I’ve wanted to take birth control but the many varying side effects worry me. Birth control effects: (illness, stress, hormonal problems, mood changes, thyroid problems, nausea, breast tenderness, breast pain, breast lumps, migraines, long-term effects, breast cancer, ect.) Its not safe for alot of reasons and I wouldn’t recommend it for people that already have depression or a mental illness. It’s even “linked to a higher risk of suicide.”

I’m not on the patch, but I just recently got the Mirena IUD. I was on the pill, then went to the depo-provera shot and now the IUD. I have anxiety and depression and I don’t think any of the Birth controls I’ve taken have effected it. I have had other side effects though, especially spotting and irregular bleeding with the depo. I switched off of depo because I was bleeding for 4 months straight, and you’re also not supposed to be on the depo shot for more than two years and I was on it for three years. I really like the IUD, but now I’m experiencing the side effect of breast soreness and tenderness. Anyway, personally it hasn’t effected my depression and anxiety, but I’m not saying that it can’t. If you would really like to try birth control, I say tell your doctor your concerns and see what they say. If you try it and it does affect your mental illness, you can always stop it 😁

I tried the patch and it did NOT work for me. I bled every day past when I was supposed to have a period (I use BC to stop having periods as a treatment for my endometriosis). When I finally took it off to allow my body a period, I had the heaviest period of my LIFE. I use a menstrual cup and I was having to empty it EVERY HOUR or it would overflow and leak. It was bad. It way work better if you aren't trying to skip periods. As for BC and mental illness, some are worse than others. The first pill I was on made me depressed. I've tried 7 or so total and none are perfect but they keep my endo at bay so it's worth it to me. Don't go on it if you don't need to, but it is an effective way to prevent pregnancy or periods if that's what you're trying to do.

I’m doing it to prevent pregnancy I used to be on the pill. But I kept getting a rash on my face which wasn’t normal it. And I’m also scared of pills, so I’m offering for the patch . I’m fine with bleeding but hopefully not all the time. I also have a bit of a pregnancy Phobia lol it was one of my OCD themes. I totally prefer not to take anything but, with my head it’s safer for me mentally and well just in general but I do use condoms too. Thanks everyone for the advice . I know everyone’s body is different. So who knows how it will reacts to mine but I know the one thing I don’t need is for my mental illness to get worse, it’s really bad as it is. Thank you !

i have anxiety and depression too and i’m currently trying to switch my birth control (i’m on a pill rn) but my doctor said the side effects for the patch and shot can be pretty bad so i’m going to the gynecologist to get the rod instead. i don’t think the pill has affected my anxiety at all, but i guess we’ll see if there’s a difference when i switch.

I was on it for a few months because my doctor thought it was the safest route for me since the estrogen was a low dose and it was distributed through a long period of time but I had to stop it for a variety of reasons including suicidal thoughts, thoughts of self harm, increased and worsened depression, extreme nausea, extreme weight loss, extreme pain, etc. I found out I don't have the receptors for estrogen so my body was pretty much destroying itself the entire time I was on it and for 6 months afterwards because it took the estrogen as a virus or something

I got an iud 3 yrs ago & even though it sucked to get put in, it has been amazing. I was on the pill for around 11 yrs and I hated the idea of potentially missing my med time & getting pregnant. But I did it at first for hormonal reasons (long, heavy, painful, erratic periods). I have the Kyleena iud & it’s small and releases a super low amount of hormones just to affect cervical mucous and some other shit I’m not trained to understand. Like I said, it sucked to get put. They say when they stretch the cervix to insert it that it’s like one sudden contraction. I did feel like I was going to faint (which never happens to me). And I kept it chill the rest of the day. For the one month (almost exactly to the day) after I got it put in, I would get intense cramps sporadically and some spotting. But as soon as I hit the first day of the 2nd month since it was put in, no more cramps. I spotted a couple of times my first year with it in but nothing more than a wipe away. And since then it’s pretty rare that I spot, def not enough to make a difference. And I haven’t gotten pregnant. I don’t get menstrual cycle symptoms. I don’t feel like it has affected me mentally or psychologically (but that’s just me). Overall, I give my IUD 9/10 (getting it put in was reallllly unenjoyable).

cw exact weight mention wanted to chime in (and this may not apply to you!) that birth control can be effected by weight. the patch maxes out at 200 lbs, and for me at 280lbs it made me bleed the whole time i used it instead of stopping my period. i don't feel like i had any symptoms (besides the bleeding) but maybe because it wasn't fully doing its job

I have a weird situation I have been on depo for a few years and it actually has helped my depression so much even though I still deal with anxiety pretty bad. I honestly hate thinking of coming off of it though because of stories I’ve heard but yeah everyone is different when it comes to BC and it can help to try some different ones and see what works. I was on the pill and was throwing up every day and so I steer clear of anything with estrogen and I’m good now