Antidepressants cannot make you happy. They can ju...

2011-12-17T04:31:58.878-05:00

Antidepressants cannot make you happy. They can just restore your ABILITY to be happy if you have a horrible chemical imbalance in your brain that's skewed your emotional range into the gutter.

That means that all this stuff you're feeling? Most of it's you. Look at some of the old posts on this blog, from years back. There have been a range of responses to being inserted into others peoples' lives, including those of the opposite gender. But the majority had issues adjusting. Some had very difficult issues.

The fact that you've been immediately thrust into being a model, a traditionally very feminine role that leaves you no chance to ignore your body and acclimatize gradually, doesn't help. Nor does the fact that it means that getting stared at is in fact part of your job description. I also get the impression that in the past you've been a person to avoid the spotlight, making things doubly difficult.

This post is getting too long. To summarize:

1. You are unhappy because of the extraordinary stress of your situation. Stress you are entirely justified in feeling.

2. Clinical depression is worsening the effects by rendering you biologically incapable of enjoying anything for even a moment thus allowing you that critical distraction from your predicament.

3. If you take the pills, you won't turn into Kim Kardashian. Your unhappiness is your own now, and it will be so after you start taking the pills. But with the aid of said pills, the things that DO make you happy will actually work again.

That wasn't a short summary at all...

Being depressed is a major issue -- and a medical ...

2011-12-17T03:41:23.565-05:00

Being depressed is a major issue -- and a medical one, that unfortunately comes with the body you have. The pills will help you, but they won't suddenly make you happy -- they'll just help you feel less burdened. And they don't work overnight. You've got to give them time.

That said, as long as you're Clara, your life will likely be easier, less frustrating, if you help yourself feel better. It won't make you feel like Zane, and it won't suddenly make you love being a girl. But you won't feel like nothing, either.

Good for you for realizing that you have to take control of the situation. And glad to hear from you, too.

Comments on The Trading Post: Zane/Clara/Whatever: My Big Choice

Antidepressants cannot make you happy. They can ju...

Being depressed is a major issue -- and a medical ...