Posted by Christ_empowered on October 22, 2011, at 22:16:20
In reply to Re: Dramatic Increase In Antidepressant Use Up 400% » jono_in_adelaide, posted by Phillipa on October 22, 2011, at 21:14:59
I guess whether you're "depressed" or not, the AD drugs will work the same. You'll probably feel more tranquil, maybe a bit stimulated (really depends on the drug...) I've heard Prozac compared to Ritalin plus a neuroleptic. I did find that mixing Abilify with Adderall resulted in a feeling similar to what I got with "successful" antidepressant treatment.
I think it helps society to do this. Medicalize the problem, tell people its a brain problem, maybe send them to a counselor/therapist for yet another diagnosis and "treatment." The message: you need to change. Not your life, not your peers, not your society: its you, all you.
I would say Big Pharma is behind this, but a lot of the SSRI drugs are generic and amazingly cheap now. I imagine there are a good number of people on the newer antidepressants who could possibly do without them and/or don't have depression, even under the lax DSM guidelines, but I imagine a lot of these people are getting cheap generics. The medical profession benefits by taking control over the human condition, including stress and tragedy; society benefits by calling the alienated "mentally ill;" sometimes I think, in select cases, even the patient benefits by blaming the brain instead of reflecting on his life. He hands over his problems to experts and demands "treatment" for the "condition" of being a human being in an increasingly harsh world. I used to be like that.
poster:Christ_empowered
thread:1000458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20111016/msgs/1000533.html