First of all, I need to thank my intelligent friends for not ripping me apart when I clearly didn't understand how double blind trials work...
My position on the topic of mental illness is clearly very biased.
If I were a cancer patient and there was a new drug on the market that might cure me, I would definitely take it. I just get nervous because it feels as though my mind is being played with and I consider it to be my greatest asset. I'm watching my mother's mind deteriorate day by day right now and I'm terrified it may happen to me in the future. I believe that the prescription of anti-depressants do indeed save lives - if it can stop someone from having suicidal thoughts, bring it on.
The fact that I'm prescribed a large dose of a "mood stabilizer" because I'm a workaholic is disturbing to me... especially since the sedative properties of this drug are similar to how antihistamines behave. I guess I just scared because of the evidence that antihistamines may cause dementia in the elderly. I know I'm not elderly, and the studies speak of the antihistamine active in Benadryl, Diphenhydramine, and not the H1 receptor antagonist present in Seroquel.
Thanks to everyone who's sparked discussion on this... talking about these issues, I believe contributes greatly to this initiative of the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
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