Essay 3 with Citations

Anti-Depressants: Why They Aren't the Miracle Worker People Believe They Are 

              Just like a person who doesn't exercise their physical muscles often enough, people who don't deal with their emotions in a healthy way grow weak from the inside out. The basic depression medication, a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor or SSRI for short, is allowing people to pay away their emotions without getting the positive effects from emotions either. After much personal research I have come to the conclusion that antidepressants, while good in some cases, should not be used nearly as much as they are today. In my paper I discuss the basic reasons for not using antidepressants, why people use them so often, why our emotions are vital to our well-being, the benefits and losses from using antidepressants, why people use them so often.  

To kick things off, I am going to clarify that I am not saying that antidepressants don’t work. They do, extremely well. However, there are some very big benefits to not taking antidepressants. The cost of antidepressants ranges from on average $21 to a high of $1000 per month (Consumer Reports). However the inference can be drawn that few people are only paying $21 a month, since the rest of the article talks about how to save money on your antidepressants. Also mentioned in the article at the very top is a guide for knowing whether or not you should be taking antidepressants (Consumer Reports). Some people are using their money for a drug they don’t necessarily need. There is also the matter of side effects. Ranging anywhere from dry mouth to death, starting and continuing to take antidepressants is like Russian roulette. You never know if or when any of the symptoms will show up.  

Still, people risk their financial funds and their health for these drugs if they work. As I mentioned in the introduction, SSRIs are the common antidepressant. In a simple explanation, doctors believe SSRIs block the neurotransmitter serotonin, which boosts the brain’s activity and boosts mood (Mayo Clinic). Antidepressants do work, they take away the sadness and boost your mood. Antidepressants have kept many people from suicide. It is a positive for the pharmaceutical industry, and people who are fighting depression. 

Unfortunately people do not know exactly how high the cost for taking these drugs is. In an interview with Beth Levine in Oprah Magazine, the MD Julie Holland states, "Many people don't recognize that their feelings can be an important feedback system... Depression may mean something in your life needs to change"(72).   

 

Sources Cited

 

(This has no author) 

"Best Antidepressant Treatments." Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports, Sept. 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2015 

 

Levine, Beth. "You're Not Moody, You're Normal!"Oprah Magazine April 2015: 71-75. Print.  

 

Mayo Clinic Staff. "Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, (n.d.). Web. 30 Nov. 2015