It is no secret that antidepressant use has gone up in recent years. Now new research is suggesting that the poor economy may be to blame for it. Concurrent with countless people being laid off and losing their homes, there has been a significant increase in the use of antidepressant medications like Paxil and Effexor.
According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, use of antidepressants like Paxil and Effexor has increased by 400 percent. This use is especially common in women. The information that this report was based on was collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). This survey collected information from as many as 12,637 people. During the survey, people were asked a variety of questions pertaining to their prescription drug use, including whether they use antidepressants and, if so, for how long they’ve used them and what the extent of their depression symptoms has been.
Drugs like Paxil and Effexor have become the most commonly used medication for adults between the ages of 18 and 44. Information collected also shows that “nearly one in four women between 40 and 59 are taking the medications, as are one in 25 teens.” Of course, it makes sense that financial problems would contribute to an increase in depression symptoms for most people, and a new study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania shows that homeowners who are now facing defaults and foreclosures are suffering from more mental health concerns than those people who have low or no troubles with their houses.
This significant increase in depressed people taking prescription medications like Paxil and Effexor is dangerous since these drugs have often been linked to aggressive behavior (that can lead to homicides) as well as suicidal thoughts and behavior. This seems to make the prescribing of antidepressant meds like Paxil sound extreme when feeling depressed after suffering from financial problems is expected. While antidepressant medications may provide a temporary solution to the “temporary” sadness, it’s not worth dying over.
