Posted by lifelongevity on June 7, 2001, at 22:41:07
In reply to effexor is a life saver, posted by teachermom on June 6, 2001, at 8:12:33
You've hit on one of my big beefs! People who think anti-depressants are bad, unnecessary or somehow it's more virtuous to struggle!
The truth is every individual is different. Some people have diabetes. Would we tell them, "hey, snap out of it. My body makes insulin, yours should too. Just try harder!"
Well I guess some people would! But I reject that idea every time it comes up.
"Depression" is a really a catch-all term not one particular condition. I like to call it the flu of the mind. When you get muscle aches and fever and feeling bad, you are describing the symptoms of the flu. But you're also describing the symptoms of dozens of other diseases that feel similiar.
And so when your brain is deficient in something it needs like a neurotransmittor it feels to your mind like "depression."
Some depression is caused by external events. And some are caused by physical ailments. And sometimes we have both. Each cause may have to be treated differently. But they certainly have a right to be treated!
My cousin has been a life long depression sufferer in our family.She finally found relief since SSRI's. I never attempted suicide as she had (I had death ideations but never actually felt I would go through with it) so I didn't think I had depression. Then when my dad said he was on paxil I thought I maybe I should try it.
It helped me greatly. For whatever reason my body, and the brain is just another organ of the body, doesn't use neurotransmittors optimally. Maybe it's partly a genetic susceptibility. Maybe it's triggered by stress etc. Whatever the cause
I consider taking a neurotransmittor enhancer just another drug for a physical ailment.
poster:lifelongevity
thread:65532
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010605/msgs/65707.html