Do you believe that the people of America are being overmedicated and misdiagnosed too often?

A while ago, I read an article about this girl who was put on medications for bipolar disorder when she was 2 years old. TWO! A child of two is barely any older than a baby! It's perfectly normal for a child that young to act out and be moody. My toddler sisters act like it all the time. This girl died from taking those medications a few years later.

When I was in a mental hospital because they wanted to monitor the new medications I was on, I realized most of the other teens there weren't depressed or suicidal. They were really bitchy, alcohol-chugging, nicotine-addicted, angsty high school drop outs. This one girl slit her wrist because she wanted to get back at her mother. I think all too often people get diagnosed and medicated because it's easier than working out the problems themselves. And it's people like those who are giving people who actually need medications a bad name.

Agree/disagree? Reasons?

Yes, there is a reason that most mental disorders are considered adult disorders. That's not to say that depression or bipolar disorder does not happen in teens or children, it does, but it's not nearly as common.

Now, teenagers who attempt to kill themselves to get back at their mothers, probably do belong in psychiatric treatment. Obviously there are issues going on and this person is a danger to herself.

'Bitchiness' or irritability is often how depression expresses itself in teenagers, so we can't say that a teenager who is irritable, abuses drugs and alcohol and feels high levels of angst is necessarily not depressed.

I believe the problem here is the medicalization of mental illness. Through advertisement and social stigma, we are led to believe that if anyone acts in any way that is abnormal and destructive they must have a chemical imbalance and must be medicated.

The commercials and advertisements for antidepressants are worded in such a way that even a mentally healthy person can believe he or she suffers from anxiety, depression or adult add when in reality moments of anxiety, depression and inability to pay attention is normal and even healthy! But the commercials don't discuss the details. People then run to their doctors who are very quick to prescribe. Some say, oh oh they need a psychiatrist, but psychiatrists are just as quick to prescribe!

It's not the patients fault as much as it is the industry that is duping people into believing they are severely ill due to a physical illness (chem imbalance) and need a doctor. It's the doctors fault for being quick to prescribe and irresponsible when it comes to requiring a patient to attend therapy. Personally, I believe that advertisements for medication on television and in magazines should be illegal and that doctors should refuse to prescribe medications to those who are refusing therapy even if it's just a biweekly or monthly appointment.

I think more awareness needs to be brought to people about therapy. Yes, a lot of it is quackery, but some of it is valid and people need to know this.

Of course, all this would take time, money and effort from an industry that is profiting too much to care.

oh i most definately agree. I try my hardest everyday to tell people that meds are only a temporary cure, like for a small headache. There are other causes to syptoms than where it is hurting, and noone every reads about new health finds, so they just trust doctors and take the meds. If you want to learn about something really interesting having to do with this, go to healinglightassociates.com

Yesss.....

agree, i worked psyc and chemical dep. i tolerate the ones with a chemical imbalance but the ones that are selv induces need to be detoxed and never given a bar. again YES YES YES you are right 100%

Your are correct there are many misdiagnoses out there and many over-medicated children as well as adults.
This I do not believe this happens as much as young and middle age adults but, when you are elderly or very young our society seems to have gone more to the side of medicating anyone whose personality or behavior annoys them.
It is unfortunate in children parents do not want to parent and in the elderly children do not want to help their parents.
I wish I knew what happened to communication and proper teaching.
That is not to say there are not real psychiatric issues in all age ranges that do need medication. However, it is obvious to me these are way over diagnosed with medications over prescribed.

I agree that America is over medicated, but I believe that America is ill and medications cannot heal. It is not just the person in the hospital who is ill, but the family also. The family is the basic unit of society and every almost family has someone mentally ill or depressed who is not permitted to be well. The stigma of the errors of the entire family is put on one member and his needs are denied so the other members can put effort into making money, which cannot solve their problems.

There is no use closing the barn door after the accident. Who can be sure . Your mechanic says put a new motor in it because he is responsible. We can not do the job of thousands of doctors. None the less the patients are to blame for believing in the pills for a cure . Yes It all means overuse of meds.