Vol. 38: There's a Med For That

whats the deal with antidepressants? why is everyone so sad?

im lonely
people dont like me
my hair hurts
that dog growled at me
that 12 year old teased me

grow the hell up. it seems that people are so sensitive, they cant handle reality, so they need a pill for it. word to the not so wise, when that pill wears off, your problems are still going to be there waiting for you. life doesnt stop because you have a bad day. the world doesnt wait for your self esteem to kick in. life goes on, even when youre doped up. besides, i bet you if you kicked that 12 year old's ass, you'd feel a whole lot better than if you popped zoloft like skittles.

we've become drones (slaves, if you will) to the pharmaceutical industry. they have us so convinced that we have screws loose, having a mini Walgreens is a common practice. i mean, just for antidepressants, there are 4 subcategories:

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)- increases the level of serotonin available to bind with the neurotransmitter. used mostly to treat depression, anxiety disorders, and personality disorders.

Selective-norepinephine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs)- increases the level of serotonin and norepinephrine available. used mostly for mood disorders (ADHD, OCD, FMS, and PMS)

MonoAmine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) - for the really fucked up. MAOIs are only perscribed when other antidepressants are ineffective. but if combined with foods containing tyramine, and certain other drugs, MAOIs can be fatal. MAOIs block the enzyme Monoamine oxidase,which breaks down the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine

Tricyclics - a psychoactive drug (a drug that acts on the central nervous system) affecting mood, behavior, and perception. Tricyclics are not widely used as an antidepressant, but more so recreationally for spiritual purposes.

and then there is the ever popular "other" category,forthe really, really fucked up.

all of these categories have one thing in common. they alter brain functionality by inhibiting the reabsorption of neurotransmitters,thereby (theoretically) increasing the levels. however, recent studies show that many of these perscriptions are not as effective as they claim to be.

"The magnitude of benefit of antidepressant medication compared with placebo increases with severity of depression symptoms and may be minimal or nonexistent, on average, in patients with mild or moderate symptoms. For patients with very severe depression, the benefit of medications over placebo is substantial."
basically, you have to be suicidal on an hourly basis for antidepressants to have a real effect. it's hard to believe that 10% (18 million) of americans over the age of 18 are on some form of antidepressant medication. even more unnerving is the fact that over a million preschoolers are diagnosed as clinically depressed.

the rate of increase of depressive conditions among children is 23%.
30% of women are depressed,and 41% of them are too embarrassed to seek help
92% of black males do not seek treatment, while 80% of the depressed population dont.

Charles Barber wrote in the Febuary 2008 issue of Scientific American that there are two factors for the rise of antidepressant prescriptions.
1. doctors associate conventional sadness (such as death of a loved one) with the condition of clinical depression
2. a change in the standard diagnostic guide,which caused milder mental ailments to fall under the label of "disorder"

did you know that up until about 5 years ago, doctors were given special benefits by pharmaceutical companies based on the number of prescriptions they issued? does anyone else think that this may be the cause of this once rare condition?

so what makes someone depressed? apparently everything according to the new guidelines. im not saying that depression and anxiety disorders dont exist; i know someone who does have panic attacks. but they dont let it hold them down. she doesnt complain about how much her life sucks. she captures the blessings that she does have, and lives her life like any other person. and shes someone who has a real reason to stress and worry. if she can do it, why cant others remember the good in life, rather than using medicine to forget the bad. love, money, friendship. those are fleeting things. they can be gone tomorrow, so why become so engulfed by them that they upset you if they are absent? dont allow the little things to overshadow whats important -- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, something that many of us have allowed ourselves to forget.

till next time.