So what do you peeps think of this? Is handing out antidepressants to people who are moderately depressed a good thing? Do you have any personal experience (you, your friend, your mom) with them?

------------------
http://www.ath0.net

------------------
<P:\>erson\Guy.exe -PersonGuy *pERSONgUY.cfg
http://www.personguy.com

------------------
http://www.ath0.net

On the other hand, drugs such as Paxil are designed to alter your brain chemistry and thus can have serious side effects. If you are not depressed in the first place, or do not have a long-lasting form of depression (several months or more) then you definitely should not be taking drugs like Paxil.

There are literally millions of people in the US alone who are taking drugs to help them with clinical depression, social anxiety disorder, and similar problems. This is perfectly legitimate, and you shouldn't look at someone who takes drugs for one of these conditions any different than someone who takes penicillin for a case of strep throat. On the other hand, it would not be advisable to take antidepressants if you are not clinically depressed, which is why, as far as I know, they are only available by prescription.

------------------
http://www.ath0.net

Anyway, there wouldn't be any point to passing them out like pixy stix. It takes 1-2 weeks before you can even tell it's doing anything, and 6-8 weeks before it really kicks in. Popping one won't do a damn thing, except make you feel a little tired for a couple hours.

psaph : Paxil is nothing like the shit they gave everyone in THX 1138. It's not a sedative. If anything it makes you MORE resistant to control, because you're more willing to say what's on your mind. Also, depression causes your thinking to become cloudy, so you can't concentrate. On Paxil, your mind clears up as the depression recedes, making you think more clearly, not less.

I'll agree, it's not a good idea to take antidepressants if you're not clinically depressed. They won't necessarily harm you, but the risk of serotonin syndrome (mania, irritibility, getting a permanent erection which can cause your dick to die, if your bladder doesn't explode first) increases.

Anyway, if you really truly feel depressed a lot of the time for no apparent reason, I recommend talking to a doctor. Also check out this link.

I know, I'm preaching, but damn, it seems like there are a lot of depressed people on this bb.

The only concern I have with things like this are how easily they're prescribed. It's a short term solution that people are relying on far too much.

------------------
"Don't do that son, you'll go blind."
"I'm over here, dad."

http://www.ath0.net

Well, that's a TOTALLY different question, isn't it?
/me smacks forhead

YES! I think doctors are doing a great thing by prescribing pills for ANY chemical embalance. People say that it's given out too often, but that's because so many people do have things that could be fixed with pills. Don't get me wrong... I'm not one of those "in pills we trust" guys, but look around you... how many people are wearing glasses??? Is it a crime to correct imperfections in the human body? Vision has been much more accepted as something to correct, because it's ODVIOUS when people can see. Now that doctors can diagnose chemical problems, it's time to start correcting that too.

------------------
<P:\>erson\Guy.exe -PersonGuy *pERSONgUY.cfg
http://www.personguy.com

quote:

---

Originally posted by psaph:
The only concern I have with things like this are how easily they're prescribed. It's a short term solution that people are relying on far too much.

---

I dunno... antidepressants make a lot of headlines, but I wonder if they're prescribed enough relative to some other drugs.

Take Ritalin, for example... I know entirely too many people that were given Ritalin because they supposedly have ADD. Ritalin is a pretty evil drug (basically a mild form of speed) and it's handed out like candy here in the US.

The thing is, Ritalin didn't make *any* of my friends learn any more, because they didn't have ADD. They were just bright kids who were really bored. All it did was make them sit quietly in class instead of fucking off and causing problems. Most of them stopped taking it after a week or two and never told their parents.