Hey everyone, new to the forum so be kind to the newb Quick intro, everyone calls me Jay, and I'm an American living abroad in New Zealand. About a month ago I suffered some losses in my life that I didn't deal with very well. Good news is, that served to highlight some bigger issues in my life that I'd been hiding from. Long story short, clinical depression diagnosis and a prescription for Effexor. The problem I'm running into is, I've always considered myself an intelligent person. And while the bottomless hole that is depression sucks, the rebound from that (manic episodes?) always made me feel positively brilliant. I can feel this medication working on me, but now I just feel like a mindless automaton and my brain feels like it's moving at a snail's pace compared to where it was before. Even when I was depressed I could think circles around most of the people I know (not bragging or anything, just the best way I can explain how I feel, sorry), but now I feel like the dumbest person in the room. Does this ever get any better?

Love and Light,
~Jay