Your opinion on this?

Question

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/07/09/antidepressants/index.html?imw=Y

Surprised or not really

Answer 1

You do not say why you want an opinion but I will nonetheless give mine. For many reasons this should not be so surprising.
It is true so many people are being prescribed these medications by primary practitioners, not psychiatrists.
It is also true that primary doctors are seeing more depressed patients in practice.
It is also true primary doctors are more adept (to some extent) at diagnosing depressed people in general.
Ask this question. Are there more depressed people today than ever before?
This I could not answer. I believe it is safe to say that times are harder for many people. Does this make people depressed? Possibly. Should such people be given medication for it. Maybe.
Are antidepressants overly prescribed? Yes they are. You see, many people will get well on their own. That is, some people hit a roadblock. They are depressed because of a bad situation or problem. If you just leave some of these people alone they will get well.
On the other hand, if the feelings of depression continue then it could be a medication may help them.
Of course, the question becomes how long should the person stay on the medication. While I am not adverse to primary practitioners diagnosing depression. there are problems with this. For one, does the person really need medication?
What about referrals to therapy and not giving medication or, if you prescribe the medication what about the followup? Are pharmaceutical companies taking advantage of the situation? Of course they are.
The companies will do what they can to serve their own best interests. A part of this is pushing medications. Of course, what about the patients? Are they asking for medication?
I think this problem is so multi-factored. There is so much involved. There is no one answer. Of course, primary doctors could use more psych education. But then, so could patients. We are a nation of people who are inundated with info about medications. We see it everywhere. We want answers and we want them now. We want relief and we want it now. No one wants to suffer. We are a people who ask for antibiotics when they are not warranted.
In the end, it could be argued we are a self indulgent society.
Perhaps this problem is not so much a sign of anything but rather a symptom of a much larger problem. Maybe we just need to look in the mirror and ask why.

Answer 2

Ha. No, not surprised at all. Major depression is a real illness that needs medical intervention. BUT, it is not the blues. It is not feeling down due to a minor life event. It is not feeling frustrated by life situations. Two weeks is way to short for a dx. Doctors should refer these issues to a therapist since either needing to talk it thru or coping skills are often the real issues.

Answer 3

Yeah they tried to medicate my unhappiness too. But it was truly stemming from a disorder. Does that make any sense? Well neither did that doctor giving that woman anitdepressants for her unhappiness. Get off ur *** woman and leave the irresponsible bastard !!! lol

Answer 4

excellent that you posted that.. people are unhappy in this world, and big drug companies and doctors, are making people think that a normal bout of sadness, must be an 'illness' and they have to get medicine for it..the Bible says, to avoid men of science, and they said that two thousand years ago..for a reason...people just don't realize, that if they had God and Jesus in their lives, how much more happy they would be,..and that itself, is sad.