Drinking on an anti-depressant, I've found out, is a bad idea. If I drink with my pill, it makes me sick, and even if I've sobered up before taking my pill, it makes the hangover that much worse because the medication dehydrates me - and so does alcohol. But being on the medication has actually helped me in my efforts to be sober simply because the side effects make drinking that much more uncomfortable. Also, I don't know if this happens to you, but even after drinking only a couple or whatever, the next day or two I have a sort of depression hangover that's hard to differentiate from the actual sad. I have to take that into account, too.

I shunned medication for a long time because I didn't want to lose myself. I identified myself by my depressive thoughts and anxiety episodes, and I was so afraid the meds would make me a different person and take away my ability to philosophize and think more deeply about the world. One of my friends told me something that helped immensely with my decision to start meds: when describing my depression and the anxiety thoughts I get, she put her foot down and said, "It's normal to be sad sometimes. It's normal to be nervous. It's not normal to be afraid of everything to this degree. It's not who you are; it's an unhealthy part of you. Medication won't take away who you are, if your doc is doing it right; instead it will lessen your symptoms so that you can find the real you, that's hidden underneath the sad and the panic."

It was a real epiphany moment for me, to think that maybe there is something more to me underneath the sad and the panic. Obviously it's something between you and your doc, but if they feel it might help and you're comfortable with the options - if you want to see who you are under the sad - I think it's worth a shot. And like others have said, it doesn't have to be forever.

All the best.