6 months on Lexapro for Anxiety, Depression, PMDD + life update
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the creator discusses her ongoing mental health journey, including her experiences with medication and genetic testing to find the best treatment. She expresses frustration with the mental health care industry and the lack of innovation in women's health, particularly for conditions like PMDD. The creator also shares her recent shift to freelancing, her plans for workshops, and her hope for a more stable future. She reflects on the state of social media and her desire to create content she loves without overthinking.
Takeaways
- 💌 The creator received positive messages from followers which reaffirmed her purpose on social media.
- 💊 She has been on various dosages of Lexapro and Gabapentin for mental health, but they haven't been as effective as desired.
- 🧬 She underwent genetic testing to determine which medications might work best for her mental health.
- 🌱 She is exploring alternatives to prescription medication, including potentially beneficial but illegal substances like psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA.
- 🌐 She criticizes the lack of innovation in mental health care and the trial-and-error approach to medication.
- 🌸 She mentions the impact of seasonal changes on her mood, particularly the relief from winter and the arrival of spring.
- 🏋️♀️ She acknowledges the difficulty of exercising while dealing with depression but recognizes its benefits for mental health.
- 💼 She left her job in advertising and has been freelancing, which has provided her with more flexibility and control over her work.
- 🎨 She is considering creating workshops and sharing her advertising experience to help others navigate the industry.
- 🌟 She expresses a desire to do more authentic content creation and less overthinking on social media platforms.
Q & A
Why did the speaker start making videos about mental health?
-The speaker started making videos about mental health because they were able to share their own life experiences and help others relate or benefit from what they say on social media.
What medication was the speaker prescribed for their mental health?
-The speaker was prescribed the generic of Lexapro, which is a type of SSRI, starting at 10 milligrams and eventually being increased to 20 milligrams.
Why did the speaker feel frustrated with their medication?
-The speaker felt frustrated because the medications were not working as effectively as they should have been, and they felt there was a lack of innovation in mental health care, with the process often involving trial and error with SSRIs.
What alternative treatment method did the speaker explore?
-The speaker explored genetic testing to determine which medications for mental health would likely work best for them, which involved swabbing their cheeks and sending it away for analysis.
Why did the speaker mention the potential benefits of illegal drugs for mental health?
-The speaker mentioned the potential benefits of illegal drugs like psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA for mental health because some studies have shown their effectiveness, but due to their classification, they haven't been fully understood or utilized in the U.S.
What health condition does the speaker suffer from that is related to their menstrual cycle?
-The speaker suffers from PMDD, which stands for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.
Why did the speaker leave their job at an advertising agency?
-The speaker left their job because they felt that the advertising agency culture, with its long hours and high-stress environment, was not conducive to their mental health.
What positive aspects did the speaker take away from their advertising agency experience?
-The speaker gained valuable experience in team structure, client communication, feedback handling, email communication, and contract dealings, which they can now apply to their personal work.
What are the speaker's plans for the future regarding their career and community involvement?
-The speaker is considering creating workshops for the community, both in Chicago and online, focusing on how to work with brands and handle various aspects of influencer marketing. They also plan to offer consulting services.
How does the speaker feel about the current state of social media?
-The speaker is critical of the current state of social media, feeling that they don't feel at home anywhere on the internet as they used to, but they also see glimpses of hope and optimism within certain platforms.
What platforms is the speaker most active on currently?
-The speaker is most active on Instagram stories and has been updating her Pinterest account frequently.
Outlines
💬 Mental Health and Social Media Impact
The speaker begins by expressing gratitude for the positive messages received from followers regarding their openness about mental health. They reflect on the importance of social media as a platform for sharing personal experiences and the challenges of maintaining content creation during periods of low confidence and mental health struggles. The speaker discusses their journey with medication, starting with Lexapro and later adding Gabapentin for anxiety, but notes that these haven't been as effective as hoped. They express frustration with the trial-and-error approach of mental health treatment and the lack of innovation in the field. Recently, they underwent genetic testing to help determine the most suitable medications, which they believe could be a more effective strategy. The speaker also touches on the broader issues within mental health care, including the need for innovation and the unique challenges faced by women's health care.
