Just to throw in my two cents:
I think that there’s A LOT of stigma surrounding mental illness. I’m a nurse and a Catholic. I’m on Cipralex (escitalopram - SSRI similar to Prozac, Zoloft, and Celexa) for generalized anxiety disorder. If someone had told me, “Just trust God and quit worrying”, I’d probably have kicked him in the teeth. It’s not nearly as simple as that.
Unfortunately, I have a metabolic condition that predisposes me to developing depression and anxiety. I think I have a combination of both, actually. It’s not that I never worry about things - I do worry about NORMAL things, as much as the next person does. (The meds also don’t work as well when I go through PMS.) But I think I can honestly say that my husband would have kicked me out if I hadn’t sought treatment. My constant anxiety nearly drove him nuts. When I take my medication, I’m more sociable, I have a better outlook on life, and I don’t feel constantly stressed. Before, it was as if I NEEDED to worry to prevent something terrible from happening. If we didn’t get out the door exactly right on the dot of the time I thought we needed to leave, or if we were going to be even two minutes late for something, I’d start getting anxious and throwing a fit. I think I’d actually been suffering from anxiety and depression for years, but before I met my husband, I’d developed a number of coping mechanisms for dealing with them so I didn’t notice it as much. My husband convinced me to seek treatment after our marriage. (When we were married, I wasn’t taking meds, and he still agreed to marry me, without setting a condition that I seek treatment.) Our marriage is much more stable now, and I feel like I am who I’m supposed to be, now that I’m on medication. If I do start getting anxious, I’m able to recognize it as being abnormal and take steps to deal with it. I’ve also had some counselling, which was helpful.
