Antidepressants: I don't f-ing get it

[confused2007]

It's ridiculous. It gets my blood boiling. Why does everyone feel the need that they need a drug to regulate their emotions? To regulate toward a nonexisting state of reality - consistent happiness or emotional neutrality. Everyone buys into the bull**** that you supposed to feel happy all day everyday. If you don't, well, you have something wrong with you, right?

 

I can't focus, I have ADD and need adderall. I'm not happy so I'm depressed and need an antidepresant. I have trouble making friends so I'm antisocial and need a drug to make me more friendly. Does anyone realize the consequences of altering your consciousness?

 

Given there are many who NEED a drug to function in society, but I'm talking about the ones who were BORN normal. And I believe that's the keyword.

 

Does anyone learn to cope with reality anymore?

 

Someone please prove me wrong.

[HokeyReligions]

define 'normal'

[Goodin]

Confused2007 have you ever been on antidepressants? If not I would not knock them like you do because you dont have a real frame of reference. If you have then so be it.

 

For me I got on antidepressants with much reluctancy because I felt like I really needed them as a last resort. I was extremely clinically depressed, and even suicidal, and my therapist suggested I get on them...finally after a month she convinced me because I felt I had lost all hope and I gave in. I wouldnt say anti depressants are meant to make you happy and that everyone should be happy all the time...they help scoop you up off bottom and help you get back to a normal life again...they cant cure you, but with the help of therapy they do help. Before anti-d's I could barely get out of bed in the morning or work, I almost lost my job. I think they are very helpful for clinically depressed people...not people that just "have the blues" for a week or two but REALLY depressed people.

[D-Lish]

I don't think anyone has to prove you wrong about your view on this.

 

I guess I look at anti-depressants, anti anxiety medications the same way I look at anti-biodics or stitches, or getting a cast if you break your arm.

Depression and anxiety- chemical imbalances exist- and there is medication out there that can help people.

 

Agreed, that society throws too many labels out there. Not all periods of sadness mean a person is depressed.

 

What I can tell you- is that from personal experience... that depression and anxiety are very real in my life. I have spent my entire life with really bad anxiety. You know that feeling you get when something scares you- that fight or flight response you get, with the heart racing and the blood pumping, the butterflies in the stomache kind of feeling? I live (or lived) on that heightened stage for as long as I can remember. About two years ago I began taking meds in conjunction with talk therapy. All I can tell you is that being on meds have helped me immensely. I don't feel altered, nor do I walk around like a zombie.... I just don't walk around with that ominous feeling anymore.

 

There is a difference between having bad days here and there and depression. Sure, agreed, sometimes it gets labelled too quickly as a blanket diagnosis. For some people, it's very real, very painful- and if meds can help, I don't see anything wrong with it.

 

Just my opinion based on personal experience. Not trying to change yours.

[confused2007]

define 'normal'

 

" conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal." Reference: worldnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

 

I would agree with the above definition and this is precisely my point. The trend of "normalness" in society is for everyone to be happy and worry free. Instead of focusing on solving the problem or source we temporarily relieve it with drugs.

[mark982]

b/4 i started taking seroquel,i was one mean,sob. didn't care what i said to who or when.i've changed a hundred percent. my daughter wonders who's in this body of mine. me, i love the new me.

[MakeLemonade]

" conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal." Reference: worldnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

 

I would agree with the above definition and this is precisely my point. The trend of "normalness" in society is for everyone to be happy and worry free. Instead of focusing on solving the problem or source we temporarily relieve it with drugs.

 

I would tend to agree with this, while I believe there are plenty of people who really need and benefit from AD's, I also believe there are plenty of people who don't, whose doctors hand them out like candy. And people who use them because they are spoiled and were never taught good problem-solving or coping skills. Things that being on a drug is never going to teach you.

 

I also wonder how some can take so lightly the fact that they take mind-altering drugs daily. Just to make their life seem easier.

 

These are of course, the people with the candyman doctors and fledgling skills, NOT those who really are chemically imbalanced and absolutely need the drugs they are prescribed to function in society.

[confused2007]

Confused2007 have you ever been on antidepressants? If not I would not knock them like you do because you dont have a real frame of reference. If you have then so be it.

 

For me I got on antidepressants with much reluctancy because I felt like I really needed them as a last resort. I was extremely clinically depressed, and even suicidal, and my therapist suggested I get on them...finally after a month she convinced me because I felt I had lost all hope and I gave in. I wouldnt say anti depressants are meant to make you happy and that everyone should be happy all the time...they help scoop you up off bottom and help you get back to a normal life again...they cant cure you, but with the help of therapy they do help. Before anti-d's I could barely get out of bed in the morning or work, I almost lost my job. I think they are very helpful for clinically depressed people...not people that just "have the blues" for a week or two but REALLY depressed people.

