Why are so many people on anti-depressants?

[156]

Before I start, I want to say that I'm NOT making fun of or making light of people who suffer from depression or any other mental health disorder. That's not what this topic is about at all.

I think it would be safe to say that 70% of my friends and relatives are on some form of anti-depressant, nerve medication, or anti-anxiety medication. As an EMT I've noticed that around 2/3 of the patients I encounter are on these medications as well.

I have a hard time believing that that many people are depressed. I don't suffer from depression (thank God) so I really can't stand in judgement of anyone, but in my opinion, these meds are being prescribed way too easily and too often. It seems that when a patient is experiencing certain symptoms a doctor will automatically say he/she is depressed and write out a prescription rather than exploring other options or running further tests.

Can that many people truly be suffering from anxiety, panic disorders, or depression? What did people do before these meds were so easily assessible? I haven't heard of a sharp decline in the suicide rate so I really have to wonder how great these medications are and if they're being prescribed properly.

Any thoughts/experiences on this?

[OfcMikey]

Well, the medications of which you speak are highly effective and handed out like candy. IMHO
Most doctors who prescribe them are not mental health professionals, just regular doctors.
Health plans would much rather pay for meds, since a one month supply of meds, costs them much less than one counseling session would.
Manufacturers of these medications have a vested interest in their sale, since that is how they make their money.
If you get better and go off of the meds, they don't make any money off of you.
I believe that the medical community has succeeded in convincing people that they need medications, when they don't.
On the flip side, there are some people who need meds and therapy badly, but don't seek it.

I too agree that they are over prescribed, but that is just one guys opinion. YMMV

[RachelR]

I have a friend who is a psychiatrist. We were talking about his new job in Louisville and he was telling me about all the rich yuppies who are cheating on their spouses and then come to him claiming they are depressed yada yada.. He said it gives him such a headache to listen to them whine that he listens for about 10 minutes and then prescribes medication. He passes it out like candy and admits it. I don't happen to agree with it but... oh well, people believe it to be a miracle drug so..

[Underdog]

I admit that this is way outside my area of expertise but I seem to remember a study a few years back that said that the vast majority of doctors were failing to diagnose clinical depression when confronted with it. Perhaps this is a response to that study.

I also believe that the majority of people in modern societies are coping with problems that humans were never designed to handle. I suspect that this leads to a certain amount of anxiety and depression.

[Underdog]

I had another thought on the issue.

There seems to be a genetic component to clinical depression. I think that there is a decent amount of research that tends to demonstrate this.
Since people suffering from clinical depression are more likely to commit suicide, I began to wonder why the genes for clinical depression had not been slowly eliminated from the human genome. My thinking is that there might be some factor involved that might make those with clinical depression more likely to survive under some circumstances and thus more likely to pass on the genes for depression. A fair comparison might be the resistance to malaria that accompanies sickle cell anemia.

My thinking is that people with clinical depression tend to be more lethargic than those who don't suffer from the condition. In times of plenty, this lethargy might translate into an increase in body fat when compared with more active people who don't suffer from depression. When times of famine occur, people with greater fat reserves are more likely to survive and pass on their genes.

Anyway, I'm just shooting from the hip on this one. If anyone needs something to do a thesis on, please feel free to borrow the idea.

[ateamer]

I think a lot of people are just soft and looking for an easy fix. They don't want to really work to improve themselves, and can't handle the stresses of everyday life. Life is easier now than at any time. No one has to hunt for survival, or forage for roots, no one has to build a log cabin to escape the winter, or tame a wild horse. Everything is automated and instant. Personally, I wouldn't have it any other way.

All this means, though, that physical fitness, and the mental fitness which follows, must be achieved through working out; we don't stay in shape just from living anymore.

People also have to start ignoring the media's ideas of how they should look and act. Who cares that some Hollywood bimbo bought big boobs, or what kind of clothes you have to wear to impress the empty-headed sheeple?

All this goes back to people just being too soft to handle the realities of life today. They get depressed over everything and can't deal with it. When someone gets sick, or dies, or we go to war, or they don't get a promotion at work, rather than go on with life, they go into a deep funk. They spend more energy focussing on their depression, which makes it worse, rather than sucking it up and getting on with life. Then they start dropping drugs to hide it, rather than facing reality.

I truly believe that winners never give up, no matter how bad the odds. If more people applied that to every facet of life, we wouldn't have a market for all these mind-altering drugs. Hard times don't last - hard people do.

[ 11-18-2002, 04:14 AM: Message edited by: ateamer ]

[RachelR]

Amen ateamer. I think people all to often are looking for that "miracle" drug. Not saying there are people who truly need it, but I think anti-depressants are abused these days.

[shooter1201]

IMO....it is SIMPLY because doctors are too [email protected] lazy to find the REAL reason for the 'problems'.....that and the various pharmaceutical companies often provide kickbacks to doctors and hospitals for 'marketing their products'. The SAME THING is going on with kids and Ritalin/Cylert. It's all about $$$.

[deputy37]

I'd submit that one of the things most lacking in our lives is sleep. Give me a couple of days of as much sleep as I *want* (even if that seems excessive) and I am very serene, happy, full of energy... but that wears off very quickly.

