• Health
  • Depression And The Harmful Medications That Go With It
Health
108

Depression And The Harmful Medications That Go With It

by

van goDepression is one of the most commonly diagnosed mood and psychiatric disorders. More than 120 million people on the planet suffer from depression, that is a lot of medication to be distributed. Depression is a condition that really requires no medication; it’s become evident that depression is a condition that’s heavily marketed by the pharmaceutical companies in partnership with the medical industry and mass media. Can this be proven? Sure it can, if you follow the money it all leads to the same group of families and the corporations they run. Multiple studies have already shown that placebos are more effective when it comes to treating depression. It’s no conspiracy that the pharmaceutical companies have a multi-trillion dollar incentive to twist and distort information. A recent publication in the New England Journal of Medicine even took interest in the major mass marketing and advertising that the pharmaceutical companies constantly engage in. I really don’t believe that the government and the corporations that own it  have our best interests at hand when it comes to our health. Don’t put your health in the hands of others, put it in your own. Don’t let others grab a hold of you and try to increase your dependency on something that isn’t good for you, in this case medication. Depression as a condition and the drugs to treat them have been severely over hyped  and many negative effects have been suppressed.  Many people believe they are depressed, and many medical practitioners  believe in their diagnoses of depression not knowing that they have been subject to a very intelligent form of manipulation. Depression is not a result of situations in your life in the external environment, it’s a result of  you and your internal world and how you perceive your reality.

Mainstream science is also starting to clue in as it begins to see the fraud with regards to the information we are told and what we are made to believe. It seems as if the “powers that be,” have grabbed a hold of human feelings, defined them to be of such a problematic nature that it requires chemical tweaking of the brain. Sure, depression might very well be the result of chemical deficits in the brain, but chemical deficits in the brain are caused by the being within the human body. Everything you feel is a result of your own creation, your brain shapes itself based on how you perceive reality, this is a scientific fact. It is you that changes your brain, don’t allow harmful medication to do it for you while ruining your mental health.  I am not saying that depression doesn’t exist, but it is simple to see that medication is not required, does not help, and is extremely detrimental to our physical and mental well being. Any type of medication to treat depression should be highly questioned, research should go beyond science and medicine and into the corporations responsible for their manufacturing and the people behind the corporations.

Prior to taking medication, the human brain and the chemical flows within it were naturally determined by the human being. Given our mood, our daily activities, what we think and how we perceive the environment around us, our brains and their chemical flows are determined by us. How medical practitioners are convinced of anti-depressant medication and their effectiveness is beyond me (along with vaccinations and a list of many other things). Given what the medical field knows about our brain, and how our thoughts and emotions can effect it, souls who feel depressed usually just need to let certain concepts and belief systems go. It’s like holding onto weights while the water is rising around you, you can choose to let them go and float, or hang on to them and drown. Lets take a look at some of these harmful medications a little more in depth. I don’t know why side effects are called side effects, they should just be called effects. Even the claimed benefit of  these drugs cannot be measured or determined, that’s because there is probably none at all. Either way, the harmful effects far out weight what we have been told to be the positive ones.

Fluoxetine (Prozac)

Since its introduction and discovery by the pharmaceutical industry through the Ely Lily Corporation it has become one of the most widely prescribed and studied antidepressants in the world. Our health and safety have always been compromised from any type of antidepressant drug. In 2010, more than 25 million people in the United States were prescribed on Fluoxetine and over 40 million people worldwide have taken it. Research published  in the Public Library of Science Journal found that a placebo was more effective. We are still in the process of discovering the power of perception, and the power we hold to create our own reality and change the way our brains work through perception. What you truly believe has a direct effect on your biology. It’s hard to give credence to the credibility of medications when findings about how consciousness creates reality enter more into the scientific realm. What we belief, perceive and hold onto as truth actually shapes our reality, including our individual biology. Prozac causes nausea, diarrhea, headaches, dizziness, rashes and more. Obviously this substance in not in harmony with your body and it’s operating system. The main argument here against it, is that is changes the quantity of chemicals, and the chemical flows in the brain. It literally changes the brain, putting trust into these medications is something we should not be doing. It’s time to start making connections and putting two and two together

Sertraline (Zoloft)

Sertraline is just like just like Fluoxetine,it is a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI,) which mess around with brain chemistry and neurotransmitters, like serotonin. Whats even more compelling is that there is absolutely no scientific evidence or measurement to determine if these drugs really do what they are said to do. Should we not have proof to the point of 100 percent when playing around with our brain chemistry? It’s almost as if the mass population is one big scientific experiment.  Zoloft has been known to cause muscle spasms, flu like systems, difficulties in speech, jaundice, suicide risk, major rash, irregular heart beat, and unusual changes in behavior to name a few.  Changes in behavior are not not surprising when you change the brain in an unnatural way, what else what you expect?

Paroxetine (Paxil)

Also a SSRI, Paxil started to be marketed to the world in the early 1990′s. Evidence has shown that Paxil has one of the highest incidence rates and severity of withdrawal syndrome than any other medications in its class.  Paxil is also linked to an increase in suicide risk,  in fact the big pharma companies offering it continue to try to hide that the problems are a serious concern.  This drug is well know to cause severe hormonal problems as well as death. Many protests and truth activists continue to spread the word, pharmaceutical companies that engineer this drug have been sued on various occasions. Doctors are usually the ones used to blame, but we don’t realize that they are brainwashed by the medical literature that is funded from the pharmaceutical companies. In 1992 the FDA approved Paxil, and people are not warned in advance of the drug’s effects and addictive properties. We are presented with enough evidence to show that pharmaceutical companies are well aware of how harmful their products really are.

I decided to use these three medications for examples because they are the most highly prescribed for depression worldwide. It’s become evident that a large portion of our medical and pharmaceutical industry are used for means of money, control and human experimentation. It can be difficult to comprehend how we can have debates on these medications, the bodies we give so much credibility to and allow to govern us, like the World Health Organisation (WHO) are the same ones that are manipulating information, this is no longer a conspiracy theory, it’s time to wake up.

Sources:

http://www.naturalnews.com/011470.html

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1004986

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1382551.stm

http://healthlifeandstuff.com/2009/09/zoloft-vs-prozac-side-effects-benefits/

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/What_are_the_real_risks_of_antidepressants.htm

http://www.masryvititoe.com/zoloft.php

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression/DS00175/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

http://panicdisorder.about.com/od/treatments/a/prozac.htm

  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110725202240.htm

http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/78319-the-antidepressant-scandal-where-is-the-outrage-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/27/mentalhealth.health1

About the author

Arjun

Email me: arjun@collective-evolution.com

Related Posts

red blood cells Health Scientists Discover Bt Toxins Found In Monsanto Crops Damage Red Blood Cells
by
Monsanto round up Health New Study Links Monsanto’s Roundup To Autism, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s
by
Health Judge Orders Lauryn Hill To Undergo Counseling Over Claims Of Music Industry Exploitation
by
autism Health Italian Court Rules MMR Vaccine Caused Autism: US Media Blacks Out Story
by

108 comments on “Depression And The Harmful Medications That Go With It”

  1. Pingback: Depression, pharmaceuticals and the money. « Hemp for Health

  2. Phillip Marsh

    Back in March 2000, I had to admit that I was suicidal, extremely depressed and needed help. My psychiatrist classified me as “Severe recurring depression without obvious cause” – the step below clinical depression at the time because he thought that diagnosis was over used. I was put on Wellbutrin and Serzone. The combination kept me from killing myself and helped to keep me in control while my body began working properly again. I was on these two drugs for six and a half years. Without them I am pretty sure I would be dead.

    Reply
    • Rachel

      Completely understand. Been on meds from ’07-’10 then ’12 to today. Couldn’t live everyday in tears.

      Reply
  3. Angela Sharpe

    I get where the author is coming from, but people with severe depression can’t just “get better” through therapies if they have a chemical imbalance, so sometimes the reward outweighs the risks associated. I for one would not be here if I had not been put on flouxetine and sertraline at different times of my depression. However, that being said, I feel that both of these drugs have only masked my symptoms, put me into a zombie-like state, keeping me alive when I would try to commit suicide not being on them. I have heard stories of sufferers trying 15 different types of anti-depressants and ECT until finding a solution, which I think is ridiculous. Not everyone can hold on for that long. I also think it’s hard to find the right anti-depressant that works for you, so sometimes you HAVE to try different ones, (which I for one don’t think is wise because of all the changes they have on the chemicals in your brain) but from my experience, I will try most things to stop feeling so depressed. There definitely needs to be safer ways of diagnosing/treating severe cases, but with the whole stigma attached to mental illness, I doubt anything will be done anytime soon. Besides, like the author said, pharmaceutical companies make too much money manipulating people/the government/society, they care more about profits than the actual welfare of others. It’s kind of a lose-lose situation.

    Reply
    • Steve Smith

      Angela. I feel your pain. My son Daniel is on medication for depression. I have done research myself on the tricky question of which is worst, the depression or the results of the meds. While everyone’s experience with this subject is unique, It would appear that the problem lies in the diagnosis and the initial paradigm of the professional involved in the diagnosis/treatment. Once a diagnosis is made, one enters a slippery slope which then becomes difficult, but not impossible to get off! I myself was once offered meds to relieve my feelings of frustration with my lot in life. I was not … and never have been … depressed! I feel very fortunate to have avoided the slippery slope. Now obviously as I said everyone’s experience is different, and I am not saying for a minute that my case was anything near as severe as most people in our frantic, competitive world. But if professionals were taught that prescribing meds should be the LAST … NOT THE FIRST … resort, then many more people may be guided towards lower impact treatment. I have created a newsletter called “Wake up NZ” in which I cover many and varied topics of interest for those who wish to stay aware of potential areas of ‘manipulation’ by the ‘Powers that Be’ The link here will take you to an edition which features antidepressants and in particular the poignant story of a young girl who, involuntarily, went without meds for some time and the obvious effects of that on here functionality. I hope you are doing well and that you can see that there is a bright future for you. … http://www.newsletter.realstew.com/newslink/?iid=ENPFqWTUvp4=&n=y

      Reply
    • Shard_of_Oblivion

      I was so glad to see your replies Angela. I got increasingly annoyed as I read Arjun’s article, as it seemed obvious to me that it wasn’t really scientific, and didn’t fit the reality of major depression. Yes I agree that we should explore talking therapies, but there are dark places that I believe Arjun has never visited (lucky him) where the situation is so bleak that we should be very thankful for the innovation and work that has resulted in the anti depressants now available. They are not perfect, have worrying side effects, and if someone didn’t really need them, of course they should be avoided. But they can literally save lives, and Arjun’s viewpoint could cause real damage if it gained credence.

      Reply
      • Angela Sharpe

        A lot of it isn’t scientific.. but I’ve been doing a lot of research since I posted on here, and anti-depressants for ‘chemical imbalances isn’t scientific either.. it’s very subjective. I recently got re-diagnosed as bipolar, not just depressed. I was offered new meds but after doing research and finding out the adverse side-effects, I decided I wasn’t going to bother. If taking a medication will not only possibly make me more manic or suicidal, but also shut down my organs, give me a heart attack/stroke – and die, then I don’t see the point.
        -
        So I then started looking for more answers/alternative therapies/solutions and came across ‘nutrient deficiency’ – if you aren’t getting the right amount of nutrients, you can have symptoms that manifest into a mental illness. There are actual studies and objective science to back this theory up, which is more than can be said for prescription meds. Q96 is also 100% natural, safe and side-effect free. The company Truehope/Q sciences developed Q96 and have been developing it for over 16 years and it’s helped over 100,000 people! There have been 20 studies backed by 40 researchers and it is also backed by 14 universities! After spending weeks reading, studying and watching video testimonies, I decided I was going to give it a try! Why not! I have been feeling depressed and suicidal for over a year and get so manic and stupid throughout that too. I ordered my Q96 a week ago and it’s due to arrive.
        -
        I think us people with mental ‘invisible’ illnesses get ignored. Left to our own devices. Discriminated against. Pitied. It’s wrong. I’ve learned recently that if you don’t do the leg work or educate yourself, you find that you get lied to and deceived so often.
        -
        I think you should definitely check out Q96/nutrient supplements if you don’t like the side-effects of anti-depressants/meds!

