i'm 23 years old and have suffered from awful anxiety, heavy depression and cptsd for quite some time. it all came to a head a few months ago when i was very suicidal and i finally had to go to the doctor. he prescribed me 7.5mg of mirtazapine back in february and i've tried to take it as consistently as possible. well, i just passed the two month mark (when you're supposed to feel the full effects) and i realized the other day that i just felt...better. it was like the volume of the frantic, frenzied energy in my brain was lowered. i've been cooking in the kitchen again, making art pages again, reading again. i just did some yoga outside and the trees look greener. i feel happy and when you mentioned how you felt a similar feeling while walking your dog, i felt that at my core. i used to be very anti-meds but my brain was just so tired of fighting all alone. i'm glad i got some help.i don't know how it'll be coming off of it, but i know that for now, i'm feeling better than i have in a long time.

Thanks for another 'clear' waffle about your personal experience of medication. When I met my wife, Selina, 48 yrs ago she was a regular taker of Librium to keep her calm. She weaned herself off before we started a family. Twenty years ago after two very bad yrs with anxiety and depression, she started taking medications without which she would have had no life. For those twenty years she was/ we were able to do all the things we wanted, the normal things everyone does, this would never have been the case without her meds. There were a couple of blips, it wasn’t a perfect solution but it got her through. Selina was always aware of others horror and often felt ashamed of her need for her medication but never thought of stopping. I really wish she could have seen this open, sensible and personal account it would have been a great help. I hope others who watch it are lifted by it. There is no shame in meds for any problem.

After trying many anti depressants over the last 22 years this is the only one that works.By day 4 I was feeling happy and whatever I decided to do I got right into it thoroughly.Also I chatted to a stranger in the Chinese takeaway and above all when I'm on my own I now don't feel lonely at all or have suicidal thoughts any more.Bonus having vivid happy dreams , such a life changing medicine

Thank you for sharing your experience and honesty, Pooky. I don't understand why there is a stigma around taking medication. I'm glad it's working for you.

This was a great video. You’re really calming to listen to and it feels really reassuring the way you validate taking medications and talk so openly about your experience, thank you

I started taking mirzapine due to anxiety and compulsive thoughts as a result of a recent health scare that occurred last year. It also stablizes my mood, as well. It does work. It uplifts my mood and helps with the compulsive thoughts. It is great for helping me sleep, too. It does cause weight gain. So, it is best to have a proper diet/exercise routine in place, just in case.

I love how your books are organised by color ❤️

Hi Pooky, i have only just found you channel and wanted to say how much you have really helped me. I could listen to you for ages, your own personal videos are amazing and i can relate to so many topics that I also suffer with. Your so truthful, your channel is the very best i have found to help me with my own fight of mental illness due to abuse. For many years i have worn a mask, to hide the real me. Im now embarking on EMDR and real help for my eating disorder, PTSD, self harm plus other 'stuff'. Just wanted to say a big thank you for being so open and honest its really helped me on my own jouney.

Thanks for this insight. Open, honest and to the point. Not like some others that are over the top or completely against this subject.

Thanks so much for this, I just started Remeron and was really embarrassed about it but I'm not now. What's good for me is good for those around me.

❤️ your honest sharing. You described my resistance to medication to a “T!” Glad to know I am not alone. God bless and please keep sharing! Helps a lot.

Mirtazepine works for me. It makes me hungry but I only leave my room for the bathroom and occasionally go downstairs to sit with my husband. I actually went onto a mental health ward and came out traumatised because of their treatment. So I was a lot worse than when I went in. I agree totally with what you said. Nobody questions why my husband takes blood pressure tablets and yet there is a stigma around any tablet taken for mental health.. My long term goal is to tackle how people who work in mental health wards to understand how their behaviour can have a major influence on an individual getting better.

I was just prescribed this medicine. Thank you very much for your helpful video. I also have an ED and this is part of my trtmt plan. I also take a benzo at bedtime as well as belsomra. ... I am in the 1st week... VERY tired and grateful for my supportive family ❤️.

