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The effects of antidepressants medication essay
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The effects of antidepressants medication essay
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JoAnne Rhode
AP Lang
Period 3
Research Paper Final Draft
According to the FDA, about 2.5% of children and around 8% of adolescents are affected by depression (Temple). A common way to treat depression is by taking antidepressants. Children and teens have also been prescribed antidepressants for various reasons other than depression such as OCD and anxiety disorders. While it is legal for teenagers and children to take antidepressants, many people are concerned with the issues that taking antidepressants have. Children and teens should be allowed to take antidepressants only when other forms of therapy don’t work. Antidepressants are serious drugs that have severe warnings when children and teens use them. There is also an increased risk of worsening depression and suicide in children and teens, especially in the when they begin to take it. Even the less severe side effects can make quite a negative impact on life.
Antidepressants are usually a type of drug called SSRIs. SSRI stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The most popular antidepressants such as Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro and Luvox are all SSRIs (Antidepressant Medications for Children and Adolescents). Many newer antidepressants are SSRIs due to less side effects and more safe for adults compared to other older generations of antidepressants. Children and teens on the other hand are not. In fact, the FDA put a black box warning on SSRIs which “is the most serious type of warning in prescription drug labeling” ( Antidepressant Medications for Children and Adolescents). There’s actually only one SSRI that can be prescribed for depressed children (who must be eight and older) which is Prozac and That hasn’t prevented SSRIs ...
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...an when they started the antidepressant. As much as people don’t want to think about it, withdrawl symptoms from antidepressants can affect anyone, especially teenagers and children. One study reported as much 55% of the teenagers taking antidepressants had withdrawal systems (Anti-Depressants: Psychological Side-Effects Are Even Worse Than Thought.). With about half of teenagers suffering from withdrawal symptoms and many more from just the se effects that come with antidepressants, antidepressants create more things that a child or teen has to suffer through.
There are children and teenagers that do well on an antidepressants but they are not for everyone. SSRIs can do the opposite of helping children and teens. There are heavy risks that could happen, especially when a child or teen is starting on it. Side effects can affect them not just physically, but mentally.
Treating depressive and bipolar disorders with antidepressants remains a popular option in clinical practice. Most clinicians choose the drug or class of drugs, usually selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRI's, that is most effective and best tolerated with fewer severe side effects. These drugs are beneficial because they specifically target serotonin-based areas of the brain without affecting other neurotransmitter systems. SSRI's largely replaced tricyclic antidepressants which work by blocking the absorption (reuptake) of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine, thereby increasing the levels of these two neurotransmitters in the brain. Tricyclic antidepressants present severe side effects and thus are usually only used when other treatments have failed. If SSRI's or tricyclics are not effective Monoamine oxidase inhibitors may be prescribed. MAOI's, enhance tyramine to increase norepinephrine and serotonin. While taking MAOI's you must abstain from foods and alcohol that contain tyramine such as, yogurt, aged cheese, and substances such as cold medications. This is because a potential toxic reaction could occur. Additionally, other antidepressants may be utilized such as Wellbutrin (bupropion) an NDRI-
Antidepressants are FDA approved drugs given to patients to alleviate symptoms, most commonly anxiety and depression. There are many people who are skeptical about the use of these drugs and if they really work as a benefit toward the people taking them. There are many pros to taking the medications, but there are also cons. This is why users of these drugs have to be aware of the side effects in order to get the full use of the medicine. Research shows that the benefits of antidepressants outweigh the negative long term effects, but only if they are taken in moderation.
antidepressants among US youths. Pediatrics, 109 (5), 721-727. Retrieved via Academic Search Primer on 3/25/04. http://web3.epnet.com
There is a great deal of controversy surrounding the issue of children being medicated with powerful psychotropic medications. Psychological disorders, such as bipolar disorder, that were once believed only to effect adults, are now being diagnosed in children, and those children are, more often than not, now being treated with medications. The number of children being diagnosed and treated with psychotropic medications has rapidly increased in recent years. A report issued by Medco Health Solutions in 2010 states that the number of children being prescribed psychotropic medications doubled from 2001 to 2010. Psychotropic medications can be defined as "any medication capable of affecting the mind, emotions, and behavior"(medicine net). The classes of psychotropic medications are; Stimulants, such as Adderall- prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Antidepressants, such as Prozac- prescribed for depression, Anti-psychotics such as Haldol - prescribed for behavioral disorders, and Mood Stabilizers, such as Depakote - prescribed for bipolar disorders. These medications have been shown to "stunt growth, cause obsessive behaviors, suppress spontaneity, and cause children to become depressed and less social"(Breggin, 2009). This paper will discuss what research suggests about the potentially negative effects of these medications on a child’s physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development. In addition, this paper will also examine the potential reasons these medications are increasingly prescribed, and alternative treatments for some of the psychological disorders that these kinds of medications are prescribed for.
Adolescents tend to find ways to let out their emotions and try to escape their problems, and this unfortunately leads them to make poor decisions that hurt them more than they know that it would be. Alcohol actually is a depressant because it slows down the function of the central nervous system and it cause people to lose coordination and not be able to think straight.