        Reply
        • Jesse H.

          Nice info, good thinking.. I am on the same page as you, But you can really get all the nutrients you need from just eating the right foods, no less potent or overly potent supplements needed.

          Reply
          • Angela Sharpe

            See that’s the thing.. I’ve tried for months eating healthy and exercising, and it helps a little bit but it’s never substantial, I still have the extreme mood swings. When I think back to my childhood, my teenage years and now, I have always been fussy and tended to eat poorly. I think the damage has been done. I feel like Q96 is my last resort. I have been touched by all of the stories I have heard.. it just seems silly to pass such an opportunity by! I also don’t mind having to pay for my health, I don’t go to the movies, drink alcohol, go out to meals – so I have the money to spare. My Q96 is due to arrive any day now.. I can keep you updated?

          • Jesse H.

            With every suffering, you are creating the possibility of some ecstasy. The ecstasy will follow right after it. But if you are too engaged with the suffering, you may miss it. If you are ill, after that illness a moment of health, a moment of well-being, will come to you. But you can be too concerned with the illness so that when the moment comes you may miss it – you are too involved with the past illness that is no more.

            The moment is momentary; you can miss it very easily. After every pain, the moment comes and visits you. After every suffering, ecstasy comes to your door and knocks; but you go on missing it because the past is so heavy. You are still ill even after the illness has gone. It continues in the memory, it clouds your mind, and you miss that atomic moment.

            Remember this: Whenever you are depressed, wait for the moment that the depression goes. Nothing lasts forever; the depression will go. And when it leaves you, wait – be aware and alert – because after the depression, after the night, there will be a dawn and the sun will rise. If you can be alert in that moment. you will he happy that you were depressed.

            You will be grateful that you are depressed because only through your depression was this mint of happiness possible But what do we do? We move in an infinite regression We yet depressed. Then we yet depressed because of the depression: a second depression follows. If you are depressed. that’s okay! – nothing is wrong in it. It is beautiful because through it you will learn and mature.

            But then you feel badly. ”Why do I get depressed? I should not get depressed.” Then you start fighting with the depression. The first depression is good, but the second depression is unreal. And this unreal depression will cloud your mind. You will miss the moment that would have followed the real depression.

            When depressed, be depressed. Simply be depressed. Don’t get depressed about your depression. When depressed, simply be depressed. Don’t fight it, don’t create any diversion, don’t force it to go. Just allow it to happen; it will go by itself. Life is a flux; nothing remains the same. You are not needed; the river moves by itself, you don’t have to push it. If you are trying to push it, you are simply foolish.

            The river flows by itself. Allow it to flow. When depression is there, allow it to be. Don’t get depressed about it. If you want to remove it sooner, you will get depressed. If you fight it, you will create a secondary depression that is dangerous. The first depression is beautiful, God-given. The second depression is your own. It is not God-given; it is mental. Then you will move in mental grooves. They are infinite.

            If you get depressed, be happy that you are depressed and allow the depression to be. Then suddenly the depression will disappear and there will be a breakthrough. No clouds will be there and the sky will be clear. For a single moment, heaven opens for you. If you are not depressed about your depression you can contact, you can commune, you can enter this heavenly gate. And once you know it, you have learned one of the ultimate laws of life: that life uses the opposite as a teacher, as a back-ground.

            Nothing is wrong; everything is for the good. This is what I call a religious attitude. You may not believe in God – that makes no difference. Buddha never believed in God. Mahavir never believed in God but they were religious. There is no need to believe in an afterlife no need. You can still be religious. There is no need even to believe in a soul. You can be religious without believing in it.

            Then what is religion? Religion means this trust: that everything is for the good. This trust that everything is for the good is a religious mind; this is religiousness. And if you trust that everything is for the good, you will come to realize the divine. The divine can be realized through such trust. Even the storm is for the sake of the silence.

            Evil exists for the sake of good; death exists for the sake of life; suffering and agony are just situations in which ecstasy can happen. Look at life in this way and the moment will not be far off when suffering will disappear completely, when pain will disappear completely, when death will disappear completely.

            One who knows that agony exists for the sake of ecstasy cannot be agonized. One who knows and feels and realizes that suffering exists for the sake of happiness cannot be made to suffer. It is impossible. He is using suffering itself to be more happy, he is using agony itself as a step toward ecstasy. He has gone beyond the clutches of the world, he has taken a jump out of the wheel of sansar.

  4. jeremy butler

    Please try in depth talk therapy there is no side effects and it is just as helpful dont take dangerous pills!

    Reply
    • Angela Sharpe

      Talk therapy doesn’t work for people who have chemical imbalances (talking from 8 years of on-going depression) anti-depressants have helped me more than talking therapies because talking isn’t going to fix the chemical imbalance in my brain. Talking therapies work for people with milder depression.

      Reply
  5. F. Dunlop

    Where does a chemical imbalance come from? I don’t believe you just develop a chemical imbalance. All ill-health, whether the symptoms be physical or mental, stem from an emotional imbalance. Biomedical drugs attend to the symptom and can no doubt be very useful for many people. But I believe they only deal with the surface manifestation of a deeper emotional/social issue that its impacting a person. Talking therapies, creative expression and a change of lifestyle may be able to reach down on to a deeper level and aide the person to acheive a longer lasting sense of well-being. Biomedical drugs are designed for one thing: profit. They are geared for dependency.

    Reply
    • russianspy1234

      Where does a chemical imbalance come from? Where does any illness come from? Genetics? Environmental toxins? Virus or bacteria? The body just not working properly?

      Reply
      • Angela Sharpe

        To those outsiders who have absolutely NO idea what it is to suffer from MAJOR DEPRESSION (i.e. an ACTUAL CHEMICAL IMBALANCE) shut up. You have no idea. There are various forms of depression and for milder forms of depression, yes it may be down to environmental factors, BUT for severe forms of depression (where talking/therapies don’t work) the BEST chance a person has of a ‘normal’ life is to take medication because there are biological reasons behind their disorder. I don’t get why people are underestimating mental illness, so what you can’t SEE the illness, no, it’s not like a broken arm or cancer, but nonetheless, it’s there and it’s serious. If people take medication to get out of the black whole that they are consumed in, then so what, yes pharmaceutical companies do take advantage of people but at the end of the day, the correct medication DOES help, would you rather people just committed suicide because they couldn’t take it anymore?

        Reply
        • Leonard Dixon

          Angela is right!
          Another comment – the author of this article only mentions the SSRI class of drugs – I believe that the tricyclics are better for most people who have major clinical depression.

          Reply
      • Angela Sharpe

        To those outsiders who have absolutely NO idea what it is to suffer from MAJOR DEPRESSION (i.e. an ACTUAL CHEMICAL IMBALANCE) shut up. You have no idea. There are various forms of depression and for milder forms of depression, yes it may be down to environmental factors, BUT for severe forms of depression (where talking/therapies don’t work) the BEST chance a person has of a ‘normal’ life is to take medication because there are biological reasons behind their disorder. I don’t get why people are underestimating mental illness, so what you can’t SEE the illness, no, it’s not like a broken arm or cancer, but nonetheless, it’s there and it’s serious. If people take medication to get out of the black whole that they are consumed in, then so what, yes pharmaceutical companies do take advantage of people but at the end of the day, the correct medication DOES help, would you rather people just committed suicide because they couldn’t take it anymore?

        Reply
        • karengogol

          @angela–you take medication because you BELIEVE that is what works for you. Your thoughts have set you up to think that medication is THE only answer. I was diagnosed with clinical depression. Yes I was on medication for two years while attending talk therapy. I no longer take any medication and do not attend therapy at this time. I did not want to become dependent on the medication for the rest of my life and so lookes at therapy as the guidance and tools to enable me to BELIEVE what i wanted to achieve. The mind/brain is an amazing thing. But when we say things out loud our brain takes it as the absolute truth and that is the path we have choosen. Unfortunately you have decided that to medicate yourself with drugs that can have serious side affects is your answer. Not saying it’s worng or incorrect just saying it can be different.

          Reply
          • Angela Sharpe

            No, I take medication because after committing to 8 years of counselling, talking therapies, therapies, change in diet, “change in mind-set” and exercising which has all failed me, I have realised that the only long-term solution to my illness is to take medication. Yes I may need certain therapies to go along with taking medication, but without the medication, the therapies would fail. My illness is caused by a chemical imbalance, I’m not depressed because of environmental factors. I cope well when things go wrong around me, I just can’t control the way I feel, force myself to be happy, “get over it”, live a ‘normal’ life like the ‘normal’ people around me.

            I get that that has worked for you and that you don’t need medication for whatever reasons, but I do. I’m not like you. Everybody is different.
            -
            “Unfortunately you have decided that to medicate yourself with drugs that can have serious side affects is your answer.” – Who are you to tell me that it’s unfortunate? Not only are you being a hypocrite and contradicting yourself, but it’s MY life and if I want to take a drug for as long as it takes me to feel happier, then I will. I’m a big girl. I know how to look after myself, I know the precautions that come with taking these drugs, but it’s no different to a person taking medication for a psychical illness (a cancer patient, somebody with heart problems, a stroke victim.)
            -
            I thought you of all people (someone who has a genuine understanding of what it is to live with this curse) would be less ignorant.

          • Madi

            I wish if my mother just ‘believed’ she didn’t suffer from severe bipolar disorder, it would go away and she could live a happy wholesome life. Instead I get to watch helplessly as she falls into major depression for a year or more, loses her home, her dignity, her control. Then out of no where she has so much energy, cleans non stop, thinks she’s on top of the world and makes horribly reckless decisions (such as drinking and drug use). It’s so painful to watch.. I can’t even imagine how it must feel to be the person going through it.

            I’m 20 years old, and support my own mother. She CAN NOT function, her body will never heal itself of this disorder. Most memories from my childhood are of my mom crying or laying lifelessly in bed, not having the strength to get up.

            Angela my heart goes out to you! Don’t let these ignorant people who have not seen first hand a person who suffers from a true mental illness bother you or bring you down.

          • Angela Sharpe

            My heart also goes out to you too Madi, my mother-in-law suffers from bipolar so I can understand how difficult it must be for you at times. It takes a lot of love and strength to do what you’re doing and I bet your mum is grateful to you for being there for her. Does she take medication for it? It’s soul-destroying to hear ignorant, nasty comments regarding any mental illness. I for one feel worse and weak because people who haven’t had the illness make out there is nothing wrong with me and that by taking drugs, I am stupid. Also some people who have overcome the illness feel the need to try and enforce their path to recovery on you, make out you’re not doing it right or trying hard enough. Living with any mental illness is hard and there will always be cynics out there waiting to have a go/put you down. I’ve distanced myself from people like that in life and am so much better for doing so. All the best to you and your mum!

          • Debbie Vanzoelen

            I absolutely agree with you karen. Things can be different. I have seen many friends go on the medication and those that have good psychologists have had amazing results and come off of there meds – they learned how to deal with specific things and how to manage their thoughts. I have also seen others who have been on the medication for years, and are now having other problems (with nervous system problems, pain and other things). It is very important to look at food too – nutrients are very important to the brain and body. I think it is time for people to realise that we are a whole, not just made up of systems – when one faulters, the rest of the body suffers too – holistic approach

      • Arjun

        They come from a variety of things…..food….chemicals. But mainly, the brain shapes itself and the chemical flows within it based on our feelings and emotions…how we perceive the the world around us. Check out neuroplasticity. We can change the chemical flows in our brain simply by the way we feel. Chemical imbalance is can be caused by how we feel, at chemical imbalance is not the cause for how we feel….

