Depression is a major disease that effect a lot of people's lives. It is very hard to judge either people should take a pill or not. I think it depends a lot on your self core. Some people are just to sensitive or they think they are sensitive and can't handle their mood swings. The strength of our characters depends on where and how we've been raised. After hunger World Wars, and communism that my people have gone through nothing seem to be depressing anymore. In Russia we don't really have antidepressants. People aren't as depressed as in the USA, even though life in States is much better. I have a sense that TV, doctors, pharmaceutical companies have a big influence on Americans and trying to squeeze money from people by making them zombies. I try to feel sympathetic to people who aren't happy and depressed, but if we don't control our mind the mind will control us. So I'm going to be more on conservative side and go against antidepressants, unless it is extremely complex case. This paper will be about fighting depression with natural ways,,side effects of antidepressants, and people who can't be influenced so much by doctors, TV advertisement about antidepressants.
My first point is that people often look for an easier way to get out of depression which is to take pills instead of trying to find something that will work with their mind naturally. For example, article by Greg Crister tells the story about men Dominico Stromei born 1810 who was very depressed. He was poor and sick , one day he found his muse poems. " In his poems the poet comes directly in contact with that reality and he develops a philosophical mode , stoic in essence , which helps him deal with it and bear it." Back then, no one could take a pill. And now doesn't modern capitalism say we have to?" (37) That's a great story on how we can control our mind naturally and lower signs of depression. It seems to me that in America consumers and pharmaceutical companies brain wash you so much that people are taking a wrong decision towards their health. Person could take vacation instead, meet with friends, or do something fun to draw attention from sadness. Moreover, can't trust do doctors 100 % people have to make their own decisions. Sometimes doctors give people pills when they don't really need it and instead of suggesting to get over sadnees through natural ways humans take pill and become addicted emotionally.
The scariest thing are the side effects that antidepressants might cause and misleading claims presented by pharmaceutical companies. According to FDA there are "numerous false and/or misleading claims, suggesting that Paxil is safer than Prozac (it is not), that it coast less,and it is easier on the elderly (a claim is simply false)." (38) Furthermore, "DDMAC caught Pfizer Inc. for downplayed the risk of toxicity." (39) Those statements are scary and prove another point that people shouldn't agree to take pills so easy! According to article " Oh, how happy we will be " by Greg Crister side effects could be: " sexual dysfunction- Prozac, 0.1 % chance of seizure-Wellbutrin, stomachache-Paxil, increase of appetite - Paxil with Pondimin, possibility of priasm-Zoloft with Desyrel etc." (37) In my opinion I don't know what's worse having a depression which you can try and fight with natural ways, or having horrible side effects and suffer?
Bottom line people can't be influenced by TV and advertisement about antidepressants that much, nor trust doctors who are not always have the best intentions towards patients. Simply brain wash and giving people bad ideas. For example, when I'm in a bad mood I turn on TV and hear: " Do you feel tired and sad? Depression hurts. Call now!" Right away I have thought s in my my mind : " They right I have all signs of depression!" It feels like pharmaceutical industry want to convince people that they are depressed when they just having a bad day. In Russia we don't have one advertisement about depression, so people don't think it. According to a recent paper in the New England Journal of Medicine: " There are so called seeding trials, where thousands of company sales reps fan out to recruit doctors they know prescribe certain drugs, and then pay them for each patient they enroll in a "study" to try a new drug." (39)
Those facts makes me shiver and give another thought that we can't trust some of the doctors.
In conclusion, I would say that most of the people who are on antidepressants today are capable of fighting it on their own. Should doctors reject a pill to a patient in need with extreme signs of depression? Of course not. But may be it's time to ration the numbers of given medications. Most of the cases unnecessary. My favorite quote from article "Oh how happy we will be" by Greg Crister is: "But that way of handling melancholy,for better of for worse, is not what premillennial America is all about . It's not what I'm about; I am someone who takes pill for my sorrows.I wonder,though,if my depression is "unbearable" without medication only because I know that this medication exists. I also wonder if the drugs are preventing me from finding the solace Dominico did. Who am I without medication? Will I ever know?" (40) Something to think about.
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