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Q - Dear Annabelle,
Ok here is the story. My dad is clinically depressed. He recently started taking anti depressants (he has never taken these before). I suppose they have been working because he is very nice now. I was just curious if this 'new' him is actually his real personality that was hidden by his depression, or is his 'new' personality not really his,
just made up by his anti depressant pills? I'm worried that I've never known my 'real' father. is this really him or is this just a big fat pill making him act nice?
A - Dear Jenn
You donāt say how old you dad is or what meds he is taking, but, if itās a serotonin Īenhancerā all that means is that what you are seeing, is the Īhimā that he is when his brain chemistry is more optimally balanced. Ideally, our body is so well regulated that all the chemicals necessary to a healthy life are produced by the body on a regular basis. As we grow and age, sometimes our brains become otherwise occupied (and even a tad sluggish). Any number of things can throw off a personās body chemistry......itās not always age related, stress takes a toll as well.
You say that youāve Īnever known your Īrealā fatherā....does that mean heās always been depressed? Does he go through a long cycle into good moods? (From what you say, it doesnāt sound as if this is the case. If, in your memory, he has ALWAYS been depressed, well, then this medication is really a godsend. Think of everything he...and YOU...have missed! (And of the major adjustment EVERYONE in the family is going to have to make to get used to this Īnew and improvedā person!
Fortunately for us, (usually), modern medicine is continuing to find elements that closely mimic or actually reproduce the missing Īpiecesā ...people can continue to live healthy productive lives despite an internal system ceasing to function at an optimum level. Now, as to whether or no your father is Īclinicallyā depressed as a result of a non-chemical situation, I have no way of knowing.
Anti-depressants arenāt a Īmagic pillā and, if the depression is a result of an ongoing life situation, I would hope that this is being looked to by his doctor. If the prescribing physician is NOT a psychiatrist, (a doctor specializing in mental issues), then I trust that your dad is being seen by a competent psychologist and evaluated for situational or chronic, (as it sounds from what little youāve told me), depression.
Medication, in this case, is used as a Ībridgeā to help the patient THROUGH and
ACROSS the difficulty ..........working out the stresses in therapy, and, when the underlying stressor is resolved, removing the patient from the medication. Antidepressants are NOT to be used as mind altering drugs to ignore the pain and growth of living. In a case like your fatherās.....to have lived all of his life and to never have known joy.........well, which, for him, would YOU choose?
As you may have guessed, what seems a simple situation can become complex....on several levels. I donāt know your families genetic history, however it is possible that addiction or depression in any of its many forms runs through his family tree and genetically predisposes him to this situation. In any case, that he is receiving competent care is in his...and your best interests.
For what itās worth......no one can MAKE anyone 'act nice'.....this is who he REALLY is,..........enjoy!
- Annabelle
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