Great video. Been taking Mirtazapine for a while and I love it. Greetings from Kenya.

As is often the case watching your videos Pooky, your words hit home for me. For example, “I thought I should be able to manage my mental illness on my own, without medication”. I must have spent over 40 years telling myself that, to the detriment of my mental health. Though, like yourself, I would support anyone else to was taking antidepressants. Thinking aloud, I wonder whether at the heart of it is that I don’t deserve to be better. Hmmm, more to ponder over 😊 Keep up the good work!

Very nice lady with a honest opinion, well spoken and with genuine concern for others is how you come across plus very coherent BTW.

Appreciated this video greatly! PTSD has sneaked up and bit me on the behind, a few friends recommended mirtazapine and it’s my first week on 15mg. Already seen an improvement with sleep! Mood is stable, videos like this help me feel more at ease when taking medication, sometimes there’s no other way to get through and to keep those plates spinning!!

Thank you for your video. As a behavioral health provider I am so grateful for your video, which destigmatized the use of these medications. I particularly appreciated your mention of the discussion you had with your provider about how you didn't want to "rock the boat". If these medicines are working, there is no rush to come off of them.

At 10:55 you clearly and effectively explained what you should be looking for your antidepressants to do for you. There is not a good sense in the public of what we should be looking for these drugs to do for us. The term "happy pills" certainly has done a major disservice to our expectations. Thank you so much for sharing!

Well done Pooky for bringing this topic to the attention of others. If medications are helpful to us we shouldn’t shy away from talking about them as it will almost certainly help others to understand how useful they can be. I take medication for Epilepsy (Epilim and Epanutim) to control my condition and have done since the early 1990s. I know epilepsy isn’t considered in the same class as depression but it is still a condition that is not entirely physical. I am pleased that Mirtazapine is helping you as from observation with a friend it can have strong side effects when first taken, but if these can be overcome it definitely can be very helpful. And don’t worry about saying “incoherent”, you were just demonstrating the word 😊. Thank you again for talking about your own experiences. It makes it so much more watchable knowing that you speak with first hand knowledge. Strength to you 😊

I DO feel less alone, so thank you. I was hoping to find personal anecdotes from others who have taken Mirtzapine, as I just started it last week, and there you were! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I found this really helpful and subscribed to your channel after watching the post it note story - thank you for sharing x

Thank you for making a video on the topic! The negativity around medication is really tiresome, but the fear of side effects is quite understandable as the period of trying different options can be really stressful, loosing hope is not surprising. Mirtazapine absolutely did not work for me but I was really lucky to be successful with the next one I tried. All my close ones know I take medication for depression; but when it comes to talking to other people I might not know that well though, I definitely struggle to speak about depression/antidepressants openly. More open discussion around medication is really needed!

Love what you are saying. Everyone struggles with Mental Health. It is not easy but medication does work! Everyone deserves to be happy in life but its not the easiest thing. I am the same as you i have had mental health issues for years and havent took medication for it till a year ago. I think that its hard because we dont want to have to rely on medicine to make us feel better but it is the answer sometimes

Thank you so much I stumbled across your you tube video and you made absolute sense in a way I could understand . I have subscribed to your channel and I don’t feel so alone as I did

thank YOU SO MUTCH I feel so much better after you video , you a brit light for me and a lot of people going thro the same thing xxSte

I've been on mirtazapine for about 10 months. Starting from 7.5, I am now taking 30. It was the only antidepressant that I could tolerate the side effects. Drowsiness? That's okay. I could easily fall asleep. Gaining weight? That's okay, too. I used to be way underweight anyway, so getting a few pounds is not a problem. It is a good antidepressant.

Wow what an incredibly helpful video. Hope you’re doing well. Thanks so much!

