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| *Women health>>>Depression |
Why does everyone jump to the conclusion that if you have anxiety or depression you need medication? |
Especailly since it's been clinically proven that certain types of therapy are just as effective at treating mild to moderate cases of anxiety and depression as antidepressant and antianxiety medication? I especially hate the metaphor used to describe some types of mental illness as if it's the same as epilespy or diabetes, when it's clearly not!! Mental illness is not just a brain or physical disorder and that does not mean that those who suffer are at fault or weak and just need to cheer up, just that medication isn't the only answer to most people's mental illess! People are not as educated on the subject as you seem to be. So people react with the information they have. Those who suffer from mental illness are certainly not at fault or weak, or just need to cheer up like you said. It is an illness that is associated with the brain. Medication seems to do wonders for a lot of illnesses. Also, the old movies that stereotyped patients with mental illness always showed medications being used to settle them down. Seeing a psychologist or therapist can do quite a bit of good. In some cases, medication truly does make life much better (it did in my life- now I'm doing the dual approach, talk and medication). As far as advertising- there is some greed and a lot of money on the line. Pharmaceuticals are cut throat business. They put all that money into research- they want to recoup as much and make as much before it can go generic. I agree completely! It seems like people too easily jump on the medication wagon instead of working out problems, etc. Depression is not 'abnormal'. Everyone gets depressed at one time or another. If you're depressed all the time, that's when you need some kind of help. I'm not an expert so I probably should just keep my mouth shut. But I think there are different causes of depression, and they respond to different kinds of treatment. And I think pills are the quickest, easiest, cheapest thing to try, so that's what they try first. If they don't work, you come back, and they try something else. Probably because a lot of people have been helped by medication. And some medication is the same as epilepsy or diabetes. Although therapy can help a lot of people, not everyone has a mild to moderate case of either anxiety or depression. Having experienced severe cases of both, I know that therapy would not have been effective at all until the medication had returned me to a functioning level. I have also found after medication and therapy that I will have to take antidepressant medication for life, since every time I try to stop it, I become non-functional again. If you are upset because someone has suggested you take medication, it may be because they think it will help you to get to where therapy will help you. Not everyone has to take the medicine for life. i have panic/anxiety disorder and do take meds BUT i will try to treat it myself before i medicate myself. i take a hot bath/shower, take deep slow breaths, put on some soft music, or go lay down in a dark area ( bedroom ) counceling helps but there is not much a counceler can do if the attack comes on all of a sudden. a counceler can give you the tools so when you do have an attack you learn to work with what you know to stop it as quick as you can. Maybe I'm an idealist or I just tend to base things on my own experience. I have been diagnosed with anxiety/panic/depression and have been living with it for many years. I would like to think that if someone is reaching out for help for what they are feeling they haven't done so because they saw a cool TV ad for a drug. As far as jumping to conclusions, I think its safe to say that the answer to anyone looking for help is to see a doctor and discuss both therapy and medication. Meds saved my life and nothing I talked about in therapy did anything but educate me about my illness. To be honest I never felt any therapist I ever had listened or advised any better than a close friend or family member would. The real value of therapy to me was learning about my mental illness. |
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