Antidepressants

Equals bullshit. Nothing more than rabid drug company marketing via media and medical professionals so that everybody feels they should be taking some kind of medication as a magic fix it all. Discuss!

You surely have nailed your research on depression, OP. Very helpful post. Very. Just so informed and insightful. Really.
I disagree. They have saved me from being suicidal and depressed. Do you suffer from depression OP? It's difficult to explain to people who have never been there so that is why alot of people say that they are pointless. My depression was not caused by a traumatic childhood event, I simply have a chemical imbalance in my brain and the medication helps to take away the most severe feelings of depression. It's not a "magic fit it all". I still have bad days, just like everyone, but now I have good days too.
Studies have consistently shown that they are no more effective than a sugar pill. In fact the only known effect is to kill the sex drive. Which seems to be all that's needed for most people.
An Alex Jones video does not equate to clinical research.
I'm on Lexapro and it's helped me a lot with my anxiety. I used to be so anxious there were times I could barely function. But Lexapro has brought the anxiety down to a much more managable level so I'm able to live a normal life. It's not a miracle drug but it's been a lifesaver for me.
I was on Lexapro for about 5 years. I did get me through some awful, dark times. However, there were side effects. I often woke up in the middle of the night with my jaw and both hands clinched tight. And, like so many other people, my sex drive went to zero. I started to wean myself off the Lexapro and started taking more fish oil supplements. It took six months or so before I finally gave up on the Lexapro. I now take 7 or 8 fish oil capsules a day, and my depression is almost completely gone and there are no side effects. This is not something I recommend for everyone. It's only one instance that worked for me.
Studies have not shown that, liar at r3.
How would you know someone is taking an anti-depressant? I have no idea if my friends and family are doing so. It just doesn't come up in conversation. I'm not taking one, that's for sure. Big Pharma wants you taking "something" everyday. They want you to believe, "There's a pill for everything these days!" Horse hockey!
Dr.%20Sherman%20Potter
So don't take them. Don't worry about what other people are doing and focus on your own issues.
OP, pay no attention to pharma- rather fond a good MD (psychiatrist or psychopharmacologist) and work with them. They definitely help people with serious depression.
charlie
OP is a troll, probably looking to summon the Anti-Pharma troll, who is seriously mentally ill. Go play somewhere else, OP.
Ask my family whether they are bullshit or not. Ask them what life is like when I take my medication for bipolar disorder and what life is like when I don't.
That%20is%20all.
OP=Tammy Cruise, attempting to be glib.
These drugs are vital for many people to lead normal lives. They are over prescribed and not the solution for everyone. Same as with antibiotics, the doctor will give them to you to shut you up even if you don't need them. Depressed patient, give pill, patient gone.
[quote]Discuss! Drop dead!
R3 Asserting this does not make it true.
OP is probably a $cientologist.
OP how's that Scientology working out for you?
Cosign r17. Or a 20 year old whose only problems include which bar will take his fake ID. Making a statement like the OP did pretty much guarantees you life will sucker punch you right in the kisser,so enjoy it while it lasts.
anonymous
After Columbine,I saw Kirstie Alley&Juliette Lewis "protesting" antidepressants&psychiatry in general on CNN. It seemed like they were just outside Beverly Hills proper(Sunset&Doheny?). They'd obviously sent out press releases. As someone who's been greatly helped by medication,for General Anxiety Disorder,and Moderate Depression,I was flabbergasted at the level of ignorance I was seeing. Alley&Lewis,both scientologists had organized a dozen or so affluent looking House Wives Of Beverly Hills to march around with signs. With slogans about keeping "our kids"(this was at the height of the,"what about the children" model of shameless attention grabbing,by shallow,shameless,bored soccer moms. Think Tipper Gore and Chardonnay!) Off "dangerous" psychotropics. Alley (Queen of The Pig People,in every way,as far as I'm concerned),was running her stupid yap with the usual Scientology propaganda. But what I was thinking was what about people seeing/hearing this,people who might make an important decision(for themselves or for a young person) based on the delusional ramblings' of some B List television personality? The point for me is decisions like that are best made with our doctors and psychiatric professionals. It has also been mentioned hear that, a lot of people who've never experienced the horrors of anxiety and/or depression,or worse,should count their blessings and shut the fuck up!
Stephen%20Bright%26Dark
I do think that antidepressants, like many medications these days, are over-prescribed, but there are people who are genuinely helped by them. I personally take 5-HTP (a natural extract) for my depression and it seems to work well and costs a lot less than anti-depressants.
I used to subscribe to OP's view, but I would be ignorant to mindlessly overlook the many people that are helped by these drugs. Instead of harboring an extreme view, now I happily consider myself a lucky person for not needing ADs. This is a much more positive and healthy choice, I think.
And where did you get your medical degree, OP? Well? Hmmmn?
Pollyanna%20Prisspot%2C%20School%20Marm
[quote]I personally take 5-HTP (a natural extract) for my depression and it seems to work well and costs a lot less than anti-depressants. I just started taking this yesterday, and I have mixed feelings about it. When I first take it (100mg capsule a day), my heart starts racing and I feel like I can't breathe. That feeling lasts for about 5 minutes and it's really scary. But after that goes away, it seems like I'm in a better mood. So I don't know. My antidepressants gave me bad side effects like this "natural extract".
There's a new antidepressant in the lexapro/celexa family called viibryd. It is as effective as the former but it has no sexual side effects. I've been on it for a few months now and it seems to be working. OP has clearly stopped taking his antidepressants.
I meant to write, "My antidepressants NEVER gave me bad side effects like this "natural extract".
R24
"natural extracts" haven't been tested anywhere near as heavily as the prescription drugs. side effects like the breathing etc would make it a deal breaker to be put on market.
The old tried and true Zoloft has helped me not for depression but for being able to kiss alcohol goodbye. It isn't prescribed for this but it jacks up your seratonin to a level where you start looking for projects to tackle as you're feeling good. It stop your brain tingling for the alcohol fix. It switches the neurons onto feeling the effects of the Zoloft. It takes 3-4 weeks to kick in. Some may say this is a lazy shortcut but I also work meetings in with this once my head has cleared up. Works magic for my brain chemistry and I was a binge ho not every day physically addicted.
[quote]I just started taking this yesterday, and I have mixed feelings about it. When I first take it (100mg capsule a day) That's a lot to start off with. I worked my way up to 100 mg a day, but I had to start off with only 25 mg, twice a day. Just open the capsule and pour 1/4 into a glass of water. I had no side effects when I started with a lower dose.
So, you think that medicine in general for non-psychological organic disorders is fine. But you scoff at medicine for psychological organic disorders. I have one question. How can you reconcile that? Other than perhaps you have been conditioned to believe that if something is wrong with one's cognitive or emotional functioning it has to be "his fault" and he should just get over it? The truth is that dysfunctional brain chemistry is a real thing. Just like any other bodily dysfunction.