Thanks for sharing your experience with antidepressants! I've been taking mirtazapin (7.5 to 15 mg, on and off) for years and it helped me well to get more sleep. When I don't take it I hardly sleep more that 4 hours per night and I loose weight. Taking mirtazapin I sleep 7-9 hours and gain weight as the appetite is increased. Sleepiness during the day is the main side effect I have experienced, but not taking it I'm almost as tired due to the lack of sleep. Greetings from Germany 🙂

Amazing video - thanks for sharing and for fighting that taboo!

Thank you so very much for that video Pooky... Your experiences of starting on AD's sound just like mine...I am going through that hell right now and I am on my fifth day.I have been on AD,s before and recognise that moment when you start to feel more "normal" I think last time after going in hospital it took about 8 weeks..so I've still got a long haul which now I write it it looks very daunting...We've all got to be ok with taking meds for MH as so very many sufferers out there.

Thank you for being so informative and so empathetic.

Excellent video. Thank You. May I ask how long before bed do you find it best to take to induce sleep and prevent, for a better word, a possible hangover from the medication?

Thank you so much for this information, such a shame my doctor and psychiatrist can't explain things this well.

This was very reassuring and makes me feel less alone in my medication journey

We need more Pooky’s. I’ve just taken my 1st Mirtazapine tonight, for sleep and compulsive thoughts. I will see how I get on with it. Thank you 🙏🏼 for explaining your experiences with it Pooky. Loved your honest, frank vid. Best of luck to everyone out there trying mirtazapine. Let’s carry on being more open about mental health and it’s struggles and deep effects it can have on our lives.

I feel ya. Tried other anti depressants for 20+ years now for anxiety. Got the PTSD thing. Had not really known it until recently. Made me sleepy from day one. That was helpful. Anxiety vanished. What a relief. Meditation has proven helpful too. If weight gain becomes an issue I feel like exersize would be the thing to amp up.

Thank you so much for this. I'm thinking about changing to this after struggling for years. I've been too afraid to change from Prozac in case I get worse. this gives me hope!!

Thank you so very much for sharing your story. I can't begin to tell you how much it helps as we all got through this Journey together. All the best for the future!

Another brilliant video, and I completely concur as I take 2 pills a day for a world of difference. What a blessing, I feel. I never had the issue with taking medication. It is so dependent on why a person is taking it,Mehta it is they are taking, and how involved you choose to be in your own health, as well as the responsibility we have not only to ourselves, but to others, not to allow our issues to become theirs. Not that I, in any way take responsibility for my genetic predisposition to depression, or that I would in any way suggest anyone should, whether it be trauma, genetics or both, but I do take responsibility for dealing with it. And everyone should, because they can - it’s a bumpy road at times, but it’s worth it. The symptoms I deal with for my medication is dry skin, a bit of shakiness, and balance issues, but I’m fine with this vs. the alternative. If something as little and simple as taking a pill can fix a lot of these issues, wow, I feel lucky.

What a brilliant video. Thank you for this and for calming me before I take my first tablet tonight. I have been prescribed numerous different SSRIs over the years. However, none of these have proved to be effective. After a visit with my GP today I have been prescribed with Mirtazapine. As I have been suffering with undiagnosed ADHD all my life, it’s been hard to treat my depressions symptoms. On wards and upward from here.

What dosage did people experience the best effect on anxiety?

Hi just wanted to say I feel exactly the same way how are you feeling with taking medication didn’t understand that it really does help with the realness in today’s society of life and thank you very much for expressing yourself it means so much to people out there like me

Thank you for your positive approach. I hope it helps people consider more clearly if they want to get medication.

Thank you for this video. Since watching it, I know I made the right decision when I recently asked my psychiatrist to go back on this medication

Thank you, this is really interesting and has helped reassure me about taking it.

Really helpful video! Thank you for sharing your experience.

At what dosage did you start to feel an improvement in mood? I had been taking 15mg for 5 weeks with no improvement so started 30mg for 6 days now and still no better.

