I took a very low dose of lexepro like 1/4 10 mg tablet daily and it may have helped i dont know.
my daughter definitely and friends even people who are really into alternative methods absolutely feel they did better while on antidepressants. so yes you are right there is not one size fits all
everyone needs to find there own way
i once read that we need 3 things to be happy
fulfilments
enjoyments
and reduction of harsh things in our life
i havent yet managed to have enough reduction of the harsh things but still plodding along
i find the secret cds help me be more positive and i do hae an energy worker who clears energy that seems to help if then you dont go back to thinking negatively over and over.
Each to his own
sleep and massage also help me pick up my energy and be much more relaxed.
i guess my bitterness is that i was b eing abused and instead she was pressuring me to take drugs on his lies that it was a perfect marriage and i was just depressed, instead of the truth which was i was being conned abused and overworked.
I am certain that there are many articles and medical journal publications out there that can substantiate the opposite views as well. As it happens I agree with elements of both arguments and do, in fact, have first hand experience in this area.
In my opinion however, this sounds dangerously close to advice that should only be given by a qualified professional after an individual psychiatric assessment has been conducted. An article as one-sided as this in an area as sensitive as mental illness could have very dangerous consequences.
I agree with Sambo, showing this to people who are already way down with depression or paralysed with anxiety may read this type of info and stop taking it without seeing their dr, or feel more depressed or anxious because they think the drug is doing them more harm than good. Sometimes I think too much information can be a bad thing.
Hmmm, I have to say I agree with Sambo and Widdly. It could be very dangerous for someone to stop taking their meds because of reading this article.
I agree with the part of the article that says SSRI's may not really be suitable for everyone, but they certainly have a place for those who do suffer from a serious psychological or psychiatric illness.
Hmm it's almost an article which is more about SSRI's being over prescribed, rather than true reasons not to take them.
I had bad reactions to that particular class of antidepressants. It is a problem for me as many GP's are unfamiliar with or prefer to only prescribe that class - SSRI's or SNRI's.
I found SAMe which is a natural supplement helped me.
I went and read the articles the author was referring to and the articles are being completly misquoted.
Reason 1 refers to an article that is meant to have said "A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association says that SSRI's like Paxil and Prozac are no more effective in treating depression than a placebo pill. That means they are 33 per cent effective, which is the percent of patients who will respond well to a sugar pill. The article goes on to say that although SSRI's are effective to some degree in treating severe depression they don't have any effect on the routine type of depressions they are most often used to treat. The take-home message is--don't take SSRI's if you have normal, mild, or routine depression. It's a waste of money, and the drugs have serious side-effects including loss of sexual drive"
I can't find this message in the article at all...the article refers to SSRI's being more effective on major depression than mild depression- which is correct...thats what the SSRI's are used for.
Anyway- I didn't read on because its obviously not creditable information.
SSRI's are just ONE of the many many classes of anti-depressants used to treat depression/anxiety. Its a shame he doesn't mention this..... an uneducated person could be easily mislead in to thinking all anti-depressants fall under this category. Also i'm unsure why he chooses to attack this category over others, what about the SNRI's, MAOI's, tricyclics, NRI's... and there are other classes.
Reason 1 - cites one study? there are literally millions of studies. And from personal experience i can say that theres a huge difference between a placebo tablet and medication.
Reason 2 - In my experience combining medications can really help, not by a GP but by a psychiatrist. Yes its trial and error to find the right combo, but its rude to say they're shooting in the dark. Many do have substantial experience in combining medications which target different receptors in the brain. Sometimes depression doesn't just go away by targetting the seratonin receptor. Other classes of medications like anti-psychotics and mood stabilisers can augment the benefits of anti-depressants. Its pretty cynical to suggest every Dr is just poly medicating for the fun of it. Some really do care and do have the education to treat to this extent, and some people's depression is so severe they need it.
Reason 3 - i agree to an extent. But theres a huge difference between being shy and having heart palpitations and being rendered house bound because you're too anxious to leave the house. Oh and being "thrifty" as opposed to "hoarding". These things exist and i'm glad there are names for some of these conditions. For years i didn't understand why i was always worried and excessively shy, now knowing i had anxiety was a relief, and is often the gateway to treatment.
Reason 4 - he's right, we are an over medicated society. Just watch tv to see an ad for paracetamol... "why struggle with the pain when you can get on with your day"... People self medicate in different ways, whether its a hobby or a drug, theres a fine line. Drink coffee??? that's a drug. Society has become self indulgent in more ways than one. I don't think attacking very relevant medications for treating mental illness is the right way to vent about this.
Reason 5 - Don't really agree here. Seratonin is complex, simply it is involved in mood regulation. Ecstasy (or MDMA) literally floods the brain with seratonin, thats why the person feels very good. When the effect wears off they feel low in mood because their stores of seratonin has been depleted. Anti-depressants work in a similar way, SSRI's by blocking the re-uptake of seratonin, essentially leaving more in your brain. I can personally say this has helped me, and more people than i can count. We can't exactly measure how much seratonin is affected in a depressed person, but i have no doubt it plays a role in medical treatment. He says himself we have no way of measuring the amount of seratonin in a persons brain... but then goes on to say: People with high seratonin levels can be depressed and those with low levels can be happy. How does he know that if we can't measure the levels? I think "chemical imbalance" is a loose term used to describe what is obviously an imbalance of not only seratonin, but also other chemicals secreted in the brain (norepinephine) etc.
I do agree with the last statement... definately play a role in your own treatment, research, ask questions, follow your instinct.
And don't make a decision based on just ONE opinion, article, study.
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