As the saying goes, “medicine is three parts poison”, which is a bit exaggerated but not entirely untrue, all drugs may have some side effects while playing a positive role. Of course, antidepressants also have certain side effects, and people taking them may experience some physical or psychological discomfort. So how do you think about these side effects? It may be helpful to clarify the following two points.
First, before taking the medication, patients can find out from their doctor what the possible side effects of the medication they are about to take are, how often they occur, how severe they are, how long they last, etc. The experience of side effects, especially those that may disappear in a few days, such as increased sleep, is less frightening when patients are informed in advance about the possibility of side effects. Patients who are informed in advance are more likely to tolerate and adhere to the medication. The point to highlight here is that drug instructions generally list all the possible side effects, and this “plethora” of side effects often discourages many patients from taking the drug. In fact, this is not necessary, because these side effects do not occur in every patient, but in tens of thousands of patients, as long as any one patient has any of these side effects, the manual will list it, the reason for this is in a scientific and responsible attitude. Wu Zhiguo, psychiatry department, Shanghai Mental Health Center
Secondly, it is important to find out whether the discomfort that occurs during medication is a side effect of the medication or a symptom of depression itself. This is very important because most depressed patients have a variety of physical symptoms themselves, and medication side effects and these symptoms often have similar manifestations. To determine this, of course, requires not only the patient’s own feelings, but also the judgment of a medical professional. If all the discomfort is attributed to the medication, it is easy to interrupt the treatment that might have been effective and lead to the failure of the previous work.