There are many that feel antidepressants are not an effective way of treating depression. Some people feel that antidepressants are over prescribed and are used as a simple and easy solution. Others think that antidepressants actually make depression worse and that if left alone the depression will fix itself. The benefits of antidepressants can be seen with a weakening of symptoms, a decrease in suicide thoughts and rates, and result in a smaller chance of relapse.
The most common symptoms of depression are a general feeling of sadness, appetite change, strange sleep patterns, trouble concentrating, anxiety, fatigue, and suicidal thoughts. Antidepressants help on a daily basis to weaken or rid of these symptoms in order for the patient to lead a more “normal” and predictable life however many feel that antidepressants fail to help with these symptoms and that the side effects only add to a patients stress. When depression is helped by an antidepressant or another type of therapy approximately eighty five to ninety five percent of patients' symptoms improve. Many common side effects of antidepressants are also general symptoms of depression itself therefore stating that these symptoms are worsened because of the medication is not a reasonable argument.
Side effects of most antidepressants usually include headaches, sexual dysfunction, dry mouth, appetite change, and a change in sleep patterns . Many patients feel that the side effects from the antidepressants are miniscule or non-existent and that they are much easier to deal with than the symptoms of their depression. In the rare cases that a patient felt the side effects were too extreme or a greater annoyance than the depression itself the problem tended to be either a misdiagnosis or the wrong antidepressant was prescribed .
Antidepressants do not increase suicide and/or thoughts of suicide when they are properly prescribed. One of the major benefits of an antidepressant is that it is able to decrease suicidal thoughts therefore decreasing the chances of suicide. The only way in which an antidepressant can increase a person's chance of suicide is if it was not properly prescribed or the patient simply does not respond to the antidepressant he or she is taking; it is not actually the antidepressant itself causing the increased thoughts or attempts of suicide .
Many people in the general public tend to think that antidepressants are not beneficial and that they commonly increase suicidal thoughts because the media tends to expose cases in which a person that happened to be on antidepressants killed him or herself without actually giving complete facts and figures on antidepressants and related suicides .When studies show that in some cases suicide rates increase the actual statistics are usually not provided in the media and that in reality the majority of cases suicide is not a result of taking an antidepressant. The media coverage focuses on the deceased person rather than if they doctor properly prescribed the medication and if the patient had been taking all the proper precautions when taking their medication.
Antidepressants are extremely effective and significantly reduce the chance of a depression relapse when they are properly prescribed. There are many instances when a person decides that they will treat their depression without a physician. When a person buys a non-prescribed antidepressant the likely hood of relapse and or an increase in symptoms rises because they may not actually be treating their specific type of depression. If the patient had simply gone to a doctor and received the proper information and treatment options he/she would be far more likely to experience a decrease in their depression symptoms whereas without the proper information they are putting themselves at an even greater risk.
In the rare cases when a patient taking an antidepressant has an increase in symptoms; this is usually because their doctor did not prescribe the proper antidepressant. When a doctor prescribes an antidepressant they must be fully aware of the risks and precautions that need to be taken. The precautions that doctors are recommended to take are weekly updates with the patient during the first two months of treatment, as well as regular monthly check-ups. If a clinically depressed person is not prescribed an antidepressant the results are generally much worse and more frequent than the rare case in which antidepressants cause a worsening of symptoms.
Although many feel that antidepressants really serve no purpose it is clear that without them millions of people across the world would be suffering. It is a social necessity to educate the public on antidepressants and depression in order to get rid of any stigma associated with these issues and also to advance research in these areas so that they are more effective in their treatment.
