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Hi all,

A recurring theme for myself and I think for others too is the lack of motivation. I am currently having a tough time with it, although to be honest it's been bad for ages.

I am taking clomipramine and clonazepam (an anti-anxiety med). Does anyone know if clonazepam lowers motivation in some way. It's done wonders for my anxiety and I would not like to tempt fate by stopping taking it; however, if it does have a depressing affect, I would have to think about coming off them.

People don't realise how de-motivated I am because I put up a bright, cheery front for others - especially on the phone when people can't see I'm still in bed at 3.00pm :thumbup:

Any ideas????

whitebeam

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Hi Victoria,

Thanks for your answer - it was helpful.

I didn't know that anti-anxieties were similar to alcohol in terms of depressing effects. Yes, clonazepam is in the diazepam family and it's interesting to hear that it could cause the symptoms of depression.

I've needed to go to see my GP for a while on a non-related matter for a while now so I'll get on and get an appt and ask him what he suggests.........

Thanks again

whitebeam

PS

(sorry, I'm not really useful!)

Yes, you were :thumbup:

I also drink quite a bit in the evenings :thumbup::thumbup:.

Maybe I should cut back on that :thumbup: .

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Hi whitebeam

At one time I was on a mixture of antipsychotics and SSRI's and I can honestly say I 'lost' nearly a year of my life. I stayed in bed until lunchtime, got up and perched on the floor against my fire to keep warm, stayed there until evening when I watched TV before going back to bed again :blushing: . Day after day, week after week :( .

Looking back it was totally drug induced and once your mindset gets stuck in that rut you just sink deeper into the pit. To be honest, it didn't bother me in one respect because I had no desire to engage in activity, but looking back I'm horrified at how I could behave like that. But the drugs had a profound effect on my behaviour and before I knew it I was exhibiting classic signs of depression. A similar thing happened when I was prescribed Haloperidol which I swear I would NEVER take again.

It is a horrible way to feel and in a way it can almost be worse being like you are right now ie fighting it and having the insight that you are de motivated. At least when you are at the bottom of your pit you lose all sense of awareness and everything just washes over you :dry: . But being aware of how you feel just adds feelings of guilt into the equation.

Over the years I've come to believe that drugs can very much help us to manage our illness and often allow us to put into practice other strategies such as positive thinking, re-framing our thougts, exposure work etc. But sometimes the meds just need a bit of tweaking either in the form of a lesser dose or changing to an equivalent med. It's a tricky call as you don't want to return to the days of intense anxiety, but I guess it could be worth a try if you know you will be 'allowed' to return to your current meds as a fallback option.

The other thing I reluctatantly mention is alcohol. I too like a glass of wine but have had to accept a state of total absitance due to the way it makes me feel. Alcohol may well be beefing up the effects/side effects of the meds or simply having a depressive effect on you. I would totally agree that it has a well known depressive effect on the brain even in small doses. Some folk can manage the odd drink but the more you have the worse you may feel. Just some food for thought anyway :whistling:

Catherine :)

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