The Pros And Cons Of Antidepressants

"We were told that Paxil and Prozac were wonder drugs', remember Glenn McIntosh, of Austin, Texas, whose twelve-year-old daughter committed suicide within a month of taking antidepressants. "We were lied to" ("Are antidepressants"). Within the first month of anyone taking antidepressants is always the hardest, your body isn't used to the suppressants being there so it'll act out, but after the month or so they will begin to be very helpful. The topic of antidepressants in young patients has a deep history to consider, and there will always be both supporters and critics who continue to debate this topic.

All around the world, especially in the United States, there is an ongoing debate on if antidepressants are safe for young patients or

People of all ages have been able to live more fulfilling lives. According to the article " Are antidepressant drugs safe for young patients" it states, "By making treatment of depression easier, they say, the drugs have allowed many people to overcome the stigma traditionally associated with mental health problems. As a result, Americans are more honest about their mental health, allowing them to live healthier lives, backers contend" (p.5). This passage suggests that by making treatment easier, more people are getting professional help for their mental health. Antidepressants can be administered safely and can be extremely effective. According to the article "Should doctors and psychiatrists prescribe antipsychotic drugs to children and adolescents" it states that “although antipsychotic drugs have to be prescribed with caution, they can be used safely when monitored by health professionals and, when necessary, accompanied by other medicines to counteract some of their side effects. Supporters point to many reports of children with mental disorders achieving significant improvements without experiencing debilitating side effects by using antipsychotics" (p.5). This evidence suggests that if antidepressants are used safely and being watched then it can be an improvement on a patient's mental health. Medication is the best option for dealing with such a very disruptive illness.

You can’t accurately diagnose young patients. According to the article "Are antidepressant drugs safe for young patients " states that "Physicians generally acknowledge that it is difficult to accurately diagnose depression in people under 18, particularly in children. In 1999, U.S. researchers published a study revealing that, out of roughly 600 doctors interviewed, just 16% of physicians declared that they were "comfortable" putting young patients on antidepressant drugs. At the same time, however, 72% of those interviewed stated that they had previously prescribed antidepressants to children or teenagers" (p.3). This evidence shows that even though some doctors aren't comfortable giving most patients antidepressants they still do. Doctors over prescribe antidepressants to children and adolescents. This passage from the article "Still in a crib yet given antipsychotics" states that "Almost 20,000 prescriptions for risperidone (commonly known as Risperdal), quetiapine (Seroquel) and other antipsychotic medications were written in 2014 for children 2 and younger, a 50 percent jump from 13,000 just one year before, according to the prescription data company IMS Health. Prescriptions for the antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac) rose 23 percent in one year for that age group, to about 83,000" (p.2). This evidence shows how much prescriptions for