people feel like their's isn't working? Depresion is big bucks and regular folks are lazy and shrinks become yes-men who enable patients rather than confront distorted thinking. People don't want to do the hard work of making gut-wrenching, emotional life changes that may eventually bring happiness. It's terrifying. It's waaaay easier to medicate... perpetually. I think there's a plague of unnecessary medicating -that's why you hear so much about the problems that arise such as horrible side-effects, ineffectual results, etc. People are too often medicating when they should be working things out. (Many other people have chronic depression due to chemical imbalance and in no way do I mean to diminish the pain of that condition- not talking about that)

I had to put that soap box peice in because I say yes! Mr. Valkyrie needs to get on some meds so he can begin to function again without the shackles of severe depression. Again, that's what those meds are for. BUT keep in mind it's not an exact science. Brain chemistry differs from person to person and just cause a few months of Lexapro worked for me doesn't mean that it's gonna work for him. He may need to try out a few different meds to get results which is disappointing, to say the least.

One more note: We all heal at our own speed, in our our own time. I've been on and off this road thirty plus years and I ain't seen the end of it. Sometimes its ok to take a break from all the soul-searching and self-disclosure. It's exhausting work. With every post I write, I bleed emotions. So take time to assess. Is the therapy supportive and productive or is it so emotionally eviscerating that he feels lost and broken. If so, perhaps its time to seek a new modality. There as many flavors of mental health counseling as there are icre cream. So-called doctors and counselors don't know everything. If it's too hard right now, consider the idea that you guys may want to re-group and search for an alternate therapy. The journey is hard, but there should be rewards along the way.

The situation is greatly compounded by the dishonesty of the drug company GlaxoSmithKline. They recently admitted that they had "pushed" the sale of antidepressants Paxil and Wellbutrin, and diabetes drug Avandia, for many years. These drugs have produced dangerous side affects in some people.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-bodine/post_3573_b_1652688.html

They were penalized 3 billion dollars for this activity.

Puffer

Well aware of the abuse within the corporate world of drugs, but my question is regarding survivor's personal experiences with anti-depressants.

I am on the fence regarding their use, but I am also concerned about my husband's continuing deteriorating physical condition.

With out anti-depressants I would not be able to endure what I have thus far I almost lost it before them. Also I am having my hormones check as it can be a big factor in your mental state, I would suggest that be done also.

Hormones? Can you explain?