Zoloft is my friend.

A couple of weeks ago I had a major emotional meltdown. Sometimes a minor thing will trigger such things. Anyway, as soon as I got home, I completely fell apart. I didn’t think I would ever stop yelling and crying.

I think of my personal despair on a zero-to-ten scale: Zero being no despair, and ten being climbing up into my attic and putting a belt around my neck. On this particular evening I was up around a nine.

I knew something had to be done, so I was able to get a prescription for Zoloft (generic name sertraline). I’ve always been very leery about taking artificial happiness pills, so I told me doctor I wanted to start with a low dose. So now I’m on 25 mg per day, which is about the lowest dose anyone takes. While it had some noticeable effects at first, my doctor said I had to be on it for at least a week before I noticed a significant improvement in my overall mood. And she was right. It’s been good for me. It doesn’t mean I no longer get angry or bitter or sad, but it has made it much more manageable.

I have enough left for another two months or so. During this time I’m going to examine my feelings, get some therapy, and maybe get past this emotional crisis in my life.

I’m passing this along in case it helps anyone else. I you go through recurring periods of despair, as I am prone to, you may wish to try the same low-dose therapy I’m using. It seems to be working for me.