Antidepressents at USNA

I’m a mid and i don’t want to talk to my coc about this. I don’t where else to ask. I have two questions, can you get on antidepressants at usna and how will this affect your career in the fleet if possible?

Have you talked to the Chaplain? That is one place to start.

Depression/Anxiety are no joke, and are taken seriously. Your mental health is more important than anything else. If you feel the need for help, do not feel bad or concerned that you are reaching out. Taking care of yourself is critical.

throwaway43535 said:

I’m a mid and i don’t want to talk to my coc about this. I don’t where else to ask. I have two questions, can you get on antidepressants at usna and how will this affect your career in the fleet if possible?

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Talk to the chaplain, as they will keep it in confidence.

But that's going to be an issue for sure if you proceed down the path of seeking out meds.

throwaway43535 said:

I’m a mid and i don’t want to talk to my coc about this. I don’t where else to ask. I have two questions, can you get on antidepressants at usna and how will this affect your career in the fleet if possible?

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First, your health is most important. That will matter to you the rest of your life, far beyond what you do for a living. Do not be embarrassed. It’s a health issue.

Second, make an appointment to go see a counselor. They are bound by confidentiality unless you are a danger to yourself or others. Let them evaluate you - don’t go right to “must get Rx” until you and they do some root cause analysis and exploration of options.


They can also discuss what being on medication and any associated diagnosis may mean to commissioning. Don’t leap 5 steps ahead right now. Don’t catastrophize. Face the problem at hand and act to address that. I know it may be hard if you are feeling stuck. One step at a time. Make an appointment and keep it. Then take the next step.

You can also speak to a chaplain. They have the same confidentiality guidelines.

Let us know how you’re doing along the way.

IronmanDaremo said:

Have you talked to the Chaplain? That is one place to start.

Depression/Anxiety are no joke, and are taken seriously. Your mental health is more important than anything else. If you feel the need for help, do not feel bad or concerned that you are reaching out. Taking care of yourself is critical.

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Jinx! I was just telling the Mid that myself!

For sure seek out professional help. They are trained to get to the bottom of ‘stuff’. Dont be afraid. Some ‘stuff’ is situational, and can be managed with techniques. Trust the mental health professionals. Do t do this on your own. If your eyesight was failing, or your arm was broken, you wouldn’t hesitate to seek out help. It’s the same with mental health.

Ditto the Chaplains. They are fantastic. You will get through this! One day at a time.

As an aside, with a family chalk full of people who have depression and anxiety (along with a bucket of other issues), I can tell you not to take things lightly.

My oldest wanted to enlist, and worked with the Air Force recruiter to try. He was up front in telling the recruiter that he had been diagnosed, and had previously been on meds, but had stopped them for about two years. The recruiter told him not to worry about it and just not disclose that during the med part of MEPS. Fast forward to basic for him, and he was getting the impression that not fulling disclosing was a bad idea, especially under the stress of basic training. So, he went to the Chaplain, explained what had happened, and they did an evaluation to see if they would give him a waiver. He was discharged a few weeks later.

He doesn't regret trying to join, but he does regret the way it was handled by his recruiter.

Caveat here- all info is offered as education and not actual medical advice! the boards don't always like links but I think I've included enough info that google will get you where you need to go!

In addition to talking with counseling services and the chaplain, there are a lot of self-help type resources out there that you might find useful. The National Center for PTSD has a lot of free apps designed for the VA that are empirically validated-

ACT Coach, Mindfulness Coach and STAIR might be especially helpful to check out.

The resources from New Harbinger Press are top notch. You can download all kinds of free stuff from the publishers site if you make an account, and if you decide to purchase a book or audiobook you can get them from the publisher or on Amazon (Amazon tends to be cheaper/faster).

The plan outlined in the book "The Depression Cure" is research based and helps explain why we can feel depressed from an evolutionary perspective (ie, our current environments don't always align with how we used to live), and gives actionable steps that may help.

MilitaryOneSource and 988 have people available to talk/text 24/7. A lot of times people think that you have to be in a full-on crisis to utilize these services, but they truly welcome just being there to offer support when people need a neutral third party.

