Health Evidence shows that anti-depressants likely do more harm than good, researchers find

[The Helper]

"We need to be much more cautious about the widespread use of these drugs," says Paul Andrews, an evolutionary biologist at McMaster University and lead author of the article, published today in the online journal Frontiers in Psychology.

"It's important because millions of people are prescribed anti-depressants each year, and the conventional wisdom about these drugs is that they're safe and effective."

Andrews and his colleagues examined previous patient studies into the effects of anti-depressants and determined that the benefits of most anti-depressants, even taken at their best, compare poorly to the risks, which include premature death in elderly patients.

Anti-depressants are designed to relieve the symptoms of depression by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain, where it regulates mood. The vast majority of serotonin that the body produces, though, is used for other purposes, including digestion, forming blood clots at wound sites, reproduction and development.

Evidence shows that anti-depressants likely do more harm than good, researchers find

Commonly prescribed anti-depressants appear to be doing patients more harm than good, say researchers who have published a paper examining the impact of the medications on the entire body.

medicalxpress.com

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I took Zoloft for a couple days after my divorce. You could have dropped a bomb off in the room and I would not have cared. Talk about a Fuk-it-al pill. I also tried Ephexxor for a few days and that stuff made me so angry I wanted to kill someone. The people that I know take them, do it to get by, it does not cure them. It just gives them a crutch so they do not have to deal with other problems. Eventually you should deal with those problems. Just saying...

 

[seph ir oth]

I've been tempted many times to take such pills, but I never succumbed to such urges. I'd rather get through my issues myself. It's all a matter of putting stuff in perspective.

The recent loss of my mother has weighed heavily on me, but I simply just move on. I mean, what's the use of letting it bug you? Not like the world's gonna stop for me.

 

[The Helper]

These pills are not trivial. They change the way you think, the way you deal with problems. They are being trivially prescribed and people just trust there doctors. IMHO, they are not the answer to everything like Doctors think they are.

 

[Accname]

There is so "little" in the world which is in fact healthy.
I can pretty much say that you could call any pill "unhealthy" because lets face it, its not "natural" to take those pills.
But on the other hand, health isnt something you can measure in + and - and then calculate how much of X you have to do in order to get over the unhealthyness of Y.
Some people can take drugs and dont care about side effects, some can not. And it depends from drug to drug, from one pill to the other.

If you look at things from a certain perspective you can call anything unhealthy in one way or the other, and anything has a point from which on forward it will become dangerous to take. The only difference between them is how much.

In my opinion anti-depressants are not really needed. If you have a problem you have to learn how to deal with it. Taking pills will not solve anything, it will just make you feel less bad about it. But that isnt a long-term solution.
You wanna live happy? Change your life.

 

[FireCat]

IEvidence shows that anti-depressants likely do more harm than good, researchers find.

It always has been.

 

[mushroom911]

I said this a long time ago, nobody listened.

 

[The Helper]

I said this a long time ago, nobody listened.

I am listening. I just did not hear you before.

 

[Fatmankev]

I had no idea that serotonin controlled so many facets of your physiology. That just adds on even more reason why to keep away from these things. To this it helps, I'm happy for you, but be careful - these are more of a drug than some things that are illegal.

Drugs is drugs. Don't let the doctor fool you into thinking otherwise.

 

[Dan]

My wife has been suffering from severe depression and anxiety for 5 years now... Without her current medication, she would be pretty miserable. It's been a very long few years... There have been points where certain antidepressants numb her from caring...etc...Not all of them work well. each one comes with huge downsides and sometimes huge upsides.

The problem is that antidepressants and other medications are designed to mask or effect the symptoms themselves, instead of the cause. Unfortunately, being unhappy is not really something you can always have control over. There are likely many biological reasons for chemical imbalances that we have yet to really nail down. If the cause could be treated, the symptoms wouldn't exist and we wouldn't have to keep changing how the symptoms looked on the outside.

I don't really know what to say on the subject, as it is a very huge subject and a very huge part of my life, but I want you to all know that chemical imbalances are serious and mental illness is the real deal. Imagine someone that is so physically weak that they look close to death. Everyone would immediately be concerned. Now imagine another person who is in similar shape, but looks completely fine. No one notices how bad mental illness can be.

I do believe that everyone has it in themselves to unlock happiness, but it is a large misconception to say that antidepressants are not needed. Trust me, they are part of serious recovery for some people who are too weak to unlock the balance that they need in their life. People don't just commit suicide for fun... Pills aren't a cure all in this area either...Serious life changes are necessary on top of it all.

