The Medicated Americans: Antidepressant Prescriptions on the Rise

The Medicated Americans: Antidepressant Prescriptions on the Rise

www.sciam.com

In the past three generations, increasing numbers of Americans have been prescribed antidepressants. In many cases, such prescriptions are the only mental health care the patients receive.
One cause of the rise in antidepressant use is that many doctors conflate conventional sadness—as from the loss of a loved one or a life-changing event such as a divorce—with the more serious and life-quashing condition of clinical depression.
A second contributing factor, the author argues, is a change in the standard diagnostic guide, which caused many milder mental ailments to fall under the seemingly neutral label of “disorder.”

(visit the link for the full news article)



Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Antidepressant drugs don't work – official study

According to this article, 11 percent of women and 5 percent of men in the US are taking antidepressants.

This is even more concerning if you consider that they either may not work or may even increade the risk of suicide.

Especially since the once again favorite form of suicide seems to be by killing and injuring a group of others first.



www.sciam.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

More disturbing still is the availability of some of these medications without a perscription or a visit to a doctor.

A 2004 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that “the risk of suicidal behavior is increased in the first month after starting antidepressants, especially during the first one to nine days.” Worse, there is no longer any need to deal with an actual physician: all these drugs are readily available, with a few clicks and a credit card.

www.sciam.com...
And don't overlook the children:

Adolescent depression is a common, chronic, recurrent, and impairing condition that accounts for a substantial proportion of the disability and mortality incurred in this age group.1-2 Untreated depression results in impairment in school, interpersonal relationships, occupational adjustment, and increases the risk for suicidal behavior and completed suicide.3-5 Therefore, the proper treatment of adolescent depression has profound public health implications for youth in this critical stage of development.6-8

jama.ama-assn.org...
I understand and agree that there are times when a medication intervention is appropiate and successful. I submit however that in many instances we medicate 'em and forget 'em and deposit the profits.

[edit on 2/27/0808 by kerontehe]

An easy way to triple your business in pharmaceuticals is to put forth a "recommended" level of cholesterol or blood pressure that is below that of the average of the entire population. All you need is a panel of "experts" with financial ties to big pharma.
You could even invent brand new diseases like pre-high-cholesterol, pre-hypertension, etc.