Depression and Improper Treatment

Depression & Improper Treatment

Many advances have been made in the healthcare field towards recognizing mental disorders as real and serious conditions. In times past, a mentally unstable person may have been thought to be possessed by demons in extreme cases, or considered to just be a lazy or bad person in more moderate circumstances. While many ignorant people still hold the opinion that people who are depressed should "just get over it" and that people can always choose to stop feeling sad or upset if they simply chose to do so, medical professionals have worked to make it more commonly understood that depression, like many mental disorders, may actually be caused by physical factors such as chemical imbalances. This is a very positive change and incredibly welcomed decision by those who suffer from depression, who can finally find help from professionals without being judged harshly. Many avenues are available to assist in the treatment of individuals suffering from clinical depression today, including many forms of therapy, as well as medications that can help to correct the physical malfunctions that cause chemical and hormonal imbalances. Unfortunately, while many health professionals use discretion when prescribing treatments for depression, others are careless and will make recommendations to trusting patients that may cause more harm than good. The nature of our fast-paced society has lead to the over-prescribing of anti-depressant medication without proper consideration and supervision for the patient, which has serious consequences for the individual and society as a whole. While there are many valid circumstances in which antidepressants can be properly used, these cases are not the majority among those who are actually using antidepressant medication.

Today's society is fast-paced and impatient. "Instant," "Easy," and "Fast" are catch words used by advertisers to appeal to the attention-deficit nature of consumers. Pills have become one of the most popular "quick fix" providers for almost any problem that arises. Pain, such as a headache, was once treated with meditation and removal of stress factors. Today, it is treated with a pill. Once the only method of losing weight and getting in shape was by modifying dietary choices and becoming physically active. Today, people take a pill. People take pills to help them sleep at night, then take another pill to give them an energy boost in the morning. Depression has become one of the ailments treated commonly with a pill instead of more time-consuming or involved treatment processes.

While this may seem like a great innovation of modern medicine that a pill can be used to make a person happy, there are many problems associated with this careless practice. Doctors may get paid readily by patients who want to be handed a bottle of gelatin-covered miracle pills, but giving in to the desires of uneducated and uninformed patients is unethical. Doctors often do not take into consideration the long-term consequences that might come about from overly medicating depressed patients instead of seeking other treatment options. Doctors have years of schooling and intensive training to prepare them for making the best decisions possible for each patient, yet too often they will just hand over whatever medication the patient requests.

The consequences of overly prescribing antidepressants are many. Like the growing problem with tolerance to antibiotics, the depressed population of America is becoming immune to the drugs they are taking and needing stronger and stronger prescriptions. A person who remains on antidepressants for a significant period of time will have to continue to increase the dosage in order to continue feeling the effects of the medication. Antidepressants built up in one's system also leads to a dependency on the drug, so that if a person is taken off of it, they will experience withdrawal symptoms and relapse into the mental anguish that was being treated. Simply put, antidepressants do not address the root of the problem, they simply help to alleviate some of the symptoms.