Argumentative Essay On Antidepressant

Growing up can be hard. But growing up with depression can be ever harder. Depression is an uprising issue that keeps growing. Around the world, there is an estimated 350 million people suffering from depression (“Media Centre”). For some, depression takes over their lives and they end up taking their own before their life gets better or they get treatment. However, there are ways to help someone with depression. Taking and antidepressant or going to therapy are two options they could help someone suffering from this mental illness. At one point or another everyone has been bullied, struggled with school work, felt like they did not belong, or has been put under pressure. For some, anyone of these are easy to push aside and forget
It is one of the things in life that are supposed to make someone feel better or to help prevent them from getting a sickness. Right? Most medicines are effective so why would not antidepressants work the same way? Antidepressants are supposed to help someone with depression and make their everyday life easier. Antidepressants are not supposed to change one's mood from sad to happy in the blink of an eye, but they can alter the mood over time if it is working properly. Only about 10% of Americans take an antidepressant. For the kids ages 12-17 suffering from depression, only 3.7% of them are taking an antidepressant (Painter, Kim). There are about 22 different types of antidepressants, but they are split into four groups depending on how they act ("Medical Treatments for Depression."). In cases with severe depression, the antidepressant is shown to work effectively, however in mild cases, the placebo was working better than the antidepressant itself. They usually work better in people over the age of 25, but they still are not always the right fit for everyone. Antidepressants work with or as a chemical in the brain. The most commonly prescribed antidepressants are the ones that fall into the group of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI’s). These antidepressants can possibly ease symptoms of severe and moderate depression by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain. The second group is called Serotonin and Norepinephrine
Some antidepressants can make depression worse. There is a long list of side effects that are not helpful to someone already suffering in their everyday life. If one is already upset, they do not want to have headaches, gain weight, sweat excessively, increase their anxiety and restlessness, and they do not want to increase their risk of suicide. Studies have shown about one third of depressed individuals taking an antidepressant have stopped due to the side effects (Bower, B.). People getting antidepressants are looking for help, but antidepressants are not too fond of helping them. Every antidepressant works differently towards every different person, and they also affect each person differently. However, sometimes they do not even work. Studies show if it is the correct antidepressant, that it could start working in about two weeks. However, if it is not the correct antidepressant, that it could take a month before figuring out that it is not the right fit. Switching the type of antidepressant is not always the easiest thing to do. Suddenly stopping SSRIs or MAOIs could be followed with serious withdrawal issues. Antidepressants are mind altering drugs and could easily affect a child differently than an adult. In 2002 a safety analyst done by the FDA showed there was a 2.7% increase in the amount of suicide attempts and