...SHOULD NEVER TAKE ANTIDEPRESSANTS” A vast research from the 1950s to present has shown that 80% of people in the world today use antidepressants. These drugs correct chemical imbalances of neurotransmitters in the brain which probably cause changes in mood and behavior; however people have been overusing and abusing the use of antidepressants and I totally agree with the notion that people should never take antidepressants because it is has lots of side effects. The misuse of these drugs cause negative side effects to people both psychologically and physically. To begin with, these drugs are psychiatric medications which were initially made for patients with depressive disorders to alleviate symptoms but the continual use of it causes psychological side effects such as sexual dysfunction. Antidepressants cause sexual dysfunction and have adverse effects on sperm quality. Depression commonly causes problems in sexual functioning. However, many antidepressants make the problem worse, affecting sexual desire, arousal, and orgasm. The most widely studied and commonly prescribed antidepressants such as Celexa, Effexor, Paxil, and Prozac, have been found to increase the risk of sexual dysfunction by six times or more. Some antidepressants have been found to negatively impact sperm structure, volume, and mobility Furthermore there is also a wide range of significant physical effects caused by the use of antidepressants. One of which is;...
Words: 326 - Pages: 2
...Treatment Issue Regarding the Possible Efficacy of Psilocybin on Depression Jennifer Pepper The Chicago School of Professional Psychology MM627 Clinical Psychopathology Tonya Bennett, Ph.D. Summer 2014 - Final Paper Treatment Issue Regarding the Possible Efficacy of Psilocybin on Depression For thousands of years, humans have been using psychedelic plants all over the world for healing purposes. Despite this fact, in 1971, these medicines were classified as schedule I drugs. Schedule I drugs are defined as drugs with a high potential for abuse or drugs that have no recognized medical uses. After 40 years of almost-total prohibition, psychologists, psychiatrists and neuroscientists are reassessing the role of psychedelic drugs. This research paper will focus on the classical serotonergic psychedelic called psilocybin or the so-called ‘magic mushroom’ and it’s clinical potential in the treatment of various psychiatric disorders. First, it is important to recognize certain facts about psilocybin that may be unknown due to misperceptions about the plant. Psilocybin is not known to cause damage to the brain or any other organs in the body and is regarded as non-addictive (Nichols, 2004; as cited in Krebs & Johansen, 2013). In fact, studies have found that psilocybin may lead to neurogenesis, or the regrowth of brain cells (Catlow et al., 2013). Psilocybin can cause sustained positive changes in attitudes, mood and behavior, and a recent study suggests it may be helpful...
Words: 2977 - Pages: 12
...The most common types of psychotherapies suggested for youth are cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy for adolescents (IPT-A) (Kirpatrick 20). Benefits of the cognitive behavioral therapy is that it helps teens fix their distorted negative perceptions that they have about themselves and the world around them. Interpersonal therapy for adolescents differs from cognitive behavioral therapy in that it focuses on relationship problems that may be the justification of their depression. Therapy is an essential measure that must be taken because while medication may alleviate symptoms of depression, therapy can help someone cope with feelings, problem solve, and change behavior patterns. The reason why therapy alone is not an efficient form of treatment is that depression is something that is caused by a biological problem. Rashmi Nemade, Ph.D., Natalie Staats Reiss, Ph.D., and Mark Dombeck, Ph.D. explain that depression is associated with problems or imbalances in the brain with...
Words: 1368 - Pages: 6
...Hydrochloride, the most media exposure of any psychiatric medication in the history, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors antidepressant that affects chemical in the brain to reduce depression, panic, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The effect of Prozac is to block the absorption of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. It regulates the amount of serotonin to help brain cells transmit messages to each other, resulting in a better and more stable mood. Back to 1970s, Fluoxetine was developed by Bryan Molly, David Wong and Roy Fuller of the Eli Lilly corporation in 1973. It was the first product in a major new drugs for depression and introduced to the American market in 1988. They roughly took about two years to gain reputation and most prescribed status around the nation. Fluoxetine was not discovered accidentally but was designed specifically to block the reuptake of serotonin back into the pre-synaptic neuron. The patients whose taking Fluoxetine indicated the improvement of decisiveness, increase self-esteem and quickness of thoughts. They did not have a loss of mood or motivation. (Kruger, 1995) In fact, it enabled them to see their problems in a more objective manner and actively seek solutions. It was mainly to cue depressions but the reports also indicated Fluxoetine could diminish obsession, compulsions and other negative aspects of behavior. Scientists used this advantage to treat some other mental disorders. As for now, Fluoxetine is used to treat...
