Is It Now Fashionable or Trendy To Be Depressed or Bipolar?

Question

As far as this seeming TREND of 'bipolarism' in society, I do believe that the drug companies more than benefit from trying to make everyone think their "stress" is some sort of mental illness. It is almost COOL to be taking some sort of anti-depressent these days.

I wonder: After a generation of ecstasy users have grown up and have learned they suddently can't deal with life... we have this wonderful add campaign to offer 'little purple pills' to "make it all better."

Note: One of the side effects of ecstasy use is a life of depression and inability to manage ones emotions. Not a good trade for a few ours of "ecstasy" ---A lifetime of emotional instability!

What is with the increased TREND of all the self-diagnosed depression(ism) and Dr.s who are so free with pen and ink issuing out pill after pill after pill?

I have observed on more than one ocassion, conversations where several people (Some strangers to each other) had all taken or were still taking several different anti-depressant medications.

They spoke of it as if it were asprine for headaches. The conversation was so light, they were all self-diagnosing each other, suggesting one get off one drug and try another, while some who just "thought life sucked" were being urged to give yet another drug a go.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Then there is the issue of everyone sharing their Xanax pills as soon as the work load becomes heavy... Sheesh! Life happens, deal with it. Dr.'s need to be a little more careful who they lead to believe actually needs anti-depressents and anti-anxiety meds. Those things are being tossed around like recreational drugs these days. And THAT IS INSANITY!

No disrespect at all for those with ligitimate disorders. I am concerned rather about people who just "Have a bad day, or week, month or even year" and decide that they don't want to deal with it anymore and their Dr. just hands out the drugs.

Is this any different than self-medicating with the bottle? I think not. I am of the impression that we have far too many people taking anti-depressents when they are not really depressed, they just lack social skills and or the ability to handle their emotions in a world that is on the verge of self destruction.

The world is the problem and Medicating everyone in it so they can live in denial about all the social ills of society is not going to make the world a better place.

Maybe we need to be AWAKE (And not put to "sleep" by drugs) so that we can THINK and ACT and MAKE A DIFFERENCE and make this world a nice place to live again.

Answer 1

We came a long way from the "hysteria" trend...


i agree with you as far as trends, pharmacies and doctors' making mucho dollars,... but i want to add two things:

1) the incredible steps neurobiology science has made in the last twenty years. Today' science has offered our medical system much better ways to identify and classify these mental disorders. bipolar, depression, borderline, PTSD, ... are also part of this new chapter in medical history. Not all is trend. Nowadays, categorizing a mental illness therefore have a better understanding of it, gives more chances to a patient in recovery.

2) The way we live also has contributed to the trend. I think that we consciously as well as unconsciously live in a much more stressed out environment than before. Depression can be a trend for some but not to the rest of us. all above mentioned conditions and many more are very serious, at times fatal.

Answer 2

Well, I don't know. Bipolar medications are not something to be taken lightly. They are potent.

I have been Bipolar for over 10 years and it is NO PICNIC. Bad manic episodes, hospitalizations, etc. I take 7 medications to keep me stable. I have acne and gained weight.

However, I DO think that too many others are being diagnosed, without being really Bipolar. My doctor told me that in the past, only 1% of the patients he saw would have been diagnosed Bipolar because they did not display the real symptoms of extreme mania. Today, he sees alot of people diagnosed as Bipolar 2. Interestingly, these poeple when he takes them off mood stabilizers do fine. All they needed was an anti-depressant and some Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to get them through a rough time.

MY ADVICE FOR ANYONE: Before you start taking these major drugs (mood stabilizers, antipsychotics) makes sure that you are really Bipolar. The drugs are powerful and can really effect your brain. They are not something to take lightly.

Answer 3

You shouldn't have to ask this question on Yahoo Answers. Nor should you trust the answers you get. These people aren't doctors and neither am I, so its all a bunch of uneducated opinions. If you don't feel right and deep down you're sure this isn't what "normal" should feel like, you should see a mental health specialist. Not just a family-practice doctor, but one that deals with this kind of stuff every day because they will be much more likely to make a correct diagnosis. Untreated bi-polar disorder usually leads to illicit drug use and you don't want to end up addicted to meth or something because your mom brushed your concerns aside. That is irresponsible parenting on her part.

