View on Antidpressants

Everyone's body reacts differently to things like caffiene. I am like you, it has never bothered me. I could drink a whole pot of coffee and go right to sleep. But I know a lot of people that cannot do that. My aunt was like bapmom, she could not have caffience after about noon or she was up all night. The Lord made us all differently.

 

The same holds true for LSD, valium and everything in between. Does that mean that it is right to make a sweeping generalization that all anti-depressants are wrong in every case. No it doesn't. Just as caffeine adversely affects some people, and is wrong for them, anti-depressants, wrongly prescribed will have the adverse side effects. Rightly prescribed they may be the answer to a person's medical condition. They are not the answer for everyone. But they cannot be banned completely just because of someone's theology. The Bible does not say "Thou shalt not take anti-depressants." It does not say: "Thou shalt not drink coffee." either. Both affect the mind. Both have adverse side-effects on some people and both are a benefit to others. Both can be mis-used. It is the mis-use of any one thing that causes spiritual problems.
DHK

 

I'm about to mis-use some coffee and hope it puts me back into the mood to finish my half finished project! :tongue3:

Really though, anything we can put into our bodies can alter the way we feel, including vitamins (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3007937.stm )What happened to moderation?

Why can't it be that folks exercise a little personal responsibility when it comes to these things? Do we really need an absolute authority to tell us what to do?

 

These threads on depression do get a little silly. We honestly can't compare using a cane or drinking coffee to taking strong mind-altering drugs, and that really is what anti-depressants do.

The question of whether or not mental illness is based on something wrong in the body or wrong in one's spiritual life is a valid question.

I personally think the answer is that true mental illness that needs medication and is of an organic nature occurs much less often than it is diagnosed. But it does happen.

I think that most people who believe mental illness can have an organic cause also believe it is ok to treat higher degrees of it with medication.

The problem is getting people to understand that it isn't always a spiritual problem. I don't know that anyone who doesn't believe that will ever be convinced. The evidence is out there. How hormones and chemicals affect us has been studied, and even a brief search on the internet will yield an abundance of information. The only thing I can think of is that people refuse to read it and think about it.
I don't know why someone would refuse to honestly look at another idea about something, but they do. There are very few absolutes in life, and certainly the statement "all depression is sin, and all in the mind of the person who has it" is certainly not an absolute, and one can't even come close to showing that it is an absolute. So why not look at ALL the evidence and THEN decide?
Refusing to learn, to seek out the truth, isn't a sign of spiritual strength, it's a sign of a proud and haughty spirit.

 

I have hardly even touched on the subject of whether antidepressants are 'right or wrong'. I am not anti-medicine, when medicine is necessary. What I do believe is wrong is using a lie to justify something. The 'serotonin hypothesis' is just the story cooked up to explain why these chemicals are supposed to work. There is no conclusive evidence to support this theory. But everyone has seen enough drug commercials to know that 'clinical depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.' If a person did have low levels of serotonin, it is just as likely that they are caused by depression as to have caused it. But no one on this board was ever tested for a 'chemical imbalance' to begin with. Strange to imagine a physical disease with no way to diagnose physically. Do these drugs modify the chemistry of the brain? Undoubtedly. Does that mean they are restoring some type of balance? Not likely. If I take an aspirin and it alleviates my headache, does it follow that I had an aspirin deficiency?

But lets suppose that depression symptoms are caused by low levels of serotonin. There are plenty of ways to increase serotonin without resorting to psychosorcery. Eat more banannas, get more exercise, go outside in the sun more, etc etc... But this wouldn't be the quick fix magic bullet that the pharmaceutical companies have promised you, would it. It would require people to make changes in their lifestyle, its so much simpler to just take a pill. But the quick fix is not without its costs. A bananna never caused side effects like these.