🌞 Weather, Lifestyle, and Mental Health
The speaker discusses how the improving weather in Chicago has positively impacted their mood, highlighting the struggle with seasonal affective disorder. They mention the importance of lifestyle factors like exercise in managing mental health, despite acknowledging that it's not a cure-all. The speaker shares their recent career transition from a full-time job to freelancing, which has provided more flexibility and control over their work. They reflect on the demanding nature of the advertising industry and its potential negative impact on mental health, especially for those with pre-existing conditions like anxiety and depression. They also express a desire to share their knowledge and experience from the advertising world to help others navigate similar paths, possibly through workshops or online content. The speaker concludes by discussing their efforts to build self-esteem and confidence through aligning their actions with personal values and the ongoing work with their therapist.
🌐 Social Media Critique and Personal Growth
In the final paragraph, the speaker shares their critical views on the current state of social media, expressing a sense of displacement from the online communities they once felt at home in. They mention finding solace in platforms like Reddit and TikTok, which offer different forms of engagement. The speaker is also critical of the broader social media landscape but maintains a sense of optimism and a desire to discuss potential improvements. They express a renewed interest in creating content, such as makeup tutorials and personal updates, with less overthinking and more authenticity. The speaker concludes by inviting feedback on their content ideas and sharing where they are most active on social media, hinting at a desire to reconnect more intimately with their audience.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Mental Health
💡Social Media
💡Lexapro
💡Gabapentin
💡Genetic Testing
💡Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)
💡Innovation
💡Psychiatrist
💡Freelancing
💡Self-Esteem
💡Social Media Critique
Highlights
Received messages thanking her for sharing mental health experiences, which reaffirmed her purpose on social media.
Mental health has been a struggle, but she feels currently in an upswing.
Initially prescribed 10mg of generic Lexapro, later increased to 20mg.
Also prescribed Gabapentin 300mg three times a day for anxiety.
Expressed frustration with the slow process and trial-and-error approach of medication.
Undertook genetic testing to determine the best mental health medications for her.
Discussed the potential benefits of alternative treatments like psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA.
Highlighted the lack of innovation in women's healthcare, especially for conditions like PMDD.
Mentioned the impact of weather on her mental health, especially the transition from winter to spring in Chicago.
Emphasized the importance of exercise for mental health, despite its limitations.
Left her job in advertising to focus on freelancing and personal growth.
Reflected on the demanding nature of advertising agency culture and its impact on mental health.
Plans to offer workshops on working with brands and navigating the influencer industry.
Struggles with self-esteem and insecurity, but is working on living according to her values.
Expressed a desire to create more content, including makeup tutorials and personal updates.
Criticized the current state of social media but also sees potential for positive change.
Mentions being most active on Instagram stories and Pinterest.
