A doctor diagnosed me with depression and anxiety. He prescribed me three drugs: antidepressant, anti-anxiety pill and essential amino acids. The antidepressant is zoloft 50 mg, taken two times a day. The anti-anxiety pill is alprazolam, taken two times a day, too along with the essential amino acids containing l-tryptophan and other amino acids. Are they safe taken together? Can I lower the drug dose myself because this interferes my work a lot?

Dr. Saul PereiraPsychologist48yrs exp

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You must check with your doctor for all doubts regarding your prescription. But the ruke is very clear: never, never self medicate or regulate the medication without the doctor's consent and plan. You must describe your symptoms every time you experience any out of the ordinary reactions and the doctor will decide if it is due to the medication and then determine to either change the dosage or the medicine. Since you are young, the prognosis can be good if you cooperate. In the meantime please do the following sincerely because you could resolve the problem better with good cooperation: have a good night?s sleep, have a good breakfast of more proteins, meditate often, remain free of stress, eat a lot of fiber, nuts, avocado, exercise regularly, eat dark chocolate, do yoga meditation exercises, spend time in nature or gardening, etc. I suggest you do the opposite of what this depression makes you feel like doing (actually, not doing): you will need to fight this condition. You must become active; stay upright during the daylight time; meet people; never sleep during the day, wake up by 6 am every day, play some active games, especially contact games, do physical exercises, talk to people and join some social clubs, attend yoga classes etc. Watch sitcoms on tv or comedies and cheer yourself up. Go for excursions in groups, for outings, camps, conferences, and religious conventions. Get a pet dog and spend time training it, exercising it and relating to it. Expose yourself to some sunlight every day, at least, 30 minutes but not in the scorching heat. Whatever happens, please incorporate these three important adaptations in your life: always be responsible, be respectful, and be functional. If you did these three, lots of things will go well in life. Please pray and have faith in god to alleviate your sufferings. Don?t wait for others to help. Use your own motivation, which might be at its lowest, but persevere and win this battle. Above all to be really happy, you need to live in love and for love. Learn all about emotions and how to handle them and that will get you out of the depression rather easily and quickly. A counselor is there only to facilitate you, all the hard word must come from you, and your cooperation with that person is very critical for your success. Be positive every day and learn to be contented with what you have. Do some left brain exercises: it is the happy brain. Here are a few suggestions: shut your left nostril and breathe, move your eyes from right to left and vice versa for at least half a minute at a time, and do calisthenic exercises with some form of counting, regularly. Whatever happens please cooperate with the therapy and do not discontinue until the condition is completely resolved.  

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