mood stabilizers / men I'm meeting a LOT of guys who are on various kinds of prescriptions for different things: depression, anxiety, (anti anxieties seem to be really popping up a lot). The two men who would talk to me about their meds, and why they use them, really couldn't articulate to me what the anxiety was all about. I just wonder why it's there? Where does it come from, etc. It's almost like they have a med. plan, they have a shrink, and those two factors seem to add up to meds. I spend enough time with these two men to know that there would be no meaningful future for me w/ either of them. Don't mean to sound anti-meds, but I do wonder what the hell is going on out there with all these guys on prescription meds. Anyone wanna take a shot at this one?

My thoughts While I am sure there are doctors that give meds for an easy answer, I think the reason for the apparent surge in use of anti-anxiety and depression medications is because its finally starting to be known and not so taboo. Unfortunately, there are LOTS of people, and probably always will be, that could greatly benefit from medications, but wont talk to their doctor, or wont take suggested medications, because there is a social stigma that goes with being on any type of mood medication. The need for this type of medication has to do with a chemical imbalance in the brain. It causes people to be in a constant, or almost constant fear, sometimes an unnamed fear. Just because there isnt an easy answer...doesnt mean there isnt an answer at all.

about the mood stabalizers my husband and i both suffer from chronic anxiety. Mine is family based. I randomly become convinced to the point of an anxiety attack that there is something wrong with either my children or my husband. It becomes an all encompassing fear and leads to these anxiety attacks. So honestly... while it's not ideal to have anxiety disorders or mood disorders its a fact of life and honestly how can we expect any different with the chemicals we pump into our bodies on a daily basis?

America is Overmedicated. Look at all the children on drugs like Ritalin. It's ridiculous. When I was a kid I couldn't sit still for five minutes at school. It wasn't because I had ADD or some other baloney. It was because I'd rather be out playing sports than learning some boring lesson about old dead people. Everybody things they're depressed, or that drugs will somehow solve a problem for them. It's simply not true. Without lifestyle changes and other efforts, those drugs will not accomplish anything. You may as well take a sugar pill at that point.

somewhat disagree about depression anyway. people do genuinely get depressed, they always did. The problem as I see it is - our modern society is conditioned to want and have quick easy result and natural long lasting ways of dealing with depression are neither quick nor easy. kinda like keeping in shape (and all those fad diets) Medications are simply shortcuts, that mask the symptoms without dealing with an actual problem. At least when it comes to situational depression and anxiety, since there really are some people with chemical/hormonal imbalance in their brains. Personaly - even though its prevalent and not nessesarily complately man's fault - I would avoid someone who relies on medication too much. to me it displays a person who needs a serious crutch to deal with problems, someone who's will is not as strong as i'd personaly prefer it to be.

True. But. Conditions like ADD are not baloney. We just know more about them now than we used to. They're variations that are different from the norm and those variations can be traced to different activity in the brain. When you were a kid, they didn't know about things like ADD. That could be why you didn't have it. I'm sure there was someone you knew in your class that everyone just sort of wrote off as being lazy, dumb, hyper, etc. and that person grew up never believing any different of themselves. Now, we know that person's laziness might really be lack of focus, and hyperactivity is a symptom of something we can ADD and that is a condition we can treat, rather than just them lazy and limit their options. Where I agree with you strongly is in the treatment. We jump to medication so quickly. We ought to encourage lifestyle changes first - video games and television make much more sedentary and encourage a style of thinking which is ADD-like. We don't exercise enough. Our diets stink. Personally, I think once someone is identified as having a disorder like ADD, they should be regimented into a more structured routine involving proper diet, consistent exercise, a predictable schedule, and so on. Then, once that doesn't work, introduce the meds. I think the meds are a shortcut, because people don't want to do the real work to make a change without them, and because companies make money off them.

Anxiety and Depression Are becoming more prevalent and less taboo amongst men, and Doctors seem to give meds out like candy I was prescribed Lexapro, Lorazepam and Ambien after my divorce last year. Bad combo! Basiy induced a chemical nervous breakdown. I have since switched to Valerian Root and St.Johns Wort, which have stabilized my moods and allows me to sleep. I'm not ashamed of my emotinal condition, but with men, emotions are not something we are conditioned to speak about.

If you are female, be careful with the St. John's Wort. It doesn't play nice with birth control pills, if you use them.

Beware of any and all mood altering drugs. I’m not saying its bad or good- -just beware. There is a strong dependency issue associated with their use and the ensuing mood swings when coming off of them can be devastating. They simply are TOO easily prescribed and in many times for the wrong reasons; the inability of the clinicians to get a grip on the emotional problems through therapy resort to just scripting them out like candy. It also provides for a predictable “revolving door” to their business - -you need to see them for refills. They are the valium of the 90s. CAUTION-CAUTION-CAUTION.

I have a theory about this I think men, as a gender, men are really fucked up right now. Women have redefined their gender role and men haven't done the same. We're anxious and moody because of it and we don't have a good outlet. So they give us drugs. Just a theory.

still waiting for the down side ;-)

I think Pooxx... ...has a good point about men as a gender, not re-defining themselves.

People in general are overmedicated. Remember way back when there weren't ads pushing pills in every commercial break? It's been a long time, hasn't it? People have been sold a bill of goods that if they aren't shiny-happy all the time then something HORRIBLE is wrong with them...and "we" have just the pill to fix that. Oh don't worry about the side effects...there's a pill to fix that too. And so on, and so on.... Facts are life ISN"T puppies, kittens, and rainbows all the time. Most of the time it is stressful and disappointing. No drug is going to fix that and in fact, the drugs make it worse because you are depending on a pill rather than your own strength of character to get through it.

What do you mean all these guys? Mena nd women take meds for depression and anxiety. Some need them, some use them as a crutch. On the flip side many of my patients refuse to take them because they don't want to be labeled "crazy" and therefore suffer everyday of their life under a smothering blanket they can't get from under. Or with anxiety being so worried about things, many that aren't even real, just what ifs, that you can not focus on anything else. It affects everything they try to do. Their friendships, family and jobs suffer. If these men were like that, be glad they got help and can live a more normal life.