I’ve been having vivid dreams on this drug, I struggle with nightmares and sleep paralysis, along with depression abs other disorders. would it be better for me to split the dose

Thanks for your wonderful insight to this tablet I have been on it for 3-4 months and I have a ravenous appetite. Will be speaking to dr next week after last appointment was told it will go away but it is not at the moment

MovieFan4Life Nice video and I enjoyed hearing your experiences! I was curious how you find the pamelor and what dose? I’ve had experience with the mirt and pamelor and while I felt good on the pamelor, it did increase my heart rate and made it harder to fall asleep for the one week I took it. Maybe I should have persisted longer. I was on 30mg and found the med activating. I’m on mirt now by itself and find it helps me sleep as I’ve dealt with severe chronic insomnia. The pamelor revved me up nicely but the mirt seems to really knock me out moreso. I’m hoping that levels out and maybe I need to up my dose to 30. It’s only been 10 days so I realize I need to be patient as well. :) Thank you!

Thanks so much for putting this online! Starting this drug after battling so many sexual side effects from the conventional anxiey/depressant options/SSRIs. Also support the stigma breaking one million percent 😊!

Hi how muth do you begin Whit, and when it start to help you?

Hi Pooky! I am on Effexor 85.7 MG, 500 MG Lithium Carbonate, and 4 Tabs a Day "As per needed" Basis. I feel out of all the meds I am on, I only get the spot relief from my Lorazipam. My Lorazipam "Benzo", works the best for me when you said I am anxious and calm. I am very anxious almost all the time. I do monitor myself, and not necessarily am worried. I have been researching Mirtazipine as my psychiatrist states that I did have a prior PTSD like situation in my youth, and presents as such a PTSD issues now. Lorazpiam 3.5 and I can get in the car, drive, do errands, converse, go to functions... Without it I would go into a rocky downspiral. Anyways, thank you for your help and mentioning that Mirtazapine and PTSD. I love Lorazipam, I think it can be over demonized in the media due to the high profile overdoses with celebrities. As I am not a celebrity, my level of anxiety probably is easier to manage LOL

Forgot to mention great job btw, don't beat yourself up,thanks a lot , from Scotland

Great video - I don’t think it’s shameful at all to take medication - I really feel you present as fairly high functioning and lucid considering how it could be for some of us

Thank you for this video to help decrease mental health stigma❤ glad you are doing well 😊

it work for me for about 6 months. Been on it now for 18 months and I'm back at my worst again. Insomnia, anxiety and aggression! I stopped talking them 7 days ago on my doctors advice, but I'm getting bad job losing mood swings. No good when u have a 5yr old to take care of. Glad it's working for u tho...

Wondering how things are 3 years later? Are you still taking this medication? I've recently started it and still not sure if it's right for me

Everything you said is how I felt when taking antidepressant.

Due to a recent suicide attempt, I've been put on Mirtazapine. I just hope it works, I don't want to be another statistic, I just want to be okay! The other voice in my head doesn't, it wants me to commit suicide. It's hard balancing this all out, I just want the pain to go away. Thanks for the video, helpful

This is a really helpful video. Thanks! May I ask if you’re still taking Mirtazapine?

How accurately explained ! Well done you 🕊️🕊️🕊️

I’m the same, been convinced for years that I could manage my anxiety (I couldn’t) and for the past few weeks entered a depressive episode, and have finally realised that I need something to help me function. I’m starting mirtazapine tonight, I’m hoping it helps me to come out of this episode. It’s hard when you feel like you can control it on your own and then realise you can’t, I certainly felt like I was weak for admiring I need help, but now I know there’s nothing wrong with that. If you had a cold you’d take a flu med, and this is no difference.

Will 45mg knock me out? I have aspergers and I am currently a nervous wreck. I took Mirtazapine 30mg and all was hunkydory, then stupidly went down to 15mg and insomnia came back! (one hour a night : ( I want to climb back up to 45mg but I need to sleep....do you find 45mg is sleepy enough? I have sleep anxiety x

Did you do a video on Inderal ( propranolol ) ?

