| Argument 2::Pro Lifestyle Changes and Therapy It has become more and more prevalent in American society that more and more people are contracting an illness known as depression. This illness is one that affects the moods and the actions of the individual it afflicts. "To be depressed is to live with a sense of nothingness. People who are depressed say they feel numb, they feel empty, they feel invisible. Incredibly, two out of every ten Americans live their lives teetering on the edge of such an abyss, without any expectation that things will even get better," (Turkington. Introduction). The sad part about depression is that there is no complete cure for it, and that a direct cause has yet to be found. Psychologists believe that depression can be either genetically inherited, a result of life situations, or a combination of both (Turkington. Pg14). Treatment is available for those that are classified as clinically depressed, and the variety of treatment options is quite large. Antidepressant medications are one solution, therapy is another, and simple lifestyle changes are yet a third option. These three helpful solutions can be used independently of one another, or they can be used in varying combinations. What solution is used, and how well it works, though, is entirely dependent on the individual that has been diagnosed with this mental disorder. I intend to show that the use of antidepressant drugs is not the best solution to depression, but that there are other methods that are much safer, and a bit more logical in the sense that they can't cause as much harm as it is possible for drugs to do. To begin with, one of the main thoughts of what causes depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain of certain monoamines that determine the mood an individual is in. The two that are most prevalent, are noradrenaline and serotonin (The Chemistry). These two chemicals work throughout the body and the brain to regulate moods of an individual, and other factors as well. Serotonin, the more commonly known of the two, is a chemical that transmits electrical signals across the synapses of nerves. The body will naturally absorb back to itself, the serotonin that has not been used. This process is also called reuptake. When the body has an over production of serotonin, or absorbs too much of the unused, that is when the chemical can not always cross the synapse of the nerve very well. This failure to cross the gap between nerves is what causes the chemical aspects of depression. At least that is the assumption. Regardless though, doctors strove to find a solution to the problem that would not cause too nasty of side effects. In 1987 Eli Lilly was the first company ever, to launch the first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), Prozac, in America (The Boom). Prozac was much better than the previous attempts that doctors had had. Not only were the side effects considerably lessened, but also the results seemed quicker and were much more pleasing. Prozac became the wonder drug of the time and still is to this day. A drug really isn't needed though, what is needed is a different lifestyle and a little bit of therapy and things will get better with time. It is because things are imperfect and not always ideal for the way every human must live that there are illnesses such as depression. The environment and the situations going on in a person's life have an enormous affect on how the person feels. A sunny day can make a person feel free and happy, while a cloudy day could make them feel sad and miserable. This little example happens to everyone though, because "everybody can become depressed at some time or another," (The Chemistry). However, our environment and what is going on in our lives at the time, can increase the symptoms almost ten fold. So then, the question arises, as to how we can make it so our environment influences us less and can not make us depressed. There isn't much we can actually do. You can't change things around you very well: so much as you can change yourself. Lifestyle changes, could be the key to keeping people from getting so depressed. The majority of Americans today, are working in jobs that are not what they want, and they have lives that they wish were so much better. A person could have wanted to be a lawyer but ended up only doing 'bookie' work for another lawyer and not moving up in the law firm much at all. This could certainly make a person upset with their life, and even cause them to become depressed. One clich�' phrase that people tend to use quite a bit is that, "If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself." Well, if that is true then making a change in your lifestyle that will make you feel better is the best way to go. It is commonly believed that you can't change others and they can't change you, only you can change you. Therefore, you must make changes in your life that will make you happy. If you don't like your job, look for another one. If you don't like the way your hair looks, cut it. If the weather is bad and making you feel crummy, go where the weather isn't bad or do something that will make you feel better. We control our lives, our feelings, everything about us; (aside from activities that our brain naturally controls for us. Hehehe) and we can make things around us, or in our lives the way we need them to be so that we are not so sad and depressed all the time. If you keep looking at the shadows you're not going to see the light. To continue reading this paper click here. To go back to the previous page, click the back button on your browser. 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