Dad has been in a home for about 4 months .when I first visited I would cry a lot . Than dad started going down hill and I would cry driving in , then at the home and then I would get in the car after and be shattered.
I would get upset for the other patients as well.
Dad is in his own world a lot of the time now , so I chat to the others and help them and just like to be with dad and give him love . I go in every 2 nd day .
So I am 50 and menopausal ...the doctor put me on antidepressant as I was not coping . Now I accept dad and feel calm , but no emotional outbreaks .
What I am asking is , do we go through a grieving process as we watch our loved ones decline and then we have acceptance and become stronger
Or has the zoloft just turned me into a zombie ?
Thanks for any advice
(By the way, many women do experience depression during menopause, just as many women experience depression after giving birth. This is related to hormones, and even if a new mother has looked forward to this for a long time and has no distressing events to cope with, she can still be depressed. Being treated for the depression is much smarter than waiting for the hormones to level out, in my opinion.)
Do you feel like a zombie? Has anyone else mentioned that you don't seem yourself? If that or other unwanted side effects seem to be happening, go back to the prescribing doctor for a med adjustment. An antidepressant is not a "happy pill" and it should not turn you into a zombie. It should just make you feel like yourself, but yourself when you are coping normally.
Sometimes I can be glad that she isn't suffering, and never had to wear depends. Sometimes I would be glad for her to suffer if I could have her back! Good thing it's not up to me.
Are there any Buffy fans here? Remember when her mother died?
I'm already on medication for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (that started about six years ago) and have a Daylight for Seasonal Affective Disorder, but I still have this overall feeling of dread and sadness that is so overwhelming some days that I can barely get anything done. I'm having a hard time sleeping and can't stop thinking about why I feel so upset when I keep telling myself that everything is fine.
It's partly the holiday season--five years ago this past August my sister was diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer, stage 4. She had surgery, chemo, and radiation but nothing helped. For both her last Thanksgiving and last Christmas, my family got together and put on a happy face but never really talked about the fact that she was dying. She passed away after eight days in hospice in February. I'm 52, so I'm sure hormones have a lot to do with it as well.
So here it is the week before Thanksgiving and my family is having a big get together in the town where my parents live. I don't even want to go.
Yes I have cut back from 100 mg to 50 mg and now feel better.
Some wonderful advice and good luck to everyone