The Pros And Cons Of Antidepressants

Antidepressants can be an effective treatment for depression but, like all medications there are side effects, drawbacks but also many pro’s. In this essay I will discuss the pro’s and con’s of antidepressants such as cost, side effects, and safety.

Antidepressants, while an effective treatment can be very expensive. For those who do not have insurance or struggle to afford medications, the high price of these drugs can lead to a patient's depression getting worse. This problem is not exclusive to antidepressants, the price of essential medications prevents people in poverty and homeless people from acquiring proper medication leading to a minimum of 20% of homeless people being mentally ill. Sadly drug companies often raise the prices of antidepressants to create a larger profit and rarely have the patient in mind. While many antidepressants are expensive there are some affordable options like sertraline and celexa and for less severe cases, homeopathic remedies like st. John's wort and omega three fatty acids have been proven to reduce depression symptoms.

Many antidepressants come with unfortunate side effects such as dizziness, nausea, and headaches. While these symptoms can be short term, in some cases these effects can last much longer. There are also the withdrawal symptoms to consider, if you were to stop your medication abruptly there can be severe withdrawal symptoms such as flu-like symptoms, vertigo and can trigger worse symptoms. One of the most common side effects is reported to be a feeling of emotional numbness and the inability to feel emotions in the same capacity, this is one of the most daunting side effects and is often what keeps people from considering antidepressants and pursuing other options such as alternative medications and natural