        Reply
        • PremaIsTheWay

          Dear Arun, regarding emotions create depression rather than depression (chemical imbalances) create emotions, you cannot simplify a complex problem such as mental illness as it is unfortunately called. It is a spiritual illness and not something to explain away. Are you saying all the creative minds and great writers of many generations with major depressive disorders were just not able to control their emotions? There is much more to it than can be explained with such simplistic thinking. Yes, there are everyday people that are over diagnosed but there are more people that you cannot explain away their conditions, nor know how it is to suffer not able to get out of the grip of a darkness that has no name no end nor any beginning. I believe we are highly evolved Beings stuck in the human body and in a dimension filled with ignorance that creates havoc on some people’s state of being. There are some that are trapped in the 3rd dimension and the egoic mind that runs the world and it creates great dissonance. Look at Eckhart Tolle. He had mild low grade depression and suffering his whole life and it was exactly THAT friction of not being able to live with the egoic mind any longer that pushed him over the edge into letting go of identification with it and then resting in Peace. Not all depression is due to not controlling ones feelings. THE enormous amount of depression is an indication that we are going through a massive shift in consciousness and many are suffering in the realm that is being let go of and before the enlightened age is born. It is a spiritual illness and not something to explain away. Big pharma is an evil in many ways and in some ways also has saved lives. Hopefully time will come when we won’t need them any longer.

          Reply
    • russianspy1234

      OK, so I can see where the author is coming from here. It”s hard to trust big pharma companies when they come out with medications for stuff like restless leg syndrome, and yes, depression and other mental disorders are definitely over diagnosed. Some people get hooked on pain medication, and pretend to have chronic pain to get a prescription. This does not mean that a real diagnosis of chronic pain does not exist. So too for depression, and really, and it’s hard for someone who has not suffered from it or known someone who suffered from it to comprehend it. Yes, we all get sad sometimes, and most of us are able to pull ourselves out of it. But some can’t. Here is a good rule of thumb: Any time you read (or write) an article, replace all instances of the word “depression” with “paralysis.” Does the article still make sense? Or have you ended up sounding like an ass for saying something like “Paralysis is all in the mind, you should just will yourself better?”

      Reply
  6. Ignatius Vermaak

    The pills are meant to do one thing, adjust you to society. The chemical imbalance in your brain is not distinct from depression, it is a symptom of a greater environmental imbalance. Of course the medical establishment wants you to believe that depression is just the result of a chemical imbalance your brain, this way the problem starts and ends with the patient without the need to seriously consider external triggers, such as environment or society. We are all one and the whole is at ill, if we heal that, then depression on the scale seen today can be significantly reduced. This is the sustainable solution, but that doesn’t make money.

    Reply
    • Shard_of_Oblivion

      Ignatius, this is simply wrong. What you blithely call “the medical establishment” is not some conspiracy. There are multitudes of individual people working as nurses, doctors and researchers trying everything they can to relieve the suffering that is caused by endogenous depression. Research that looks at how neurotransmitters work, and how an imbalance could be partly corrected through medicine, is of great benefit to humanity, and is yielding promising results. I hope they continue to research and improve the medicines, as well as the other therapies that help with this debilitating disease.

      Reply
      • mcjock

        the pharmaceutical industry is made up of multi billion dollar companies whose business is to manufacture and sell as many drugs as possible. Doctors and nurses work in hospitals. Researchers can only research what they are funded to research and the results of said research are owned by whoever funds the research. you might as well ask your local heroin dealer if heroin is safe to use/beneficial for humans and believe whatever he says.

        Reply
        • Jesse Heichert

          I have to agree with you here – and @Shard_Of_oblivion, depression may be endogenous in some cases, but you have to take in the fact that if so, it can be healed endogenously, and not synthetically. It is only patching up the symptom, not fixing the inner balance that caused the condition, whether its genetic, or not. Genetic’s can change, very easily.

          Reply
  7. Kathy

    I agree that depression is a chemical imbalance and without medication I cry all the time dont get dressed, or even think straight, at times I have controlled my mind myself, but it never last long….

    Reply
  8. russianspy1234

    OK, so I can see where the author is coming from here. It”s hard to trust big pharma companies when they come out with medications for stuff like restless leg syndrome, and yes, depression and other mental disorders are definitely over diagnosed. Some people get hooked on pain medication, and pretend to have chronic pain to get a prescription. This does not mean that a real diagnosis of chronic pain does not exist. So too for depression, and really, and it’s hard for someone who has not suffered from it or known someone who suffered from it to comprehend it. Yes, we all get sad sometimes, and most of us are able to pull ourselves out of it. But some can’t. Here is a good rule of thumb: Any time you read (or write) an article, replace all instances of the word “depression” with “paralysis.” Does the article still make sense? Or have you ended up sounding like an ass for saying something like “Paralysis is all in the mind, you should just will yourself better?”

    Reply
  9. Gina Rogers

    closest I ever came to killing myself was on anti-depressants though people I knew tell me they’ve been helped by the same ones… so much money stands to be made and I agree with Ignatius Vermaak that the epidemic is symptomatic and tied closely to our systematic failure to recognize interconnectedness

    Reply
  10. Carol Aspinwall

    Appreciation changes the way you feel. Find something right where you are to appreciate. We are surrounded by beauty. Recognize that which will lift you up. Go outside, look at the sky. Take a walk. This will change your brain chemistry. Get up and move around. Play some music that you enjoy. Write about your feelings. Give them some words to express themselves. Emotion is like a weather front coming through. Allow yourself to feel the weather, allow it to move through you. Make up a song about the weather moving through you. What you feel is a valuable tool that can give you a huge clue about which way you choose to go. Dear people, use your own power to find your way in this life.

    Reply
  11. Angela Sharpe

    To those outsiders who have absolutely NO idea what it is to suffer from MAJOR DEPRESSION (i.e. an ACTUAL CHEMICAL IMBALANCE) shut up. You have no idea. There are various forms of depression and for milder forms of depression, yes it may be down to environmental factors, BUT for severe forms of depression (where talking/therapies don’t work) the BEST chance a person has of a ‘normal’ life is to take medication because there are biological reasons behind their disorder. I don’t get why people are underestimating mental illness, so what you can’t SEE the illness, no, it’s not like a broken arm or cancer, but nonetheless, it’s there and it’s serious. If people take medication to get out of the black whole that they are consumed in, then so what, yes pharmaceutical companies do take advantage of people but at the end of the day, the correct medication DOES help, would you rather people just committed suicide because they couldn’t take it anymore?

    Reply
    • Penny MacNeil

      Hi Angela, I do know, I’ve been through it and come out the other end. You’re perfect, you sweetheart, do what makes you feel OK. When and if you are ready to search out solutions, you will. No worries. Some books that helped me…Dr Judith Orloff…Psychiatrist/Spiritualist, Hay House Radio, learning Taoism…and to stay centered and OK amidst the inevitable crap and beauty that we all have to deal with and Barefoot Doctors School for Warriors Training. Much Love

      Reply
      • Steve

        I have published a newsletter with the title “Wake up NZ” the edition here … http://www.newsletter.realstew.com/newslink/?iid=ShqzuvxEEAM=&n=y … deals with the drugs prescribed for depression. If you notice the demeanor of the young girl in the top right article, and then compare her demeanor in the continuation of that article (for security reasons you will need to subscribe … you can unsubscribe at any time) you will see that she is a totally different beautiful young girl who has been sold a ‘bad rap’ If she only realized that SHE’S NORMAL and that she is on her way out of the ‘black hole’ she could come off her meds and live a normal life! (whatever that is!)

        Reply
  12. Rachel

    I’m one to have done a lot of research on depression. I wanted to believe its environmental, normal, vitamin deficiency, diet, thought process, personality, imagined, learned behavior from having been raised by a depressed parent( which actually does happen)or just an excuse to be miserable and lazy. I HATE medication. I’ve tried and stopped many different antidepressants. Stopped because I tell myself that I’m fine Andy depression is just me being negative. I’ve fought so hard to find answers other than medication. After all that my answer is that I do believe that antidepressants are grossly over prescribed. I believe most depression is circumstantial and would get better with certain lifestyle changes and time. True depression does exist and I believe the term ‘depression’ should only be reserved for that. Antidepressants are not a happy pill. They simply help the truly depressed to have more good days. Which is a normal day for a non depressed person. I’m not a doctor but my theory is if your depressed cause your broke but feel better when you get money. Or if your depressed over your job then change jobs and you feel better that’s not true depression. A truly depressed person can be given everything their heart desires and still feel horribly depressed. True depression has mercy. I am currently on an antidepressant and have been for a while and I still have bad days, sometimes weeks but at least now it’s not months and years. I think the best therapy for me is having kids. I DO NOT ever want them to learn depression or have to worry about me so even on really bad days I force myself to get up, get dressed and put a smile on my face( even if its fake) and I think this along with medication has helped me not fall deep into the cold, dark grip of of such a debilitating disease.

    Reply
  13. Shannon Willems

    Is this author a physician or clinically trained in any way? A chemical imbalance can happen at any point in a person’s life, just like a cold or cancer can. For the people who are questioning this, please become educated before persecuting those who have illnesses that must be treated with medications. You can no more “talk therapy” a manic depressive into a total cure anymore than you can someone with brain cancer. They are both illnesses that effect the brain.

    Reply
  14. Andey

    Hi! I’d just do say I was “depressed” years ago, I was given drugs, I flushed them and got over it myself. A “chemical imbalance” is symptomatic of one’s emotional, physical and spiritual state (yes they’re all inter-connected and inter-dependent) So if you think you need pills, your body will make it so. Likewise, if you have the willpower to overcome these obstacles, you are able to do so. I am living proof of this. Pills treat the symptoms, not the cause. If one is out of balance, or in a state of disharmony they are susceptible to such things, as we are collectively in a state of disharmony, many of us suffer in this way, or another. taking pills isn’t the way to fix it. Treating the cause is.

    Love to you all!
    Namaste

    Reply
  15. SF

    Thank you Phillip and Angela. I do not like taking these drugs, but know that I would have committed suicide had I not supplemented my talk therapy with antidepressants.

    Reply
  16. Vicki

    I love my Prozac! I have been on it for 8 years and do not plan to give it up! I did try going off it a couple of times, and my major depression returned, not immediately, but after being prozac-free for a couple of months.

    Reply
  17. Andey

    I’m sorry guys, but with anything illness/disease it’s about mind-over-matter. We create our realities. Take responsibility! Depending on pills is dependence on symptomatic treatment. Like Vicki said, her depression returned after being off of the pills for a couple of months. Doesn’t that prove that it’s not tackling the cause, Just treating the symptoms? Surely everyone would prefer to not take loads of pills and live a happy life? It’s the more difficult road, granted, but it’s so worth it. And as long as you have people to talk to, and develop motivation, and conviction FOR YOURSELF, and are not just doing it because you’re told that’s the right thing to do, or because you think that’s what you should be doing, you will see tremendous results. Trust me. I’ve had first hand experience. I don’t rely on pills, because I took responsibility for my emotions. I realised, “Wait, who is feeling like this? Is it me? So I must be in control?”

    “All humans are capable of the lowest and loftiest of actions, it’s the ones you choose to take that make you who you are” – H.H The Dalai Lama (it was something like that, that he said, probably not exactly, but it’s close)

    So why not be amazing? And be that way because you want to be? Surely that’s enough?

    Reply
    • posypuddingpie

      Good for you Andey. Please keep in mind that just because something has worked wonderfully for you, doesn’t mean that it’s possible for someone else to do the same. I, like you am off the drugs and happy to be, however I do not condemn others for being on them because I know how much I hated depending on them and if you read my comment below you’ll know that my mother hated depending on them too, but for reasons unknown to me, she was unable to do what I have done.