This is me rn. I'm more open to trying out this medication bc I have nothing else. I'm scared to go on struggling with myself, but I'm also scared to rely on meds and set a schedule around that since I'm a mess, but I'm scared that meds won't help me either...and maybe it's my low self esteem telling myself that I won't make the right choice or that all I do is waste time or it's pointless and if medication doesn't work, I'll most likely feel worse about my situation or just lost as to what to do/try next. Life is consuming and overwhelming, so ig I'm scared that meds will also turn out that way too. But I'm at the point where I'm desperate for change and need a boost or something to help bc my mental state is unmanageable. I'm just worried about this particular one, the side affects of increased appetite....is concerning to me bc while I need that, it seems risky still because I'm really unhealthy. So while I've heard suggestions for ppl who are more physically healthy, I haven't heard anyone mention how it affects, or the negative affects and safety factors it may have on someone who isn't physically healthy. I wonder if there's any certain requirements or suggested qualifications for this medicine, altho ik it's a case by case basis, and trial and error situation, I'm concerned that my eating habits run a risk in taking this medication. If it increases appetite, that doesn't necessarily mean it increases will/motive to go eat, in which case, pain and stomach issues could increase. I'm worried that it could make my health worse bc I have horrible habits and low motivation. And another vid said a side affect of this medication may be a decrease in motivation (prob cause of drowsiness, makes sense) but that's concerning for me.

i’ve just got diagnosed with BPD and they’re moving me from SSRIs to mirtazapine so i’m being weaned off of 200mg of sertraline rn n i’m just making sure i’ve got all the info i need before embarking on this new journey of recovery :) i also have an ed so they said this will benefit what with the weight gain :> i also take propranolol so hearing u say u take it along side it made me relieved bc i didn’t know if i could take both :>

You were wonderful, thank you for this video.

Thank you for this video and for being open 😭😭 I have PTSD and OSDD and I got prescribed this medication all the way back in May and still haven't taken it. Idk why I'm so terrified. I guess I'm scared of the feeling of it knocking me out cold or am afraid of it doing something strange to me or somehow making things worse. I had been on prozac for a year back in 2019 but stopped and then tried it again back in April, and I guess with my severe level of anxiety already being what it was at that time, the added anxiety-side-effect of the prozac... I sweat buckets and literally felt like I was going to die and it lasted for like the entire life of the medicine in my body (like 2-3 days?). It was such a physical kind of anxiety that my brain couldn't make up because it was like... that typical kind of medicated-agitation that's almost...suicidal? Anyways I'm blabbing but Idk why that happened and I just don't want that to happen again so it's made me scared of serotonergic medicines. But I also have to try to know.

Hi I've been diagnosed with ptsd and put on mitrzipine and haven probs with sleeping I was on 15mg and upped to 30mg but haven side effects of not bein able to sleep and have had restless legs in bed and had feelings of feeling down I've tried taken my tablet an hour before and on tried taken before bed but still haven probs sleeping and feeling aggiatated with it all could u give me some tips on the best way to get into a routine with them

Hi Pooky are you still using this medication and is it still working? Thanks ❤

Thank you, this was so helpful!

Hi Pooky. Thank you very much for sharing your personal experience with medications. I was wondering if you are still on 45mg of mirtazapine? I am considering increasing from 30mg to 45mg. I take it at night and it helps me sleep but I assume the 45mg might be too activating to take it night?

I am taking mirtazapine 15 mg for last 10/11 month. How long you have been taking?

Your video was really clear and helpful... Thankyou 🙂

Do you take mirtazapine and proponol together?