 

First off, I'm not knocking anyone who is on them. I'm trying to understand the trends of society shifting to drugs as a solution. I want to make that real clear.

 

No, I have never been on antidepressants. I thought about it at times when I was so low and depressed suicide entered my mind. In addition, I have bad anxiety. So bad, that when I had to do a presentation in college once I had a panic attack in front of the class and passed it off that I was diabetic and my blood sugar was low. But, instead of temporarily relieving it I focused on the issue and solving it while in the meantime exploring natural ways to cope with the pain.

[D-Lish]

...And people who use them because they are spoiled and were never taught good problem-solving or coping skills. Things that being on a drug is never going to teach you.

 

 

AD's aren't meant to magically instill coping skills to a depressed person.

They are meant to get one balanced enough so they can focus enough to help themselves.

[confused2007]

AD's aren't meant to magically instill coping skills to a depressed person.

They are meant to get one balanced enough so they can focus enough to help themselves.

 

And this frame of mind is exactly what I disagree with. What would you do if drugs were not an option? And to answer of that question, why can't you do that? Too hard?

[confused2007]

I would tend to agree with this, while I believe there are plenty of people who really need and benefit from AD's, I also believe there are plenty of people who don't, whose doctors hand them out like candy. And people who use them because they are spoiled and were never taught good problem-solving or coping skills. Things that being on a drug is never going to teach you.

 

I also wonder how some can take so lightly the fact that they take mind-altering drugs daily. Just to make their life seem easier.

 

These are of course, the people with the candyman doctors and fledgling skills, NOT those who really are chemically imbalanced and absolutely need the drugs they are prescribed to function in society.

 

For the people who "really need and benefit from AD's," they can also benefit from other ways which are geared toward the long-term and not short-term.

[D-Lish]

And this frame of mind is exactly what I disagree with. What would you do if drugs were not an option? And to answer of that question, why can't you do that? Too hard?

 

I think if you had experienced real depression you wouldn't ask a question like that.

 

What would you do if you got an infection and antibiodics weren't available. It's along the same lines- the point is that the medication is available, and just because you aren't in need of it (be thankful) doesn't mean that it doesn't help people that truly do benefit from it.

[confused2007]

I think if you had experienced real depression you wouldn't ask a question like that.

 

At one point I came home and decided to hang myself. Got the rope ready and everything. Luckily I had a period of enlightenment and didn't go through with it. Another time, when I was 13, my family and I had a serious fight. I found my fathers gun and bullets, locked myself into a bathroom where I wanted to off myself. Father found me in time thank God. I don't think you're qualified or able to judge whether or not I experienced "real depression."

 

What would you do if you got an infection and antibiodics weren't available. It's along the same lines- the point is that the medication is available, and just because you aren't in need of it (be thankful) doesn't mean that it doesn't help people that truly do benefit from it.

 

I believethat an "infection" and a "mental disorder" are obviously two different topics. It's hard to use one another in comparison. Yes, medicine can be treated for both, but the outcome and reasons to treat are completely different.

 

Agreed that people benefit from it from AD for the short-term. The long-term, however, is a different story.

[quankanne]

And this frame of mind is exactly what I disagree with. What would you do if drugs were not an option? And to answer of that question, why can't you do that? Too hard?

 

bless your heart, you really don't get it, do you?

 

think of everything you do to ensure your vehicle runs smoothly. You top off the fluid levels because you know that without the proper amounts, your car just ain't gonna work properly. You wouldn't just let an oil leak deplete to a point where you burn out the engine of your car just because it was too much of a hassle to keep filling the damned thing with oil until you got it to a mechanic? No, because if you're sensible person, you take care of your car's needs so that you it gives you maximum usage.

 

same thing goes with body chemistry, though it's a much, much finer process than the workings of your vehicle because a little variation in either direction can totally throw a person "out of whack." If your doctor understands this, and tries a regimen ranging from vitamins and minerals to prescription medicine, he or she is doing his/her best to get your body's chemistry balanced. Because it's in your best interest that it is balanced. Read this link, and tell me if any of it makes sense:

 

so before you go galloping away on your high horse, try to see it through eyes of compassion. What worked for you isn't going to work for everyone, and you need to appreciate that.

 

I do agree that some doctors are guilty of handing these prescripltions out like candy, but thank God for those physicians who know their patients well enough to discern true need for medications to help get their systems back in line!

Edited February 26, 2008 by quankanne

[whichwayisup]

CBT!

 

Meds can make you feel better but TALK therapy, learning how to deal with your issues which are causing the anxiety, learning how to fight off anxiety, take control over it, not let it scare you IS the key. The anxiety may lessen on meds, but the reasons WHY you're having anxiety won't go away until the problems are dealt with.

 

I never did meds either as Im' a med wimp, so I understand your worry's about going on meds.