Drugs used to help mental illnesses; however, they aren’t always the easiest to deal with. With new drugs being discovered each year, they each will have many side-effects that may not be known to the world. Just remember that there are other options when dealing with children with mental illnesses, than medication such as Xanax, Zyprexa, Lexapro, Adderall, and Dexedrine. It may not be best to use the “easy-way-out” when handling a young child with a mental illness. With prescribing medications to children, they may ruin the child’s life, by causing life-changing effects to happen to child’s body. There is no sense of using medications unless it is absolutely necessary, like when the child is sick with the flu or has a sinus infection. Choose another pathway for your child to cope with their mental illness.
Some facts about psychiatric drugs for children are that the drugs are prescribed with a false diagnosis. The children that are prescribed are not seriously impaired by their symptoms, they are merely becoming older and showing signs of adolescents; however, pediatricians see a small frustration in a child’s life and convince the parents or legal guardians that they need unnecessary medications to make the children docile and untroublesome. Little do the parents know, the drug given to the children means more money for the pharmaceutical companies and psychiatric research teams and may not even help the children at all.
Antidepressant usage has increased all around the world and is used by all ages. Doctors are prescribing more prescriptions, even if the patient does not need the medication. “Antidepressants prescriptions in the UK have increased by 9.6% in 2011, to 46 million prescriptions” (Are Antidepressants overused?). This study took place in the United Kingdom; however, a lot more prescriptions are being prescribed all around the world. The use of antidepressants is increasing to an all time high because doctors do not want to waste time talking about feelings. The psychologist’s just want the patients to feel better quickly so they prescribe antidepressants. Human beings as well as doctors think that prescribing medicat...
Children are still developing and growing, prescribing them with an antipsychotic drug will cause them to have an abnormal development. Risperidone, Aripiprazole, Quetiapine, and Olanzapine, are all known as atypical antipsychotic drugs which can cause children to
The documentary “The Medicated Child” gave me a lot of insight into the lives of children diagnosed with bipolar disorder. When we hear and learn about bipolar disorder, we do not normally think of children. However, there are many children diagnosed with bipolar disorder ranging from all ages. As we saw in the documentary, bipolar disorder can be very hard on both the child and the family, so finding a cure that is effective and safe is important. The video also highlighted how little research there has been on the effectiveness of antidepressants on children.
I am quite fascinated by generalized control mechanisms and the role they play in the nervous system. I am also quite curious about the relationship between different generalized control mechanisms. The concept of mood and depression in particular have always interested me. I have always wondered what actually causes depression. Why can some people be in a perfectly good mood one day and then less than a week later start exhibiting the signs of clinical depression? I have always been curious about the role that experience and chemical imbalances play in depression and other mood disorders. I donUt totally understand how chemical depression can originate as the result of severe outside stressors in a personUs life. How can this stress go from simply stress in the experiences and environment of a person to a chemical imbalance? I have also wondered why certain people are more susceptible to depression than others. I am curious about whether genetics play a role in depression and whether certain people are more susceptible to depression because of the environment they live in or because of pharmacological reasons and genes. Throughout our class this year, I have wondered about the role that the I-function plays in depression. I find it interesting that it is possible to wake up one morning and be in a nasty mood even if I want to be in a good mood and my I-function is thinking RhappyS thoughts. Through my research for this paper I wanted to find out more about the different kinds of depression and exactly what goes on chemically in the brain when a person is depressed. I also wanted to do a little research on how depression can be treated. I wanted to try and determine how and when the line of simp...
Starting college can be a stressful time for any adolescent. For students suffering from depression it can be a traumatic experience. Worlds feel turned upside down. Even for those who manage to “cope,” pressures can cause these students to feel overwhelmed.
...ion. Antidepressants make a person feel less or not at all depressed, giving them more energy and confidence. Just like any medication in the the world, they have side effects. The most common side effects with anti depressants are insomnia, sleepiness, nausea, and weight gain. Some researches say that antidepressants increase the chance of suicide. Which has not been proven, although it would not be totally impossible. If a person is willing to change and keep a can do attitude, just might stay non depressed.
The study was a qualitative study. Children ages 15-18, one male and eight female participants were included in the study. Seven of the participants reported to have a diagnosis of major depressive disorder and two had bipolar disorder (Meadus, et, all. (2007)). There was consent by the parents of the participants and the decision to participate by the children. At the time of the interviews they were all taking one or more antidepressants prescribed by their psychiatrist. Seven of the participants had a history of psychiatric disorder (Meadus, et, all. (2007)). Unstructured interviews and reviews of the participant’s health records constructed the data for the study. The interview began with open ended statements by the researcher. As the research evolved, participants were asked different questions. The interviews were analyzed by comparison, and then similarities and differences were looked at (Meadus, et, all.
Teenager depression can be a major obstacle to teenagers actualizing their dreams and goals in life. This can have several negative effects on the life of teenagers and their families. The causes of teenager depression may be grouped mainly into two categorizes; they are psychological and environmental causes. The psychological factors/causes deals with the less physical but mental causes of teen depression. While the environmental factors/causes deal mainly with the more physical and obvious causes.