This was very helpful. Thank you.

thanks for the insight this is interesting as my research so far suggests that lower doses of this medication are actually better for sleep whereas higher doses are better for depression. iv just been started on the 15mg dose. i have bad anxiety and struggle to get to sleep most nights so really hoping for good things. you mentioned the psychiatrist who sounds like they have guided you with medications also which sounds great..can i ask did you source this privately yourself or was this through your gp?? thank you

For me personally I experience too many cons versus Pros. While on medication in a decade every other year I had a nervous breakdown and I was never self-mutilating until medication never cut or burned myself ever and when Seroquel was removed along with high doses of Prozac, in the last four years plus I haven't had any breakdowns or self-injury. But also its difficult the PTSD trauma makes me want to go back on it and deal with the nightmare sleep paralysis constipation swelling. And other times I just think it's the toxic abusers that are called my family that I feel more of a threat being around but when I try to leave family functions I'm guilted. Thank you dear. A struggling sundry girl is trying .. Big hugs

Brilliant video thanks! I’ve had complex post traumatic stress for nearly a decade and recently had a mental breakdown due to extreme stress from serious life experiences. I have had horrendous anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember and completed 3 yrs of DBT group therapy which has helped to a degree but I always refused to take antidepressants for fear of becoming numb and the stigma attached to it but during my breakdown I was having daily suicidal thoughts and was so close to ending it on many occasions. I’m now under the crisis AMHT and they really encouraged me to try an antidepressant especially for PTSD and I did reluctantly. I’ve only been taking 15mg of Mirtazapine for about a week and the difference is absolutely incredible! I’m sleeping really well and the drowsiness throughout the day is dying down and for the first time in years I’m now able to go for long walks ( which I haven’t done for years as I also have social anxiety) and I’m loving being out and about now❤️ the stressors are still there but I feel SO much better able to deal with them. My suicidal thoughts have gone, also my anxiety. I honestly wish I’d gone down this route years ago and taken the medication. My life would have been so much easier! My advice to anybody contemplating taking antidepressants is just go for it. there’s nothing to be ashamed of, I take lots of pain medication for a spinal problem yet I wasn’t prepared to take anything for my mind. I’m so glad I have and I’m happily surprised at how fast this one works 😊

Thank you so much . Great insight .

Thank you for this video!! ❤️

Does this make you agressive/angry after starting mirtazapine?

Fantastic video. I'm starting this tonight I'm a bit scared but I am giving it a go xx

Thank you dear im due to take it tonight for the first time. You have put my mind at ease

Hi just wanted to ask if i upped my dosage from 15mg to 30mg will it help me sleep better? I have sleeping issues

I keep reading that it’s not made to be a sleeping agent but my psychiatrist prescribed me wellbutrin a depression medication and this medicine for sleep. I’m not sure if I should just take the Wellbutrin or take this at night aswell.

How much propanol are you taking and when? Thx

Thanks for taken the time,I have suffered unbelievable amount of abuse since birth, I'm 47 and only now am I getting help,this mental health dude I'm seeing,told me to drop from 45mg to 30mg overnight ,past 2 days were ok,but suffering can bearly move with pain,freezing cold unreal pains in my joints,does anybody understand where I'm coming from,I've got to wait 3 weeks just for a phone call appointment .the fatigue is of the scale .

Hi, I like you video. Have just upped my dose to 45mg from 30mg....have to see how it goes. How did you manage to get Lorazepam from your doctor, my doc would never do that for me. BCNU.

I've never found an anti depressant that works but the anti psychotic quetapine worked better

Dont point out at the end as if theirs some flaws in the video because their isnt, you described everything perfectly you come across as a teacher or something lol thanks

great video!!

Ive been prescribed this for severe anxiety and depression, i have a harmless arrhythmia which terrifies me all the same.. my main fear is feeling out of control or like a zombie? And ive worked so hard to lose 28lbs so i do not want to get fat.. i just cannot. I desperately want to get better but im so scared… please advise! I also feel like things arent real anymore, like imin a dream.. xx

Is redrawal easy?

Well done !! Your slim..I'm.not I take it too..what do you recommend to help to stop me being a lazy gannet on it. I feel I need something else sometimes aswell. As find Mirt good for anxiety but not depression really 😉

Thank you, Pooky. 🙂

❤❤❤ I appreciate your video. I am hoping this med adds to my healing

Thank you for sharing your experience ❤