      Reply
  18. Erin Smith

    I think the issue of dependency on a substance is the key issue here. What would you do if you couldnt get the medication any more? I believe that anything you depend on that you can not grow or make yourself is just asking for problems. It creates a fear of not having the medication further perpetuating the depression. Chemical imbalances are indeed real but there are definitely better ways to rebalance the brain then taking brain altering medications. Sunshine, positive human interactions, yoga, massage, meditation and exercise to name a few. Its sorta relatable to the oil dependency in our country/ world, we could ride bikes to work or walk but its EASIER to just fill the tank/ pop a pill to solve our problems. Its a dependency on QUICK FIXES that is dragging us down and making us a lazy nation of zombies. WAKE UP PEOPLE!! If you are taking one of these meds and it is helping you, god bless. But, if you feel it is doing more harm than good follow your instincts and try a more holistic approach to your problems.

    Reply
  19. db

    Like someone else mentioned above, PLEASE BECOME EDUCATED before persecuting those who have illnesses that must be treated with medications! This illness is like cancer & you simply cannot overpower it like a mind-over-matter situation. It is a disease!
    At the recommendation of a very close friend of mine, I sought a psychologist/psychiatrist due to my severe sadness and uncontrollable crying. After an extensive examination, I was diagnosed with clinical depression caused by a chemical imbalance in my brain. It is a genetic disease that runs in my family that had never occurred to me until the doctor explained it & I did further research on my own. I saw ALL the signs in my Grandmother & Father, as well as myself.
    My Doctor prescribed talk therapy along w/an antidepressant. I refused to take any pills so I went for the talk therapy only. After several months of going nowhere in my recovery, I decided to do a lot of research on depression myself. I found that the doctor was most likely correct so I gave the medication a try. What an eye, or should I say ‘brain’, opener!!!
    I had no idea what I had been missing. As much as I hate taking pills, I take them because it works for me. I have tried getting off them but my depression just returns. Sometimes in life we gotta do what we have to in order to survive w/sanity, for ourselves, as well as for the others directly around us(depressed people).
    I have been on meds for 20 years now with NO side effects. TY

    Reply
  20. rollsthepaul

    I kicked a 15 year antidepressant dependency, with lipsomal vitamin C. Regular vitamin C does nothing to help with depression, even in big doses. I now take 6 grams lipsomal vitamin C daily and never felt better. The side effects are greater body strength, greater energy and greater stamina. I’ve never encountered anything like this, in my life.

    Reply
  21. mandrades

    one word – wEEd

    Reply
    • rebecca rosenbaum

      thumbs up!

      Reply
  22. BG

    It really annoys me when people make comments about issues that they themselves have not experienced. Depression does exists or ‘Paralysis’ as one response names the illness above. Unless you have suffered depression you really should not comment basing your theories on googling the net for rubbish written on this illness. Ive always likened my ‘mental paralysis’ (depression) to being similar to becoming physically paralysed. Unfortunately you cannot ‘see’ the mind being paralysed, it comes through in our actions, feelings of hopelessness, crying a lot, no energy, no intimate relationships, feelings of not belonging, unable to succeed long term in a career, no life, shame. In a wheelchair you can see a person who is physically paralysed. One literally cannot function with depression without treating it with medication if it has been ongoing long term. I suffered for 16 months with a new born and thought it would ‘go away’ and that depression was for the weak who just weren’t positive and people who took a pill did so because they were too lazy to change. I finally gave in as my meditation, yoga, exercise and healthy eating didn’t help and my baby was suffering by not having a happy mum and I was suffering by missing out on being a mum to a new baby. Unloading the dishwasher was stressful. I eventually lost my partner. The thought process to do so is too challenging. My heart goes out to all of you who suffer it. I no longer am on medication however when I notice depression in a person who doesn’t have to be a friend (by the way I can see it a mile away!) I always advise the benefits of seeing a doctor and perhaps trying medication. I tell them my story. The smile on their faces about 4 weeks after starting the anti depressants and the tears of joy and thanks I get is fantastic. The only regret I have is not going on them when I got the post natal depression 2 weeks after my baby was born. Never give up!

    Reply
  23. Just, Me.

    I was first diagnosed as being depressed when I was 15, although I know it began when I was 11. I have been to numerous psychiatrists depending on where I had been living at the time and have probably taken most of what is out there for depression.

    I was told I suffer from Depression, PTSS and Impartial bereavement. I tend to be borderline OCD as well and have mood swings.

    I have had psycotherapy and drugs all my life. Everytime I would stop the psycotherapy and taking my meds, I would become suicidal. Sometimes I could go as long as three years without drugs, but by then I would be so down, it would take me at least a year to get stable again.

    My psychiatrist has told me that I will need to be on medication for the rest of my life. I do believe him. Everytime I have tried to stop my drugs it takes less time for me to want to kill myself again.

    I don’t understand this. I am happily married with three wonderful kids, but my past haunts me. Its like it comes out of nowhere and pushes me to the ground and won’t let me back up no matter how hard I try. I am a 54 year old woman, this has to stop.

    I DO believe I need drugs to make me “normal” so I can get past my hauntings.

    If I could stop these pills and feel “normal” I would. I have tried over and over again and the result is always the same. I just want to crawl into a corner of a dark room and die.

    If anyone out there knows of a better waay, please tell me.

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • jeremy butler

      I have been to a billion shrinks and been told a billion different things but I can tell you this natural remedies work the same for me as the nasty pills but with no side effects why dont you try sam-e I highly recommend it and numerous studies have shown talk therapy to be as effective as pills I only ask that you consider it for your own health.

      Reply
  24. Mossberry

    I’ve struggled with depression for most of my adult life and for almost any reason that you can think of including Complex PTSD. I’ve tried to “just get over it” that works for a while, I do better when I exercise on a regular basis, eat well, write or draw, and get enough sleep. Over the years I have come to recognize when I begin to spiral down. I believe we feel the “pain” of depression for a reason, our life is out of balance in one way or another. It may be a marriage that needs to end or the exhaustion of being hyper vigilant, never feeling safe or dealing with chronic illness/pain. I’ve been studying the use of service dogs for veterans with PTSD. When I first began to read about it, it really hit home with me and I hope to some day be able to afford a dog as a companion animal. I would be more than happy to not have to take any medication, who knows if it may shorten my life and cause damage to my brain or other organs. It’s a very complex issue, “one size” does not fit all and just popping a pill and not taking any other measures is not the answer in my humble opinion.

    Reply
  25. posypuddingpie

    Wow. I’m horrified at some of the responses on here and how unsympathetic and ignorant they are. I’m a big believer in natural and alternative therapies, especially when it comes to depression, however for those of us who’ve actually experienced what it feels like to be ‘clinically’ depressed with anxiety on top of it also know that without having taken the medication we did, we would not be where we are today. I agree that the pills are treating a symptom and not a cause, however when a person is in a depressed state of mind, it is not about “taking responsibility” for one’s self, it is about being able to survive one’s self. I agree that there are many brilliant ways to treat depression that have wonderful results such as cognitive behavioural therapy, NLP and even hypnosis, and for a truly depressed person to be mentally able to get to a point where they can even begin to take responsibility for their emotional state and to gain anything out of these kinds of therapies, they often need a chemical boost. My mother and myself both have been diagnosed to have bi-polar disorder and we have both dealt with it in different ways. I have taken the natural approach and have weaned myself off the medication slowly and with brilliant results, however it was the most difficult thing I have ever experienced – not to be weaned off the drugs, but the effort required everyday since then to take responsibility for my emotional state. I’m glad that I did, and I also know that had I not taken the drugs to start off with, I probably wouldn’t be alive to wean myself off them. Those of you who have not experienced true depression should not be so opinionated about something you have no idea about. So I’m drug-free and dealing pretty well. My mother on the other hand has been on anti-depressant drugs for most of her life. The very first time she went to see a psychiatrist, he actually put her on a placebo drug. (She told me this after finding out years after the fact when she went to study medicine) It had absolutely no effect and her depression actually got worse. Over the years she has taken herself off medication because she doesn’t want to have to rely on it, and has always gone back on it because no matter how hard she tried, her state would slowly slip back to being in such a depression or in some cases a “high” of bi-polar that it GREATLY affected her work, her family, friends and basically her life. I agree that depression and the drugs prescribed to people are heavily over-prescribed but that doesn’t mean we should discount them completely. If you have depression it good to try natural and alternative therapies before considering using prescribed drugs, however if it does get to the point where you simply aren’t surviving then it would be a good idea to consider using drugs and alternative therapies simultaneously until you are well enough to go off the drugs. To anyone else who has not experienced depression, please be mindful when commenting on this topic. Studies are great, many of them are biased and all of them provide great information, but until you’ve been in such a state of emotional paralysis, you really don’t know what you’re talking about.

    Reply
  26. Angela Sharpe

    Here’s an example for you ignorant folk who think overcoming a mental illness (caused by biological reasons) is to change the way you think (I do agree that environmental factors play a part in how we feel but having less serotonin neurons in your brain cannot be fixed by changing your mind-set or getting CBT, you need SSRI anti-depressants so that your brain can increase these levels of serotonin to be more balanced)

    Also, for schizophrenics (let’s take the dopamine hypothesis for example) if these individuals did not take the correct medications for their positive symptoms, then they would commit terrible tragedies, and for their negative symptoms (which are harder to treat with medication) they are offered therapies, because these are known to help.

    So anyway, my example is this:

    My father suffered from two strokes last year, he nearly died. He had to be thrombolysed in order to safe his life. He now needs to take a concoction of drugs for the rest of his life in order to survive.

    I suffer from major depression, anxiety, attachment disorder because of traumatic events in my early years which have caused my biological chemical imbalance. I have tried everything (minus ECT) such as CBT, talking therapies, change in diet, exercise etc and none of these have had a profound effect. The only thing that has been able to stabilise the way I feel is by taking SSRI’s. I take these to survive.

    Now, do you notice something about my dad’s physical illness and my mental illness? I said we both take these medications to survive. So why is it okay for a psychical illness to be treated with medication, but not for a mental one? Because people are ignorant and blind to the truth.

    However I am not going to feel bad for taking a medication which stops me from losing it and/or committing suicide.

    Reply
  27. Liz

    There is a big, big difference between depression and major depression. We all get depressed from time to time, this is ‘normal’ depression – it’s transient and usually situation based (grief, loss, unemployment etc), I went through a nasty, emotional roller-coaster divorce after being married for 8 years. Was I necessarily going to get over that within a week? Was I abnormal for still feeling ‘sad’ 2 months later? My GP seemed to think so. Of course I eagerly tried Zoloft because like most employed people, we don’t have time to grieve – life must go on and you have to be back to ‘normal’ asap – but that’s a pressure placed on us and doesn’t mean we’re ‘sick’, it means we’re having a normal human reaction. I did slowly get over it, after about a year- a time frame I consider pretty normal considering my whole life was thrown upside down. Medication did nothing but make me incredibly lethargic and dazed. I can’t comment on what the efficacy of these drugs is on Major depression – statistically, only a small number of people diagnosed with depression actually suffer from major depression and as the leaflets clearly suggest, the drugs are intended for use in major depression, something a GP cannot easily assess within a 10 minute consult.

    Reply
  28. Anonymous.ren

    Not everyone who is prescribed an antidepressant has an actual chemical imbalance, and not ever chemical imbalance needs pharmaceuticals to correct the imbalance. A lot can have to do with diet, and exercise too. I am someone who after a car accident had anxiety whenever I saw a truck pass me in my peripheral. My Dr gave me Paxil, not warning me of side effects and risks of withdrawl. I went three days without it, had a fight with my partner, and CUT myself. I don’t have a history of mental illness, nor have I had that issue since, and I’ve fought with him since then too. Its proof enough to me that I’d rather have a little panic attack – than take a drug that could cause me to hurt myself if stopped.

    Reply
  29. Andrew

    This article is bull shit. The author is ignorant to suggest her audience stop taking their medication. When an individual stops taking his or her medication they are more likely to have suicidal tendencies. Whether you agree with these medications or not, it is not her place to suggest that taking these medications is wrong or you are “less than” for taking these medications. Furthermore the author does not suggest ANY alternative treatments! This article should be taken down, it is irresponsible.

