Are Drugs Really The Answer To Curing Depression?

I think simply taking drugs and expecting instand results is not a good idea. However, I think most Americans believe there is a pill for everything. What do you think?

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This entry was posted on Saturday, December 19th, 2009 at 9:39 am and is filed under Drugs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

23 Responses to “Are Drugs Really The Answer To Curing Depression?”

  1. NOpe suffered from depression for 12 years. Pills have made me gain wait, feel suicidal, almost pass out at work, paranoid, anger, sick, and tired but never happy. I think they are a joke.
    I used relgion, Change of lifestyle, friends, relocated and stopped drinking and doing drugs. I still have episodes were i get real sad and curl up in front of the tv with sappy movies and cry all day but 99% of the time i feel great.

  2. I agree with you. There are many other ways to TREAT – not CURE depression, like talk therapy with a real professional human being who has your best interests at heart. It helps many people a great deal just to have someone listen to them. And then guide them in their journey towards better mental health.
    There are exceptions, however: If a person is so deeply depressed that they are contemplating suicide or other drastic measures, or if talk therapy doesn’t seem to be working, sometimes a course of antidepressants is called for immediatley to prevent worsening of symptoms.
    Ideally, once someone is stabilized on medication, therapy should be stressed, and a qualified psychiatrist should know best whether or not the medication is needed over what length of time. (Remember, it is called the PRACTICE of medicine.)

  3. Are you an American? If not you need to shut up and leave your generalizations somewhere else. And have you ever been depressed? If not you need to shut up again.

  4. I think Americans from the United States are the people who keep the world from another World War. America is the Earth’s police. Also we have one million times more nukes than anyone else does. So that quite shuts everyone up pretty darn well.
    And i also think that generalizing a country for what one person or a few persons do is wrong.
    If you hate Americans, please don’t start saying things about them that you truly can not back up except with pre-determined prejudices against America.
    Also it’s called North America, or the United States of America. Canada is also part of the Americas, also there is a whole continent with countries that are also part of the Americas. And no the US doesn’t have a pill for everything. And if we did I dont think we would share it with you anyways; you’re not worth it.
    And no drugs aren’t the answer to curing depression. Getting over it is the cure

  5. Drugs don’t cure depression – nothing does, except maybe sometimes your brain can heal itself while the drugs make your life tolerable in the meantime.
    Would you take pain medication when you are in extreme physical pain? Do you take aspirin for a severe headache? Morphine for surgery? If you think this use of medication is appropriate, then you ought to see the use of antidepressants to be appropriate when people are undergoing severe mental suffering. The reason people do not realize that it is the same thing is because of three things: The brain is somehow not thought to be part of the body, because treatments for depression are pretty darn new, and because of the stigma of mental illness. The non-drug treatments for depression are suitable for milder depressions only, and for moderate to severe depression, they are good to do, but not enough (like exercise, using a light box, meditate, etc.) If your depression is situational, like you have an abusive boss, then I think it is inappropriate to take antidepressants, because they may take away your motivation to change your situation, and because these drugs are intended to treat the disease of depression, not a crappy life situation. That’s like giving aspirin to someone who keeps banging their legs with a stick.
    So in general, I do think drugs are overprescribed, and in a lot of cases, including depression (but also insomnia, painkillers, antibiotics etc.) it would be good to give out a handout on good sleep habits, stretches/physical therapy things, why antibiotics are inappropriate for flu, etc. But if someone actually has major depression, it is totally appropriate to take medication just like if you had severe arthritis or an injury.

  6. try aerobic exercise. When you get your heart rate up for an extended period of time, your body releases endorphines which are natural anti-depressants. Pills or drugs is just an easy way to for doctors to get your money.

  7. I think that exercise, writing in a journal and talking things out help more than pills. I have seen people become dependent on pills and think that they can’t exist without them.

  8. drugs can help, but they need to administered with proper therapy. when drugs and therapy are combined, it can be very effective.
    good luck!

  9. they certainly will if its clinical depression, and like someone else said, thereapy and medicine combined will be very effective

  10. There is no such thing as a miracle pill in any situation. Medication can be effective when it’s teamed up with psychotherapy.
    You’re right though, many people look to pills as a panacea.
    Psychotherapy takes a very long time, which is the reason so many doctors use pills as an alternative, which is completely wrong. You need both in order to have positive changes occur.

  11. People believe there is because they don;t want to think anymore…..please!

  12. Doctors practice medicine according to the pharmaceutical distributors who come around with all those samples. I would also imagine how sever the depression is. They also link depression with anxiety. A person has to determine what helps them, whether it’s medication long or short time, herbal, exercise. See what fits you.

  13. I think that we as a society are over medicated…how did people manage years before there were so many drugs for so many conditions??? so much money is spent today on medications if there was a wonder drug of some kind they would have to keep it from going public to prevent the pharmaceutical companies from reaping enormous profits…

  14. This is a PILL society we live in!!!!!

  15. Sex is the cure. If really good sex doesn’t cheer you up, nothing will. If the sex isn’t working, THEN take the pill…Viagra.

  16. cookies and cream on December 21st, 2009 at 7:27 pm

    wat do u think?

  17. It is so individual and I think based a persons chemical make-up. Some people are just wired differently and can’t cope as well as others no matter what their advantages ( money, good job nice partner, good friends and health). Some people are prone to it or to anxiety. I think counseling can help alot. But for some who have suffered since a young age they can benifit from meds.

  18. I think drugs are a good way to get through the depression, but I doubt they are a cure.

  19. meds are just a temporary soulution inorder to work on a much greater underlying issue..
    a bandaid effect.. fixes the symptoms while you can get things under a tolorable control so you can work on whats really going on in order to get to the real issues.. i think meds can be benifitial however not always something that will be needed for the rest of someones life.. only to get them thru the rough times..
    however,, there are some cases wehre meds may be needed on a regular basis

  20. try st johns wort for mild depression

  21. I dont beleive that drugs can really cure depression, it can only help you cope with it. But it wont cure it.
    The best way to deal with depression is having people around you that want to help you and as for helping yourself, keeping busy, trying new things step by step.

  22. I think drugs for depression can be — not always are, but can be — like crutches for a broken leg.
    In other other words, when you break your leg, you use crutches but the crutches are not what makes your leg heal.
    Likewise, I think that properly administered, a drug won’t heal depression but it can allow a sufferer to deal a little bit better with the here and now and the immediate feelings of hopelessness while they work to actually change their lifestyle in a more permanent and pro-active way.

  23. Hell NO! Thats crazy, whoever thinks they can solve a problem with a pill needs serious help! A pill doesnt last a lifetime, you’d have to continue to take and take, abusing your body and health. Eventually the pill will wear off and you’d be even more ****** up then before you took them! Dont do drugs, that is NOT the right answer!