Report: 1 in 5 of US adults on behavioral meds (depressed, diet, Prozac)

[french paris]

NEW YORK — More than 20 percent of American adults took at least one drug for conditions like anxiety and depression in 2010, according to an analysis of prescription data, including more than one in four women.

Report: 1 in 5 of US adults on behavioral meds

Sad new

[NoPoliticsNoGamesJustMath]

Meh, garbage in garbage out.

Watch your favorite shows.
Tune out from family.
Dread work.
No exercise.
Low libido.
Unhealthy diet.

"Doc I feel like crap!"
"Here take this pill, or you could exercise."
"Doc I got no time for exercise, dancing with the stars season finale is on, then lost starts next week, football this weekend, the new harry potter comes out, walking dead, true blood - oh yeah plus I work, i am a busy man doc."
"Sure thing I understand, lots of people in your position.. here take this prescription, book an appointment with me in one month so i can a) give you more drugs b) collect some more $$ from you and c) buy a new boat."
"Thanks doc, your a life saver!"

[woodworkingmenace]

There are some people who actually 'need' some drugs to help them...

Chemical inbalances in the brain, and you can get depression... (Though, bright Florescence lights in the Winter time has been known to help this out).

But, of course, you do have your chemically dependent people who would take anything, and that leads to up the study.

Better living through Chemistry, and, electronics, is the reason Im living now, (heart patient with pacemakers), so, keep inventing more meds and updating old meds and creating more drugs for everyone to use

I wish you well...

Jesse

[LuciaMomof6]

I realize that many people do not agree with me on this one, but I am very much against all pills that are prescribed for mental conditions...I suppose that if someone was schizophrenic then maybe medication would be neccesary. Unfortunately, it has become far too easy for Drs to write a prescription, rather than treat the person effectively. There was a time when I trusted Western medicine, a time when I believed that I had all of the labels that were given to me by those people, such as OCD, severe Bipolar illness, BPD, anxiety-disorder, hmmm, probably more tht are written in my charts but I'm not aware of... I fell victim to being prescribed prozac, paxil, zoloft, lamictal, xanax, and others... Then I discovered yoga and essential oils (aromathrapy) !! I also took a class on stress reduction which taught me breathing exercises and meditation. I force myself to workout every single day. I have not taken a pill in over a year and I feel saner and happier and mentally healthier than ever!!!

[NoPoliticsNoGamesJustMath]

One of my friends one time told me he had a chemical imbalance, his doctor told him so, and it was just a part of who he was and there was no choice but to take drugs.

You know some very prominent people do not even believe that schizophrenia is a real disorder?

I am not saying either way. I do agree with Lucia though, I am against medications for psychological disorders. I have seen and read about many people having horrible experiences.

Amazing that certain chemicals, whose safety is unquestionable, and have been used for thousands of years with no serious side effects are highly illegal and are deemed by the FDA and DEA to have absolutely no use in medical application, these are not available because they are dangerous to your health.

The SAME people who tell you this - serve you drugs that they have studied for 10 years or so and drugs that are KNOWN to have SERIOUS side effects including DEATH. Yeah keep making medications I am all for it modern medicine is super cool.

[gramirez2012]

Times are tough, and people are stressed out. They're going to find ways to cope at all costs. For some people, it's antidepressants. Another reason that I believe is responsible for the increase is the reduced stigma associated with getting treatment for mental disorders. People are not nearly as ashamed to admit they're depressed or bipolar as they were 10-20 years ago.

[NoPoliticsNoGamesJustMath]

But then rewind back 100 - 200 - 700 years... there was NO TIME to be depressed.

You wake up, walk 10 miles in either super hot weather or super cold weather to get food. You practice persistence hunting because you have no weapons, you literally chase your animal down for miles and miles until it gets tired and you slice its throat - carry it back to your village and you are too tired to eat. Your wife and you make kids - you wake up tomorrow and do it all again.

Now what do we do? Obsess over Penn St scandals, watch too much TV, and are not active in our communities - much less active at all.

[Charles]

Only one in five? That's too bad. Should be more than that as there are a lot of people who "appear" depressed.

In what world would you rather live, one where everyone is happy and engaging and conversive






or one where everyone avoids making eye contact and is a loner?

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by LuciaMomof6

I realize that many people do not agree with me on this one, but I am very much against all pills that are prescribed for mental conditions...I suppose that if someone was schizophrenic then maybe medication would be neccesary. Unfortunately, it has become far too easy for Drs to write a prescription, rather than treat the person effectively. There was a time when I trusted Western medicine, a time when I believed that I had all of the labels that were given to me by those people, such as OCD, severe Bipolar illness, BPD, anxiety-disorder, hmmm, probably more tht are written in my charts but I'm not aware of... I fell victim to being prescribed prozac, paxil, zoloft, lamictal, xanax, and others... Then I discovered yoga and essential oils (aromathrapy) !! I also took a class on stress reduction which taught me breathing exercises and meditation. I force myself to workout every single day. I have not taken a pill in over a year and I feel saner and happier and mentally healthier than ever!!!

Alternative treatments may work, but on the other hand they take a lot of effort. A prescription for anti-depressants is a lot easier to "comply" with than a prescription for yoga or working out.

[subsound]

Originally Posted by LuciaMomof6

I realize that many people do not agree with me on this one, but I am very much against all pills that are prescribed for mental conditions...I suppose that if someone was schizophrenic then maybe medication would be neccesary. Unfortunately, it has become far too easy for Drs to write a prescription, rather than treat the person effectively. There was a time when I trusted Western medicine, a time when I believed that I had all of the labels that were given to me by those people, such as OCD, severe Bipolar illness, BPD, anxiety-disorder, hmmm, probably more tht are written in my charts but I'm not aware of... I fell victim to being prescribed prozac, paxil, zoloft, lamictal, xanax, and others... Then I discovered yoga and essential oils (aromathrapy) !! I also took a class on stress reduction which taught me breathing exercises and meditation. I force myself to workout every single day. I have not taken a pill in over a year and I feel saner and happier and mentally healthier than ever!!!

Maybe it would be good for those with severe mental illnesses to get medication?

There is an over-prescribing of a number of medications affecting mood. People want a quick solution and many docs will provide it.

Some people really need them badly. Not possibly, it's required to function in reality. One that comes to mind easily is Jared Lee Loughner, who is batcrap crazy. Without meds to get him back to reality he killed a lot of people. Oscar Ortega is another that took shots in a (bad) attempt to kill the president due to hearing voices and thinking he was Jesus. Let alone the number of people living on the streets (or dead) that destroyed their own lives.

It's nice when you do the things that work for you, but evaluating other people's conditions based on what works for you (and your body) is very bad. Yoga and aromatherapy can help a number of people feeling blue/anxious, let them try what helps them, but probably not so good for those who think the world is dominated by shape shifting lizard people that project a matrix like reality from the moon.