I wonder if half the folks who are medicated got enough sleep, ate good, real, whole foods, and got some excercise... if they'd still need the meds.

Again, agreeing with everyone that some people truly need the Rx, and for them it is a miracle and life saver... but...

When work is at it's worst, it crosses my mind that I cry to easily, am exhausted continually, and have dark, angry thoughts. I've *thought* about asking for happy pills, I'm sure I'd get them. Instead we fix my muscle-spasmed neck, I get some sleep, eat some real food... and slog on through the quagmire to another day...

[156]

Thanks to all of you who replied. I enjoyed reading everyone's input and opinions. Underdog, you brought up some good points in what you said.

I firmly believe that kickbacks are a big reason that doctors are prescribing so many of these meds. I mean, come on, that many people can't possibly be depressed! The sad thing is, if people are presenting with symptoms, there's clearly something going on, but the doctors aren't taking the time to get to the true root of the problem.

[Mitzi]

Both my H and I are on antidepressants. I am not ashamed to admit it. However, I am getting ready to go off mine slowy. I will NOT allow my H to EVER go off his if I have anything to say about it.
This is not to say we went in and asked for these drugs. And we had good drs....They didn't just hand them to us and say, "This will solve all your problems."
My H has an explosive problem. Before prozac, there were doors kicked open, fists through walls and me with black eyes. The black eyes were spelled out to him very clearly.....Help or divorce.
We both went into therapy. We both went on antidepressants. 2 months later, I had the husband from heaven. I have not see one single explosive problem since he went on it.And this was 10 years ago. Some people DO need them. In his case, he has a chemical imbalance in his brain. He is such a gentle man now. I know he would never lay a hand on me again.
My problem, however, is psychologically based and I told my dr that I didn't think the antidepressants were helping me enough for the amount of time I was one them. So, he is weaning me off of them.
And we ARE winners, ateamer. We have never stopped trying to deal with all our problems and we never will.
My H no longr needs therapy. I still go and probably will for awhile. How I wish that my antidepressant had helped me like they did my H. But, I must work hard psychologically. His were physiologically based.
I know some of you on here are reading this and are on antidepressants. Don't be ashamed of it. Just revaluate every three months with your dr if you think they are helping you. Mine weren't and my dr agreed with me.
I do agree that some drs hand them out like candy. But you have to make the decisions of what helps you. Never be ashamed of asking for help.

[shooter1201]

quote:

---

I'm looking for a miracle drug that makes me rich and irresistable to women....I've been very unsuccessful thus far.

---

It's called $$$

[156]

Mitzi, thanks for your reply. I'm glad that you and your husband are doing better. I definitely agree that if someone has a chemical imbalance (as your husband does) then anti-depressants are not only necessary, but a godsend. I know of some people who are completely different (in a good way!) since they've been on medication, so there is indeed a need for it. The point I was making is that they seem to be so easily assessible to practically anyone and I'm wondering if these people are being diagnosed properly or just being blown off.

I hope my topic didn't offend you and I apologize if it did. As I stated at the beginning, I wasn't posting this to make fun or belittle anyone.

[Sweet_Kate]

I think you did a good job of asking the question. In the old days you had drinking and barfights when you became "sad", no longer are those accepted in society. Seriously, talk to people in their seventies( my Mom's age), no one spoke about feeling anything in those days. Women cried, men drank.

The thing about HMO's is true also, my Mom's PPC gave her meds when she complained was always crying. When she complained she wasn't any better she gave her 8 visits to a pychologist, no more!

Even though more meds are being given, less treatment being is conducted, hence less mental health is achieved. Hopefully there will be less stigma in the future, and more real treatment available.

Kate

[Mitzi]

I wasn't offended at all. I think that anti-depressants ARE prescribed too easlily. And when someone makes it harder for this to happen, I worry about the ones that DO need it. Sometime, someone is going to make it a point to make stricter guidelines for the use of this stuff. That's good but it's also bad. Because it may mean those who DO need it can't get it.
When my son had his last brain surgery, I had a breakdown. I had a good dr. But he missed something....I didn't need an anti-depressant, I needed an anti-anxiety drug. But because things like valium, xanax,and other kinds of stuff are addictive, they are VERY careful about giving that stuff out. That's understandable.
So what do they do? Yep...Gave me an anti-depressant. Didn't work. Gave me another one. Didn't work.
Finally, I went to a psychiatrist, thinking I was losing my mind. And you know what he did? He put me on a strong dose of valium, very closely watched but I settled down immediately. I did not feel drugged, just so relaxed. As I got better, he began weaning me off of it slowly util I no longer have to take it. He said, "You neded time to recoup and you needed to be relaxed to do that". Like I said, it was closely monitored. But these addictive drugs are sometimes NEEDED. They only become addictive if not closely monitored by a dr.
So there I was, having anti-depressants thrown at me when I wasn't depressed. I was anxiety filed and totally on the wrong drug.
And this dr monitored me and had my H monitor me. My H counted the pills everyday to make sure I was taking them correctly and I was.
But because these drugs were once so abused, I went without them when I needed them.
I hope this doesn't happen when those that DO need antidepressants and can't get them because guidelines get TOO strict.