I have a fear of taking Zoloft. I have been fitting taking meds for a year now and feel i need something. Can i get positives / success stories. I know each person is different but would be nice to hear the positive side!

I was scared of going on medicine again, after taking a 10 year hiatus from it. I had a lot of anxiety and ocd before I took medicine especially because of the pandemic, and so I was worried I would exasperate it even more with medicine. I also didn’t like the idea of being dependent on something. But at a certain point I realized my life was becoming limiting, even with ERP and other practices. So with the help of erp I went on Zoloft. The first month I didn’t see much of a change. But there were no really noticeable side effects, except a lot of yawning. Then after a month, there was this moment where I noticed something. I was coming back on the subway with my mom, and I realized I forgot to pay the ticket for the parking for her car. I started to feel anxious and have ocd that they might tow her car or give us a hefty fine. I expected to start feeling a panic attack come on, but.. it didn’t. I just kind of sat there uncomfortable for ten min, and then I was able to let it go. And from there I witnessed this experience of what people call “dulling” out the anxiety. Everything that might set of a fire alarm now doesn’t. Do I still get anxious? Yes. Do I still have intrusive thoughts ? Yes. But it’s so much more manageable, and with erp and acceptance therapy it feels like a whole new life. I think what I try to remind myself, is to not solely rely on the medicine even if it’s working well. This is the opportunity to do erp ans develop a healthy lifestyle that will always keep you grounded even if the medicine stops working or you get off it. But the medicine is a huge anchor for when you are recovering. It puts your erp training with ocd on training wheels, instead of throwing you down the hill with a unicycle.

I started it 2 weeks ago, I can’t speak for the positive results yet but it’s not as scary as I thought it would be! I struggled to sleep and I was definitely still anxious, but that’s starting to subside now I’ve not had any majorly bad reactions, it’s definitely worth a try if you feel you need something

I took zoloft for awhile until it sort of came to a halt as far as helping. Felt like I was hitting a brick wall and was going backwards. I am now on Prozac with Rexulti for an added push and so far, after a couple of months I am okay with it. Still seeking therapy for the anxiety and OCD, and know I will get there. Praying the Zoloft works well for you.

Fighting!***

I started Zoloft when I was around 15, and it was a massive help for me. It helped “full” my anxiety, stopping my thoughts from being as terrifying as they would normally be. Because of this I didn’t feel the need to perform my compulsions as much, and it became much much easier to exit out of the obsessive cycle. It wasn’t a miracle cure, but Zoloft helped me reach a point where I was actually able to start making positive changes. I came off of Zoloft earlier this year (I’m 23 now), and I am generally functioning well without it. Recent local lockdowns have caused my OCD to relapse a bit, but under normal circumstances I think I would be fine without Zoloft at this stage. If your doctor is recommending it, I would definitely suggest Zoloft as an option. It helped me a lot, and I have also been able to come off of it fine too.

That's great to hear. Continued success. I'm still waiting for a therapist who will understand me. Hoping that will help the anxiety.