On the other hand, I have had points of pretty bad depression that I'm sure I could get medicated for, but the difference is that my depression has always been much more closely related to stress and being upset than that of serious chemical imbalances. I think there is a distinction to be made when the extent can be controlled through actions other than medication. I wouldn't want to start messing with my brain functions unless it was completely necessary. I'm sure that some doctors would, though.

 

[Accname]

I cannot speak for anybody but myself about this since i cannot look into other peoples minds but i certainly feel like medication is not needed to make one happy but your own point of view on thinks.

If i look at my life from a certain point of view i would have plenty of reasons to be unhappy, or outright sad. Sad things happen every now and then, people go, people get hurt, people suffer. All around you at many times in your life.
But i have found out that there is no reasons to be sad if you dont want to be. I havent been sad in my life for a long time since i learned how to see the beautiful parts of life and that frowning and sadness will not help you ever. So i decided not be sad anymore but to get over things which appear to be bad and learn how to carry on.

Now this is a decision everybody has to make for himself and i could think not too many could live this way with their current mindset but i tell you, happiness is a good each and everybody has to produce for himself. Dont rely on others to make you happy.

 

[Nigerianrulz]

I cannot speak for anybody but myself about this since i cannot look into other peoples minds but i certainly feel like medication is not needed to make one happy but your own point of view on thinks.

If i look at my life from a certain point of view i would have plenty of reasons to be unhappy, or outright sad. Sad things happen every now and then, people go, people get hurt, people suffer. All around you at many times in your life.
But i have found out that there is no reasons to be sad if you dont want to be. I havent been sad in my life for a long time since i learned how to see the beautiful parts of life and that frowning and sadness will not help you ever. So i decided not be sad anymore but to get over things which appear to be bad and learn how to carry on.

Now this is a decision everybody has to make for himself and i could think not too many could live this way with their current mindset but i tell you, happiness is a good each and everybody has to produce for himself. Dont rely on others to make you happy.

unfortunately not everyone can bear a mindset like that, if they could they wouldnt be making pills. Its easy for us to say but unless we are in that position, or have been through that position we wouldnt be able to understand what its like, even then everyones different, not everyones as optimistic as the other, hence why we are all different.

 

[Dan]

I cannot speak for anybody but myself about this since i cannot look into other peoples minds but i certainly feel like medication is not needed to make one happy but your own point of view on thinks.

If i look at my life from a certain point of view i would have plenty of reasons to be unhappy, or outright sad. Sad things happen every now and then, people go, people get hurt, people suffer. All around you at many times in your life.
But i have found out that there is no reasons to be sad if you dont want to be. I havent been sad in my life for a long time since i learned how to see the beautiful parts of life and that frowning and sadness will not help you ever. So i decided not be sad anymore but to get over things which appear to be bad and learn how to carry on.

Now this is a decision everybody has to make for himself and i could think not too many could live this way with their current mindset but i tell you, happiness is a good each and everybody has to produce for himself. Dont rely on others to make you happy.

I agree; however, here is the catch.

Have you ever woken up and felt angry for no reason? Have you ever went to bed sad for no reason? Have you ever felt irritated all day and had no explanation as to why you were? Nothing can help you get into a good place if you are chemically imbalanced. It's like telling someone to stop being in pain after they get stabbed. You can't stop yourself from being in pain. I'm sure you would take pain pills if you were stabbed... mental illness is no different. These pills don't mend wounds but they do help the pain go away. Unfortunately, your body doesn't seem to mend itself when it is suffering from mental illness... Trust me, I know these things.

 

[Accname]

[...]
Have you ever woken up and felt angry for no reason? Have you ever went to bed sad for no reason? Have you ever felt irritated all day and had no explanation as to why you were? Nothing can help you get into a good place if you are chemically imbalanced. [...]

Nope i didnt. Thats why i said "i cannot look into other peoples minds" because i really never felt that way. Or at least, not that i could remember. When i start to feel sad i tell myself "screw it, i dont want to be sad, i want to enjoy life." and i do hence forward. Works for me.

 

[DDRtists]

These pills are not trivial. They change the way you think, the way you deal with problems. They are being trivially prescribed and people just trust there doctors. IMHO, they are not the answer to everything like Doctors think they are.

This. I have been put on antidepressants from when I was a little kid, and each different one made me a completely different person. I don't recommend the use of any antidepressants, they're horrible for you.