 

Try rescue remedy (no side effects), exercise, yoga, cutting down on sugar, caffeine, and carbs.

[blind_otter]

It's ridiculous. It gets my blood boiling. Why does everyone feel the need that they need a drug to regulate their emotions? To regulate toward a nonexisting state of reality - consistent happiness or emotional neutrality. Everyone buys into the bull**** that you supposed to feel happy all day everyday. If you don't, well, you have something wrong with you, right?

 

This is not what ADs do, nor is it what they were designed for. They don't make you feel happy all day. Usually they alleviate a chemical imbalance in your brain, which then allows you the emotional room to learn necessary coping mechanisms. Ideally, one is not on ADs for life. Just for a period of time until they can manage without the drugs.

 

That is how my psychiatrist approached my treatment.

 

Does anyone realize the consequences of altering your consciousness?

 

Certainly. I've taken a variety of mind altering substances both medically and recreationally, with varying amounts of time wherein I was experiencing an alternate reality. It really is an interesting experience.

 

Given there are many who NEED a drug to function in society, but I'm talking about the ones who were BORN normal. And I believe that's the keyword.

 

How would you know if one was born normal? It's not common practice to screen levels of various neurotransmitters in newborns.

 

And many thing - illness, recreational drug abuse, physical abuse, injury - can result in those neurotransmitter levels changing drastically.

[quankanne]

dang it, don't know why the link didn't post in the first place:

 

http://www.mental-health-matters.com/articles/article.php?artID=160

[Tripper]

It's ridiculous. It gets my blood boiling. Why does everyone feel the need that they need a drug to regulate their emotions? To regulate toward a nonexisting state of reality - consistent happiness or emotional neutrality. Everyone buys into the bull**** that you supposed to feel happy all day everyday. If you don't, well, you have something wrong with you, right?

 

 

And where is it that you received your medical or psychiatric degree??

And seeing as how you've never been on antidepressants, exactly how do you know how they affect a person??

 

You've made some sweeping statements from a perspective of ignorant rage without really thinking your argument through.

 

The reason so many people are on AD's is that our society is much more complex and demanding than it was 50 years ago, adding to the stress of the individual. Also, seeing my mother struggle with depression 40 years ago points out how many gains we've made. Depression is now better understood and is considered a treatable mental illness. AND it no longer has the stigma attached to it as in the previous generation.

 

I have been on ADs for 10 years. They didn't make me happy; they allowed me to cope so that I could spend time in therapy resolving many issues that were causing me internal stress and strife. Believe me, I was not tripping the light fantastic.

I will probably be on ADs for the rest of my life. I do try every year to reduce the dose but to no avail sooooo... I would rather take them and lead a balanced life. I'm not particularly happy about this but then I'm not thrilled when I need to take an antibiotic.

 

I agree that they become the easy cure-all for some doctors, however, ultimately you are responsible for your own health and well being. If you simply take whatever meds your dr prescribes without asking questions or doing your own research, then it's your own fault. Drs are not infallible.

[confused2007]

Thank you all for your responses. I want to clear up the fact, again, that I'm not judging anyone who takes AD's. Hell, if it works, I'm happy for you.

 

What I'm merely trying to point out is that society, in general, accepts drugs as a solution to heal any mental problems that come along in life. This weakens us. If we have a problem, then we find a crutch to become dependent on. Is this not disturbing to anyone but I?

 

Quankanne, thank you for the link. I read it and felt there were some interesting points. However, I have a link for you and everyone else:

 

http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/Biochemical-Imbalance.htm

This article deduces the myth of the connection between depression and a chemical balance. Interesting stuff.

[mscaprine]

I would tend to agree with this, while I believe there are plenty of people who really need and benefit from AD's, I also believe there are plenty of people who don't, whose doctors hand them out like candy. And people who use them because they are spoiled and were never taught good problem-solving or coping skills. Things that being on a drug is never going to teach you.

Yes, and I suspect this is why people end up on these drugs for life, as opposed to taking them to "get them over the hump".

I also wonder how some can take so lightly the fact that they take mind-altering drugs daily. Just to make their life seem easier.

Because it is easier and quicker than going to therapy. I bet there are lots of doctors who would like to kick their patients' *sses right into behaviour mod rather than just dose out pills, but they know the patients don't want to drag themselves there.

What I'm merely trying to point out is that society, in general, accepts drugs as a solution to heal any mental problems that come along in life. This weakens us. If we have a problem, then we find a crutch to become dependent on. Is this not disturbing to anyone but I?

Yes, it is disturbing. Taking pills to "cure" bad feelings is in fashion now, though. The quick fix.

Meds can make you feel better but TALK therapy, learning how to deal with your issues which are causing the anxiety, learning how to fight off anxiety, take control over it, not let it scare you IS the key. The anxiety may lessen on meds, but the reasons WHY you're having anxiety won't go away until the problems are dealt with.

