F*ck depression medication

[american syd barret]

IMHO Americans, especially, are becoming more and more dependent on SSRIs and other anti-deppression medication. Damn it America grow a couple (apologies to females, please don't grow a couple). How bout quit bitching over every little episode in your lives and masking the real problems w/ freaking pills and pills and more pills. Now I know there our xtreme cases were medication is a must but those are rare occurences. I've read on this here blulight where people have tried 10 different medications. jesus h christ, lay off the poppers, get out, jog, volunteer, teach, inspire, do something but loathe in your self pity and pop a pretty colored gob of chemicals designed by some dork w/ 6 inch rim glasses in a lab coat. All your doing is helping to pay for already very rich drug companys' board directors next yacht, or viper, or expensive hooker. Instead of the newest magical pill, try meditation, a new hobby, flying a plane, etc.. Just think how easy our lives are compared to just 80-100 years ago. Am I way off base here? I'd love to see others thoughts on this...

 

[Wonderbread]

you dont sound like someone that has experienced serious depression first hand.
common factors for many depressed include:
-persistent sadness or unhappiness
-lethargy
-loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities
-irritability
-sudden change in appetite
-disruption of normal sleep pattern
-physical discomfort
-difficulty thinking or concentrating
-thoughts of suicide or death
that was a cut 'n' paste, but i have found that depression is a cyclic catch 22 in many instances.
you end up pushing people away that want to help you, argue, fight, ignore, generally making your overall situation worse. the 22 part is by making things worse, you feel you have more of a right to be depressed, strengthening it.
sometimes meds might be able to help "snap" you out of the downward spiral, and perhaps take the steps towards exercise, meditation, or even a new hobby
as for America's burgeoning dependence on medication for a quick fix, its true
some may need to see that their problem isn't cureable by meds, so by trying all of them, they find out first hand that they need to do what they have to do?
Would this be a Health Forum Q actually?

 

[Negro-kitty]

What do you think is better --
suicide
OR
take prozac?
Also, have you considered the possibility that today's world is far more stressfull and depression-inducing?
[ 03 March 2003: Message edited by: Negro-kitty ]

 

[Aiken Drum]

Originally posted by Negro-kitty:

Also, have you considered the possibility that today's world is far more stressfull and depression-inducing?
[ 03 March 2003: Message edited by: Negro-kitty ]
Have you ever lost a child to the black plague, starved to death or got impaled by your baron because your crops died and you couldn't pay your taxes?
Just a thought...
I agree with the original author, AD meds are abused in today industrial societies, I'm not saying they aren't needed but psychotherapy should be used in conjuction and less ppl should be medicated.

 

[ksi]

I tend to agree with you. There are loads of alternatives to antidepression medication.
However some people can't take a different approach then going to a doctor who will subscribe something. Or they already tried all the alternatieve possibilities.
Getting a new hobby and snapping out of your depression yourself is quite difficult for some people. Other can handle their depression way better and want to fight it out themselves.
So I can understand people who want to try some antidepressive medication. As already said by Negro-Kitty; better taking a pill then somebody who commits suicide..
In the end both will work (although I think taking antidepressive is a shortterm solution) and it's up to the individual what he wants to do.
Personally I snapped out of it through my own efforts. Another bonus of this approach is, that I think you will feel more satisfied then taking antidepressives. Besides that, you can suffer from quite some side effects when you're taking antidepressives. Another reason for not using it, is that most of those medication are quite habitforming.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Also, getting better by your own efforts gives you strenght of character and self confidence.
Remember, "As you think you shall become" .
Keep the optimism!

 

[Partykid12]

Yeah I agree with Wonderbread on this one.
For the people that have very bad depression Prozac could be a godsend, it could be a magical pill that prevents them from suicide and gives them happiness all over again.
I myself was prescribed Paxil when I was going through Opiate withdrawl but I didn't like it and it wasn't for me so I just didn't take them. But for the ones that need it to get out of their beds in the morning then it's a good thing...
100 or 80 years ago our lives were much easier and less stressful than they are today. Money and social status is the biggest issue in my opinion as of today. As an overall I think that anti-depressants are a good thing, but they do pump them out a little too easily... its kind of like the ADD medications..