I had no idea that serotonin controlled so many facets of your physiology. That just adds on even more reason why to keep away from these things. To this it helps, I'm happy for you, but be careful - these are more of a drug than some things that are illegal.

Drugs is drugs. Don't let the doctor fool you into thinking otherwise.

Yup, and people believe the bullshit.
The government wants you to believe there are "good drugs" and there are "bad drugs". All drugs are bad, don't be fooled.

I cannot speak for anybody but myself about this since i cannot look into other peoples minds but i certainly feel like medication is not needed to make one happy but your own point of view on thinks.

I agree; however, here is the catch.

Have you ever woken up and felt angry for no reason? Have you ever went to bed sad for no reason? Have you ever felt irritated all day and had no explanation as to why you were? Nothing can help you get into a good place if you are chemically imbalanced. It's like telling someone to stop being in pain after they get stabbed. You can't stop yourself from being in pain. I'm sure you would take pain pills if you were stabbed... mental illness is no different. These pills don't mend wounds but they do help the pain go away. Unfortunately, your body doesn't seem to mend itself when it is suffering from mental illness... Trust me, I know these things.

See, this is where it's hard from my standpoint. I have been diagnosed multiple times my entire life with chemical imbalances, aspergers, and am currently going through testing for PTSD at UCLA Santa Monica and nothing other than marijuana has shown any sign of helping throughout my entire life. There are times when I will wake up and be entirely pissed off for no reason, or feel like crying over the stupidest smallest things and at times will, or nervous over things I don't normally care about. I don't purposely chose to do this stuff, my body isn't working as it's supposed to. So do I have to "Just learn to deal with" the brutal mental pain and physical pain from all the shit I have to go through, or take a medication that balances it out. Sure, i -could- learn to deal with things, as I pretty much have, but if I can do something to make my life much more enjoyable and stable, why should I have to learn to deal with it? Not addressing this at you as one person, but just in general, the lack of understanding for other peoples medical conditions is insane in this world. I don't know what you're going through, you don't know what I'm going through, don't assume that because you can do something, everyone else can. We're all different people in our own bodies.

Personally, I smoke weed and have no problems with it. It has allowed me to be more productive as a person in my entire life than any other medication that was ever prescribed to me ever did.

 

[Dan]

This. I have been put on antidepressants from when I was a little kid, and each different one made me a completely different person. I don't recommend the use of any antidepressants, they're horrible for you.



Yup, and people believe the bullshit.
The government wants you to believe there are "good drugs" and there are "bad drugs". All drugs are bad, don't be fooled.





See, this is where it's hard from my standpoint. I have been diagnosed multiple times my entire life with chemical imbalances, aspergers, and am currently going through testing for PTSD at UCLA Santa Monica and nothing other than marijuana has shown any sign of helping throughout my entire life. There are times when I will wake up and be entirely pissed off for no reason, or feel like crying over the stupidest smallest things and at times will, or nervous over things I don't normally care about. I don't purposely chose to do this stuff, my body isn't working as it's supposed to. So do I have to "Just learn to deal with" the brutal mental pain and physical pain from all the shit I have to go through, or take a medication that balances it out. Sure, i -could- learn to deal with things, as I pretty much have, but if I can do something to make my life much more enjoyable and stable, why should I have to learn to deal with it? Not addressing this at you as one person, but just in general, the lack of understanding for other peoples medical conditions is insane in this world. I don't know what you're going through, you don't know what I'm going through, don't assume that because you can do something, everyone else can. We're all different people in our own bodies.

Personally, I smoke weed and have no problems with it. It has allowed me to be more productive as a person in my entire life than any other medication that was ever prescribed to me ever did.

Well said. Antidepressants work wonders for some people. I wouldn't generalize in the area of medicine. Generally, they may cause more harm than good, but that does NOT mean that they are to be done away with.

 

[FireCat]

Drugs is drugs. Don't let the doctor fool you into thinking otherwise.

Indeed ! Well, you should at least ask a couple of questions Or read what kind of medicine you get from the doctor.

 

[Varine]

Indeed ! Well, you should at least ask a couple of questions Or read what kind of medicine you get from the doctor.

Heroin. You get heroin from the doctor. And nothing else.

 

[FireCat]

Heroin. You get heroin from the doctor. And nothing else.

Nah, I don't think they are "so crazy" to give out such thing

 

[phyrex1an]

Nah, I don't think they are "so crazy" to give out such thing

Heroin is subscribed regularly as pain medication.

 

[FireCat]

Heroin is subscribed regularly as pain medication.

Really? Even if you did hurt your thumb a little bit?