EXACTLY!!!!! I have a relative on AD's. However, she is still the same "dark thinking" person as always (maybe a bit less due to the drugs, but) and still has the same self-defeating thoughts and is one of those typical people that have made a bed they must now sleep in. It never crosses her mind that she's her own worst enemy. No drug will solve that. She would NEVER go to therapy, because that's "for crazy people".

they help scoop you up off bottom and help you get back to a normal life again...they cant cure you, but with the help of therapy they do help.

Yes. I think AD's should be, for most people, a temporary fix. If a doctor has a patient that has taken AD's for years, then it's time to ensure they try to find other means of help. Most docs, I think it's safe to say, find it easier just to dole out pills and move onto the next paying customer.

[quankanne]

you have to remember that while medicine is a science, it's not an exact science, so what works for Patient X (be it antibiotics, homeopathic treatment or prescription meds), it doesn't guarantee that these treatments will work for Patient Y. And doctors are going to use a broadcast treatment approached in the hopes of finding a regimen that works.

 

adding to that are the constraints placed on them by insurance and clinic/hospital policies, which often forces them to "go the cheaper route" in hopes that it'll fix what ails the person because insurance companies don't want anything to lessen their profits.

 

I understand your concern about over-medicating the population when there are other alternatives, but like I said, healing isn't an exact science, so there will always be a broadcast approach to treatment.

[ash519]

I have been dealing with anxiety for 10 years, and when I get a panic attack I have learned how to get it at least under control all by myself. But recently they have been getting worse and lasting hours and hours which then causes stomach problems, headaches and overall stress throughout my body, and also my heart. (Stress can lead to heart disease). So, my doctor prescribed me an anti depressant to take for 6 months, get my chemical imbalance straightened out and see how it all goes from there.

 

They are not happy pills. I agree with Dlish, if you have an infection in your blood (an imbalance) I am sure you will take an antibiotic to heal it, make you feel better so that you dont get worse. Same thing with AD's whether you take it for depression or anxiety. Why live with it and be miserable if you can fix it and feel better.

 

It doesnt make me a zombie either, I am still me, but it might make my life better if I start to feel better. (I have only been on this for a week so far.)

[D-Lish]

I don't think you're qualified or able to judge whether or not I experienced "real depression."

 

And I don't think YOU'RE bloody qualified to make a diagnosis regarding who is depressed and who is not. Nor are you a Doctor or a Pharmacologist with intimate knowledge of diseases of the brain and how meds interact with the body.

When you finish med school- re-post from an informed perspective instead of a soapbox.

 

I believethat an "infection" and a "mental disorder" are obviously two different topics.

 

You couldn't be more wrong. How is a disease of the brain different than a disease of the body?

It's okay to use meds for your body, but not your brain? The last time I checked most people's heads are one with their bodies. A disease is a disease. Doctor's treat ailments- be it physical or mental.

 

If you were depressed and tried to kill yourself, but was rescued by your father.... then you know depression and what it can lead to. If your father hadn't have found you, you wouldn't be posting right now. What if meds can help prevent others from progressing to that extremity? They aren't useful for society? That's ridiculous.

 

Meds in conjunction with support and therapy help people, bottom line.

You don't have to buy into it or accept it...

 

I'm not getting a clear picture regarding what your arguement is.

1) over-prescribing 2) is depression actually a disease 3) no one needs to take AD's 4) it's okay to take Ad's as long as someone really needs it and it is only used short term.

 

Go ahead Doc, the soapbox is yours.

[mscaprine]

Meds in conjunction with support and therapy help people, bottom line.

I agree with this, but how many people do you know that are actually getting support and therapy while being dispensed ADs? Many are just given pills and it's "come back in 6 months". Not saying some aren't given that opportunity, but often it's not offered at all---or if it is, it's as an afterthought. So basically, no chance to fix what's causing the depresson to start with, just some pretty pills to deaden the pain that goes with it.

[Lovelybird]

In my personal life, if I feel depression or physically ill, then I know there is something wrong in my life and I didn't realized them. I looked them as warnings from God, then I meditated and asked God, sometimes clearly I knew I didn't do something God wanted me to do. If I began to listen to God, and obey, I would return to peace and joy immediatly.

 

sometimes God uses black grace to draw people to himself or a warning that tell us there is something we should deal with and face it and ask God to improve us, or a sign that we didn't walk in the perfect plan he intented for us, but if medication can make depression go away temprorily, that isn't always a good thing, it maybe just ignore the deeper issue that really needs our attention to deal with, and so prevent the chance to really improve our lives

 

In my life, a clear conscience and obedience to God (often talk to God) are two major vehicles that keep me in peace and joy. as long as I violated these two, I became depressed and irritated and even anger

 

Depression is a microphone that God uses if we cannot hear his whispers

Edited February 28, 2008 by Lovelybird