This is such a hard time of year, and hopefully getting through finals and getting a break or at least change of pace will bring some relief. All this said, definitely, absolutely 100% reach out to the chaplain and the counseling center for that support and for some official guidance on next steps. Meds might be the answer, and that is ok- your mental health and wellbeing are the most important thing of all. Please keep us posted on how you are doing!

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Feeling down in the dumps and/or situational depression doesn’t have to be school/work related either ….

DD seems to handle the stress of the Naval Academy with ease compared to the frustration she might be having with some guy she is really close to …

She’ll call DW or me or a few Aunts or Uncles when she wants to vent.
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BTW, this can be a hard time of year. I’ve had a couple reach out privately, as well as other posters. Here is a nice thread read through.

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Something very simple ….

Everyone should have a place, a quiet chair, an activity where they don’t feel like they owe anyone anything when they are entering that “Zone” …

I have my 4:30am quiet chair …. I take 1 hour every morning to connect with the Man upstairs while I slowly awake and finish my 1st cup of the day’s coffee …
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throwaway43535 said:

I’m a mid and i don’t want to talk to my coc about this. I don’t where else to ask. I have two questions, can you get on antidepressants at usna and how will this affect your career in the fleet if possible?

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The question I would ask is why do you think you need to be on anti-depressants? If you look into the data on them, they are not that effective and come with their own side effects. Other treatments such as therapy, especially CBT therapy, and exercise have be shown to be more effective. I would also suggest the book "Lost Connections" by Johann Hari. You can talk to a counselor without getting on medication. Be careful with self diagnosing based on Dr. Google.

Yes, you can be prescribed antidepressants at USNA. According to my sources, it’s actually more common than you might think.

Caveat: To remain commissionable you must be off of them before 1/C year. Also if you are trying to do aviation or submarines, there will be an additional waiver process that takes into account the severity and duration of your issue. But I will stress that this should not be a factor in whether you seek help. Health first!

gck105 said:

The question I would ask is why do you think you need to be on anti-depressants? If you look into the data on them, they are not that effective and come with their own side effects. Other treatments such as therapy, especially CBT therapy, and exercise have be shown to be more effective. I would also suggest the book "Lost Connections" by Johann Hari. You can talk to a counselor without getting on medication. Be careful with self diagnosing based on Dr. Google.

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Hari’s book on depression was great! In fact if we take his central thesis, essentially that depression often comes from abnormally stressful life circumstances rather than from a spontaneous biological phenomenon, it would make sense why midshipmen, especially plebes, might feel depressed (in the loose sense of the word). Medications can be very effective in some people, but it varies because depression is so complex and has different causes in different people. So I will echo your view that it’s important to see a professional before jumping to conclusions.

I will 100% attest that medication not only helps, but is vitally important to some people. I have seen what depression is like when not medicated in some people, very, very close to me. Less stress and exercise is not the answer in those cases.

Not that those things won't work in others, but there are definitely people that need it to function, on top of doing those other things.

gck105 said:

The question I would ask is why do you think you need to be on anti-depressants? If you look into the data on them, they are not that effective and come with their own side effects. Other treatments such as therapy, especially CBT therapy, and exercise have be shown to be more effective. I would also suggest the book "Lost Connections" by Johann Hari. You can talk to a counselor without getting on medication. Be careful with self diagnosing based on Dr. Google.

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This book is definitely eye-opening and a great perspective. I work in mental health and addiction and I always recommend it to people who are struggling, as a way to show that medication is absolutely necessary in a lot of cases, but it is only one tool in the toolbox. Without the follow-up it only works for so long. To the OP, start with the suggestions above and take it one step at a time.

... so I still don't understand to this day why the psychiatrists (not psychologists) always offer antidepressants meds during the debrief after a combat tour. I always declined the offer (with are you freaking nuts ?). I've seen live effects of antidepressants to service members. After taking the meds, they are very happy, in lala land, even if their family, livelihood, finances, and health are in shambles, self-destructive.