ARE ANTIDEPRESSANTS MORE BENEFICIAL THAN THERAPY?

By: Cierra Campbell

WHY I CHOSE MY TOPIC

I suffered from mild depression for several years, so this was a topic that was interesting to me.

RESEARCH I FOUNDDEPRESSION

58 million people suffer from depression

Chemical imbalance of the brain

biological factor (inflammation, elevated stress hormones, immune system suppression, nutritional deficiencies)

Social and psychological factors (loneliness, little exercise, poor diet, low self esteem)

RESEARCH I FOUNDANTIDEPRESSANTS

Suppose to help improve a person mood

More effective with severe depression

Mild depressions - placebos.

People who respond fall back

Balance serotonin levels- no tests to show these levels

RESEARCH I FOUNDA N T I D E P R E SS A N T S

Balance serotonin levels- no tests to show these levels

Side effects may go away after a few weeks or continue/ worsen

Nausea, insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, weight gain, sleepiness, etc.

Involuntary movements (muscle spasms, loss of fine motor control

Multiple medications increase blood levels

RESEARCH I FOUNDANTIDEPRESSANTS

Discontinuation Syndrome

Build up tolerance

Suicidal thinking and self harm greatest the first few weeks of medication

Over prescribing (mild complaints)

More dangerous to not treat depression

RESEARCH I FOUNDANTIDEPRESSANTS

Survey of 700. 20 percent had depression, 70 percent didn’t need antidepressants, 10 percent not enough to be diagnosed

1996 60 percent not diagnosed with depression/ In 2007 73 percent

Antidepressants positive- quick help

No negative side effects to therapy

OBSTACLES I OVERCAMEFinding statistics on the effectiveness of antidepressants. I couldn’t just ask people how their medications were working.

Procrastinating; lots of work

SUCCESSES I HADI turned everything in on time and I finished the paper.

LINK BETWEEN RESEARCH AND PRODUCT

Paper on depression and the effectiveness of antidepressants

Product helping children with depression/learning what happens when people with depression are admitted.

MY PRODUCT

WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT MYSELF

I learned how good I can do when I set my mind to something. This project took up a lot of my time and I got it done.

HOW WILL IT HELP IN THE FUTURE

I’m better prepared on how to handle bigger assignments and because of this experience I learned how to manage time better.

CONCLUSIONThis project was a lot of work and consumed a lot of my time but in the end the knowledge I acquired made it a little worthwhile. In the end I realized that antidepressants are never really the way to go and that best way to handle depression in most cases it’s best to get help.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!

Are there any questions?