    Reply
  30. PremaIsTheWay

    Some of the most creative minds in history have suffered from depression and many have committed suicide or been institutionalized late in their lives before medication was available. There is no easy answer. Even today some of the most creative people will come out with bi-polar and depression. It is a fine line between genius and madness. And all the talk in the world doesn’t change that unless we have a world view that we are all the “same” and there are variances caused by pathology. In fact it may be that we are all on a spectrum of very different emotional bodies and states and realities that cannot be put in a box. Those that need medication need it to survive. That is just one reality that many have to face in life.

    Reply
    • Angela Sharpe

      Amen to that.

      Reply
  31. Jonathan

    So I found the perfect medication to suppress my depression, though it’s used for ADHD. It’s Vyvanse. I got a pill at the mental hospital and preserved it until a few days ago, because I felt as though the day would go badly. Instead, I was Mr. Feelgood for the entire day. No significant feelings of sadness.
    My mom stopped giving me zoloft before that, but I couldn’t care less because antidepressants are bullshit for me. So I tell my therapist that Vyvanse works for me, and she says I shouldn’t take medication that is not prescribed to me, and that I should trust my doctor’s opinion. I have not seen a goddamn doctor since she threw me into the mental hospital, and she expects me to take these same drugs that didn’t prevent any suicidal ideations? What’s more, my mom told her the drugs gave me diarrhea and insomnia, so she stopped giving them to me. Then my therapist threatened to contact child services. The combination of the pharmaceutical industry and therapists is so loose and incompetent it hurts my brain.

    Reply
  32. PremaIsTheWay

    I feel so sad for all the youngsters on the planet suffering from all these depressive and ADHD conditions. The system is not qualified to deal with what is going on. They don’t even understand it. We are going through a transitional time on the planet and the energy is intense and the world is just not equipped to deal with all the mental health issues that are now mainstream. It’s gotta be tough to be growing up at this time.

    Reply
  33. Melora Cooper

    I have gone the non-medicine route several times since being diagnosed as having bipolar depression, feeling that I am simply not trying hard enough to live drug-free..Everytime it has turned into a brutal experience. I have grudgingly come to understand that suicide is my side effect for being off psych- meds. PLEASE never coerce or shame people into quitting their psych- meds. So tired of self-righteous people claiming they understand mental illness, vvhen they actually have no flipping idea. I hope you understand the potential gravity of posts like these. Yesterday your sloppy article on Sandy Hook , and today this one… This site has too many ignorant and irresponsible posts … Bye, Collective Evolution.

    Reply
    • Angela Sharpe

      Never think that you’re not trying hard enough and especially don’t let any ignorant, unsympathetic person make you feel like that. If medication keeps you alive (like it does me) then fuck everybody who wants to tell you that you’re wrong. You know yourself best. You know what works best because you’ve experienced it all, not them! I’m beginning to dislike what I’m seeing on here too, can’t be arsed dealing with ignorant people who have no idea what it’s like having severe depression.

      Reply
  34. dee6249

    “Venlafaxine (brand name: Effexor or Efexor) is an antidepressant of the serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) class.First introduced by Wyeth in 1993, now marketed by Pfizer, it is licensed for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), as a treatment for generalized anxiety disorder, and comorbid indications in certain anxiety disorders with depression. In 2007, venlafaxine was the sixth most commonly prescribed antidepressant on the U.S. retail market, with 17.2 million prescriptions”

    Ten years ago my 14 year old daughter got pregnant. Needless to say it was a very stressful time in our lives. I became depressed. My doctor prescribed ‘Effexor’ and suggested I see a therapist. Effexor took away my anguish, pain, etc and the therapist was not helpful. Instead of looking for another therapist, I kept on the antidepressants, I would even control the amount of ‘feelings’ I wanted by the amount of Effexor I took. I was finally where I didn’t even shed at tear, I was in total control of my emotions. I knew that it was not normal to feel that way, but it was a great coping mechanism. From time to time I would give an half-ass effort to get off it, only to suffer from severe withdrawal symptoms. (funny when I mention that to doctors, they deny that you will have withdrawal symptoms-who knew?).
    Finally after 10 years, I am ready once again to get off Effexor. I’ve done my homework; diet, exercise, meditation, and marijuana is my plan of attack.
    My method is to decrease my prescription in half for three months (done), 1/3 for one month (done) then going ‘cold-turkey’.
    I am presently on week three – ‘effexor-free’,
    I am still suffering from ‘brain shakes’ and severe highs and lows where I’ll be laughing one minute and crying the next. I’ve chosen this time to get off Effexor because I have 5 weeks holiday and I needed to be somewhere where I could chill and let my body recoup and reclaim it’s original job of producing it’s own serotonin.
    So as I type this response; I’m in a quiet little resort, out-of-the-way of tourist place in Thailand.
    The moral of my story: don’t take anything~ever, until you’ve researched every possible, natural, method which will beneficial to your well-being before committing to prescription drugs!

    Reply
    • rebecca rosenbaum

      glad to see someone talking about ‘fexor. i used to feel like doing commercials for the stuff. i cold turkey’d off it …like you are not supposed to but there were circumstances such as out of money pills and insurance….. 7 mos ago but then recently tried to go back on…and the baby dose gave me insomnia after a week. tried a few days of zoloft.=yik. i think i need what fexor has. i agree with all you say. it’s so good you are going slow. i am going to try and see if i can get by on a baby dose. a little bit of poison and a little bit of help, while trying other methods too.

      i have come upon your share at a very good time for me to read it. it’s not what i am doing but it’s what i am thinking about …to be or not to be…on it. i think i need a little chem help so i am gonna start again. good luck to us both….yeah it’s tough. so so glad you mentioned it tho since ‘fexor is a snri and not exactly like the other rx’s they mention. so hard to decide what to do. thanks and be well.

      Reply
  35. Joey

    Marijuana is an anti depressant that is natural, non addictive and it works. I know of several people that use it once a day and they feel better than the synthetic drugs prescribed by the pill pushers. Why is marijuana illegal? Because the drug corporations can’t patent it and make trillions off it.

    Reply
    • dee6249

      I use marijuana when I can for depression and it works. We need to quit griping about the drug companies having the monopoly with their synthetic drugs; we need to individually stop taking them. Find alternatives, food/diet, natural herbs etc. when we quit taking synthetic drugs, they’ll either find a way to market pot or move on to another way of income. Ultimately, we should have the final word on ourselves.

      Reply
    • rebecca rosenbaum

      you got that right! EXCEPT in about a third of the states in the union. we can only hope…b well!!

      Reply
  36. Brad Stevens

    In my experience, most depression is a result of subconscious past traumatic memories that create a component of the ego call the pain-body or shadow-self. Medications or not, it is very important to learn about this, and it is well described in Eckhart Tolle’s book “A New Earth”. Through steadfast meditation and seeing a gifted energy healer, I completely healed my pain/body/depression for good. It was grueling for me and required a lot of inner work, but it is possible to be completely free of depression and all medications like I am now. Best of luck. :)

    Reply
  37. Daniel Johnson

    There’s an assumption that everyone generally makes .. and that is that your feelings exist solely in your brain. One only need research the changes in personality associated with organ transplants to realise that they don’t.
    My experience with prozac was that I was still experiencing the sad feelings in my body, but my brain was disconnected from it. Which was a most unpleasant feeling indeed.
    I have suffered the full gamut of major depressive symptoms and some other bi-polar type things and I’m here to tell you that there is only one way forward and that is to find the trigger and deal with it. For me, its my relationship with other people and my unreal expectations of them. That includes friends, relatives, bosses and even the government. The whole world,
    Its taken me years to figure this out (its simple .. they’re all humans like me therefore messed up like me in their different ways) but now that I have I’m at peace. No depression .. nothing. In fact, the hardest thing for me now is dealing with the nothing because I’m so used to feeling like shit. At least its a space I can be creative with.
    I also had a friend who is bi-polar and I could literally see the thought process that would send him into an episode. (I’d be saying ‘stop it!’)The drugs he takes make him apathetic to the question he asks himself that triggers his episodes so they work, but they don’t answer the question, which is essentially unanswerable. So they don’t treat the cause …. The cause is the paradox he is intelligent enough to perceive but not tough enough to leave alone. Myself, I am fortunate to see the paradoxes in life but be thick skinned enough to not bother myself with answering them. If he wasn’t drugged he would have a chance to come to terms with this paradox that dogs his life and by doing so, grow. … or he might not and die … at least he’s living his life.

    Another thing about the depression/suicide thing I would like to say is that really, the suicidal thoughts are a result of one feeling one does not fit in because one is depressed. The depression itself is just like having an unwelcome visitor, you can cope with it. Its the relationship you have with the world as a depressed person that causes the real anguish. Its a self feeding mechanism.

    bottom line is that I think anti-depressants are rubbish and a symptom of a global illness of consciousness that does not allow for natural responses to unusual problems

    p.s Jonathan, if you are monitoring this board … I feel for you .. that’s a shit situation … if you want to talk about it I’m available dda999 at gmail … same goes for anyone else actually

    Reply
  38. bavenkuruvilla

    for those already into drugs to fight depression, trying to get out of it by individually trying o shape our reality will just not work. However for those who suddenly plunge into depression have a very good chance to fight it by follwing the author’s suggestion of trying to shape our reality.
    i got into severe depression and as this author has put it ” your brain shapes itself based on how you perceive reality” i had also got out of by realising my briain had shaped itslef based on my perceived situation that dragged me into the situation. Out i came and in spite of several wee wee bouts that come and go, it gets kicked out reminding myself of this theory.
    yes it works for freshers .

    Reply
  39. Summer Perry

    What about Wellbutrin? It’s widely prescribed and works completely differently than those listed above. I would really like to know more. Wellbutrin almost ruined my life.

    Reply
  40. Janell

    If there is a chemical imbalance, most likely something is lacking in the body since we have such great diets these days. If your not getting vitamins, minerals etc. from the foods you are eating they need to be replaced from a good source otherwise there is a chemical imbalance.

    Reply
  41. Christy

    I’m here to tell you that depression is real…and it hurts…not just the person that is depressed, but those around the person that is depressed. The author appears to dismiss that…and offer NO solutions.

    Reply
  42. donnarau

    I FOUND AN ALL NATURAL SOLUTION!! I agree that depression is real… I have suffered from it for many many years and tried every antidepressant out there. I got so bad this past fall, that I went to a psychiatrist and he diagnosed me with BIPOLAR within 10 minutes of me answering a 10 question test. I said I didn’t believe I was bipolar, just severely depressed..and it gets worse in the winter, He put me on Lithium..in one week, I gained 7 pounds, had tremors so bad and took myself off..next was something Resp? that was $200…didn’t get that, so next was Haldol. I was a zombie, wanted to sleep but couldn’t, tried to go for a short walk in my neighborhood and was paralyzed with fear that I could not find my way home. I called and took myself off that and asked if there wasn’t something less severe. Wellbutrin and Lexapro…well, they made me so tired and lifeless, I was ever more depressed, I prayed and prayed about this for months..and still do pray because I believe God answers prayers. At the end of December, I called an acquaintance to share a book program I was trying to market and he asked me to take a look at some videos. http://www.hopeformylife.info I was so anxious to feel better, I ordered right away and learned about the thousands of lives that had changed. I could not wait to feel better and was so hopeful that perhaps this could help me! I am now OFF all those meds, feel better than I have in many years, have energy, sleep soundly, do not wake in the middle of the night, am more focused and it is ALL NATURAL! It is called Q96 and I joined the company as a distributor to share my story and help millions that are suffering from depression, ADHD, bipolar, OCD, anxiety and more. It was a true miracle that God performed in my life and I feel an obligation to tell everyone I know because I have seen and heard of young children dying from Ritalin, or antidepressants. Also, I learned from an expert who is in the mental health industry that out of the 72 shootings that have happened, 70 of those were people on antidepressants. Suicides, murders, loss of life…all can be a result of these terrible drugs. I am not here trying to sell something…but only let you know that if you or someone you know suffers as I see these people on this post have, you can get this at wholesale on my site. Please know that I have your best interest in mind because without it, I was out of mine. http://www.HopeForMyLife.com is my distributor website Use 11224. It has information on there. You can email me at donna@hopeformylife.com or go to my FB page https://www.facebook.com/Q96HopeForMyLife to learn more. There is a 30 day money back guarantee and a world reknown psychiatrist at Harvard has over 500 of his patients on it.

