Strollerderby
Antidepressants: The Gin Rickey of the 00s?
These days, it seems that parenting (especially mothering) without the aid
of anti-depressants is as unusual as parenting without an apron and a cocktail
in the 1950s. As use of antidepressants soars (according to some reports, use
of serotonin reuptake inhibitors-SSRIs- such as Prozac, Zoloft, and
Celexa tripled between 1994 and 2002), and the warnings about the relationship
between use
of SSRIs before age 25 is linked to increased suicidal thoughts, questions
remain about the effectiveness of these drugs. According to some studies,
only 30% of people prescribed anti-depressants actually achieve positive
results from their first prescription. Since the majority of patients
receive their prescriptions from their primary care doctor and fail to combine
treatment with exercise and therapy — as is recommended, it is clear that
these drugs aren’t the perfect answer to depression they were originally
thought to provide.
Leaving aside Tom Cruise’s
take on the issue (it’s the vitamins, stupid), one is left wondering, would we
all be better off reinstituting a nice cocktail hour or mandatory daily orgasms
and laying off the prescription drugs? I know at first it seems silly and
insensitive to propose to address real depression with a depression-inducing
substance or a roll-in-the-hay, but I’m talking about borderline cases — the
existential angst of adulthood, versus the
can’t-get-out-of-bed-should-I-end-it-all experience of depression.
Given the side-effects of most SSRIs (weight gain, listlessness, numbness,
sexual dysfunction), are those of us struggling with cyclical, rather than
long-term clinical depression, really well advised to take the pills?
Maybe the overload of most adult lives — mortgages, childcare, work, cleaning,
laundry — would be better addressed by more fun and fewer prescriptions.
What do you think, Babblers?
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7 Comments
Beth commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amIf we are to believe the good doctors of the world, especially today, then I should have been put on anti-depressants when I was about 5 yrs old. Thankfully, I was just called a cry baby and lazy (ADHD hadn’t become fashionable, yet.) I was diagnosed with ‘clinical depression’ 11 years ago, after months of suicidal thoughts and tendencies. A couple of years I spent medicated, numb, unhappy… I gave it up.
I’m not the bubbliest person in the world. I still get blindingly morose, sometimes. The thing is, without the meds, I am wholly me. Grim or chipper, I am all that I’ve got. Not taking the pills has kind of forced me to make changes in my life that I wouldn’t necessarily have made had I been chemically appeased. I know myself in a much truer sense and I have to be honest with me, lest I fall back into the pits of despair.
2006 has been my best year, so far. I am truly happy sometimes… It feels like most of the time. I don’t think I’d be where I am today if I’d been taking prozac or imipramine all these years. So, yeah. That is my thought on the topic. Thanks for asking.
PunditMom commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amSorry about the typo … obviously she is a wine expert!
PunditMom commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI read a column over the weekend by a mom who is a wone expert. She says a key to her mothering is having a glass of champagne or sparkling wine every night … cheaper than drugs?
As to the serious question, I guess another aspect is, why are our children also on so many drugs? Could any of this do with the government-backed pharmaceutical industry and all the ads we see on TV about drugs that tell us to “Ask you doctor?”
OneWeirdMother commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amAdd in a couple extra hours of sleep and guranteed time to work out and rest in the sauna afterwards, and I’m sure I would feel better. Since I’m not able to get those things on a daily basis, I’m thinking about vitamin Z.
Grumppopotamus commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amGreat post. I wish the issue were as simple as having cocktails and a nooner. I’m game for either!
Melissa over at Suburban Bliss wrote today about chemical depression. Which, I’ve come to the conclusion (with the help of my shrink) is what I have. The difference is that it’s a medical issue.
Now as to WHY so many are taking SSRIs? I think primary care docs & OBGYNs prescribe as a cure all. Perhaps there needs to be an educating of the masses as to who should really be prescribing and monitoring these drugs.
lionandmagicboy commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amIt seems to me that a moderate daily cocktail hour will lead to those daily orgasms. Which could only be a good thing. Sign me up!
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amPingBack from http://www.crankmama.com/2006/12/30/the-drugs-the-drugs/
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