Can someone tell me more about them? I have a friend who has been on them for 20 years! Another friend...according to her, she has to take them the rest of her days. What makes dependency on antidepressants different than the ordinary ups and downs of life?

Because extensive use means your body becomes used to the artificial generation of endorphins such as serotonin. Thus when you come off them, your body doesn't necessarily remember how to produce endorphins naturally as well as it used to, you thus feel unhappier and take an anti-depressant again to feel "normal" once more.

Think of it as like wearing your glasses all day; in the morning when you wake up, your short-sightedness is what it normally is. Your glasses correct your vision, but when you take off your glasses at the end of the day your short-sightedness is worse as your eyes have gotten lazy after having everything done for them. They need time to readjust.

brain chemistry

Spookymuffin said:

So philosophically, doesn't that mean they weaken you? That they become a crutch? Does it matter?

heartbeatocean said:

Well now we're getting into medical ethics. If it saves someone from killing themselves, isn't the crutch worthwhile?

I personally am anti anti-depressants; I would like to remain chemically natural and deal with problems myself. On top of that, my aunt is on anti-depressants as she became addicted to them after she was, in our family's opinion, needlessly prescribed them following her divorce.

It all depends on what your outlook is. When I last discussed this on the org I got some flak because people here do believe they help, and they are perfectly entitled to have that opinion - hell; they might be right - what do I know?

Spookymuffin said:

What is the difference between being addicted or using them regularly to balance brain chemistry?

Like you, I am philosophically opposed or prejudiced against them. But maybe I don't get as depressed as others, or delusionally depressed. So what do I know?

I'd like to have more understanding, however, because I don't want to judge.

heartbeatocean said:

are you philosophically opposed to insulin treatments for diabetics? it is pretty much the same thing. insulin corrects glucose imbalances that cause diabetes, and antidepressants correct neurotransmitter imbalances that cause depression.

I do agree, however, that many doctors may rush to prescribe antidepressants when they may not be warranted.
[Edited 7/10/07 22:25pm]

Stax said:

That's what I disapprove of. Sure, Bipolar patients do need anti-depressants; no doubt. But all too often in today's society, anti-depressants seem to be the way out when they simply aren't. People have recommended I take them when I simply do not need them. I have my ups and downs and I've hurt myself in depression but it's never constant and never a depression beyond anything I deem more than just a really bad day.

I am on antidepressants. I recently tried to stop taking them, but then I hit a real low and had to start taking antidepressants again in order to function. I can still feel depressed when on antidepressants, but I don't feel really awful bad, so for me antidepressants are a good thing. I won't call them a crutch, but a necessity.

Some years back I took Seroxat and felt at that time that I was fairly desperate for something to drag me back up. I had held off, not wanting to start taking them but found that they did give me a lifeline. I took them for a year and then gradually weaned myself off them. That was a bit of a shakey time and a bit, "two steps forward one back."

Now, I would not take them (due to the difficulty in getting off them) and know that when I feel up I am actually happy and vice versa. Having had a foot in both camps, so to speak, I feel that anti-depressants are vital but to be used with caution. If your doctor is filling out repeat prescriptions without suggesting alternatives such as counselling etc. then you should start asking questions.

I'm on anti depressants at the moment. I did try to stave off from them because I thought that I could do without but with the tragedies that are happening in my family I could not recover myself before something else happened. What tipped me over the edge was when my husband found a lump in his chest and my friend had to have a mascetomy alongside my father having cancer and my son in law (who is now dying of it). I could feel myself closing down and putting the emotional shutters up. The pills I have are mild but seem to help and I can cope with the day.

Stax said:

No, not philosophically opposed to insulin, but generally suspicious of doctors and western medicine for some reason.

Spookymuffin said:

Isn't there a spiritual benefit to experiencing your own depression? St. John the Baptist called it the "dark night of the soul" and claimed passing through it and experiencing it fully was a means to enlightenment and self knowledge. I find periods of depression, though painful, to be an ultimately cleansing, sharpening and creative time. Sometimes we need them to get pushed in another direction or to seek answers to deep questions.

sj1600 said:

This interests me. There is a benefit to knowing where you're at, emotionally, no? It could be that I give nature too much of the benefit of the doubt though. Chemistry is nature too...so what is real? Are our moods real?



Both the people I know who are spending their lives on antidepressants pursue all alternatives to drugs. They attend counseling regularly, are very functional in their lives in terms of goals and work, have a strong community of friends, and have commitment and discipline in their spiritual practices.

I know someone who weaned himself off them (he took them for about a year or so) & seems to be doing fine - handling stress pretty well, etc.

Unfortunately, western medicine is about medicating people instead of providing tools for coping and healing.

There are tools that one can use to work through depression instead of always needing to pop a pill. Chronic depressive disorder is serious and antidepressants maybe needed but in cases of mild depression, I think alternative therapies should be looked at.

Is there any truth to the statements that exercise is just as effective?

pinkgirl93 said:

I don't know, but it is supposed to boost serotonin levels. Jogging helped me. Or maybe losing weight made me less depressed, lol.

NEVER TAKE THEM

Unnecessary!

Just money for the drug pushers!

Rhondab said:

They are never needed and do nothing.

pinkgirl93 said:

there are studies that state that exercise does help in depression.


http://www.depression-hel...rcise.html

http://www.mayoclinic.com...se/MH00043

UGH.

This is a subject I'm so torn on.

I look at my husbnads family who pop valums like candy, and I'm like....NEVER EVER EVER.

But then...when my huband became SOOO difficult and all and he started taking them they've really helped...and now I never want him to stop.

I dunno.

Rhondab said:

I agree We live in a time where people are so willing to take a pill insted of getting other help. BUT if a person's chemical make up is such where they need medicine to balance out then it's different. I can only speak for myself when I say that antidepressants didn't work for me, it actually made things worse. Now with counseling and just keeping myself busy I've done a lot better. Again that is in MY case.

Humans survived for years without them. Maybe a very very small percentage of people could truly benefit from them, but far fewer than the number of people who actually take them.

For most of us they're just not as necessary as good food, exercise & sunshine

The problem with these pills is they haven't perfected them. They all have side effects. If there really was a happy pill I'd definitely take it.

NDRU said:

They are not effective or needed.

They are mearly a an income thing for the REAL drug pushers in this world

Antidepressants greatly improve the quality of life for many people and their families who have to deal with them.


Yes, the human race continued on for years without them but the human race was also surviving before vaccines, hand washing, and other medications that we take for granted today.

Living is all about quality of life. What's the point of being alive if all you feel is misery.

Alot of people on this thread either have never dealt with someone who was depressed or just plain don't care because the responses I'm reading are turning my stomach.

icke4presidant said:

for most of us, I agree, but for a small number of people drugs can potentially keep them from hurting themselves or or someone else

JasmineFire said:

right, all I mean is most people don't need them.

But they (and other drugs/medicine for other problems) can help those who might not have made it in the "olden days."

NDRU said:

But isn't happiness overrated? Depression often contains some valuable information. There are many ways to find fulfilment, joy, contentment without using pills -- there is a path, it requires risk and discipline...to me, taking pills is thwarting the real work we need to do in life.

Rhondab said:

Right. Health and mental well being aren't automatic. It takes work and focus just to maintain a healthy diet, for instance, and exercise regularly. Same with any health issue or any mental health issue. Taking medications seems like the lazy way to go and more damaging in the long run.