Thursday, October 31, 2013

Anti-Depression Medication Side Effects Can Often Lead to Increased Risk of Suicide


Anti-depression medication has been getting popular lately. But they aren't a silver bullet. They come with numerous different side-effects...most of which will even worsen the disease they are trying to cure. Because of this anti-depression side-effects will almost always include "increased risk of suicide" in their warnings.

And deep down, the anti-depression medication isn't 100% effective...in fact a 2006 government study showed that anti-depression supplements only work fully for 50% of people. The rest will actually get worse. And this is only for major depression...if you have mild or moderate depression, they are not that much more effective than placebos (sugar pills).

Essentially there are three types of anti-depressants: SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), atypical anti-depressants, and the older tricyclic/monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Fluoxetine (Prozac), Fluvoxamine (Luvox), Sertraline (Zoloft), Paroxetine (Paxil), Escitalopram (Lexapro), Citalopram (Celexa), Bupropion (Wellbutrin), Venlafaxine (Effexor), Duloxetine (Cymbalta), Mirtazapine (Remeron), Trazodone (Desyrel), Nefazodone (Serzone) are some of the drugs that treat depression.

Don't get me wrong, you should still treat your depression...since depression alone can quickly lead to suicide. But you can treat the mild depression with nothing more than therapy or exercise. Some are even able to treat their depression(usually when it's mild) using anti-depression foods and anti-depression music(anti-depression songs will usually have upbeat tempos with fun lyrics). Others do it using anti-depression herbs or anti-depression light(usually involves using an anti-depression lamp, which is basically a slightly brighter light). No matter the method you pick to treat the depression, suicide is still a real threat until the person is cured. In fact more than 1.1 million Americans try killing themselves every year, and the number one cause is depression.

No matter the type of anti-depressant being used, in a certain percentage of people, the anti-depressants will actually increase depression instead of lowering it. Because of this the FDA makes all the anti-depression medication makers to provide a warning that anti-depression medication can lead to suicide.

So if you know someone taking anti-depression medication or any other drug that is designed to deal with depression, you need to learn all the potential suicide warning signs so that you can catch when the person becomes suicidal. If you yourself are taking anti-depression medication, you should provide a suicide warning signs guide to someone around you who you interact with on a daily basis.

Note: NEVER let anyone quit anti-depression medication cold turkey, the risk for suicide skyrockets if you do. If you plan to quit, lower your dose little by little every one-two weeks, so that your body can adjust.

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