Anti-Depression Drugs

Introduction

A. General Introduction

Depression is a serious condition affecting many people at any given time. There is some difference between an individual saying that he or she is feeling depressed and someone who is experiencing the clinical form of depression. Occasionally feeling depressed is part of being human. It is normal and natural for people to occasionally feel sad or moody for a day or two. When that feeling becomes extended, however, then the individual may be experiencing depression.

For many people, depression is caused by a chemical imbalance. Depending on the type of imbalance, one anti depression medication will work better than the next. The best depression medication for an abundance of one chemical will not be the best depression medication for a lack of the same chemical. Another anti depression medication may replicate a specific neurotransmitter that helps transport that same chemical, while another may block the existing neurotransmitters from being able to do their jobs. In the end, deciding on the right anti depression medication for the right chemical imbalance is a long process, but it is not the most important step-asking for help in the first place is the most important step.

B. The Argument/Debate

In this essay the point of discussion is that use of depression drugs don't actually cure depression but merely mask the signs of depression. This statement will be supported by scholarly research. As this a common debate that Antidepressant drugs do help a sufferer. But they can only help them temporarily. They cannot offer a permanent cure for these illnesses. This is because anti-depressants treat one of the symptoms of stressful illnesses reduced levels of "happy chemicals" called neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters are the chemicals inside brain that help to regulate mood. So all anti-depressants do is to give the sufferer a "boost" by raising levels of neurotransmitters. The real issue here is that once the sufferer ceases the medication, there is a seventy percent chance of relapse.

The reason for relapse is because these drugs simply haven't addressed the root cause of these illnesses. By boosting levels of "happy chemicals" all the drugs are doing is masking the problem.

Now, in the short term, giving mental well-being a boost by increasing the levels of "happy chemicals" is very helpful in helping start the process of recovery. The last sentence is very important. It explains how these drugs should be used. Because when a person feels stressed out, burned out, terrified of the future or that life has no point (all common feelings associated with stressful and depressive illnesses), he/she find it almost impossible to function (LaHaye pp 189,126). Finding his/her own way "out of the tunnel" is mission impossible.

And that's where antidepressants can help. In giving a boost, a person can feel more able to cope. He/she can start to take the first steps towards ending suffering. But antidepressant will not provide a permanent cure. They only way to cure these painful illnesses is to address the root cause as to why these illnesses ...