6 months on Lexapro for Anxiety, Depression, PMDD + life update

Summary

In 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

00:00

💬 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.

05:00

🌞 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.

10:00

🌐 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.

Keywords

💡Mental Health

Mental health refers to a person's emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It is the context within which the individual realizes his or her own potential, copes with the normal stresses of life, works productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. In the video, the speaker shares her personal experiences with mental health, emphasizing the importance of discussing it openly and the challenges she faces in managing her conditions.

💡Social Media

Social media are interactive computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, career interests, and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks. The speaker discusses her relationship with social media, highlighting its role in connecting with others, sharing personal experiences, and the positive feedback she receives from her audience, which motivates her to continue creating content.

💡Lexapro

Lexapro is the brand name for the generic drug escitalopram, which is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) used to treat depression and generalized anxiety disorder. In the script, the speaker mentions being prescribed Lexapro as part of her treatment for mental health issues, illustrating the use of medication as a common approach in managing such conditions.

💡Gabapentin

Gabapentin is a medication originally developed to treat epilepsy, but it is also used off-label to treat anxiety and other conditions. The speaker mentions taking gabapentin as part of her treatment plan, indicating that it is one of the medications prescribed to her for anxiety, showcasing the multifaceted approach to mental health treatment.

💡Genetic Testing

Genetic testing is a type of DNA test that can identify changes in chromosomes, genes, or proteins. The speaker discusses undergoing genetic testing to determine which medications for mental health will likely work best for her, reflecting the growing trend of personalized medicine and the potential for genetic information to guide treatment decisions.

💡Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) that affects some women of reproductive age. It involves significant mood swings, irritability, and other symptoms that can interfere with daily life. The speaker mentions suffering from PMDD, which is a specific type of mental health issue related to hormonal changes and highlights the lack of innovation in women's healthcare.

💡Innovation

Innovation refers to the process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that creates value or for which customers will pay. In the context of the video, the speaker expresses frustration with the lack of innovation in mental health care, particularly in the development of new treatments and the reliance on trial-and-error with medications.

💡Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine focused on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. The speaker mentions visiting her psychiatrist, indicating the role of mental health professionals in the management and treatment of mental health conditions.

💡Freelancing

Freelancing is the practice of working for oneself as a self-employed person and offering services to clients in a flexible and independent manner. The speaker discusses leaving her job and engaging in freelancing, which has provided her with more flexibility and control over her work, but also the challenges of job stability and the need to manage her own career.

💡Self-Esteem

Self-esteem refers to the self-evaluation of one's own worth. It is a judgment of oneself as valuable, capable, and worthy. The speaker talks about struggling with low self-esteem and insecurities, which are common issues that individuals with mental health conditions may face, and how she is working with her therapist to address these feelings.

💡Social Media Critique

The critique of social media involves analyzing and discussing the negative aspects and impacts of these platforms. The speaker expresses her critical views on the current state of social media, indicating a desire to discuss the problems she sees, such as the lack of a sense of belonging and the challenges of maintaining a positive online presence.

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