On Tuesday I had a follow-up appointment with Psychiatrist B. I was very happy to report the following improvements since I started taking the Zoloft:
- I’m calmer and sometimes feel happy for no reason.
- Anger and frustration flare up less frequently and less intensely.
- Any thoughts about suicide or hurting myself also come up much less frequently and are passing. I can much more easily refute, dismiss, and move on from them.
- My thoughts are less chaotic; sometimes I am just in the moment with no verbal thoughts.
- Minimal – if any – side effects.
I only had a couple of concerns, which Psychiatrist B was able to address:
- Sometimes my energy level will drop quite suddenly. I feel tired a lot of the time.
- Psychiatrist B said that is more likely to be the effect of “residual depression” than the Zoloft.
- I feel like I’m thinking less and more slowly. It’s not what I’m used to and I’m worried about losing a vital part of myself.
- Psychiatrist B said that it’s important for me to feel things like anger and anxiety because they motivate me to do things I need to do; it would not do to be overly nonchalant. He assured me that we would take care to continue with a treatment that is helping to reduce the harmful / potentially harmful chaos in my mind while making sure it doesn’t turn me into a zombie.
I have a new prescription for the Zoloft (same dose & instructions) and another follow-up appointment in two months. So far, it seems to be working pretty well.
a day with depression 
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