COMMENTARY | A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 50 percent of Americans will develop a mental illness in their lifetime, according to LiveScience. Interestingly, a similar study done on Europeans says 38 percent of those across the pond have a mental illness.
Could it be that this many people have mental health problems, or do these studies stem from the fact that the pharmaceutical companies are all out to make the big bucks? I believe it’s a combination of both. In many cases, if not most, medications are prescribed far too often without knowing a patient’s background. What happens when you tell your doctor you’ve been anxious, have difficulty sleeping, and/or feel especially stressed out? After less than a minute’s discussion, your doctor will probably take out a prescription pad or grab some samples of various anti-anxiety medications that were given to him by a pharmaceutical representative.
Does the doctor have a discussion about the potential dangers of becoming addicted to these highly potent anxiety or depression relievers? Does he go over the side effects, which can often be worse than the initial problem?
Perhaps there is a small number who do, but, in my experience and the experiences of friends and family I’ve discussed this issue with, it is rare.
It seems doctors are willing to throw out a variety of anti-anxiety and anti-depressants at patients and just wait and see what will stick. For some patients, this can mean a tragic ending. There are 40,000 deaths a year attributed to anti-depressants alone.
These medications can also cause severe problems for individuals who are borderline bipolar. Most of these patients have not yet been diagnosed, as symptoms are only seen after the individual takes an SSRI medication that takes the person from being susceptible to bipolar illness to full-fledged mania.
Without digging deep into a patient’s mental and emotional history, the doctor puts his patient at great risk for these dangerous side effects, yet the medicine seems to be passed out like candy at Halloween.
Many people also don’t realize how addictive these substances can be. A decade ago, doctors insisted that the anti-anxiety drug Paxil was not addictive. The manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, had concealed the important fact that, indeed, Paxil is addictive. To make matters worse, millions of people took this medication after trusting their doctors; when they tried to stop taking it, they found their symptoms were much worse than their initial reason for taking the drug. For years, patients were told the withdrawal symptoms were all in their head.
It wasn’t until 2006 that the company admitted wrongdoing by settling a lawsuit. How many lives have been ruined by these medications? We need to remember taking a pill is not a cure-all to what ails us. It is consumers who are ultimately making the pharmaceutical companies rich.
Your life is too important to put in the hands of people who only care about their profits. Take charge by doing your own research into the side effects of all medications before carelessly popping that pill into your mouth.