BPD breakups and depression

[Ahoy]

I think I can happily admit I am suffering depression-like symptoms from this breakup. Not enough to stop everyday function, however certainly enough to impact my daily work/life balance.

I know a lot of it is mental exhaustion. I'm working long rough hours in an isolated location which is compounding my stress.

Have any of you been prescribed anti-depressants to help lift your mood and improve functioning? Did they impair other areas of your life?

I know these emotions are natural and I'm also learning more about myself every day. I think I'm slowly identifying FOO issues that I need to tackle. It's a lot of work.

If I request to go on antidepressants, could this impair my healing, specifically from possibly FOO issues? I want to recover from these uncovered 'core' wounds the right way so my next relationship is a healthy one.

Anyone have experience with this and could offer some advice?

[Hadlee]

I went on anti-depressants whilst I was still in the relationship.  What I didn't realize at the time was that my depression and anxiety was due to the pwBPD. 

Anyway, I was only on them for a few months.  They helped with the anxiety I had and panic attacks, but overall I didn't like the feeling of being on them.  I felt numb.  And I didn't like the fact that I was trying to fix my issues with medication, which I thought was a band aid solution, and didn't get to the root of the problem of what was causing the anxiety and depression.  So I went off them.

I contemplated going back on them after the breakup, but once again decided to dig deep and work on the root cause.  It's been a tough road, but time has certainly healed the wounds.

Do what you think is best for you    

[motleymoo]

I've recently been prescribed an SSRI (not the first time) to try and control my anxiety that's been exacerbated by a breakup I'm still dealing with.

You don't say what you've been prescribed, but I've found some of the SSRI-class of antidepressants have far worse side effects than others. Personally, I'd describe the primary effect as a 'flattening' on my mood: less down, but also less up, along with loss of libido. I found that both giving them a month or two to really get the full therapeutic effect was necessary and I had to try a few different ones before I found something I got on with.

In general, when I've found myself feeling unstable or unable to cope due to some highly emotively charged event like a breakup, antidepressants have helped give me a platform on which I can start to feel more stable and make healthier decisions and move forward. That said, they're no substitute for the tough emotional work I've had to do on myself. They can put you in a place where you can start to do that work.