Posted on 04/08/2018 5:36:25 AM PDT by MarvinStinson
Victoria Toline needed nine months to taper off Zoloft. “I had to drop out of school,” she said. “My life’s been on hold.”
Victoria Toline would hunch over the kitchen table, steady her hands and draw a bead of liquid from a vial with a small dropper. It was a delicate operation that had become a daily routine — extracting ever tinier doses of the antidepressant she had taken for three years, on and off, and was desperately trying to quit.
“Basically that’s all I have been doing — dealing with the dizziness, the confusion, the fatigue, all the symptoms of withdrawal,” said Ms. Toline, 27, of Tacoma, Wash. It took nine months to wean herself from the drug, Zoloft, by taking increasingly smaller doses.
“I couldn’t finish my college degree,” she said. “Only now am I feeling well enough to try to re-enter society and go back to work.”
Long-term use of antidepressants is surging in the United States, according to a new analysis of federal data by The New York Times. Some 15.5 million Americans have been taking the medications for at least five years. The rate has almost doubled since 2010, and more than tripled since 2000.
Nearly 25 million adults, like Ms. Toline, have been on antidepressants for at least two years, a 60 percent increase since 2010.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Why would you need to take them in the first place? Hillary lost the election.
At some point, I would start to wonder if being depressed is who you are supposed to be.
Too many people have learned to be depressed.
Not everyone on antidepressants is a weak liberal.
There are plenty of successful, rational people who have been helped by them. Depression is a chemical imbalance. If you just “feel down” one day—you are not depressed. Depression is crippling.
Coming off those meds is a nightmare.
I would caution you not to be so cavalier.
My doctor put me on Effexor for anxiety and after a couple of years, I decided to go off of it. I had these electric shock feelings everytime I turned my head (head zaps) and my anxiety went through the roof!! I had to wean myself off of it and it took almost 6 months. I will NEVER go on anti-depressants again! I have learned other ways to deal with the anxiety.
Thanks for the ad from Eli Lilly.
Maybe she's depressed because she doesn't know if she's married or not.
“The drugs have helped millions of people ease depression and anxiety, and are widely regarded as milestones in psychiatric treatment”
Wrong. Putting a “happy face” chemical in your bloodstream doesn’t stop depression or anxiety. It causes the body to exhibit the external symptoms of happiness but does not, obviously, change the root cause of the depression.
So the person is still depressed/anxious but has a happy face.
Chemical fake happiness does not equal happiness.
The best mood lifters for me is a vitamin B-12 with folic acid patch. SAMe is very good also. Don’t forget that the “feel good” brain chemical serotonin is made in the gut, so keeping things going smoothly down there is important.
Exercise and hard work help too if you’re physically able.
Why are they depressed? Trump is in the White House.
Trump is still in the White House, they are still depressed.
Therefore, they need their depressants.
The healthcare system prescribes these things as a cure. They are not. The meds have a role to play: they can give a person a lift, and time to address the depression. They can learn coping skills and lifestyle changes while on an SSRI. The idea that a pill solves the whole thing for life is ridiculous and dangerous.
I have been depressed for years, having suffered under liberal leftist leadership and subsequent loss of jobs for being a conservative. Even now, the suffering continues as liberals try nonstop to destroy what we voted for and us personally, repeatedly wishing us dead with no consequence. I still don’t touch anti-depressants. I’m waiting for the big cheer when God finally stomps them all and depression in my corner disappears. He has promised that He eventually will do so.
Some people take ADs believing there is a quick fix pill for their depression.
They aren’t - they’re simply a tool to help you manage the symptoms while you work to address what is really making you depressed in the first place.
Depression isn’t completely caused by a chemical imbalance in the body and there are lots of reasons why people have a hard time overcoming it.
Pharmacia + guns, what a great reason to give up guns?
Well said. I’ve never understood if the chemical imbalance is cause or effect. My guess is that it’s effect, but that’s only a guess. I’m shocked at how long people are taking these meds, and have no other treatment for their depression.
I’m reminded of a line from the television show, Frasier. Dr. Niles Crane on why lawyers made great patients: “They have excellent insurance, and they never get any better.”
Yep. Psychiatric meds are powerful stuff. You need to ween off of them. But of course if you actually needed them then when you finally do get off you’re back in the boat you started anyway.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/what-causes-depression
A lot of factors, not just chemical. But drugs may be overprescribed because it’s the easiest way to deal with what can be a very complex problem.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.