Antidepressants Are Not The Enemy

I just stumbled across an old Yahoo! Answers question that had me physically shaking my head. I won't share a link to it here because, 1) The question is over two years old and, 2) I don't want to be responsible for any responses to her. The question's author (obviously a teenage girl) asked, "Was it wrong for me to throw my sister's antidepressants away?" Before even getting into her story and reasoning I was already alarmed. No matter what the medication is, even if it's just Advil, one should NEVER throw away another's medicine. What makes this situation worse is that she did it out of SPITE. Apparently, she smuggled her boyfriend into the house and they had sex, her sister found out/saw and told their mother. Her reasoning for throwing away her sister's antidepressants are, "She's crazy and she told on me." Obviously this young lady is immature, and I can't stop myself from hoping she and her boyfriend are at least using adequate birth control. But this issue is not why the girl did this, but why one should never do this. The issue of should one take antidepressants is also raised here, because in her question she specifically asks for Christian input, and I know from doing a small amount of research (and from personal experience with a close family member) that many Christians believe that accepting Jesus Christ as your lord and savior is enough to cure anything, and "depression is not a real disease" (words actually said to me by the before-mentioned family member). This is what I want to talk about specifically.

I am not a doctor, I have not studied depression and other mental disorders extensively, but have taken two psychology classes at the University of Georgia. That still does not make me remotely qualified. I have, though, suffered from depression for many, many years. I was diagnosed with manic depression in 2009, but I had been struggling for years leading up to that. I have been on many different types of antidepressants and now take Lexapro, one that has worked well for me for the past couple of years. 

In my experience with depression and with others who have, are or think they are suffering from depression I have come to understand that there are essentially two types of depression: Environmental and chemical. Any one case of depression in an individual is usually a mixture of these types. For me, it is almost entirely chemical. When it is chemical, it means there is a shortage of serotonin and/or dopamine production in the brain. The antidepressants stimulate the production of the chemical missing. When it is environmental, a person's current situation affects the production of this chemical, though not always and not permanently. Examples of environmental conditions can be anything from work and school to being in prison or dealing with family woes. It can be anything. In environmental-only cases, perhaps taking Jesus Christ into one's heart could be healing but only in the sense that the person has found an outlet for what is causing their depression. For chemical cases, it wouldn't do much. It is not Jesus Christ or the religion itself that is curing the depression, but the finding of companionship or a method through which the depression can be vented. Many other things can be substituted here: There is meditation, taking up a craft, finding a group of new friends such as a book club, and so, so much more. It also greatly depends on the type of depression and what is causing it.

Antidepressants have a bad reputation because it is very hard to tell between chemical and environmental and whether a person needs them or just a change of scenery. My doctor told me there are plenty of people who take them for a couple of years and then quit, but it's difficult. For one, certain medications leave a person feeling very ill even if they wean off of them. I know if I haven't taken my Lexapro in awhile and it starts to bleed out of my system I get to where I'm nauseous and exhausted all the time. And guilty, that's the worst part. I couldn't even tell you what I felt guilty about. 

The issue of how mental illnesses are perceived in this country is finally making its way to the forefront of healthcare discussions. However it is very early in the game, so still in many people's minds needing an antidepressant or other medication for a mental issue is an indication of insanity, something to be criminalized and avoided. I can guarantee anyone who has ever had to deal with a mental issue has been told they're faking it for attention, or they're weak. It is not weakness, it is part of being human. Mental illness is not a plague, it is not a state of mind that creates sub-humans, it is an issue just as serious as cancer and should be treated as such. Too often people do not receive adequate care because they are fearful to be told they're just crazy or faking it. I am fortunate to have a primary care physician who does not think this way in the least, but also doesn't just dole out antidepressants to anyone who comes in and says, "I'm sad."

I'll just say this again: Mental illness is not a plague, it is not a fake illness, it cannot be cured by the Bible or Jesus Christ. It is part of being human.

- C.A. Swaim