should i take medication?

i saw a psychiatrist here in france (I live in france though I'm american). I told him what was going on with my life. Told him that I started divorce proceedings after my husband admitted that he sexually molested my eldest daughter when she was 9 years old. he also told me that here in france, it does not matter as he did not penetrate her. after i told him i wanted a divorce for fault, he re-fired me from the company that i created with him (actually the money came from me - he didnt have a dime when i met him). so he took my job. then, he and his mother falsely accused me of beating up his mother. 20 months later, i was acquitted of all charges since it was evident in her testimony that she was lying. He kidnapped my youngest daughter. the judge here further rewarded him for the kidnapping by giving 100% custody of my youngest daughter to him after he falsely accused me of wanting to leave france and to take my youngest daughter. he also stole my children's (his step-children, the one he molested and the second one - he tried to moles) money. we also lost our home after the judge gave him the enjoyment of the villa we bought (which again my money actually paid for). my children and I have been dispersed because i could no longer provide for them. oh - one thing - i was diagnosed with severe discarthrose two months before we separated. he also lied to the judge here telling them i was earning money (this after he fired me from the company we created) and therefore the judge commanded me to pay child support for my youngest daughter. due to my physical ailment and the traumatic stress of the kidnapping, losing my family, losing my job, losing my home, losing whatever little money was left, and being homeless and also being threatened by him that he will pay people to make me disappear if we don't quit compaining about the sexual molestation, i found it quite difficult to cope. my spoken and written french is also not good enough so talking to the authorities here has been a nightmare as well.

i recall the day the judge gave 100% custody of my youngest daughter to this pedophile. oh before i forget, i need to mention that we have a formal complaint that is still being processed - it takes a very long time for justice (here in france) to process these complaints. Too long of a time - in fact more than enough time to allow the abuser to do more harm to the victims all over again. The day he was given 100% custody of my daughter, i swear was the first day i sort of stop breathing.

nowadays, i catch myself not breathing (or holding my breath) a lot of times. my neck and shoulders also hurt all the time. i dont know if thats because of my severe discarthrose (discs in the neck area) or if its because of stress.

ever since my daughter told the truth about the sexual molestation, he has started to make his life's mission to demolished me. in fact, he stopped work alltogether and started getting 600.00 euros a month from the french government (money they give to people that do not work). with the 'free' housing (my villa) that he has, he took in a russian mistress and started selling our common property (oil paintings, furniture, carpets, dvd collection, etc.)... they also sold my personal property such clothing and furniture that i bought before i even married him....

since i could not work and i didnt earn money and was homeless, i couldnt pay the child support money. he then had my one an only possession that i took with me (since we had two of them, one mine, one his) - my car - he had it seized and had it auctioned off.

my psychiatrist knows all this and he told me that i have every right to be angry and depressed and scared as well when i feel helpless. in fact my psychiatrist told me that what i need is a good lawyer - which i could not get since my soon to be ex- stole all my money....

sorry for this long post.

question is - should i take medication for my depression and anger? the day the judge gave my youngest daughter to this pedophile, i started taking this pills called lysanxia. i only take half a pill when i feel anxious. i get a box of them (20 pills i think in a box) and the box can last me for up to 3 months since i only take half a pill when i really feel anxious.

i generally dont like drugs but i have been wondering if i can be more effective in fighting this bastard if i took medication from my anger and my depression.

i'm trying to restart my life with a new job (just started one after two and a half years) and i want to be really efficient and effective. i do find myself thinking about my legal case all the time and i lose focus.....

will being medicated help me focus? if yes, what kind of medication would likely help me ? like i said, the psychiatrist here never prescribed me medicine - only lysanxia and i was the one that asked for them.

Whitehorse,

First I want to tell you how sorry I am that you are going through everything that you have described. It's no wonder you are questioning the use of medication - I would have been on it a long time ago!

I certainly don't know how their laws operate but I can imagine being an American with a bit of language barrier can only add that much more angst to the situation.

I certainly would discuss medication with your doc if that's what you feel you need. There are medications that could help and perhaps not have sedative side effects. Not sure what is offered over there but your doc should be able to help you on this.

I will meditate some positive energy over to you.

Tranquility

hello tranquility, thank you for taking the time to respond. that's just it. i need to find a psychiatrist here in paris that speaks english. i dont want a drug that will sedate me. i would like a drug that would take away the pain but not sedate me so i can concentrate on my work.

if anybody here in this forum can recommend some names to me then i will ask a psychiatrist here. i just dont know of this kind of medicine. i only take lysanxia and it takes away the anxiety but not the depression.

Hey whitehorse, your post struck me and i want to help but i know there's little I can do.

I was sexually assaulted while staying in Paris, but to me the french government was infinitely more helpful than the american one, that's so sad that they won't do anything about that man.

I contacted this group
http://www.cfcv.asso.fr/

I know you weren't raped or anything, but I think they can and will help you. I'm sure they have people who speak english there because I used someone that did, and even if they can't get you the medical help you want right there, I'm sure they can direct you to people who can. They also help people who need legal help, so I think they'd also help you with that.

As for which medication specifically, that's generally impossible for us to answer as some medications work for some people and then don't work at all for others. You probably want to try an SSRI or an SNRI for depression. Some common ones are prozac, paxil, effexor, zoloft, celexa, etc. Some of these might make you drowsy, especially in the beginning, but they won't make you sedated long term.

you've come through so much -i take my hat off to you, many folk would have crumbled.i'd agree that the newer drugs are less sedative they all have side effects but you have to weigh up the pros and cons ,there are many types keep trying till one suits,i don't like drugs too but sometimes they help good luck

Thank you. I contacted them yesterday. I was able to talk to them in french. They didnt have anyone that could talk to me in english.

I will call them again. Not sure if they can help me.

I am in pain. I know now that I am suffering from PTSD.

Oh, well I hope you can get someone to help you the way you need. I suffer from PTSD, too, so I think you should definitely ask your doctor about some of those antidepressants