Words: 2342 - Pages: 10
...Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Zung Self-Rating Scale for Depression. These tests may be administered in an outpatient or hospital setting by a general practitioner, social worker, psychiatrist, or psychologist. Treatment Major depressive disorders are typically treated with a combination of antidepressants and psychosocial therapy. Psychosocial therapy focuses on the personal and interpersonal issues behind depression, while antidepressant medication is prescribed to provide more immediate relief for the symptoms of the disorder. When used together correctly, therapy and antidepressants are a powerful treatment plan for the depressed patient. Signs of depression Table by PreMediaGlobal. Reproduced by permission of Gale, a part of Cengage Learning....
Words: 1444 - Pages: 6
...Should ECT be Used to Treat Mental Illness Electroconvulsive therapy is often said to be the quickest and most effective treatment in treating symptoms of mental disorders, but at what cost? Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is used to treat severe mental disorders such as, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia. The practice of ECT requires electrical currents to be applied to the brain which produces a generalized seizure. The application of electrical currents result in permeant and severe brain damage. The devastating negative effects greatly outweigh the short-lived successful results produced by ECT. ECT should not be used to treat mental disorders as it is unethical and unsafe. From the time we are children it is stressed that we need to protect our brain. As one...
Words: 1551 - Pages: 7
...Assignment Week 8 Psychiatric Disorders, Diseases, and Drugs Christina Schwartz Schizophrenia disorder is a serious mental disorder that is easily misdiagnosed with other disorders that have similar symptoms. These symptoms usually occur around early adolescent ages and continue into adulthood. The symptoms of this disorder include hallucinations, delusions, goal directed behavior, and emotional expressions. (Andreasen, 1995) The symptoms can also be categorized into positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms are those that represent an excess or distortion of normal function, whereas negative symptoms are those that make reduce the ability to function normally. An example of a positive symptom would be not having the ability to react with the proper emotion to positive or negative events. An example of a negative symptom would be the loss of motivation, or being unable to experience pleasure. (Pinel, 2011) Statistics show that although only 1% of American’s are diagnosed with the disorder it is shown that that chances of inheriting the disorder rise in twins (identical) and even in an adopted child who is brought into a healthy family atmosphere shortly after birth. The belief according to (Pinel, 2011) is that some people inherit the potential for schizophrenia however; experiences may or may not activate it. Chlorpromazine is the first medication that was prescribed to those with schizophrenia disorder. The medication was actually found by complete...
Words: 1061 - Pages: 5
...CBT is a type of psychotherapy a type of psychotherapy in which negative patterns of thought about the self and the world are challenged in order to alter unwanted behavior patterns or treat mood disorders such as depression. CBT focuses on current issues and symptoms of patients. It takes around 12-20 weekly sessions, combined with daily practice exercises designed to help the patient to use new skills on a day-to-day basis. It is a very useful in dealing with emotional problems. There are 2 aims of CBT, the first one is to identify and correct faulty cognitions and unhealthy behaviors. When getting CBT, a patient is asked to do cognitive restructuring. It encourages patients to think about which thoughts are linked with depressed feelings and help patients to correct them. Cognitive restructuring uses the...
Words: 2295 - Pages: 10
.... Medication is a jumble of chemicals, a foreign tongue to some, and in the dizzying world trying to even comprehend why or how medication works, they are slapped on with tons of side effects. The positive almost gets buried underneath a fog surrounding anything medicine related. Antidepressants often have backlashes such as inducing suicidal thoughts, but through careful monitoring of the treatment, it can be prevented. Often times, antidepressants have negative effects at first because the patient's brain and body are not used to it, but afterwards the effects subside and the patient feels much better. During these first stages of taking medication, it is crucial for friends, family and the doctor to pay attention to any changes in the patient as well as symptoms of any side...
Words: 397 - Pages: 2
...A Research Paper: Depression Depression is defined as a mental illness in which a person experiences deep, unshakable sadness and diminished interest in nearly all activities. The term depression is used to describe the temporary sadness, loneliness, or blues that everyone feels from time to time. Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses. The illness affects all people, regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic standing. Women are two to three times more likely than men to suffer from depression. Some depression seems to come out of the blue, even when things are going well. Others seem to have an obvious cause such as a marital conflict, financial difficulty, or some personal failure. Most psychologists believe depression results from an interaction between stressful life events and a person’s biological and psychological vulnerabilities. Depression runs in families also. Genetically identical twins raised in the same environment are three times more likely to have depression in common than fraternal twins, who have only about half of their genes in common. In addition, identical twins are five times more likely to have bipolar disorder in common. Studies have shown that certain brain chemicals called neurotransmitters play an important role in regulating moods and emotions. Neurotransmitters involved in depression include nor epinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. Studies have also suggested a relationship between neurotransmitter...
