Antidepressants
Michelle Bacik
Ms. Wiggins RHT-102
03/05/2014
Essay #2
The use of antidepressants is useless Throughout the years, it seems as if more and more adolescents are being prescribed antidepressants. Instead of trying to go to therapy, most adolescents go for the prescription instead because their parents won’t want to pay for the costly sessions with a therapist. Two sources, Suicide-related events among child and adolescent patients…, by Teizo Kuba, and The dark side of antidepressants, by Chris Kresser really focus on the issues upon antidepressants. Antidepressant medications are not effective in the treatment of children and young adults, because it leads to dangerous side effects like suicide, agitation, and long-term effects. To start off, antidepressants are generally associated with an increased risk of attempted suicide. The risk of suicidal behavior is increased in the first month after starting antidepressants (Kuba). So during the patient’s first couple months, while taking the medication, is when they might be in serious danger. A study done by a clinic with 70 people from the ages 6-19 (32 boys and 38 girls) were closely examined for the patients first three months. Throughout those months 33 (47.1%) out of 70 patients were at risk of SRE (suicide related events) (Kuba). That is close to half of the patients that were examined that are putting themselves into danger due to the antidepressants that they are taking. Studies show that one in 3000 actually committed suicide and one in 1000 seriously attempted suicide (Kuba). If these people are having issues with depression or other problems and feel like they have to take prescribed medication to serve as a benefit, they need to realize that taking these antidepressants will give them very negative side effects. The FDA admitted that two to three children out of every hundred could be expected to develop suicidal thoughts or actions as a result of antidepressants. Also, the risk of suicide events
Ms. Wiggins RHT-102
03/05/2014
Essay #2
The use of antidepressants is useless Throughout the years, it seems as if more and more adolescents are being prescribed antidepressants. Instead of trying to go to therapy, most adolescents go for the prescription instead because their parents won’t want to pay for the costly sessions with a therapist. Two sources, Suicide-related events among child and adolescent patients…, by Teizo Kuba, and The dark side of antidepressants, by Chris Kresser really focus on the issues upon antidepressants. Antidepressant medications are not effective in the treatment of children and young adults, because it leads to dangerous side effects like suicide, agitation, and long-term effects. To start off, antidepressants are generally associated with an increased risk of attempted suicide. The risk of suicidal behavior is increased in the first month after starting antidepressants (Kuba). So during the patient’s first couple months, while taking the medication, is when they might be in serious danger. A study done by a clinic with 70 people from the ages 6-19 (32 boys and 38 girls) were closely examined for the patients first three months. Throughout those months 33 (47.1%) out of 70 patients were at risk of SRE (suicide related events) (Kuba). That is close to half of the patients that were examined that are putting themselves into danger due to the antidepressants that they are taking. Studies show that one in 3000 actually committed suicide and one in 1000 seriously attempted suicide (Kuba). If these people are having issues with depression or other problems and feel like they have to take prescribed medication to serve as a benefit, they need to realize that taking these antidepressants will give them very negative side effects. The FDA admitted that two to three children out of every hundred could be expected to develop suicidal thoughts or actions as a result of antidepressants. Also, the risk of suicide events
Cited: Feature, Ellen GreenlawWebMD. "How Antidepressants and Depression Medication Can Affect Your Life." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. Kresser, Chris. "The Dark Side of Antidepressants." Chris Kresser. N.p., 7 Sept. 2008. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. Kuba, Teizo, et al. "Suicide-Related Events Among Child And Adolescent Patients During Short-Term Antidepressant Therapy." Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences 65.3 (2011): 239-245. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Mar. 2014..