Argumentative Essay On Depression

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Antidepressants Depression is a mental illness that needs to be treated like any other sickness. More than 17 million Americans are victims of depression (Wolff 6). People don’t view depression as a serious disorder, most assume it will go away with time. Depression is a mental illness in which one is overwhelmed with sadness, loss of appetite, acts of being unsocial, and tiredness (Dudley 14). The most serious side effect of depression is suicide; an irreversible act that a depressed person can rationalize as the only answer for happiness. The science behind depression is neurotransmitters in one’s brain bind to neurons to communicate; depressed individuals have too few transmitters (Dudley 9). Neurotransmitters such as serotonin which carries …show more content…

Depression is a complicated illness because everyone reacts differently to certain treatments and it can’t be cured within a day. People who don’t believe in antidepressants may say that seeing a therapist is the best solution, but what they fail to realize is the amount of time it takes, the cost, and the fact that concrete results don’t come fast (Dudley 15). A therapist may be helpful, but an hour long session talking about feelings once a week is not going to stop a person from wanting to kill themselves. Talking isn’t going to increase the neurotransmitters in the patient’s brain like antidepressants will. Depression is extremely complicated and it can’t be talked away. People have a hard time comprehending that someone who is diagnosed with depression is sick and needs help. Therapy can not be the only form of treatment because when someone has a cold, they aren’t treated with words. Their body is sick and needs medicine, just like depressed people …show more content…

In the past 10 years the rate of suicide for ages 10-24 has increased by more than 200% (Wolff 53). If more people were treated for depression then that percentage wouldn’t be so high. A ten year study was done on 65,000 patients and the number of suicide attempts fell by 60% after the first month with antidepressants (Dudley 37). The experiment clearly showed that the medication did help. People make antidepressants sound so bad, but if they help give a patient back their happiness then the medication should be

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