| I am anti medication. Oh I will take a Tylenol when I have a headache, or another ache or pain, and antibiotics if I have an infection, but when it comes to other pharmaceutical goodies I am not a participant.
I have a friend who is taking Prozac. She says it helps her deal with a husband who is retired and a recovering alcoholic (a winning combination if there ever was one). I can understand her frustration and need for sanity. Apparently she fulfills that need with a pill. But, if she had bothered to read any of the recent literature on studies which have been done on anti-depressants she just might forgo her daily Prozac regimen.
Sharon Begley, writing in NEWSWEEK, has this article on depression and the myriad pills (including palcebos) that people ingest in an attempt to alleviate their depression. While I am not diminishing the fact that there are those out there who do suffer from true depression, the pharmaceutical companies have done their best to convince us that if we are feeling a bit "down", "blue" or just "out of sorts", we are suffering from depression and need one of their products to get us out of our slump.
Reading any of the Black Box warnings on these medications should be enough to make anyone have severe reservations about putting them in their mouths. They even have a pill now that you can take if you feel your anti-depression medication is just not doing the trick all by itself. You must, however, be warned that it can increase the risk of suicidal feelings. Hmmm...is this medication not supposed to alleviate those feelings?
I wish those who are truly concerened about depression, the best of luck. As for me, I shall continue along with my mantra: It's just mind over matter.
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