    Thank you for reading my story.

    Donna

    Reply
  43. Michael james

    Ur all full of shit!!! What a cop out!!!!! No one really needs these drugs. The body heals its self. Even chemical imbalances. Wake up people !!!!

    Reply
    • Angela Sharpe

      Oh. my. goodness. Shut up Michael you ignorant fool.

      Reply
    • Steve

      Psychiatrists talk of a chemical imbalance … you are correct Janell, the only imbalance is a nutrient imbalance … it is never a drug imbalance until the drug has been administered! If a nutrient is not in your food … then it is not in you. It really is (usually) as simple as that. Please everyone research Pelagra … Insanity brought on by a nutrient deficiency … and fully recognized by the “professionals”!!!!

      Reply
  44. Grant Sams

    I think the article is very well written. Importantly aswell the article hits the nail on the head with regard authoritarian bodies prescribing medications to patients. I have experience of being diagnosed as depressed. My experience of this was based around medical professionals perceiving completely that they knew what was best for me. I am a spiritual person and I warm to the part about taking control of one’s own life. When I was diagnosed as depressed I was not well in body and mind though the diagnosis and subsequent treatment did little to fundamentally change the root problem which related to unresolved issues in my mind stemming from my childhood. I now think with the experience that I have that if you are to get the best from your own life and your own body and mind then you must completely take control of your life which can be easier said than done. Although I was suffering frailties before I was diagnosed and treated the medication administered did not wholly improve the situation and it suppressed my ongoing anxieties about my sense of self-identity in the United Kingdom. I am not a believer in medication and am increasingly turning to holistic therapies and chinese medicine. I think the situation is unfortunate though being educated about the reality of it is a good thing.

    Reply
  45. Daisy

    Wow, i have just sat and read all your stories and comments and must say that its comforting to know that so many other people out there feel as I do – all my life I have felt ‘different’, disconnected and not quite part of this world. I only managed to connect socially when I had a few drinks or other chemical assistance! I have been on and off anti-depressants since the early 80′s – so many that I have lost count. Even with all the pills, I slowly withdrew from the world and have been almost a total recluse for the past 7 years! My wardrobe consists of more pyjamas than anything else as its just too much hassle to get dressed! A year ago I decided that I wanted to get off the medication (cymbalta at that time) and see what it felt like to be ‘normal’ … I was feeling more and more alone and disconnected from everyone – after years of refusing invitations, or accepting and not turning up, i had no friends left, apart from those on fb!!! I had divorced my husband a few years back – telling him to see it as a gift from me – i was setting him free as i felt i had nothing to offer him! After spending a week in a clinic and being told I was in fact bi-polar, I came home, threw away every chemical in the house and went to a homeopath! At that time, I was taking paxil and tegretol (mood stabiliser) … after a couple of sleepless and shaky weeks I felt almost as though I had just hatched … suddenly there were stirrings of enthusiasm again, bachache and headaches were gone and I was able to concentrate long enough to read a book. I was able to drive to the shops without a feeling of panic, and I have even been out to a restuarant for a meal (first time for years!) I still havent reconnected socially with many people, and still feel that I have nothing much to talk about or offer a friend. My 2 grown up kids have moved back home and on the surface we appear to have a pretty ‘normal’ life …. I have filled my life with animals and spend most of my time gardening, swimming and painting my house, but in the past year I have only felt really sad and weepy a couple of times. I still havent a clue what to do with my life but I have realised that I need to ‘get a life’, and feel very sad that i wasted so many years in a drugged haze, neither feeling or expecting anything interesting or exciting to be waiting for me. I am very restless and irritable at the moment but I am planning to buy myself a car (i sold my car 4 years ago!) and go on a road trip – perhaps not all alone, but its a good start I feel!! :)

    Reply
    • Angela Sharpe

      Your comment made me sad and smile at the same time! I’m in the same predicament as you,being referred to a new psychiatrist in March to get properly assessed and re-diagnosed. I’m convinced I have bipolar 2 because I experience mostly major depressive episodes but can go into having hypo-manic episodes without warning. Doesn’t make sense to me only being classed as ‘major depressive’, I know it’s more than that. It would explain why anti-depressants don’t have much long term effect on my mood/make me suicidal. Apparently a high percentage of people diagnosed with major depression actually have undiagnosed bipolar, but it is hard to recognise. You just have to be authoritative with GPs/psychiatrists and make them explore every option!

      Reply
  46. Maharani

    What a primitive, fanatic approach! SSRIs may not be a perfect solution to this terrible disease named depression, but they DO save lives, just as they saved mine. Interestingly, all those depression smarties who write this kind of one-sided and blind-folded articles are usually those who have never truly suffered from depression themselves. I am waiting for an article written by someone who was suicidal and got cured from depression without meds. All the rest is just cheap talking.

    Reply
    • Ann

      I have severe depression and PTSD. I was diagnosed when I was 14, although I was 9 when I made my first attempt at suicide. I was plagued by constant sadness. Many days I didn’t get out of bed. I was put on Paxil first, then after another suicide attempt I was switched to Zoloft, which caused severe vomiting. Then I was switched to Prozac. Then they added Klonopin for anxiety because I began having panic attacks. At 18 I was long term hospitalized because I dissociated and tried to drown myself. I was on a myriad of drugs. I had such awful side effects that I stopped getting out of bed altogether, and I was extremely underweight. After leaving the psychiatric ward, I stopped taking all of my medications. I let my symptoms go untreated, and I self harmed and abused alcohol and couldn’t hold a job. I dropped out of school. I damaged most of my relationships.
      I met a psychiatrist who was willing to work with me to find something other than a pill to help my depression. They are not easy to find, and I am lucky.
      We started with exercise. Many people who say they have depression and have tried exercise (and it did not help) do not understand that the average person needs to do 40 mins of continuous cardio every single day to stimulate enough endorphins to counteract depression. Everyone’s body is different, and some people need more than this even. That said, motivating oneself to even begin exercising when you’re in a depressive state is extremely difficult. It is very important to have a good support system of people to motivate you.
      We also tackled my diet. As I said above, everyone’s body is a little different. We started by making sure that I was consuming 3 cups of raw green veggies a day, and I went on an elimination diet. It is important to do elimination diets under the supervision of a doctor who is specifically educated in nutrition. Remember that most doctors take only 1 nutrition class in all of medical school. We worked on intuitive eating and learning to listen to what my body needed. Drinking enough water is also very important, especially when you’re exercising. Use the 1/2 your body weight in oz every day rule (not the 8 glasses) and spread it out throughout the day. Detoxifying every day is important.
      I learned to meditate. Meditation was the single most effective non-drug therapy for me. Raising your vibrational frequency is perhaps the most important step in beating depression. This means abandoning all habits that lower your vibrational frequency. That can mean major life changes. That can mean ending your relationships with toxic people, changing the music you listen to, never drinking alcohol again. They are not easy changes to make. Meditation is like a muscle, if you stop, you almost have to relearn it. Spend more time in the right side of your brain. Mindfulness is an amazing experience.
      Getting enough sleep is important. I still struggle to sleep many nights. Valarian root tea helps a lot, and with none of the negative side effects that I experienced on Ambien or over the counter medications.
      Coping mechanisms are important, but anyone who has gone to even one talk therapy session knows that coping mechanisms are always touted as the magic trick to erase depression symptoms, and while they are important and can help prevent symptoms from being triggered, they aren’t the magic cure by any stretch of the imagination.
      I am in my 20s. I still have depression. There still exists a chemical imbalance in my brain, but it is far less severe. I am in a safe loving relationship, and when I am triggered or suicidal I do not have the opportunity to act on those urges. I still have days where I don’t get out of bed, but I have stopped beating myself up over that. Instead, when I am triggered or experience symptoms, I take it as a cue that I need to step away from life. I am lucky in that my family is not a part of mainstream society, so I don’t risk losing a job because some days I just can’t function like a non depressed person. I no longer get sadness as a depression symptom. I get the aches, the chronic fatigue, my limbs feel heavy, I don’t want to eat, I am tired but cannot sleep, I weep, but I am no longer sad. I know that when I feel hopeless it will pass. Most of the time I am happy, even when I am having symptoms. “It’s a beautiful day outside, but I’m not getting out of bed.”
      It takes dedication to navigate mental illness without medication. There are natural alternatives like marijuana, essential oils, and even rose petal tea. If you don’t want to support Big Pharma, and you need medicine, there are wonderful naturopathic doctors who can help.
      I honestly don’t know if I would’ve made it to where I am if my family hadn’t exited mainstream society, though. Part of how the matrix traps you is by giving you a pill to save your life, so that you can be a slave to its cost.
      I think we can all agree that no one has the right to dictate what anyone else puts or doesn’t put into their body. If someone wants anti depressants and that person believes they will help, then more power to them! Their body will learn to work with their medications, and they may not experience any negative side effects. Everyone’s body is different; everyone’s disease is different. These are just my personal experiences. I hope that sharing them can help somehow.

      Reply
    • Maria

      Well she isn’t writing articles. But my mum had a severe depression and got through it all without taking meds. It was extremly difficult but she did it (and yes i’m proud of her).
      But if you ask her, she is not against medication. She still believes it’s good for some situations. Unfortunatly, many doctors seem to think it’s taking drugs or institutionalization. There is hardly any real support for people having this devastating illness.

      Reply
  47. Jamie

    I rea this aricle because it was “shared” in a FB feed by my sister in law. I was heartbroken she would sign on with this misguided group of people who are so caught up in the world of “conspiracies” and “fanatical mind body natural healing” stuff out there… that they have become BLIND to the real people walking amongst them. Real people with real stories. Sure – mind body is important. Nutrician is important. Big pharma is out there making money… sometimes via unsuccessful over-prescribed drugs. Other times via life saving meds.

    Here’s a story for you though…. you tell me whether you think this is a simple “perception problem” or a “nutrient problem” or something bigger…. and probably genetic. Also situational. Because as people who have ACTUALLY lived with and survived mental illness within their families know…. it is a very complex web. Not just a silly little perception imbalance as this author so arrogantly insinuates.And the longer the mental illness runs uncontrolled… the more that sad things happen… the more collateral damage happens with loved ones… and the deeper the black holes get. And the deeper the shame goes. And fear. I GRIEVE for anyone going through this cycle… for any reason. I hope they find answers and solutions. Above all – SEEK HELP. Embrace life… it is precious. You never know what sort of beautiful thing might be waiting for you around the next corner. Never give in to demons. Never give up. HANG On.

