Depression Learning

Are Antidepressants over Prescribed for Depression?

We are hearing more and more about the negative affects of antidepressant drugs upon the human body. Let’s face it, these chemicals are invading our bodies and they will have adverse affects. Yet, how can we avoid them if we really need them? The first thing is to determine if we really do need them. If we need them we must take them; it is that simple. However, not every person walking into a doctor’s office complaining about feeling depressed really needs to be on medication. There are many depression therapies that can address depression symptoms and unless people are suffering from major depression they should be limited.

The average person is not in a position to decide what medication is needed and when. This is the job of a qualified medical doctor or psychiatrist. However there are numerous doctors who over prescribe medication whether it is for depression drugs or anything other kind of drug for that matter. The question is how to know if you are taking unnecessary drugs, and how to know what the effects of these drugs will have on your body.

Although you may not be a qualified medical professional there are several ways of finding out if depression drugs is the right course of depression therapy for you. First of all you need to try other therapies. Try to live your life to the best of your ability and try to work through your problems. No, it is not easy but therapists can help you along the way. So often we just want a quick fix to make everything better, but life is hard and there really are no quick fixes. Once you know that you can work through your issues you will feel better. You will know that you do not need a drug to act as a crutch.

For people with mild depression or moderate depression you have it in you, you have the means to heal yourself. Our bodies are wonderful holistic systems. We are built to last, we are built to tough out the most horrendous of situations and that is why we have lasted on this earth for 30 thousand years. Some of us can do it on our own and some of us need a little help and that is okay, there is no shame in being depressed. Depression affects millions of people around the world but it can be beat. You can fight depression with the aid of family and friends. You can beat depression with the help of a therapist.

Yes, it is so tempting to just take a pill and wish all the worry and pain away, but taking medication sometimes can have a Band-Aid effect. The root of the problem remains hidden, but never cured. When this happens, there is no difference between taking an antidepressant and taking cannabis for self-medication. I am not suggesting that no one suffering with a depressive disorder needs medication that would be foolhardy. There are many people who have a chemical imbalance in the brain and really do need to be on antidepressant drugs to regulate the neurotransmitters and only a doctor can make that call. However, not every doctor is cautious about who they prescribe drugs too.

We normally put all our faith in doctors and doctors can be excellent practitioners and they also can be incompetent as well. How do you know which one is which? You can do what you do with other diseases of the body; you can get a second opinion. A mental illness is no different that a physical illness, each doctor will treat you as he or she sees fit. Yet that treatment may not be the best treatment for what ails you. Another test you can try is to watch the habits of the doctor you are seeing. Ask others who have visited him or her. Were they happy with the doctor, did they have any complaints? Did the doctor help them or did the doctor seem disinterested in what they were saying, and not listening to them at all.

The final test is the doctor’s history of given out medication. Try to find out from family and friends and check if there are any complaints rendered against the doctor. A good test that can be done right in the doctor’s office is to watch the doctor’s behavior, if before you have finished explaining your presenting symptoms and how you feel, if the doctor is already writing out a prescription for you, it may not be in your best interest. Some doctor’s write out prescriptions for

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