Antidepressant Advertisements: A Dose of Misinformation
The pharmaceutical industry is a multibillion dollar industry with huge budgets for marketing. In 2015, Pfizer, a leading pharmaceutical firm, disbursed $3.1 billion on direct-to-consumer prescription drugs advertisements (Statista). In 1997, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed drug companies to advertise directly to consumers rather than to physicians only. An assortment of controversy has since ensued (Feng 90). In 2004, Congress pushed the FDA to restrict marketing regulations because of the misleading nature of advertising (Feng 90). In response, the pharmaceutical industry and their allies put forth rigorous lobbies. Lobbying groups, such as the National Association of …show more content…
One symptom that is more prominent than others, besides bleeding and pain, is sorrow. Sadness and depression can be mentally and physically debilitating. Depending on the severity, it can interfere with sleep, appetite, lifestyle, health, and interpersonal relationships. Depression can also cause idiopathic aches and pains all over the body. In severe cases, depression may lead to suicide. The possibilities of self-harm and harm to others make depression a serious concern. When reading about depression online, consumers are exposed to advertisements for antidepressants due advertisement-trafficking pop-ups. Advertisements for antidepressants are not limited to the internet. They are found on television and radio commercials, periodicals, billboards, and bus stop advertisements. Internet advertisements are especially opportunistic, catching people in vulnerable moments of fear and anxiety as they read off symptoms on websites like WebMD and MayoClinic. People going through depression are in desperate search for happiness. Pills seem to be a simple solution to escape the negative feeling and are thus attractive to a dispirited …show more content…
These clients have only mild mental disabilities but have complete physical disabilities due to decreased muscle mass. Because they are aware of their situation, they get depressed and suicidal. They are all on antidepressants. Unfortunately, for my clients, I witness them go through a slew of emotions throughout the span of a single day. Most of them have insomnia. Insufficient sleep contributes to their behavioral problems. They are then prescribed sleeping pills, which have another batch of side effects of their own. I witness first-hand my patients go through the listed side effects of antidepressants. With these drugs, their condition seems to be working at times and at other times, it seems that they are getting worse. Because of the dependence factor, they cannot stop taking it. Their psychiatrist will come once every 2 months to assess them. He spends a few minutes going over each of their charts to see if there are any significant behavior issues documented. If there are none, he will maintain the dosage. If there are behavioral problems, he will increase the dosage. He does not go through cognitive behavioral therapy with them and barely holds a conversation with my patients. It seems that not only the people, but some doctors and psychiatrists want the easy way out as well by prescribing
The pharmaceutical industry is a multibillion dollar industry with huge budgets for marketing. In 2015, Pfizer, a leading pharmaceutical firm, disbursed $3.1 billion on direct-to-consumer prescription drugs advertisements (Statista). In 1997, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed drug companies to advertise directly to consumers rather than to physicians only. An assortment of controversy has since ensued (Feng 90). In 2004, Congress pushed the FDA to restrict marketing regulations because of the misleading nature of advertising (Feng 90). In response, the pharmaceutical industry and their allies put forth rigorous lobbies. Lobbying groups, such as the National Association of …show more content…
One symptom that is more prominent than others, besides bleeding and pain, is sorrow. Sadness and depression can be mentally and physically debilitating. Depending on the severity, it can interfere with sleep, appetite, lifestyle, health, and interpersonal relationships. Depression can also cause idiopathic aches and pains all over the body. In severe cases, depression may lead to suicide. The possibilities of self-harm and harm to others make depression a serious concern. When reading about depression online, consumers are exposed to advertisements for antidepressants due advertisement-trafficking pop-ups. Advertisements for antidepressants are not limited to the internet. They are found on television and radio commercials, periodicals, billboards, and bus stop advertisements. Internet advertisements are especially opportunistic, catching people in vulnerable moments of fear and anxiety as they read off symptoms on websites like WebMD and MayoClinic. People going through depression are in desperate search for happiness. Pills seem to be a simple solution to escape the negative feeling and are thus attractive to a dispirited …show more content…
These clients have only mild mental disabilities but have complete physical disabilities due to decreased muscle mass. Because they are aware of their situation, they get depressed and suicidal. They are all on antidepressants. Unfortunately, for my clients, I witness them go through a slew of emotions throughout the span of a single day. Most of them have insomnia. Insufficient sleep contributes to their behavioral problems. They are then prescribed sleeping pills, which have another batch of side effects of their own. I witness first-hand my patients go through the listed side effects of antidepressants. With these drugs, their condition seems to be working at times and at other times, it seems that they are getting worse. Because of the dependence factor, they cannot stop taking it. Their psychiatrist will come once every 2 months to assess them. He spends a few minutes going over each of their charts to see if there are any significant behavior issues documented. If there are none, he will maintain the dosage. If there are behavioral problems, he will increase the dosage. He does not go through cognitive behavioral therapy with them and barely holds a conversation with my patients. It seems that not only the people, but some doctors and psychiatrists want the easy way out as well by prescribing