Words: 1089 - Pages: 5
...treated depending on the severity of the illness, an alternative medicine used to treat depression is St. Johns Wart. St. Johns Wart efficacy seemed to be based on the area where the studies where done. When they were conducted in Germany where the herb had a long history of medical use the study yielded more positive results. A systematic review was done on 29 clinical studies. The studies used St. Johns Wart, a placebo, and antidepressant...
Words: 683 - Pages: 3
...External Factors Contributing to Depression Depression is most commonly characterized by depressive moods and feelings of low self worth or guilt, a disease affecting approximately 121 million people (World Health Organization, 2011). Despite these high numbers, the many factors that contribute to depression remain under debate. Depression is commonly treated with antidepressant medication that aims to normalize brain function, often through the uptake of neurotransmitters such as serotonin (Moncrieff, 2010). Research has supported the use of this type of medication with results that indicate prolonged use of antidepressants can reduce the chances of relapse (Kim, Lee, Paik, & Kim, 2011). Many deduce that because medication targets and treats physical abnormalities related to depression, biology must be the main contributor. Against this rational however, much research that exists today declares a balance of biology and external factors as contributors to depression (Cole, McGuffin, & Farmer, 2008). In contrast to discoveries of this nature, a study conducted in Taiwan concludes that many depression sufferers perceive the cause of their depression to be social and cultural factors, making little mention to biology (Fu & Paraboo, 2009). Although medication has proven successful in many cases for alleviating depressive symptoms, considerable amounts of research have determined that external factors such as personal misfortunes or stress, cultural and societal influences, such...
Words: 2045 - Pages: 9
...Keller et al (1995) recommend that depression can be categorised under the DSM-IV-TR as a mood disorder. Mood disorder affects a person’s emotional state. These mood disorders include major depressive disorder depression and bipolar disorder. Major depressive disorder is also known as unipolar depression or simply major depression. It is a severe clinical mood disorder in which feelings, frustration, loss or anger inhibits with a person’s activities of daily living for long period of time (Beck 1967). Unipolar depression demonstrates itself as an episode of depression that can occur unexpectedly and bipolar depression substitutes between two mood extremes mania and depression (Beck 1967). Moreover unipolar involves neurosis manifestation and bipolar involves psychosis features. The aetiology of unipolar is unknown however research suggests a link to chemical changes in the brain and differences in gene make up. It is genetic but can also manifest in those with no family history (Jacob et al 1987). Contributory factors are alcohol and drug abuse, types of cancers and other medical conditions. Life changing issues such as job loss, divorce, death, illness, and social isolation, physical and emotional abuse can trigger unipolar depression. Jacob et al (1987) suggest that people with unipolar depression are more likely to use alcohol or illegal substances additionally these patients are at increased risk of other mental and physical health problems. Unipolar patients are more...
Words: 1989 - Pages: 8
...Prior to the adoption of SSRIs, a family of drugs called Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) were prescribed to people with mood disorders. A meta study by Rossi, Barraco, and Donda (2004) found that Fluoxetine was as effective as TCAs while having more benign side effects and therefore a lower rate of discontinuation. However, it will be noted further down in this essay that a contradictory position exists. The reason why Prozac and similar drugs are so popular, might not have so much to do with how effective they are, which there is substantial doubt about, but in the perception of the public that they are effective. This belief is due to the heavy marketing behind drugs in general and antidepressants in...
Words: 1601 - Pages: 7
...Depression has a varied spectrum of severity, from minor feelings of discomfort and sadness to major and severe depression. Dysthymia, also called persistent depressive disorder, is a “depressed mood for most of the day, for more days than not, as indicated by either subjective account or observation by others, for at least 2 years¨ (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013, p. 168). This chronic state of depression is not severe as the ones experienced in Major Depression, but they are significant enough to cause problems and obstacles on everyday lives. According to Psychiatric Times about 2.5% of the American population fulfill the criteria to be diagnosed with Dysthymia (Uher, 2014). Dysthymia is a mood disorder that is characterized by many symptoms. According to the DSM-V by the American Psychiatric Association, people suffering from Dysthymia will have a poor appetite or they will overeat, insomnia or hypersomnia, low energy or fatigue, low self-esteem, poor concentration or difficulty making decisions, and finally feelings of hopelessness (2013, p. 168). Dysthymia in more severe cases can also cause people to lose interest in daily activities and sometimes even withdraw completely from engaging in them. In children, “dysthymia sometimes occurs along with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), behavioral or learning disorders, anxiety disorders, or developmental disabilities.” (Mayo Clinic, 2012). Some symptoms that may appear in children with Dysthymia...
Words: 1610 - Pages: 7