 

[Negro-kitty]

Aiken, while I don't disagree that every period of human history has had its problems (and I knew that someone would bring up your point)...I think that in these modern times we are far more lacking in culture, community, and family than ever before, and because so many people lack these traditional means of psychological support, mental illness is a far more common problem.
ADD meds...don't even get me started on those. It's like parents are too damn lazy to raise their kids so they have to give them drugs to make them productive...again, another problem of modern society IMO.
I was born in the wrong century.
[ 03 March 2003: Message edited by: Negro-kitty ]

 

[two wobinas over the cuckoos nest]

::takes her daily paxil+wellbutrin::
there ARE other alternatives...but for me, i was too depressed to even want to get out of bed. all i would do was sleep and wait for my next high. this had slowly progressed throughout the previous 3 years. i had attempted suicide numerous times...all i know is that anti depressants have really helped me and i can now do all those other things mentioned like meditation, and exercise.

 

[XiolaBleu]

To each his own. I very much agree with you that SSRI's and such are over prescribed now a days. But I also think that for some people they can be an absolute godsend. Deep depression, anxiety, OCD whatever, can be an absolute horror, and when the meds work, I say take them. My father had an extreme anxiety issues since he was a young man. I can honestly say I did not like him when I was a little girl. He would sit me down and tell me all the things wrong with mother, not to mention just be absolutely insane. About 6 or so years ago he was prescribed to Prozac, and buspar. It was a godsend. I dont' want to say he is a changed person, because he has always been a great man at heart, but honestly I cannot begin to really explain how much better he is now. He lives, and loves life now. He doesn't stress over stupid little problems, he doesn't think the world is out to get him, etc. Bleh I don't know I'm babbling now. It really angers me when I see/hear people say people who need anti-depressants are weak, or need to grow balls.

 

[Morrison's Lament]

Yeah, I think a lot of people have trouble differentiating between clinical depression and just 'feeling down'. It pisses me off to no end to hear people tell me "I used to be depressed, then I just got off my ass and started doing aerobics and writing two novels a day"
What these people actually mean is they felt down from time to time, but don't remember it happening recently.
Clinical depression can be a terminal disease, NOTHING is worth a shit for months or even years at a time and death not only looks appetizing it looks like the only and final solution.
It's unfortunate that people equate their own normal feelings of sadness with a serious mental disorder. The former does not require drugs, the latter does.
--- G.

 

[ebeneezer_geeza]

100 or 80 years ago our lives were much easier and less stressful than they are today
you must be joking. The average working day in the UK was 12 hours. Lower class people tended to die at 40. No health care. lots of alcohol/opium abuse. compared to today lives were terrible.
The new generation SSRI's are great for those in need. If you have serious depression you cant just snap out of it. These drugs enable a lot of people to lead quality lives. Ok many people use them when perhaps they only have mild depression which the things many of you mention would work. But for some no way. people always have and always will take a drug to make them happier - its been going on for at least 2000 years (recorded history of opium/alcohol taking).
WHO are we to judge?

 

[Aiken Drum]

Originally posted by Morrison's Lament:

It's unfortunate that people equate their own normal feelings of sadness with a serious mental disorder. The former does not require drugs, the latter does.
--- G.
True... very true...
The problem is that doctors overmedicate ppl, which then become dependant on ADs.

 

[SilverFeniks]

back when i was 13, I got forced onto Paxil when the damn psychs didn't bother to figure out what, exactly was wrong with me.
Running out of that one time for a week was one of the most horrifying experience of my life ... I imagine it to be like a bad meth/opiate withdrawl perhaps; extremely paranoid and psychotic. I couldn't bear the pain of not having my pills.
It never ended up helping me either; last Fall I started to get really bad, but my aversion to therapy/meds based on the prior experiences led me to reject that shit, instead seeking support from occasional drug use and therapy on an intellectual level.
This may not work for everyone, but I fixed much more damage through using my brain than I ever did relying on doctors and addicting medications.

