My psychiatrist has recommended antidepressants. I have been sitting with this for two weeks and I cannot decide.
I've read the information sheets. I've read the clinical explanations. What I haven't found is honest, human accounts from people in contexts similar to mine — Nigerian, in their 30s, navigating work, family pressure, and the general weight of existence in this economy.
The fears I'm carrying: Will it change my personality? Will I feel like myself? What happens if I want to come off them — is that hard? Will people notice something different? Will I need them forever? Does starting them mean I've admitted defeat somehow?
I know these questions probably sound irrational written out. But they feel very real at 11pm when I'm trying to make this decision.
If you have been on antidepressants — not what you think I should do, just what your actual experience was — I would be grateful. The good, the adjustment period, the weird stuff, all of it.