Answer 4

Personally, I don't see a problem with people taking a pill to have a better life. At the same time, I do see a problem with drug companies pushing pills on people that don't need them just to turn a profit. If you haven't noticed, there has been a major increase in the amount of tv advertising for drugs. Could this possibly be the link to the "TREND" you speak of? Drug companies are the worst kind of drug dealer in my opinion.

Answer 5

You're very right. Depression is now the "in" thing to be. The world is obsessed with quick fixes and we've all been brainwashed to think that drugs are the quick fix and doctors are gods.

I've been dealing with depression for almost ten years now and I find it disgusting that it's almost become a joke. The word means absotely nothing anymore. It used to be treated like a real problem but now "everybody" has it so no ones treated properly but everyone who doesn't have it is treated. Ridiculous.

Answer 6

I agree with you that anti-depressants are dispensed a little too easily. Most doctors hand out Prozac like candy, you can be diagnosed with "depression" after only showing symptoms for 2 weeks. Most people have been depressed this long at one point or another in their life.

There are however people who have lifelong struggles. Sometimes due to physical chemical imbalances in the brain and sometimes due to poor coping skills.

However I do beleive in this growing trend of depression.

Its funny you mention ecstasy. My personal opinion is that there are a growing number of us "cocaine generation" survivors with depression. All those people snorting coke, addicted to meth and other amphetamines in the 80s have had children who are now adults. We know very little about the effects it has in the womb. But we do know that amphetamine abusers suffer from life long depression after stopping because of dopamine/seratonin imbalance. There has been a definite and noticeable difference in the brain scans of former addicts and control subjects. Its not a huge jump to say that exposure to amphetamines in the womb can lead to possible seratonin imbalance in infants born to mothers who were using. But there have been no long term studies on this. This is just my theory based on my experiences and the others I have known who have SERIOUS clinical depression.

For some of us medicine is necessary, and appreciated. But what it really all comes down to is drug company profits.

Answer 7

No i would not say it is fashionable to be bi polar or depressed, bi polar people have to take medication all the time, to stay normal, and i am sure they would reither not have that disorder, and depressed people really most of them don't enjoy that neither, they don't alway have a pill that works, so you have to take therapy too.

so no it is not fashionable to be this way, i really don't know , where you might even get that idea in the first place. And being a trend no, these people do not enjoy it.

Answer 8

I think it's a by-product of horrible diets. Too much sugar causes Excess weight, Fatigue and frequent sleepiness, Depression. Then if you go to a doctor and say you're depressed, you want to sleep all the time, you feel exhausted-- you get drugs!

Meanwhile, you go online and "self-assess" yourself with some ridiculous questionnaire and are told you NEED drugs. Drugs are a multi-billion dollar industry and HMO's love the ease of getting people on drugs and out of the office within 10 minutes.

And by the way.... who has had proof of a "chemical imbalance"? Have you had blood tests or "chemical" tests to verify this diagnosis, or does you doctor listen to you say you're tired, depressed and moody and that's called "chemical imbalance"? Chemicals in the brain take weeks to change, and weeks to change back-- moody people change within minutes or hours--- that's not your brain chemicals! If you're moody day in and day out, realize that your brain isn't able to change like that.

Answer 9

I think you're totally right on track! I've also always thought that parents have become lazy and haven't done as good a job disciplining their children like the used to so at the first sign of acting out they just stick their child on riddlin. The other thing to this is that foreign smuggled drugs (ecstacy too) have become illegal because WE don't make any money off them. instead we have all these prescription ones that doctors carelessly hand out to any one who walks into their office wanting them (due to a an ad they saw somewhere) that our country makes A TON of money off. so while the government may say that imported drugs are down...DRUG USE hasn't changed a bit.

Answer 10

those mental illnesses do lead to many things that are worse off. alot of the issues for the medications are for a variety of symptoms and onsets of depression that can not be controlled such as anxiety. ecstasy users have nothing to do with the fact that persons being diagnosed with depresion/manic depresion are seeking help from physicians and recieving medications. You need to do more research before you begin to call things "trends".