Transcripts
hi my makeup looks good today so I
recently received a couple messages from
you guys thanking me for sharing my own
experiences with mental health on my
platforms and they really impacted me it
was so nice to read and to realize and
remember why I am on social media like
the whole reason I'm here the whole
reason I've loved this place for so long
has been able has has been because I'm
able to share my own life and have
others that can relate or benefit from
what I can say here and you know it's
definitely been harder these days to
keep up making videos when I'm feeling
so low and like such a lack of
confidence and stuff but messages like
that like it's why I'm sitting here
right now making this video because it's
important I do love it and I also just
kind of feel like I'm luckily in a
little bit of an upswing with my own
mental health right now so I thought I
would take this time to sit down update
you on what I've been doing for like the
past six months since I made my first or
whatever video about mental health and
just yeah tell you what's been up when I
made that video six months ago I was
prescribed telling ten milligrams of the
generic of lexapro which is a sill aprea
I still can't say it since then I've
been upped to like 15 and then I was up
to 20 milligrams and then they also
prescribed me
gabapentin 300 milligrams of that three
times a day for anxiety so over the past
six months the meds haven't really been
doing the job that they probably should
have should be doing for me my therapist
has said so to that work she's not
exactly happy with where I'm at yet so I
am also frustrated because you know it's
like these meds just feel like they take
so long and it just feels like I don't
know it just it just kind of sucks it
feels like we are still so behind with
innovations within mental
health care and the whole like let's
just test out a bunch of SSRIs on you
until like we figure out which one works
or we realize none of them work we can
start trying alternative methods it just
kind of like sucks and it makes me
disappointed within the industry like
the mental health care situation so two
weeks ago and my psychiatrist office I
did genetic testing to determine which
medications for mental health will
probably work best for me and which ones
probably won't so I swab my cheeks with
like a little swab they sent it away and
I will get a report soon about all of
that information so that we take out
some of the guesswork when it comes to
taking medication also just kind of like
why didn't we do this in the first place
my insurance covers it fully whatever
but if you have that option I would
recommend it I think it could be helpful
so at that point I'll make a decision on
what I want to do if I want to switch
off to something else I've also been
kind of doing my own little research
into alternatives to this sort of thing
to prescription meds there are a lot of
different alternatives out there but it
is kind of still like the Wild West of
the stuff what's frustrating is a lot of
drugs out there that are considered
illegal are potentially helpful for this
kind of stuff
things like psilocybin which is
mushrooms things like LSD MDMA all these
other things that have had some help or
like have been studied a little bit
about mental health because of how we've
classified them in in the u.s. we
haven't been able to understand fully
how those might help people there are
some studies out there that have shown
how these drugs have helped people so
it's it's really frustrating there's
also been like a lack of innovation
within women's health care which is like
you know particularly interesting for me
because I suffer from KMBZ which I've
talked about in the last video which is
premenstrual dysphoric disorder I think
that there has been a lack of innovation
there because historically women haven't
been you'd as the default patient with
in medical care women haven't been taken
it seriously for their pain especially
women of color there's a lot of research
around that and I just think
we're where we could be with women's
health care if women were more taken
seriously and viewed as people who
deserve the best sort of health care
possible that's all just to say that I'm
frustrated and well I guess that's just
fine and I'm gonna work with my doctor
to figure out a good solution but it's
just been hard still dealing with
anxiety and depression I do feel like
I'm on an upswing I feel like there's
certain factors around just like
lifestyle that can affect my mood like
for instance the weather in Chicago is
getting better finally like I feel like
in Chicago I'm like okay when it's fine
I can deal with winter you know December
comes and it's like pretty and snowy and
whatever February starts to come and
you're like I am done I'm going to break
as a person if I don't have warmth or
any sort of hope you know for spring and
then March comes and it's still shitty
outside here like I am breaking as a
person now I cannot do this any longer
please I need to feel the warmth of the
Sun on my skin please God please and
then finally it starts to get a little
bit more wearing sunny out and it's just
like oh my god I feel like then I can
like start to flourish as a person again
like I started to see like little buds
on trees or a little like tulips popping
up and it's like oh my god yes and
there's like Sun coming down and it's
like daylight until like 7 p.m. and it's
like yes I'm even just trying to do
things like exercise obviously exercise
isn't gonna save your mental health I
hate when people kind of imply that but
I know that it definitely helps so I
tried to do that but it's really hard to
do that when you're like depressed and
don't want to go outside and like move
around so one other thing too that I can
update you on the last time when I made
that video six months ago I was still
