General Article Pros and cons of medication

Topic Selected: Depression
This article is 9 years old. Click here to view the latest articles for this topic.

One of many options

Medication (or taking tablets) is simply one of the many options available to help combat depression. It has both benefits and drawbacks. Some people have strong feelings about medication, but it is better to evaluate the pros and cons in a balanced way.

Some of the myths and concerns about taking medication include:

‘What’s the point of getting “false happiness” which will disappear when I stop taking the pills?’

Antidepressants do not make you ‘happy’ as such – they help to adjust abnormally low levels of brain chemicals to lift mood to more normal levels.
They are most effective when part of a multi-faceted strategy for reversing the depression habit spiral by providing motivation to tackle other unhelpful habits, like depressed thinking, reduced activity levels or disturbed sleep patterns. When continued for six months after remission from depression, antidepressants have been shown to significantly reduce the chance of relapse.

‘Pills are a crutch and t...

Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?

Sign up now for an immediate no obligation FREE TRIAL and view the entire collection