| Alternative
treatments for depression need serious consideration
By Whitni Webb
October 22, 2007 | When something just isn't working,
it's always a good bet to check out the alternatives.
Depression medication is one of those things that just
don't seem to work for some people.
As far as depression medication goes, nearly 30 percent
of those taking it find it ineffective. There are large
quantities of side effects ranging from nausea and vomiting
to thoughts of suicide in minors. And even if the medication
is effective, it will take up to several weeks to see
any results. The medication can also be extremely expensive.
There has to be a better way, right?
As a sufferer of depression who is currently on conventional
medication, I found it strange that the only requirement
I needed to get drugs was to make a doctor's appointment,
talk to him for half an hour and that was it. I had
medication to last me six months.
Although I didn't see a change (nor did those around
me) in my depression for almost two months, when it
did kick in, I began to feel better. The side effects
were horrible, ranging from nausea to serious migraines,
and if I hadn't had insurance the medication would have
been costly. I was also not asked to have check-ups
with my doctor, another thing I found strange. If there
is such a large possibility of suicide in those my age,
wouldn't they want to make sure I was OK? And when did
it become acceptable to give mentally affecting drugs
and not follow the patient's progress?
Perhaps it became acceptable to treat everyone with
a magic little pill as soon as it became acceptable
to be dependent on a pill. Peter R. Breggin, a Bethesda,
Md., psychiatrist and critic of psychopharmacology,
says the attention to Prozac is only a reflection of
the usual American response to life's problems. "People
love to take pills when they're feeling hopeless," he
says. "If a pill is declared to be magical by the medical
profession and by Time and Newsweek, the
placebo effect is enormous." And the fact that half
of patients taking Prozac, over 11 million people worldwide,
were not given a prescription by a psychologist but
by their physician is a scary concept, and only supports
Breggin's theory.
But according to the National Comorbidity Survey Replication,
40 percent of those with major depression are not seeking
conventional treatment. They are instead using various
therapies like chiropractic, massage and acupressure,
medicinal herbs and teas, vitamins, and in a small amount
yoga, Tai Chi, Chinese medicine and Native American
healing. These therapies can be cheaper, seem to be
effective, and have almost no side effects. Even doctors
are suggesting them as alternatives to medication. Another
plus to these are the fact that many of them such as
acupressure require regular visits with those giving
the therapies so that the patient can converse on whether
the treatment is really working.
So why are we pushing to medicate those with depression,
instead of looking at the alternatives? And why are
we making it so easy to get drugs which that produce
negative results and could even lead to suicide?
It seems that we live in a day where the quick and
easy solution is always judged as the best. Making appointments
for massages and therapies and actually keeping them
is a hassle. Besides, the treatments, although effective,
aren't yet judged as scientific. Why not just take a
little pill every day. That would only take about 10
seconds of our time. And it's no longer considered taboo.
However, neglecting the benefits of these alternatives
could prove detrimental to our society, and even fatal
to some.
NW
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