Reply #188: I hate the stereotypes as well.

[laundry_queen]

-- I had never known, in my entire life, what it was like to live with a constant unending sense of dread. I didn't even know it wasn't supposed to be / didn't have to be like that - it was all I had ever known. I just knew that I couldn't keep my life together. It's hard to describe to someone who doesn't have this condition what it is like to be able to experience a more normalized sense of being.

This is exactly my experience with anxiety & Celexa. It is difficult to describe it to someone who hasn't lived with it. I lived with the sense of dread and panic for so long I figured it was normal. When I realized it wasn't normal, the stigma of medication kept me from getting help for a long time. It wasn't until I had a complete breakdown that I finally let go of my fear of medication and my doctor prescribed Celexa. Lucky for me, it was the right one, and it is the only one I've ever been on. I am a bit bitter that because of the stereotypes and the misinformation people have about mental illness and medication, I lived with crippling anxiety for much longer than I had to. Even those close to me told me that medication was a 'crutch', that I just needed to 'get out more', 'eat healthy and exercise' and 'stop worrying so much'. This is the mindset that is pervasive in our culture about anxiety and depression. I'm not overly surprised to see it here, although I am disappointed.