The issue of whether or not anxiety and depression sufferers should take medication is a hot button issue that I love to press.  As many of you know I don’t take meds and I never have.  I will say that drugs like Paxil and Zoloft do help some people and I won’t and have not denied this.  However, I would like to point out that those of us who use these drugs and others like them should be more aware of their benefits and drawbacks than we currently are.  It just doesn’t make sense not to be as informed as humanly possible when it comes to this important topic.

Recently I came across an excellent expose by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation or CBC about drugs used to treat anxiety disorders, depression and other mental ailments.  I found this particular series broken up into 5 short youtube videos.  In addition I’ve added a video of an ex-pharmaceutical sales person that experienced her own personal hell with antidepressants.

This post and others like it that I’ve written are meant to high light the potential risks of these drugs and really nothing else.  In other words, I take no moral high ground and I’m not saying not to take medication if you and your doctor have agreed that it’s the best course of action for you.

My only goal is to have my readers be as informed as they can be.  In my experience many of these drugs are prescribed much too easily and therefore may not benefit all and might even cause harm to some.  This is a reality that we should all face and not shrink from.  I understand that not all people will be helped by breathing exercises and fish oil pills, but that doesn’t mean that we all shouldn’t be prudent about treating our anxiety disorder and or depression.

Paxil and other drugs like it can be extremely dangerous and just because it helps some people we should never forget that they also have the capacity to inflict a great deal of harm.  It’s not just the slim chance of suicide either, but also less diabolical effects like life long drug dependency that are of concern as well.

In the end do what you have to do under proper medical supervision to help yourself live a better life.  All I want to convey is that caution and information should be our guides when it comes to these drugs.  Sometimes what we need is more love, freedom, phyiscal activity, better diets, more friends, less stress and so on.  Other times maybe a drug is appropriate but only if you are fully aware of both the up and down sides.

You probably already noticed that I have repeated the idea that it’s alright to take meds if you need it.  That’s because I always (never fails) get contacted by an angry person that has been helped by Paxil or some other drug.  I’d like to avoid that so I pounded this point to make it oh so very clear.

Personally I don’t take any drugs for anxiety or depression because I have misgivings about the down sides to these drugs, especially the dependence part.  I don’t like to suffer either, but I feel that I function rather well without them.  I have my trials and dark days like all of you do but I keep moving forward with natural coping tools and have a normal life 80% of the time.  I just feel strongly about helping people understand the truth about anxiety disorders and living an anxious life.  Just remember to never stop learning because ultimately this is how you will finally learn the proper way to help yourself.

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