We all see advertisements on television that tell us how depression and/or anxiety is caused by this type of chemical imbalance in our brains and how medication can fix that, but like all advertising, we shouldn’t take this information at face value. Some psychologists and health experts, in fact, believe that using medication to treat anxiety and depression is simply a bad idea overall. Many others, however, feel that anxiety and depression medication is the best way to deal with these issues. Both groups have a large number of supporters, and there is supporting evidence for both cases.

Drug companies and others who manufacture, promote, and dispense anxiety and depression drugs want us to all think that these products can quickly and easily re-balance chemicals in our brains to make us happy. However, the groups of psychologists who don’t believe in medication say that this isn’t as quick and simple as the commercials make it out to be. While they don’t deny that depression and anxiety can be made worse due to a chemical imbalance and that medication may help with this issue, they believe that the chemical imbalance is only one part of the problem. In order for a person to truly become less anxious or less depressed, other factors need to be addresses. Drug companies don’t focus on these problems, of course, and many who fight anxiety and depression don’t, either. For many of these people, medication does help their symptoms but it doesn’t make their depression or anxiety completely vanish.

Most psychologists feel like medication companies are just out to make money and prey on customers who are simply not educated enough about their condition. These companies offer a quick cure to an ailment that can have horrible effects on a person’s life, so of course they’re going to grab it. Psychologists and other health experts, however, point out that while severe chemical imbalances may be the cause of some anxiety and depression, it is not the cause in many cases. In these cases, a person needs to discover the emotional or psychological cause of their anxiety or depression and deal with it. Once they have handled this cause, they may find that they no longer suffer at all.

What it all comes down to is this: some depression and anxiety is caused by chemical imbalances and some isn’t. Medication companies, of course, want your money, and their commercials and other advertisements are aimed at those who want a quick cure for their anxiety or depression. However, since not all cases are caused by chemical imbalances, these medications are not always going to help. The only real way to discover if medication is useful in your case is to consult your doctor. Do this, of course, before you spend any money on expensive medication that may not help you at all.

Labels: anxiety, depression