    So here you go. My grandmother… who I never met because she died before I was born (unrelated accident) spent several periods lasting months or years each… I don’t really know… no one in my family speaks about it because of the pain and shame… in a mental instituiton. A good private one. But my mother was a young girl and then teenager when this was going on. I believe my grandmother was diagnosed as bipolar and given ECT in the 50′s when it was in it’s infancy. Brutal. My Mom has spent much of life avoiding therapy out of sheer fear… I think because of what she witnessed that had happenned to her own mother. My Mom was totally orphaned at age 21 (again – just a coincidental tragic airplane crash that killed both her mother and father during one of the rare moments her mother was out of a hospital or institution… they actually were trying to go on a vacation together… very sad). Anyway – my Mom got married and began having babies soon after that. And depression set in. or bipolar. or borderline personality disorder. I don’t even know how to diagnose her. It doesn’t matter. She attempted suicude twice – I believe because noone openly talks about it because of the shame – in front of my older siblings when she was in her twenties. And when they were toddlers. And was institutionalized. But eventually came home and went off meds and therapy for years. And boy… we had a sad childhood. I witnessed my mother fly into rages. Cry uncontrollably. Fight with my father and siblings. Emotionally and sometimes physically abuse us…. then not remember doing it. I watched an older sister begin to repeat much of her berhavior… especially now that she has kids of her own and is almost 40 – completely awful. I watched another older sister deal with the pain by internalizing… and then develop a severe eating disorder as a teen and almost die. Like she got all the way down to 70 pounds and her hair fell out. And when I… the last female in this line went out the gate and hit young womanhood…. I started showing signs of instability and depression in my tees. Then met a horribly abusive boyfriend… who raped and beat me. An unfortunate coincidence… as if life at home wasn’t hard enough already. And by the time I was 20, even while under the care of a therapist and on drugs, I tried suicide. With pills. Tylenol PM. The abusive boyfriend got me to the hospital in 15 minutes though… they pumped my stomach and I lived. My Mom was not able to emotionally help me though…. nor my Dad. He was too busy trying to keep my Mom and other two sisters “above water.” I tried suicide again at 22. Took something like 50 xanax. Again…. someone took me to the hospital in time and they pumped my stomach and I lived. I was institutionalized though. After a while – I got out. Found an AMAZING psychiatrist and counselor who worked together with me using BOTH talk therapy and drugs (Serzone) and after a few years, by some miracle I got through college, got a Master’s, even got married and had babies with a wonderful supportive man who has stood by me through stuff that I can’t even describe. But depression and PTSD still pop up routinely. I have been on lexapro twice now for almost 18 months each time. Went off everything while pregnant and breastfeeding for 2 kids…. took it right to the edge and got predictably suicidal when each baby was at about the 4 month mark…. then immediately started back with lexapro and within weeks was a much more normal mom who was able to care for her babies. I am now at such a good place mentally – I DO seem to do ok with diet and exercise and regular talk therapy now. I am 33. But I take responsibility for myself, and the sort of childhood my kids are going to have, and I will doom myself to a “zombie like state” or side effects or whatever so long as my children are spared the sort of trauma my sisters and brothers and I lived through. And the trauma my Mom probably lived through. The girls seem to suffer more in my family. Who knows. I’ll go back on meds anytime I need to. I think I’m setting a good loving responsible example for my children by doing so when necessary. My doctors are not evil coconspirators of big pharma. They are happy and supportive of me being off meds right now. They work with me… we are a team. I am blessed.

    One more thing. My mother and father divorced a few years ago. It was awful and tragic. She tried to take her own life again during this period. I, and my 6 month old son were alone with her when she began trying to beat us and tried to throw herself off a 9 story balcony in front of us. I had to hide my baby under a sofa in her apartment then wrestle her to the ground and call 911. She tried to talk her way out of all of it. I had to sit with her and her psychatrist (one of my sisters cared for my baby in the waiting room) and relay the truth of what had happenned and get her committed involuntarily. It was awful. She was angry and frightened and blamed me. She got out of the mental hospital after only 72 hours, dutifully went on meds for a fews months, then went off them all on her own because “she’s the healthiest person she knows.” Try the most delusional person you care to meet. One of my sisters and I cried together when we found Mom had gone off meds again. She’s been abusive to both of us again since then. Horribly abusive. I’ve finally had to cut all ties and live with the fear that she will do herself in this time. I have no choice though. I have to CHOOSE good mental health and life for myself, and to care for my kids.

    THAT IS WHAT PROFOUND DEPRESSION IS LIKE IN A FAMILY. All you people spouting ignorant rants about the dangers of drugs who think you are so smart…. put yourself in my shoes… or in the shoes of a child watching a parent struggle. Perhaps having depression in check long enpough for families to heal is not such a bad thing. Get a grip and do not add shame and pressure to people who are already living through hell and just trying to make it in this world. Check your egos at the door and just try shutting up and being kind and supportive instead. Especially the author of this stupid article.

    Reply
  48. Arjun

    The brain and it’s chemical flows are shaped by how the being perceives reality. Neuroplasticity is starting to show it, we are always in control, and have the ability to change our brain chemistry at any time. Unfortunately mainstream medicine has us believe otherwise

    Reply
    • Angela Sharpe

      Okay then Arjun, how exactly do you propose one does this? How can I say to my brain, looky here fucker, balance the chemistry in my brain so I no longer feel depressed – with it working? Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it.

      Reply
      • Daniel Johnson

        It sounds ridiculous from a certain school of thought sure. But what Arjun is saying is that there are new schools of thought and evidences arising that you can do exactly that. I have anecdotal evidence of my own healing and of a very few people I know, but nothing scientific as yet. That does not make it not so. I have proved it to myself at least.
        Its very difficult to make this point without the evidence, and it may make you sound like a crank, but there have been no advances in science without people believing a thing to be true first and then going on to prove it.
        What we do have evidence to show is that our current psychiatric view does not seem to be working, as people are getting sicker and those who are ill are staying that way, though managing, like yourself, with the help of meds. In other words, the meds treat the symptoms, but not the illness. What Arjun is proposing is a methodology to cure the illness. Or, I should say, he’s attempting to discuss it at least. This won’t happen while we believe that the well being of our thoughts is dependant on brain chemistry alone, as the doctors will just keep prescribing in order to ‘fix’ it. The doctors need to realise there are other ways, that unfortunately, they will never make money out of. Or better, we need to take responsibility for ourselves

        Reply
        • Angela Sharpe

          It’s a very delicate topic and a very misunderstood illness. I’m going back and forth in my life unsure of what to say or do, questioning myself as to why I feel like this.. why I’m not getting better. I try new things, change things like my diet, exercise, go on different medications.. nothing seems to have a profound, long-lasting effect for me. Getting quite fed up of it all to be honest :/ and when the people who are there to provide you help don’t really care and just want to shove tablets down your throat it makes it all the worse. What a shitter of a situation. Wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.

          Reply
          • Daniel Johnson

            I know, its absolute shit in the worst sense …. wouldn’t wish this on anyone .. except for those people who don’t get it and think they know whats best for us. It might do them some good. Experiencing the absolute terror and that most disgusting feeling of all, that its always going to be like this.
            But you know, don’t want to offer advice .. but its all worth a try … massive doses of vitamins .. good ones .. st john’s wort .. 5htp .. theres a natural lithium out there too .. meditation.. yoga .. tai chi … as much human contact as possible (for the oxytocin) … its better than that cycle. At the very least you feel like you’re the one in charge and you’re not a victim of circumstance. That was my main theme … I hated feeling like it was something outside of myself., I’d rather blame myself. At least then I can make a change. Doctors are very disempowering in this regard.

            Look, Angela, if I could pop over and make you a cup of tea right now I fucking would ..

          • Daniel Johnson

            and oh .. you’re not getting better because you trust your shrink too much… you HAVE to do it yourself. They, like our governments, dont really know. They just like to give the impression they do

  49. SavitreeKaur

    I believe that dis-ease begins in the mind and, left unresolved, manifests into various illnesses like cancer and depression. Once it manifests, it becomes a very physical issue that necessitates external assistance. Having said that, I believe that treatment through drugs may be appropriate when the dis-ease is at such a critical point that stabilization outweighs “side effects”. Once “stable,” the other crucial and more healthful and sustainable part of treatment is in making the person whole again. Perhaps this means psycho-therapy. Perhaps nutritional therapy. Perhaps yoga and meditation. Perhaps all of the above paired with alternative modalities to get the stuck energy flowing again in the body.
    The great news is, what begins in the mind can be changed in the mind. But first, the mind must be made response-able.

    Reply
  50. Marian Train

    Heard of Psych/soma..what comes first..the chicken or the egg?The impact of brain vs body.. I think you are making too many blatant statements without fully unerstanding the human body. You cannot separate physical from emotional and vice versa. The brain is as much of a part of our physical body such as our heart,liver and lungs…how can you justify wee babies and children born with mental health issues and are raised in a “stable” family with normal developing siblings. Is that child choosing to be autistic,depressed,out of touch with reality…? If our thyroid is not producing proper levels of hormone..do we talk to it and say..come on right yourself …when a person has a cardiac infarction,can we heal this with our mind?..medecine works in those cases.But..physical conditions/disease can be responsible for depression..or did we choose to react as such to these events? Humans are one living species with multiple areas that are yet to be explained..Before I was DX with Bipolar 2 ,depession etc.,I lost 30 lbs. I related the loss to working hard,daily sressors etc. Depression was far from my mind…I was found to have hypothyroidism..Yay…I was going to get better..in fact I got worse.. I am a proffessional in the medical field..I did not choose to have my health fail to a point of long term disability.I eat well, I exercise regularily.I have tried holistic,homeopathic,meds,cognitve therapy and yes even ECT.. I now cannot remember events from a few minutes ago to chunks lost from years ago..I cannot “learn” or retain new info due to poor concentration and memory deficits..my recall is poor..working with numbers seem to be the worse.I have notes pasted all over my house in order to live..then,at times,I read the messages wrong..times and dates are jumbled. I do not recognize people that I knew for years. I am not on highly sedating drugs..I go on “drug Holidays” to see if a certain med actualy helps me.. I hear voices..not talking to me,but far off as if I am at a party..laughing,high/low tones…apparently has been identified as a side effect (per say) of mental issues..I lived in severe pain years before I spoke to a Dr about it..I said nothing for years because I was SURE that I made it up..I have degenerative disc disease,4 bony prominences leaning on my right sciatic nerve,causing acute,pain. I have been Dx with severe osteoarthritis..I have cyclic migraines..lasting days..All confirmed by CT,MRI,bloodwork…Hmm, I suppose the mental illness caused all of these physial problems,even though I denied myself therapy or testing for years..trying to out wit this Mental Illness thing..I actually felt less suicidal when my pain was in more control by taking your”pharmaceutical” RX’s…Listen, I believe a lot of what you have to say but your ideas are presented as “this is how it is people”..my way or the highway..I pray that you NEVER experience acute mental or physical problems..I am not sure that you could handle it.

    Reply
    • Angela Sharpe

      Couldn’t agree more with everything you said. It should be someone like you writing this article. My heart also goes out to you, you have been through a lot! More than most. I hope things improve for you!

      Reply
  51. Alexandra

    This article is absolutely bogus. Yes, I agree that medication is handed out far too often to individuals that do not truly need meds. Additionally, yes: anti-anxiety and anti-depression medications do change the chemicals in one’s brain. However, some individuals truly DO need ant-anxiety and/or anti-depression meds. The key is determining whether or not one has high probability to believe that one suffers from an actually disorder rather than a depression caused by a single or temporal event (i.e., the loss of a job, etc). However, sometimes, even in temporal cases, one needs to take medication.

    Reply
    • arjun

      medication is never needed, depression is a medical diagnosis made up to justify and make people believe that medication is needed, it never helps, and if it ever does it is placebo. Either way, the effect, cause and ‘cures’ for depression cannot scientifically be measured…they are based on medical assumptions…..you cant actaully ‘see’ if the cause of the diagnoses or the implications of medication! Its a complex hoax.

      Reply
      • Steve

        No SCIENCE … No CURE … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHu7Ik36128

        Reply
      • Daniel Johnson

        Actually, you only need read through these comments above to realise that this is correct. There’s not one person been cured by these drugs. They mask the symptoms enough to rescue people from perhaps the worst of it but there is no cure.
        There’s no cure because the diagnosis is completely wrong. To all you who suffer from serious depression I would seek an actual physical cause. (tooth abscesses can make people depressed! as can heavy metal poisoning)
        Otherwise, depression is grief. There is no cure for grief but time. Anxiety is apprehension, ADHD is boyishness. Bi-Polar is sensory overload.

