The medication itself might be causing you to not run well. It might even take several
months after quitting the meds to feel normal running again. You are young yet. I am
betting you will run again. The time frame is the only question.
The medication itself might be causing you to not run well. It might even take several
months after quitting the meds to feel normal running again. You are young yet. I am
betting you will run again. The time frame is the only question.
Guys,
Be very careful advising people to drop their meds. There may be some evidence that holistic methods can provide similar effects as some antidepressants in treating mild to moderate depression. But severe and profound depression are entirely different beasts. I've been in hospital waiting rooms for electroconvulsive therapy and seen catatonic patients (from teenagers to elderly) with feeding tubes being wheeled in from the psych ward, and eight weeks later walking out happily, on a stable med regimen - often the heavy-hitter MAOI's or tricyclics - that will allow them to sleep, to eat, to talk, to concentrate on books and movies, to engage in talk therapy, etc. No holistic practitioner worth his/her salt will ever deny that some patients really do need the medication to help with things on an organic level.
Be careful here. There's such a thing as "existential" depression, which is more mid-life crisis type of stuff. Then there's mild-to-moderate depression, when people are having a terrible time but can still function fairly well and can still really engage in talk therapy and/or use other interventions to help them out. And then there's the severe and profound variety, when the body begins to shut down and medication can be a life-saver.
Just be careful.
Hey -
This might get buried in here, but I totally care about you and your happiness.
Be cautious with all the people advising you to drop/wean off medication... only you and your doctor know your body and your history - a bunch of randos on the internet shouldn't be making calls like that.
Maybe it's time to take a step back. Running will always be there (even if this feels catastrophic right now). Maybe you can explore other hobbies or improve other aspects of yourself.
I quit competitive running for a few years, beginning midway through college. I was battling an eating disorder and made the decision to put athletics on the back burner until I could deal with running in a responsible way. In that time I learned to rock climb, learned to ski, met a sweet boy, went to concerts, started a garden, and got a dog. I also got into grad school and moved across the continent. I returned to competitive running this year (I jogged sporadically in my off years) and have such a healthier, more balanced outlook on it. The sport is still there!
Very sound advice above. As to the idiots suggesting you quit a medication that is allowing you to be happy rather than an activity that didn't bring you happiness even when you were being successful, please ignore them.
Also, given the previous coverage on this site and others about athletes who have committed suicide due to undiagnosed or uncontrolled depression, seriously people do not advocate quitting beneficial therapy in favor of a competitive running career. The following list doesn't need more members
https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/friv/lists.cgi?id=55Anti-depressents are notorious in destroying sport performances. Kelly Holmes very honestly said she refused to take the meds b/c of how it would impact her running. I was on anti-depressents for 2 years after HS and I went from a sub-2 performer to unable crack 2:10 b/c of my anti-depressents.
But if you're prescribed the meds you need to realize it is for a reason. You have an illness that needs to be treated. Medication is only one tool but still a very useful one.
Don't base your happiness off sport. It should make you happy but don't let it be the only reason you're happy. Take time to care for yourself; let the meds do what they're suppose to do; continue therapy and seeing your doctors. Running is so much more than running fast and you can still be happy in life without shattering records.
An old coach told me once, "Running performances don't matter if you end up dead. Take care of yourself first".