Depression and Other Mental Conditions – Are You Taking the Right Approach?

According to recent research, American doctors are still overprescribing antibiotics, opioid pain killers, and other kinds of drugs despite calls for caution. Anti-depressants are included in this trend of overprescription. Research shows that one in every six Americans is taking antidepressants or other types of psychiatric drug, and many of them take them long-term. That number has nearly doubled from the 1 in 10 count in 2011.

What does this tell you? The number is a reflection of how much people rely on prescription drugs to manage or control mental and emotional concerns.

Other research showed that benzodiazepine (anti-anxiety drugs) accounted for about one-third of the astounding 23,000 overdoses in the year 2013. One of the main problems is that primary care physicians can be under-educated when it comes to the risks that are associated with psychiatric drugs. There seems to be limited information about how long a patient should keep taking the drug before he or she becomes dependent.

Ironically, while the number of prescriptions made for psychiatric drugs is rising, some parameters reflect that the mental health in the U.S. is experiencing a decline. For one, mental disorders are now considered one of the major causes of disability and deaths due to an overdose have become a common health emergency. What this suggests is that instead of being helpful, the easy availability of psychiatric drugs actually makes the situation worse.

These drugs may be helpful to those with truly severe mental health issues like schizophrenia, but the problem is many of those who use such drugs do not have severe psychiatric illnesses. Most of them are dealing with grief, sadness, anxiety or depression. And while the causes of these troubles are diverse, whatever may be behind them, a sedative or an antidepressant will not cure it.

Research suggests that among the treatments that actually work, a healthy lifestyle, a good diet, and exercise are the most effective but unfortunately are often overlooked these days. Your diet, for one, is important as it greatly affects your gut microbiome. Studies show that improving the diversity and getting more beneficial bacteria in your gut can have an impact on your mental health. It can boost your mood and minimize the risk for more serious mental health concerns.

Sloan Natural Health Center can provide you with herbal, homeopathic, micronutrient support, and amino acid therapy through a program that is tailored specifically to meet your needs. It is a much safer approach to improving your mental health and it works for all ages, too. So instead of rushing to get a prescription for some pill, come and visit us and enjoy the benefits of our effective program!