• Dry mouth
  ​
• Urinary retention
  ​
• Blurred vision
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• Constipation ​
• Sedation (can interfere with driving or operating machinery)
  ​
• Sleep disruption
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• Weight gain
  ​
• Headache
  ​
• Nausea
  ​
• Gastrointestinal disturbance/diarrhea
  ​
• Abdominal pain
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• Inability to achieve an erection
  ​
• Inability to achieve an orgasm (men and women)
  ​
• Loss of libido
  ​
• Agitation
  ​
• Anxiety​

 

Like Gina said, It is unlikely that you have considered all the evidence. It is also likely that you have taken some old wive's tales and presented them as truth--using a lie to justify something. For example, saying that eating a banana at night will help you go to sleep?? I don't think so. Been there, done that. Bananas was on your list wasn't it? You can believe fables if you like. You can cook up your own stories. In the end you are doing exactly what you accuse others of doing--using a lie (or many lies) to justify something.
Medicines used for the right purpose, prescribed in the right way have a good purpose.
DHK

 

You appear to have the answer to cure depression. Who did you give it to? Who is using it? How did you come up with your answer? Have you tested it? Experimented? Done your research? Where is all this info? Where is some information about the link between bananas and happiness?

(if I end up going to the ER after a suicide attempt, will you come start a banana iv on me? :thumbs: Quick doc, she's tearing up! Let's get those Chiquitas in her STAT!)

 

I'm just telling you how you can increase serotonin, these methods are known to work. Doesn't low serotonin cause depression?

 

It is said to be a contributing cause in some types of depression.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-19990301-000031.html

 

Sometimes low serotonin is a cause of depresion, sometimes it is that the serotonin receptors in the brain simply don't do their job, some times too much serotonin is the problem. There are also many other enzymes in the brain that can cause depression and other mental illnesses. There have also been studies that show fundemental differences in the pyhsical makeup of Schizophrenic's brains compared to a "normal" brain. These are all physical ailments and should be treated as such.

Are anti-depressants prescribed too often? Sometimes they are, usually due to family doctor being unfamilliar with the proper treatment of mental illnesses, and what really constitutes the need for anti-depressants, mood stabilzares, anti-psycotics, etc. Your family doctor is a great place to start, but if my doctor wanted me to do anything long term I would see a psyciatrist. We go see specialists all the time we should not be afriad of seeing a psyciatrist.

If you have ever seen someone you love SUFFER from a mental illness then you have truly wittnessed suffering here on earth. There is a huge difference between a mental health consumer on the proper medications and that same person without or with the wrong medication. On the proper medication and with counseling you might never know they are ill. Without the proper medication and counseling then they SUFFER beyond the understanding of anyone who is not or has not gone throught it themselves.

Bill

 

So my question to you would be... do antidepressants cure a 'chemical imbalance', or do they cure 'unhappiness'?

 

Because Depression is a mental illness, and thus isn't readily apparent to others,to many it is not a "real" disorder, and their favorite prescription to those who are depressed is to "just get over it". Easier said then done.

 

Antidepressants have the capability to cure a chemical imbalance that would result in giving a person a more pleasant oulook on life.
DHK

 

Antidepressants cure a chemical imbalance.
One can be unhappy with perfectly balanced brain chemicals.

The doctor sets the broken leg; God heals the broken leg.
The doctor may prescribe antidepressants; God heal the
depression (or other brain chemical imbalance).

BTW, I was treated for depression in the early 1970s,
since then there are multiple brain chemical imbalances that
have been derived from 'depression' and different
chemical to treat each brain chemical imbalance.

Depression
Bipolar
affective disorder
(I'm not sure of the acronyms, but usualy young
children who can't sit still are candidates)
Monk's disease
Schschizophrenia

to name a few off the top of my head.

BTW, I'm a 30-year software expert. Even the best
software in the world cannot run on a bum computer.
The mind software God created will not work on the
brain hardware God designed IF THE brain hardware
(physical brain, you know) is BROKE.

 

You should work in advertising.

 

DHK does. He advertises a Saving Jesus (AKA: missionary)

 

I wonder if I could get away with the following marketing strategy:

BEER

It has the capability to cure a chemical imbalance that would result in giving a person a more pleasant oulook on life.

 

Sounds like he works in Sales to me. Couldn't sell a better product though.

 

So, if the brain hardware is broke, wouldn't it be best to take it to the manufacturer, rather than man who did not create it, nor can know all about it? After all, you would not want to take your car to a mechanic who did not know all about your car, now would you?

And I know some will say, 'We have brain surgeons who know quite a lot about the brain.' Yes, we do. And even though they know a lot about the brain, they do not know everything.

 

I've already answered that question (before you asked it):

Ed Edwards:

I've seen the same logic kill a 38 year old woman, whose
uterian cancer had a simple & usually efective cure.
I've see the same logic used by parents to murder their
babies.

My doctrine is: Let the medical doctors use all their stuff
and leave the rest up to God.