Antidepressants: A shot in the dark
>> Saturday, December 21, 2013 –
Antipressants,
Anxirty,
Article,
Depression,
Mental Illness,
Phobia
An article by
Dr Asghar Ali Shah
Homeopathic Physician
Published in The News International on June 25, 2009
Depression is a common disease in today’s life where most of the people find themselves entangled in too much of a rat race. The patient remains in low spirits, feels isolated and dead on his feet. He finds little pleasure in things and activity he used to love and enjoy before being caught by the disease. His relationships with his family and friends take a turn for the worse.
The common complaints this writer often hears from patients include:“Doctor, I am deep in the chocking fog of stress, anxiety and depression and I feel like I will never get out of it, every day gets harder and I feel trapped and isolated. The depression has robbed me of the motivation to do even the simplest tasks by causing extreme exhaustion. And the antidepressants given to me by psychiatrist are doing me no good. I think I will never be able to stop them because whenever I try to stop them or reduce their dose, the withdrawal symptoms torment me with even greater torture”.
Researchers have found that extended periods of stress, anxiety and depression can cause destructive changes in our bodies, such as a suppressed immune system, which can eventually lead to heart disease cancer and stroke.
In case of major depression doctors go for antidepressant medication. But antidepressants are not Silver bullet for depression, as they have their own side effects and dangers. Moreover recent studies have raised questions about their effectiveness.
According to the chemical imbalance theory, depression is caused by low levels of serotonin, a chemical that acts in the brain as a neurotransmitter and is involved in the control of pain perception, the sleep-wake cycle, and mood. It is claimed that depression medication brings serotonin levels back to normal.
The truth however, is that, psychiatrists know little about how antidepressants work. There is no test that can measure the amount of serotonin in the living brain----no way to even know what a low or normal level of serotonin is, let alone show that depression medication fixes these levels.
Experts agree that depression involves much more than just “bad” brain chemistry. Serotonin is just one of may play a role in the disorder. New research points to other biological contributors to depression, including in flammation, elevated stress hormones, immune system suppression, abnormal activity in certain parts of the brain, nutritional deficiencies, genes and shrinking brain cells.
These are just the biological factors but man is not just flesh, bones and blood. He is much higher being and has a living soul inside him. He has higher goals and ambitions. He has loves and hates, failures and successes hidden deep inside him. How can we understand depression and then also claim to treat without understanding the human being first.
Moreover social and psychological factors ---such as loneliness and low self esteem -----also play an enormous role in causing depression. Psychiatrists admit that the modern medical science has not understood even the thousandth part of human brain’s functioning but while admitting this fact they continue drugging the patients with strong antidepressants. The poor patient is told that he has to take the allopathic medicines all his life.
In homeopathy mental and emotional symptoms are of paramount importance when prescribing not only for mental and emotional conditions, but also physical symptoms. When homeopathy has to focus on the treatment of the mental and emotional symptoms like phobias, depression and other behavioral disorders, it is simply unparalleled by any other system of medicine. It does not give chemicals to its patients suffering from depression and the related disorders, rather in awakens the immune system that, by the grace of Allah, cures the problem seamlessly effortlessly.
Dr Asghar Ali Shah
Homeopathic Physician
Published in The News International on June 25, 2009
Depression is a common disease in today’s life where most of the people find themselves entangled in too much of a rat race. The patient remains in low spirits, feels isolated and dead on his feet. He finds little pleasure in things and activity he used to love and enjoy before being caught by the disease. His relationships with his family and friends take a turn for the worse.
The common complaints this writer often hears from patients include:“Doctor, I am deep in the chocking fog of stress, anxiety and depression and I feel like I will never get out of it, every day gets harder and I feel trapped and isolated. The depression has robbed me of the motivation to do even the simplest tasks by causing extreme exhaustion. And the antidepressants given to me by psychiatrist are doing me no good. I think I will never be able to stop them because whenever I try to stop them or reduce their dose, the withdrawal symptoms torment me with even greater torture”.
Researchers have found that extended periods of stress, anxiety and depression can cause destructive changes in our bodies, such as a suppressed immune system, which can eventually lead to heart disease cancer and stroke.
In case of major depression doctors go for antidepressant medication. But antidepressants are not Silver bullet for depression, as they have their own side effects and dangers. Moreover recent studies have raised questions about their effectiveness.
According to the chemical imbalance theory, depression is caused by low levels of serotonin, a chemical that acts in the brain as a neurotransmitter and is involved in the control of pain perception, the sleep-wake cycle, and mood. It is claimed that depression medication brings serotonin levels back to normal.
The truth however, is that, psychiatrists know little about how antidepressants work. There is no test that can measure the amount of serotonin in the living brain----no way to even know what a low or normal level of serotonin is, let alone show that depression medication fixes these levels.
Experts agree that depression involves much more than just “bad” brain chemistry. Serotonin is just one of may play a role in the disorder. New research points to other biological contributors to depression, including in flammation, elevated stress hormones, immune system suppression, abnormal activity in certain parts of the brain, nutritional deficiencies, genes and shrinking brain cells.
These are just the biological factors but man is not just flesh, bones and blood. He is much higher being and has a living soul inside him. He has higher goals and ambitions. He has loves and hates, failures and successes hidden deep inside him. How can we understand depression and then also claim to treat without understanding the human being first.
Moreover social and psychological factors ---such as loneliness and low self esteem -----also play an enormous role in causing depression. Psychiatrists admit that the modern medical science has not understood even the thousandth part of human brain’s functioning but while admitting this fact they continue drugging the patients with strong antidepressants. The poor patient is told that he has to take the allopathic medicines all his life.
In homeopathy mental and emotional symptoms are of paramount importance when prescribing not only for mental and emotional conditions, but also physical symptoms. When homeopathy has to focus on the treatment of the mental and emotional symptoms like phobias, depression and other behavioral disorders, it is simply unparalleled by any other system of medicine. It does not give chemicals to its patients suffering from depression and the related disorders, rather in awakens the immune system that, by the grace of Allah, cures the problem seamlessly effortlessly.
