# Lexapro has completely stopped my obsessive thoughts



## SUPER (Jan 3, 2018)

Typically I lurk here but I had to share this.

I started taking 10mg of Lexapro 5 days ago, once a day. While my depressed mood hasn't turned around I don't think, my DP/DR related obsessive thoughts about existence, what is a soul, if I'm the only living thing, if I live in a simulation, etc. have completely vanished.

I didn't notice this until yesterday it dawned on me that I haven't had to stave off any of those thoughts (which I typically have to do at least once a day) since starting this, initially after this realization I figured "Lexapro takes 4-6 weeks to start working, so it must be I simply have been too distracted to think about them". But then I TRIED to think about those thoughts, the ones that really get me, the really existential ones, the ones that give you that dread feeling as if a panic attack is setting in until you distract yourself or calm yourself down, the thing that makes this disorder such a living hell to have (for me), didn't come!

I can sit here and try my absolute hardest to bring on that panic feeling that comes when you overthink things you shouldn't be worrying about, or the dizziness that hits when your thoughts get TOO complicated for your own brain to follow and comprehend. I can't. And that makes me so happy.

I'm still dissociated, but man for me, Lexapro is the classic advice: "Just don't think about it and it'll go away eventually" in pill form and I am pretty psyched about it. I can't say it'll work for everyone but it's definitely working for me and if you haven't tried it yet you should consider, it makes this disorder MUCH more manageable.


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

You will probably find that in another few weeks your mood will lift too...

SSRIs can be very good for the obsessive side of anxiety.....

Be very careful as regards stopping the medicine when you start to feel much better....Too many people have done this and have crashed and burned only to find when they went back on the medicine it didnt work second time round...

If its not broken dont fix it is my advice...


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## bintuae (Jan 17, 2017)

Weird, it did the opposite for me and probably triggered dp. but then again I originally have feelings of dp (and is more directly related to my interest in stuff) which I guess difficult to stop, rather than existential thoughts like why we're living, soul, death, space, body looking weird or whatever.


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## Linus (Jan 12, 2018)

Dear super,

A word of advice from someone who has been taking lexapro for over 8 years, it will not cure your dp, antidepressants are pardon my french garbage. I has taken my more than two years to go from 30 mg to 1.8 mg. In fact it is my opinion they made things a lot worse and that healing can not take place while on psychiatric drugs.

My advice to you is go to survivingantidepressants.org, educate yourself, and ask for a plan to come of this medication in a safe way. Time is of the essence, after only one month your brain adapts to the antidepressant and you could face severe withdrawal when you come of them.

Instead find a somatic experiencing therapist or a sensorimotor therapist or go to irenelyon.com and educate yourself on how to heal yourself, your best option is to find a therapist.

I wish someone had given me the advice I am giving you years ago.

It is your call, I wish you all the best


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

bintuae said:


> Weird, it did the opposite for me and probably triggered dp. but then again I originally have feelings of dp (and is more directly related to my interest in stuff) which I guess difficult to stop, rather than existential thoughts like why we're living, soul, death, space, body looking weird or whatever.


Everybody is different....


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

Linus said:


> Dear super,
> 
> A word of advice from someone who has been taking lexapro for over 8 years, it will not cure your dp, antidepressants are pardon my french garbage. I has taken my more than two years to go from 30 mg to 1.8 mg. In fact it is my opinion they made things a lot worse and that healing can not take place while on psychiatric drugs.
> 
> ...


Stop scare mongering....Some people have no other option....

If therapy cured you please share your experience with all the rest of us on here so we can follow the same path...

In fact can you explain how therapy worked for you....We all want to know this valuable DP cure!!!


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

Zed is back LOL


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## Linus (Jan 12, 2018)

Scaremongering whatever.

Don't take my word for it, do your own research on antidepressants and other psychotropic medication instead of shooting the messenger (try dr. David Healy for example)

Just wanted to give some friendly advice (coming from my own experience and based on science).

If by now you do not know these medications are garbage and you still don't tell people not to take them, I feel sorry for the people here who start taking them because nobody here bothered to tell them that a) they don't work and b ) they will mess with your brain big time.

And don't worry, I am out of here, if you can't have a friendly discussion, but rather start blaming people and be scarcastic I don't even want to be here.

Best of luck


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## bintuae (Jan 17, 2017)

Linus said:


> Scaremongering whatever.
> 
> Don't take my word for it, do your own research on antidepressants and other psychotropic medication instead of shooting the messenger (try dr. David Healy for example)
> 
> ...


Were you the one who messaged me in the Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD) forum? I think we're experiencing the same fate.


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## Linus (Jan 12, 2018)

No Bintuae, that was not me.


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## Rosierose (Jan 19, 2018)

I first went on Lexapro 3 years ago after having been practically bed ridden due to my DP. My doctor put me on 10 mg of Lexapro, and after 3 days of weird headaches and an unstable mind, on the 4th day I woke up and felt AMAZING. My head was so clear. I wasn’t afraid to leave my house. The thing is, is that Lexapro won’t solve your DP. But it will help.


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## willbarwa (Aug 26, 2017)

Linus said:


> Dear super,
> 
> A word of advice from someone who has been taking lexapro for over 8 years, it will not cure your dp, antidepressants are pardon my french garbage. I has taken my more than two years to go from 30 mg to 1.8 mg. In fact it is my opinion they made things a lot worse and that healing can not take place while on psychiatric drugs.
> 
> ...


For some it is a stepping-stone to get better. We all know that meds are not the same as vitamins or natural remedies, they come with a few risks and are, for the most part, created in some lab.

It has helped some people however and in the moment when DP hits -- that horrible sensation which some can't cope with as well as others -- a quick relief can help you concentrate and focus.

I was on lexapro for a month. It helped me a lot but given my personality, I tend to favor natural approaches.


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## bintuae (Jan 17, 2017)

Probably people like me and Linus are very sensitive to drugs. Its been a disastrous experience. The loss of libido is still affecting me to this day.


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## freezeup (Oct 1, 2016)

Lexapro is quite literally saving my life right now. Since being on it I have almost completely stopped drinking and my anxiety\depressive spells have nearly vanished.

Please stop the fear mongering around medicine that can help us. It may not make the depersonalization go but it sure as hell can make our lives much more comfortable.


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## bintuae (Jan 17, 2017)

freezeup said:


> Lexapro is quite literally saving my life right now. Since being on it I have almost completely stopped drinking and my anxiety\depressive spells have nearly vanished.
> 
> Please stop the fear mongering around medicine that can help us. It may not make the depersonalization go but it sure as hell can make our lives much more comfortable.


I'm all for medication if it's necessary in one's case. It can be a true miracle. However, be careful about stopping them. You'll never know what will happen afterwards. It's not about fear mongering, it's about staying truthful, because many people fell into this trap. In the end, it's the doctor's responsibility to see what's best for the patient not us.


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## eddy1886 (Oct 11, 2012)

The scare mongering starts when somebody has a bad experience with something and mistakenly believes its gonna be exactly the same for everybody else....How often have you heard somebody say that was a piece of crap movie and the person sitting next to them says that was an amazing movie...

Everybody is different and will react to medicines, therapy, diet, exercise etc etc in totally different ways...

The real problem with trying to scare people away from things like medicines is that you could be inadvertently be driving them away from the very thing that is probably gonna make them better..

People need to be much more careful when giving advice especially when it comes to this crap...


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## bintuae (Jan 17, 2017)

You're right. It's our own bad experience that makes us want to warn others. I don't really know what I should say when others ask what my experience was, whether to hide itor not. but I think its better just to say that everyone reacts to drugs differently.


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