 

[Emily]

to the original poster you should do a little research on the topic before you start bitching about it.
depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain. it's not like someone choses to have clinical depression. i say thank god for medication. sure I hate the idea of depending on them but theyve changed so many things in my life. I dont worry and stress about tiny things anymore. Im motivated. I feel like I actually have a life now.
i cant stand the "fuck medicine man. deal with it on your own" people. hey, if it helps it helps.

 

[JerryBlunted]

Originally posted by Emily:
i cant stand the "fuck medicine man. deal with it on your own" people. hey, if it helps it helps.
It upsets me to hear people with that type of attitude, why can't you have a little more compassion for the suffering of others?
Sure, there is definitely a lot of overmedication today. Many general practicioners will prescribe anti-depressants without any sort of psychological therapy whatsoever. Also, many times moderate cases of mild recurring depression (dysthymia) are misdiagnosed as season affective or unipolar depression. There is a lot to this issue, but breaking it down into a simple "Get over it" to all the people on meds is a little harsh. There are many people out there who need some form of medication to realize their full potential and live a healthier and happier life. Who are you to deny them that?

 

[alostlittlebird]

You seem jaded, or confused about what it is anti-depressants are supposed to be prescribed for, but let me tell you.
I spent close to six months unable to feel emotions. Unable to be happy, unable to take pleasure in life, the constant worry that I was getting more depressed in fact MADE me more depressed, and were it not for antidepressant medication I would have surely thrown myself off a building or put a gun to my head long ago. Those meds have given me a second chance at life, because genetically almost all of my family has clinical depression (not just dysphoria). When I started in the "spiral" of depression, I hit rock bottom so fast that I barely had a life. Now, I feel like there is something out there for me to strive for, and it comes from within.
Yes those meds are overprescribed, in fact I am disgusted as well. But you must understand the line between needlessly popping pills and the necessity of a mental disorder.
Would you ask a schizophrenic to stop taking his meds?

 

[Emily]

Originally posted by JerryBlunted:

It upsets me to hear people with that type of attitude, why can't you have a little more compassion for the suffering of others?
Sure, there is definitely a lot of overmedication today. Many general practicioners will prescribe anti-depressants without any sort of psychological therapy whatsoever. Also, many times moderate cases of mild recurring depression (dysthymia) are misdiagnosed as season affective or unipolar depression. There is a lot to this issue, but breaking it down into a simple "Get over it" to all the people on meds is a little harsh. There are many people out there who need some form of medication to realize their full potential and live a healthier and happier life. Who are you to deny them that?
you understand that I do think medication for some people like myself is a good thing right?

 

[Infinite Jest]

Yeah, Jerry, I think you've confused the attitude Emily was criticising with the attitude she holds herself.
Those who say ADs are "overprescribed". How do you know? Show me where you found the real percentage of Americans (or others) who need ADs. (Maybe there is such a figure, I don't know). In my experience, they are underpresribed (e.g., I can think of many people who aren't on ADs, but would probably benefit from being on them - I don't know anyone who is taking them who shouldn't be).
As for the increasing numbers of people being treated for depression: probably because we have reasonable means of treatment now. 100 years ago, there wasn't anything they could do about it, so people had to suffer on. Now there is something we can do about it, so we don't.
Prozac has completely changed my mindset - both people who know I'm taking it and people who don't have commented on the improvement in my personality in the last few months. It's keeping me sane, basically...

 

[Denial]

id rather be naturally depressed than artificially happy.
and yes, ive been through the extensive regimen of the SSRIs, pretty much every different one, in all strengths.
they all SUCK, do VERY LITTLE, and make me feel really 'odd' or 'off'..... somewhat like a persistant bad psychedelic experience...
they suck i hate them