        Reply
      • Angela Sharpe

        Different schools of thought have different explanations as to why we think, behave and become mentally ill. The biological perspective would have us believe you develop a mental illness because of a psychical one. Like schizophrenia, a theory that believes people develop the disorder because of the influenza virus (if a pregnant woman develops the virus whilst the fetus is 25-30 weeks, the child can become infected and the disorder is triggered in puberty or is triggered by environmental factors) There are positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia and medication is proven to work for the positive symptoms, but mostly therapy only works for negative symptoms. Also some people inherit a predisposition to mental illnesses because their parents had one. (Which I can relate to.) There is no difference between giving someone medication for their schizophrenia, bipolar OR depression. There is evidence to PROVE that without these medications, some individuals would not be able to live a ‘normal’ life. I, for one would not be here if I wasn’t medicated at the age of 15, and again at 21.

        - In my opinion, there is no difference between a mental illness and a physical one. Everything is linked. Medication HAS worked for certain people and has kept them alive, me for one. So what you’re saying is your take on it, it’s not fact so stop trying to pass it off as fact because it is offensive to those who don’t share the same belief, and it also makes you appear ignorant. Every one person is different so where one method may work efficiently for one person, it may not for the other. So stop trying to make people with mental illness feel worse and incapable. How can they change certain aspects that effect them if it’s out of their control? I can’t reach into my brain and make more serotonin. Also before you start lecturing me on eating better, exercising, therapy, meditation – I’VE DONE IT ALL. I’ve been at this for 8 years so don’t even go there.

        - Also can I just ask Arjun, have you ever even experienced a mental illness?

        Reply
        • Arjun

          No I haven’t Angela, i’v been diagnosed with tourettes, adhd, ocd and a few other things… Also with depression a number of times….I say i’v never experienced mental illness because I don’t believe any of these to be a mental illness:) As you can probably already tell. Maybe there are some differences, i’m not denying that.

          Reply
          • Daniel Johnson

            wow .. just wrote a very long piece about why people with so called mental illness stay that way .. very much along the lines of Arjun’s article .. its because they believe it. You are what you say you are… but I deleted it because I know that these self same people will misinterpret and use it somehow to encourage the illusion. I’ve seen it before. ANYTHING can be twisted to prove a point when the ego kicks in.

            The last few months, and the reason I came here to this conversation, I have been suffering a major depression. It was as black as anyone’s here I tell you. It was the mariana trench of depressions. I couldn’t move, couldn’t get out of bed, when I did I drank like a madman. I woke each morning, if I slept, imagining myself swaying in the breeze from the verandah rafters. Didn’t tell anyone this because of course the cops would come and I think I knew somewhere I had to do this myself.

            The entire thing was precipitated by grief, which basically took 3 years to come on. I think I was too frozen before to feel this grief .. but the grief, once begun, soon turned to real deep sadness.

            Now if I had left this to the shrinks then I would have been medicated for sure. I did believe I very well may kill myself so that could have gotten me institutionalised but I had one saving grace. I trusted my soul that there was a reason for this. And I prayed and meditated and swam to the bottom of the grimy sea and drowned myself in it and told everyone who was saying ‘you should get help’ to leave it because they were really just saying that because they wanted me to stop for their own sakes. Its not nice hanging with someone who is severely depressed.. its depressing in itself because they are just sending crazy brain waves your way.

            So I went hermit for like 5 months .. locked myself in my room … and went through it … at the bottom of the trench I got the message. My soul is crying out in anguish not only out of sadness for the perfidy of the world .. the sheer inanity … but because I had bought into it! In fact, this was exactly what was upsetting me so much. Because I believed the bullshit. I wasn’t being ME!…

            then one day I thought I am so fucking sick of this and started eating .. the ‘chemical’ aspects of the depression lifted very quickly (amazing what a trout, some cashews, salad and a good jog can do) … the spiritual aspects sorted out immediately that I got what was really bugging me…..

            I’m not going back there. That was the last time. And even if I have to go broke, lose all my friends .. I’m going to do what I do which is why I am here. (won’t go in to that… shrinks would consider that crazy in itself)

            Though conversely, my friends are extremely relieved .. not only that.. I have become inspirational, charming and witty again. AND they all reckon I look really good.

            I re-iterate!!! I was as low as anyone here ever went, it was like death but worse … don’t be reading this thinking oh mine’s worse.. it isnt… just the same …

            IF I had allowed them shrinks near me at this time, I would now be fucked. (Sorry for the rude words but sometimes they’re good to use)… absolutely .. Instead, I am super excited, super inspired and super charged. (no its not an episode) I’m also super calm and feeling real peace at last (schwoo!). This is because I sorted my own stuff out. Just as Arjun was extolling (thanks Arjun for the encouragement during this period of time, you did a real human service .. bless you)

            I refused to be a victim, no matter how low it got.

            Love you all! Be well, Be happy, Be free!!!

  52. lisa sims

    medication for depression is a touchy subject with many people on both sides of the issue. In my case my husband was on Zoloft and died of an accidental overdose of Zoloft due to liver failure. When he first started taking the Zoloft it was a miracle drug for him. He swore that he would never go back to the way he felt before he started taking the medication. And for seven years it was so good. he was so happy. When strange things began to happen we thought he might be getting altimerzers as he had just lost his older brother a few years prior to the disease. When his symptoms got worse instead of better he went to the dr and told him exactly what was going on. The dr asked him many questions and diagnosed him with depression and anxiety and he doubled the dosage of Zoloft. My 57 year old husband was dead 15 days later. The autopsy showed the level of Zoloft in his body would have killed an elephant as his liver was not working and the medication was building up as his body could not break It down and dispose of it. I came home in time to find him and he looked at me one last time and his eyes rolled to the back of his head and I frantically started cpr while trying to call 911. it is almost 7 years now and you never stop missing them. wishing just for one last time to hear his voice or to have him come up from behind while I did the dishes and kissing my neck. I always felt so safe when he did that. That he had my back. Or listening to him sing in the shower. he had a voice that he could have sang for a living. He had many professional musicians in is family including his father. We always had music on when driving and he played the dashboard drums and sang with complete joy. so I know it is a touchy subject as I have been on both sides. I myself was diagnosed with suicidal tendencies, severe depression, ptsd, and a host of other things including severe detachment disorder which is why everyone said how well I did at the funeral. I wasn’t at the funeral. My physical body was there and I could respond and act normal but I was far away in a deep tunnel were I thought ok you can have a funeral for him but he is coming back. I joke now that I did grow up in the soap opera era where everyone comes back from the dead. It took a long time to climb out of that tunnel and for a while I took an anti depressant. t helped somewhat it made me feel out there. LOL I already have a disorder where I feel detachment so a med doing it t me was not helpful. Today I take one anti anxiety medication and no anti depressants. I have me good days and bad days. I have been in talk therapy for many years over time. When my husband passed I had been in therapy for about a year or so . My therapist of course knew what a deep bond and good marriage we had. For 6 months my visits consisted of the two of us crying for the entire hour. It took that long for me to even be able to start to put words to my grief. So I understand both sides of the issue. I just wish that whatever side you are on you have compassion for the other side. No one has all the answers an we don’t need to attack each other personally because we disagree.

    Reply
    • Steve

      What a tragic story, I can feel your grief. And what a balanced view of the debate. Thank you for sharing with us.

      Reply

  53. Pingback: Collective-Evolution – Antidepressant Drugs Put Thousands Of Pregnant Woman At Risk

  54. Lorraine.

    Thank God for anti-depressants is all I can say. I had a terrible depression four years ago despite having had therapy years previously, as well during my depression. I couldn’t get out of bed and for the first time in my life I had suicidal thoughts. The sadness was overwhelming and my thinking was completely skewed in a negative direction, despite my very wonderful life. A friend of mine, a psychologist told me that it is often the people that most need anti-depressants are the ones that refused to take them. I battled for a year with my depression but I was getting sicker and sicker. I finally took anti-depressants and the relief from my own mind was immense. I didn’t feel high, I felt normal. I took them for six months and then I thought I’m fine again, so came off them only to start to relive the symptoms all over again. A year and half later I tried to come off my anti-depressants again and this time, I was fine. I continue to be fine a year on. I think it is simplistic to raise an argument that it’s just drug companies wanting to make money. This medication actually works. It can and does save lives.

    Reply
  55. Estelle Holtzhausen

    The world is a very diverse place. Just so, depression and similar disorders/diseases have many facets, degrees and causes and every individual will respond to respective treatments differently. Some will learn to ‘manage’ their depression and some will find medication helps and for some there will be no relief at all and they will die trying. This is the sad reality. There are NO ABSOLUTES for a topic like this and it is foolishness to think that one person’s formula for happiness and health will successfully apply to all. We are all just trying to work it out as we go along and it would be more beneficial for all parties to simply share their opinions and personal experiences without presuming to enforce it on others. By sharing our stories and other peoples experiences, we realize that we are not alone and the challenges we face are not unique. We learn new approaches to overcome or manage our challenges and our lives are enriched. We do not need to defend ourselves and our choices or rationalize them to anyone because each persons life experience is completely subjective and consequently unique to them.

    Reply
  56. Heidy Zweig

    Totally disagree with you on this one !! I am going to look for some of my old research on mental illnesses . Sadly depression and other illness truly can not always be managed simply by therapy however with both combined huge success rate. If someone had diabetes or cancer you would treat it. Why? Because medically there is something working incorrectly in the body…so….what I’m saying, being someone who worked with mentally I’ll as well as myself that medications are in fact a crucial necessity in one to be in remission. The longer someone with mental illness goes untreated it literally starts deteriating your brain cells making each day harder and harder to recover. So…this is a topic I hold close to my heart both personally and professionally…don’t get me wrong. I feel that many people often feel medications are always the answer alone, that is certainly not always a good thing, as I stated remission from mental illness is best successful with both medication therapy as well as cognitive therapy. But sadly it is not as black and white as so stated. so…that’s my say on this. Thanks for sharing always good to hear other points of view!

    Reply
  57. Jack Green

    Rock on, Daniel Johnson! Good job, and congratulations!!! It takes a strong person to do what you just did.

    And Angela, How did it go with the Q96?? I’m dying to find out!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

CE Magazine

Subscribe to CE Magazine Monthly For Exclusive Content!

Watch SIRIUS!

Yekra Player

Yekra is a revolutionary new distribution network for feature films.

Sirius

“Sirius” is a feature length documentary that follows Dr. Steven Greer – an Emergency Medicine doctor turned UFO/ New Energy researcher – as he struggles to disclose top secret information about classified energy & propulsion techniques. Along the way, Dr. Greer investigates new technology and sheds light on criminal suppression. He accumulates over 100 Government, Military, and Intelligence Community witnesses who testify on record about their first-hand experiences with UFOs and with the cover-up.

In the course of his research Dr. Greer is asked to look at an amazing find: a humanoid specimen, 6 inches long from the Atacama Desert. Not until 2012 was he given permission to take bone samples and DNA from the specimen. At that same time a pre-eminent geneticist, hearing of this find, offered to do DNA testing. He enlisted an MD from the same university,- world renowned for his work with skeletal anomalies, to view the x-rays and CT scans. Their expertise along with Dr. Greer’s expansive knowledge of the subject bring more questions than answers. Where did this “Atacama Humanoid” come from? Are there others like it? What does it say about the origin of the human species?

While on this odyssey, the audience gains a whole new perspective on technology, human evolution, and clandestine organizations who have manipulated and controlled the public for centuries.

Watch Our Documentaries!

The Collective Evolution The Collective Evolution II

CE Radio

Listen to internet radio with CE Radio on Blog Talk Radio

We Recommend

www.truththeory.com www.consciouslifenews.com
  Love us on Facebook to keep up-to-date with our latest insights, content, and quotes. Join the discussion and share your thoughts with our like-minded community! Click here to subscribe to the CE Magazine for exclusive content! CE Mag is digital so it's eco-friendly.