For the majority of people who take antidepressants, the possible risks of a decreased sex drive might not seem to be a sacrifice to get the effects from the drug. Despite reported findings on adverse sexual side effects, the number of Americans taking antidepressants has skyrocketed ever since Prozac was first introduced in the late 1980s.
In the last year alone, statistics showed that U.S. doctors wrote 213 million prescriptions for antidepressants.
But now experts have found that some of the popular antidepressants could alter the serotonin levels in the brain enough to change neurological circuits associated with romance and attachment.
Researchers discovered there were three brain systems that worked together and regulated lust, attraction and attachment. Each system was found to operate on different sets of chemicals. For this reason, increased amounts of serotonin from antidepressants could not only repress the sex drive, but also could disrupt the three systems.
It was also found that the change in people taking antidepressants was initially subtle and in some cases led to a sudden loss of feelings toward significant others.
Researchers expressed their concerns over how this could impact many relationships by crippling a person’s ability to experience sexual desire and jeopardizing their chances of falling in love and remaining in a loving relationship.
The New York Times May 4, 2004
Antidepressants are a serious problem in this country, as they at best treat the symptoms and could alter a person's emotional balance, which could result in many hardships on relationships with loved ones. The drug company's are actually being forced to admit that as this past Wednesday Bristol-Myers Squibb said it would no longer make or sell its antidepressant Serzone, which has been linked to life-threatening liver problems
Back in 2002, I posted an article on the devastating consequences of taking antidepressants. While there is no question that these drugs have provided symptomatic relief from the ravages of depression, I am just as equally certain that these drugs rarely, if ever, are the appropriate long-term solution. This is especially the case with children.
As anyone who has suffered with depression knows, it is a devastating illness and needs to be aggressively treated. However, instead of relying on pills that are mere Band-Aids, try these three keys to fighting depression:
The food you eat has a far more profound influence on your emotions than you may think. This is particularly true for sugars and grains that require insulin to metabolize them. Elevated insulin levels will lead to disrupted serotonin and other neurochemicals that will lead to depression.
Exercise can also be beneficial in helping those with depression. The practical problem with using exercise in depression, however, is that the desire to pursue any activity, let alone exercise, is not very high when you are depressed. The converse though also needs to be considered. Just because one exercises, that does not mean you cannot become depressed. Exercise makes it easier to treat depression, but it certainly does not cure it in everyone.
Taking fish oil is an extremely powerful tool to fighting and preventing depression. Fish oil contains the essential omega-3 fatty acids that have been found by many major studies to alleviate depression.
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