Posted by greywolf on April 13, 2004, at 10:25:23
In reply to scarey anti-SSRI web site, posted by Joslynn on April 12, 2004, at 21:16:07
Joslynn:
Take all that negative stuff with a grain of salt. SSRIs, like so many other medications, have short and long-term SEs that offset the benefits they bring to the table. And as with just about any drug, there may be super long-term SEs we don't know about yet.
But just rejecting meds that may work well for you out of hand is throwing the baby out with the bath water. Educate yourself with respect to what is known about the risks of particular drugs, then do a cost/benefit assessment based on your own needs, not on what others tell you those should be.
I have recently become irritated with a set of ads running in my area at the behest of some organization that hopes to convince people to stop "relying" on mental health medications. They can express themselves all they want, but I am bothered by the subtext of their ads: that using medications like SSRIs is a sign of personal weakness that the drug companies are exploiting. The campaign suggests not only that people who use these medications have something wrong with them from a maturity/moral fiber standpoint, but also that they are stupid enough to be duped by the drug companies. It's really offensive and I'm concerned that it will reinforce the negative stereotypes that prevent many people from seeking needed treatment. I wish that some mental health organizations would provide a counterpoint, but I don't see that happening.
So, bottom line: ignore the negativity and scare tactics. Educate yourself and make your own decisions in light of known or anticipated risks. Nothing is perfectly safe, not even water. Don't buy into this theory that life must be made risk-free, and that any meds that aren't absolutely, perfectly safe in perpetuity should be rejected. From my personal perspective, life is a heck of a lot less safe and less healthy without medications that provide important benefits. My asthma medications have obvious risks, but no one I know would suggest that I'd be better off without them. This issue should be treated similarly.
poster:greywolf
thread:335735
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040412/msgs/335917.html