employed I was in a leave of absence
from my job I left my job in early
January and I've been freelancing and
just kind of floating around since
trying to figure out my life it's
actually been really nice being on my
own though like I have
flexibility in my hours that I work I
get to choose what I want to work on
like it's definitely not the most stable
situation I'd like it to become more
stable and I have ideas around that but
it has been really nice being on my own
I think that you know I haven't really
talked a lot about why I left my job or
you know details around that even just
like looking over the past five years
there but I don't think that advertising
agency culture is the most helpful for
folks who have mental health issues just
if you work in advertising or if you
know that sort of culture it's like long
hours like sometimes like seven days a
week
overtime always like ego is office
politics all of that stocked up together
can be really a lot for a person's mind
and especially somebody who has anxiety
and depression I really did learn a lot
though this path these past five years I
am so thankful for my time there I can
now take what I know from working within
that side of things like working within
a team structure working with clients
knowing how to communicate with clients
knowing how to work with feedback
knowing how to email people knowing how
to deal with contracts I can take all of
that knowledge and apply that to my own
personal stuff with like influence or
stuff with YouTube stuff with consulting
I've been doing some consulting on the
side here and I can bring that side to
this so I feel like it really like helps
me create my own niche where I know not
only know the social media side as an
influencer but I also have this like
five years of advertising agency
experience under my belt so that's been
great and if you're interested I could
potentially make a video about my time
in advertising and just talk about the
good the bad the ugly but for now I'm
just kind of like doing a quick little
overview so let me know if you'd be
interested I've got ideas on building up
things like workshops and stuff for the
community here in Chicago and
potentially online as well around like
how to work with brands how I deal with
all that stuff like all the little
nitty-gritty details on contracts
how to get work all that stuff I'm
thinking about ways to package that up
and hopefully offer that soon I don't
know I'm hopeful more hopeful than I
have been over the past six months I
feel at least right now more confident
in myself and in what I'm good at that's
been a huge struggle over the past
couple of months I have felt such
horrible like low self-esteem I have
felt horribly like insecure about myself
my body how I talk about things how I
interact with people how I appear on the
Internet all of these things but I've
been doing a lot of work with my
therapist around my own values like
laying down the things I care about my
life and then living in accordance with
that and when I do stuff like that it
feels more like I have a compass like I
remember the things that I really care
about and I don't mind so much then
about what people might say about me
because if I'm living in accordance of
things that I value then welcome so
hopefully the more that I can
internalize that and put that into
practice
the more confident I'll feel to make
videos like this and to be on social
media doing the things that I love
instead of kind of hiding away and like
self-medicating and coping alone wow I
love this place I am also just as you
probably know if you follow me just like
super critical of these places and
engine I just hate where social media
has ended up right now um that's also
probably a whole video I can make on
just like the state of social media and
like how I feel about it
like TLDR I think that I don't really
feel like at home anywhere on the
internet like I used to
there you see platforms that I feel like
I felt really at home at that made sense
for me and I don't really feel like
there is anything like that right now
like there's like little bits of it like
I think like reddit has been a really
nice space for me to pin out lately
honestly tik-tok has
a really like unique space like it
reminds me of vine I didn't think that
musically was gonna be able to pull this
off but they I think have and it's just
been a really different entertaining
place to be obviously like these
platforms they have issues you know like
I'm not saying like go tick-tock Widow
I'm just saying like that of every
horrible platform we have right now like
I guess those two are what's been nice
for me like I have so much criticism and
I think I probably should make a video
about that stuff and also talk about
where I see hope there's that's
something I always want to do and
anything I talk about or do on here is
also have you know where my hopes are
for this kind of stuff I am cynical but
I've always had optimism with these sort
of things so I do see little glimpses of
hope within this social media world so I
want to talk about those things too
I don't know I hope this was interesting
at all to someone I definitely would
like to do more where I just sit down
and talk to you guys and I also just
want to do like [ __ ] like make do makeup
tutorials again like I still love makeup
I like would love to just sit down do
like a get ready with me and just chat
so I don't know I just want to like do
the things that I love to do and not
overthink it anymore
you know I'm most active these days on
Instagram stories and honestly like I've
been updating my Pinterest a lot so ok
interested in that that's also got
something kind of weird out there but
that's where I'll be and hopefully I
will be on here again though soon we'll
see ok bye
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