It's Gone Too Far

So true!, but I'm not convinced that the MAJORITY of those on meds are there for wrong reasons or misdiagnosis. Are you aware of any medical studies about over- or mis-medication? I agree with the asserions of Newman and his Catholic POV, as well as M.H. Cooper and our broken heathcare system. I only wonder about quantifying your statement. I would hate to discourage people in need from benefitting from PROPER medication. Thank you for your insight, I value your opinion.

i think they are just not researched enough. the side effects can be awful for some people, such as increasing or starting suicidal/self harming feelings to an extreme degree.
if curious about this, find the stuff Panarama and the BBC researched on Seroxat.

I think they are best used in conjunction with therapy, versus instead of therapy. However, I do believe depression and mental illnesses are diseases, and I would never tell someone that I don't believe in their diabetes medication, or their meds to lower their blood pressure.

I, too, believe that they only work in conjunction with therapy.
Your experience is very wise, and when I read it I saw your point completely. People DO want to told it's not their fault. But they are right, too. It isn't completely their fault. I rhink one of the biggest problems with society is that everyone wants more and more as life goes on. So, they get more. In turn, society becomes too chaotic and I believe thats harmful to society as individuals. With the way the world is today, you either go with it, or it antagonizes you. In turn, people spend a lot of their time living in ways that make them unhappy and unwell. So, in essence, it really isn't their fault at all. All anyone can ever really do is do stuff that causes them the least unhappiness.
I guess that is where the cliches "Be careful what you wish for" and "You have choices. They may not be be choices that you like; but, they are choices nonetheless" come from.

I completely agree. It is not just the antidepressants either. It is so much more. The drug companies are naming common afflictions diseases and disorders and advertising them so that they can sell high priced drugs, when in reality in a lot of cases people are just lacking something in their diet or could be cured easily with herbal remedies. But if you cure a simple problem you don't have to buy drugs your whole life and that is just bad for business. And the drug companies have politicians in their pockets as well. Did you know that it is illegal to grow certain herbs in America without the expressed permission of the government? You can actually go to jail for it. Marijuana is of course illegal, but sassafrass is illegal too. And many more.

I believe that sometimes, honest and truly, meds are "neccessary" to save a life. They've "saved" mine, on more than one occassion! However, I def. have to disagree with Atmore about the majority of folks who are on them. There have been times when I went to the meds because I believed I needed them, thereby making my reasons for taking them (technically) the "right" ones. BUT (and, this is an ENORMOUS "but"): every, single doctor or psychiatrist who prescribed me a med NEVER talked to me for more than fifteen minutes before the decision was made which meds they would be prescribing. Never. Not once. And, i've been to TONS of diff. docs. "Mental illness" is real. But, I definitely DO believe that it's all just another part of the human experience. If you or someone you love believes that they need a med to survive, then they def. need a med to survive. I always think of it like Dumbo's feather. The mind is an EXTREMELY powerful thing! Just study experiments that are done with placebos!!! In the end, it's a matter of personal choice. And, if I have to be more "disturbed" or "depressed" than the average person, I'm a more satisfied depressed person if I feel like I can take responsibility for myself, as well as realize and accept the mysterious workings of the human brain and all of it's biological firings!

I agree that anti depressants are over prescribed in some cases. I do feel that they are necessary to many that take them. The one thing I hate about anti depressants is that most of them make you gain weight. I mean I have been on them before myself. Theres nothing like getting a prescription filled for happy pills and then gaining a ton of weight in the process of trying to feel better. Some people will disagree that they make you gain weight but just read the side effects weight gain is almost always one of them.

Umm, so its ok to use alcohol and illicit drugs to deal with 'the ordinary stesses of life'. That's what most folks seem to be on.
My grandmother had ECT. You think that's ok? Scares the hell out of me.
Unless you had a brutal experience like child abuse versus a public system that ignores you and hopes you go away, you wouldn't really understand the limited choices real people have.
I was left on Prozac for ten years but it would have been ok for one.
I don't know if you can get psychologists free in the US but its only new in Australia.

I was suffering from depression for years I painted a few rooms lavender used citrus scents and told my MIL to kiss my *** and I'm fine now .And I forgot to mention I take GOGI juice .

i see your point I do. You make since, but don't always think it's the case. Your right physical pain serves as a purpose. You cut yourself with a knife, it hurts, you learn not to do that....but I think mental pain is different. Sometimes you can see what's causing it...other times you can't. You can't learn not to cut yourself if you don't know what will cut you and what won't.

I hate pills and drugs, and I absolutely hate the idea of needing medication to make it so I can funtion during the day, but I know what I'm like when I'm not on my medication and I can't live like that. That wasn't living. I've done the couseling thing, I've also talking to a lot of other people. One woman I talk to used to be my English teacher, now she's also my friend. I've talked to people in my church as well. I've also tried talking to family and other friends. I can't figure out what the knife is. So I take the pills until I can.