I have a cow. How about mooooo?
- Roxy
- Apr 23, 2018
- 3 min read
I read this article and the lightbulbs in my brain went OFF! A CT scan would have looked like fireworks on 4th of July. The article starts out by discussing where we are at, as a society, with our understanding of depression and antidepressants. The doctors who prescribe these drugs are telling us that there is a spontaneous imbalance happening in our heads with very little to no consideration for the context in which we are living.
If your mom just died it's understandable to think that you might feel blue for a while. And a few decades ago the doctors who prescribed antidepressants understood that. But, if you start giving individuals time to grieve after losing a loved one then why aren't you giving an individual who recently experienced a rape time as well? What about if you're in an abusive relationship...? It makes sense that you'd be depressed then too right? And after losing a job...? If you make an exception for the death of a loved one then you should make an exception for other circumstances too. But that's not as profitable so the therapists and drug companies changed what they were saying and now there are not exceptions.
Today, roughly 1 out of every 6 people in the United States takes an antidepressant. Unfortunately, studies suggest that 65-80% of those who start taking antidepressants report being depressed again within the next year. That's 3-4 of those 6 people. So, what happens next...? The dose goes up or the antidepressant is changed, again and again and again.
Why isn't it working like it should? It's the 21st century. We understand what we're doing.
Right...?
While it's true that our body is run by hormones, chemicals, and a million different things that most of us don't understand, it's been working like that for thousands of years and has never had such a significant outside influence try and alter what Mother Nature created eons ago.
Now, just to clarify, I do believe that there are some instances when placing a patient on antidepressants is the right thing to do. There is some validity to it's usefulness. But why on earth aren't we doing more to treat the circumstance? Why aren't there more cows (read the article)?!?
It is suggested that the basic psychological needs include the following; humans need to feel they belong, need to feel valued, need to feel that we are good at something, and we need security in our future. That sounds pretty simple and basic right? They why are so many people depressed?
When I was raped I didn't feel valued, I didn't feel like I had any control, and my future seemed to disappear in front of me. For months after I was confused and walked around in a daze. I was a showed that I was not worth anything, valueless, so I stopped valuing myself and most everything else in my life. I stopped trying in school and work and I pushed friends away. My control was taken away so I stopped trying to control anything. My future was uncertain and I stopped planning.
After a few months I broke down and I tried taking anti depressants and I felt like the first one put me into a fog. After adjusting the dose it wasn't any better. The second and third one didn't seem to work either. I felt bad about myself before trying antidepressants and after the 3rd one I just felt like I was broken and could not be fixed.
The whole time doctors were prescribing away there was no consideration for what else was going on in my life. There were no other strategies or resources discussed or suggested. Why not? I went to see a therapist and that helped me understand that it wasn't my fault and I didn't do anything wrong, however, there wasn't any talk about my self worth or or self esteem.
Looking back, well over a decade later, I wish there had been more resources that focused on me, my life, and my future. It look years for me to create a healthy lifestyle and really learn how to take care of all of me, not just my body, but my mental and emotional self as well.
It's not always easy to ask for what you need. Sometimes you may not know what you need. But, when you start living a life that makes you happy more and more things seem to fall into place until you're no longer 'trying'. It just happens on its own.
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