The Drug-Pushers Are Here For Your Soul:
In this video, Cracked’s Honest Commercials touches on a little bit of our problems with drug companies.
This time, for Antidepressants.
It’s a bit drier and more ironic than their normal stuff, but a lot of it is dead-on.
Especially about switching medications, the placebo effect on mood disorders, incomplete understanding of depression-mechanics and their brain-chemistry roots,
Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain:
And most of all, Marketing psychoactive drugs to individual consumers through mass-media…
A few of the more interesting things they touch on are:
1) The fact that this marketing may subtly-suggest that a normal emotional-range is unacceptable, and
2) Many more people actually take these drugs than need them.
A doctor friend of mine even confirmed this trend, especially with the overprescription of cholesterol-meds.
Big Money, Big Lobbying == Overprescription:
But as Roger suggests, when patents & lobbying mean multi-billion-dollar profits, DrugCos gonna DrugCo.
Cracked probably only had so much time, but sadly they didn’t go enough in depth with the possible side-effects or interactions.
And as long as you’re not affected, reading the list of potentials is so bad at times, it can sound downright comedic and perhaps worse than even the original symptoms.
Crazy Potential Side-Effects:
-They certainly make the Effexor & Paxil “Brain-Zaps” sound tame by comparison.
They also forgot to specify that for almost all of these meds, even if you do get one that works, you will be Forced to switch to something completely different every two years; whether you like it or not.
And also the fact that some psychoactive drugs end up damaging parts of the brain and “Brain Zaps” are just one symptom of that.
Many Natural Solutions Can Help Mild Cases:
On a more natural-living note, many people could probably just be helped by diet, sleep, exercise, and mindfulness meditation.
But just choose to go straight to their GP for a near-instant prescription.
And they also do that instead of getting a thorough evaluation by a psychiatrist.
Pills Are Cheaper Than Talk & CBT:
The follow up to that is few people even receive therapy, or enough of it these days. Most psychology, especially on insurance-company-terms, now is just dispensed in pill-form.
I’m sure Cracked is of course just poking-fun & not actually saying nobody needs medication, but anti-depressants are certainly over-prescribed and less effective for many people than they should be.
For more on overmedication, check out Links:
JUMP BONUS!: Dr. Julie Holland of BigThink does the non-Cracked version of this video, from the Dr.’s perspective:
Photo/Video Credits:
Video & Screen Shot, “If Antidepressant Commercials Were Honest, by Cracked
Video, “Happier, More Relaxed, and Emotionally Empty: The High Cost of Overmedication”, by BigThink & Dr. Julie Holland
Links:
• Source: Cracked.com
• More Coverage: US News-Overmedication | HT-The Number Needed To Treat
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