This started as a comment …
On The Ockhamist but it was getting long so I decided to post it here.
On Anti-Depressants causing Anti-Personality. As a depression sufferer who USUALLY manages depression with attention to diet, sleep habits, and exercise ... these things are not always enough. If one finds that their Anti-Depressants are causing Anti-Personality talk to your DOCTOR ... change your Rx ... either the type or the dosage. Suggesting that depression should only be handled with out prescription medication is DANGEROUS. While short term situational bouts of depression can and should be handled that way (too often Anti-Depressants a prescribed for those who don’t ACTUALLY fit the criteria for their usage. Clinical Depression meds are for those who fit specific criteria established by the medical and psychological communities )
Saying that people who suffer from depression should manage it with diet and exorcise is like saying all diabetics should manage their disease with only diet and exorcise. While many can and do, this is not always enough because their body is not producing the right chemicals in the right amounts. The same is often true with Clinical Depressives. The bodies of many Clinical Depressives are not producing the right chemicals in the right amounts. Furthermore the goal of most of the major, strong Anti-Depressants (such as Prozac) is to effect a permanent change in the chemistry of the brain and are generally not intended to be taken for the rest of the Depressive’s life but are instead intended to be taken for a relatively short period in time (often a year or less) in an attempt to jump start the brain’s production of its own seritonin.
"Anti-depressants cause anti-personality, St. John's Wort actually works and so does exercise! So on and so forth. Wouldn't it be smarter to clean up one's diet and start exercising?" DEPRESSION causes Anti-Personality . Saying Depressives should just clean up their diets and start exercising is a "blame the victim" mentality that will often make depression worse since the depressive will see their own "bad acts" as the source of their depression. The truly depressed are already unlikely to seek help for their problem due to sharply decreased self-esteem and motivation as well as the social stigma attached to depression. By adding to this the suggestion that it is their own fault they are depressed will only lead to adding further disorders to their mental health problems ("I control my diet, I exercise … I am still depressed … I need to control my diet MORE." And Ta-DAH! You have a severely depressed bulimic/anorexic)
The decision to control depression with diet and exercise should be made with one’s doctor and psychologist/psychiatrist so it can be properly monitored and drugs can be prescribed if needed.
11 days ‘till my own "natural anti-depressant" arrives
posted by TheAmber at 5:36 PM
3 Comments:
I apologize Amber, for the overgeneralization. This has been my experience with anti-depressants and they work differently in different people. Much praise to you for trying to manage things with diet and exercise, too! I think we can both agree that doctors are often a little to eager to pass out anti-depressents without doing much investigation on WHY someone is depressed. I certianly think that there is a fraction of the population that has a serious chemical imbalance that cannot be corrected through more simple means (ie diet and exercise.) However, there are a lot of people taking the pills who shouldn't be. For example, my aunt died and my grandmother was depressed. So her doctor gave her a pill. What!?! Her daughter just died, she ought to be upset!
I used to take antidepressants, now that I have cleaned up my diet things are better, though not perfect. When things get really bad I drink St. John's wort tea for a short time. I am not taking any other meds for it to interact with and don't use it for a prolonged period of time. This seems to work pretty well.
Good luck!
I agree with you anti-depressants are over prescribed. That is why I prefer to work with a psychologist and an MD ... the psychologist can't prescribe and a (good) MD will work with you AND your psychologist ... sort of a mental health checks and balances.
Depression is very different than grief. Yes, Sarah, your grandmother may grieve your aunts death but because your aunt died does not mean your grandmother should be depressed. Medication (antidepressents) can help alieviate the depression without taking away the grief. When to treat and when not to treat with mental health is tricky call. It is not a good idea to dictate that a person, "ought" to feel bad in a given situation.
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