Antidepressants Blog

We are all basically insecure, and this is the root of much of our anxiety. Our bodies are frail; therefore we can never hope for real material security. At any moment, even in the most protected situations, we may be stricken down with illness or death. Aware of this, man has sought another form of security—security in the sight of God. Such security can transcend the insecurity of life and death. But man has learned to doubt, the security of religious belief has ebbed from him, and as a result his latent anxiety and tension is so much the worse.

Childhood-Insecurity In childhood we are insecure because of our relative weakness compared with those about us. This childhood feeling of insecurity may persist, and form a

pattern of tension and anxious behaviour in adult life. Whether this will happen or not depends very largely on the degree to which the child perceives his early environment as threatening.

An interesting point in this regard is that the child withstands the evil influence of a constantly hostile environment better than he does an inconsistent one, where those around him are changeable, sometimes harsh and sometimes loving. In these circumstances the child does not know what to expect, and as a result lives in a state of chronic anxiety.

At school the child may be subject to influences which further increase his insecurity. These influences may be extremely subtle and may escape the notice of both teachers and parents only to be disclosed years later in psychotherapy.

The native aggressive impulses of children are only just beneath the surface. They are easily turned on some less fortunate member of the group. Minor degrees of bullying may take a form that is scarcely perceptible to adults, but at the same time, may produce chronic tension in the unfortunate victim.

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This question could just as easily be asked in relation to any other anti-depressant. In one form or another, it is one of the more common questions on the mind of anyone who has felt the benefit of an anti-depressant medication. The relief and gratitude experience is counterbalanced in many people by a sense of unease at having to be on a medication for an undefined and possibly indefinite period of time. The honest answer is that we just can’t predict how long someone will need to be on an anti-depressant. If the depression has been a single short-lived episode, it may be possible to stop the anti-depressant after six months of remission without risking relapse. If there is a history of repeated episodes or long-standing depression, however, there is a high likelihood that depression will recur or relapse if the anti-depressant is stopped. In such people it generally makes good sense to stay on an antidepressant indefinitely. Although there have been no long-term studies of St John’s Wort in depression – and I should say that such studies are few and far between for other anti-depressants as well – there is no evidence of any long-term problems in those who have been on St John’s Wort for months or even years.

After several months on treatment, people often experiment and stop their anti-depressants just to make sure that they still really need them. If you do this, be sure to watch out for early signs of relapse and return to the anti-depressant as soon as these appear. It is much easier to reverse the symptoms of depression in their initial stages than after they are fully established again.

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