cinephile Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Well, this may be something of a soft target considering it's the London Daily Mail, but I still found this article disheartening, considering the promising title. Yes, the message is great: antidepressants are massively over-prescribed and often pathologize normal human behavior. BUT, I found it really disappointing that ye olde chemical imbalance theory was alive and well in this article (pop goes the weasel in the tenth paragraph). It's also disappointing (depressing? Ha! I made a funny!) that the author gives ADs a comparatively free pass by merely calling them "happy pills," which I find problematic for two reasons: A: They don't make you happy B: Such a term trivializes the serious damage they can do Yes, it's true The Daily Mail is far from a scientifically rigorous journal (well, it's not like even THOSE carry much weight these days), but it still never ceases to amaze me just how stubbornly this whole "chemical imbalance" theory sticks in the pop culture consciousness. IMO, as long as it's still widely accepted, we still have our work cut out for us. After all, these mass-media publications are read and absorbed by far more people than unbiased studies and books like ANATOMY OF AN EPIDEMIC (sigh). LINK: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2012027/BEL-MOONEY-Put-away-Prozac-Feeling-sad-ISNT-illness.html Been on SSRIs since 1998: 1998-2005: Paxil in varying doses 2005-present: Lexapro. 2006-early '08: Effexor AND Lexapro! Good thing I got off the Effexor rather quickly (within a year). **PSYCHIATRY: TAKE YOUR CHEMICAL IMBALANCE AND CHOKE ON IT! APA=FUBAR FDA=SNAFU NIMH=LMFAO Currently tapering Lexapro ~10% every month: STARTING: 15 mg 11/7/10: 13.5 mg 12/7/10: 12.2 mg 1/6/11: 10.9 mg 2/3/11: 9.8 mg 3/3/11: 8.8 mg 4/1/11: 7.8 mg 4/29/11: 7 mg 5/27/11: 6.4 mg 6/24/11: 5.7 mg 7/22/11: 5 mg 8/18/11: 4.5 mg 9/14/11: 4 mg 10/13/11: 3.6 mg 11/9/11: 3.2 mg 12/7/11: 2.6 mg 1/3/12: 2.1 mg 2/2/12: 1.8 mg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summer Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 A: They don't make you happy They don't?? You mean I've been taking them all these years for nothing? Charter Member 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinephile Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 They don't?? You mean I've been taking them all these years for nothing? LOL. Summer, I guess I have some bad news for you then. Are you sitting down? Been on SSRIs since 1998: 1998-2005: Paxil in varying doses 2005-present: Lexapro. 2006-early '08: Effexor AND Lexapro! Good thing I got off the Effexor rather quickly (within a year). **PSYCHIATRY: TAKE YOUR CHEMICAL IMBALANCE AND CHOKE ON IT! APA=FUBAR FDA=SNAFU NIMH=LMFAO Currently tapering Lexapro ~10% every month: STARTING: 15 mg 11/7/10: 13.5 mg 12/7/10: 12.2 mg 1/6/11: 10.9 mg 2/3/11: 9.8 mg 3/3/11: 8.8 mg 4/1/11: 7.8 mg 4/29/11: 7 mg 5/27/11: 6.4 mg 6/24/11: 5.7 mg 7/22/11: 5 mg 8/18/11: 4.5 mg 9/14/11: 4 mg 10/13/11: 3.6 mg 11/9/11: 3.2 mg 12/7/11: 2.6 mg 1/3/12: 2.1 mg 2/2/12: 1.8 mg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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