Anti- depressants

In the United States millions of people are diagnosed with depression. Not all of them are able to handle the pressure that comes along. Doctors have found different way to help, and company’s found a way to make a profit. Patients have used talking therapy but some opt for medications, but who should be allowed to take this medications and who can prescribe them. With so many different Anti-depressant drugs Ad’s people are now diagnosing themselves with the treatment and the cure. Not knowing the after effects people can potently put themselves at risk. 

“A mental state of depressed mood characterized by feelings of sadness, despair, and discouragement. Depression ranges from normal feelings of “the blues” through dysthymic disorder to major depressive disorder. It in many ways resembles the grief and mourning that follow bereavement; there are often feelings of low self-esteem, guilt, and self-reproach, withdrawal from interpersonal contact, and somatic symptoms such as eating and sleep disturbances.” (CREDO REFERENCE) . Depression is something that can start at any age and carry out through years, it doesn't choose a specific gender or age. A way to help people with depression is by taking depression which are given out by psychiatrist. A psychiatrist is a person who specializes in the diagnose, prevention and treatment of mental and emotional disorder with depression, anxiety, substance abuse and other situations. When dealing with depressed patients psychiatrist used an anti--depressant called Fluoxetine also known as Prozac and Sarafem.  In the article “Oh How Happy We Will be” Greg Crister mentions two books. One being “ Listing to Prozac” by Peter Kramer which leans toward the use of anti depressants such as prozac, and the other book is called “Talking Back to Prozac” by Peter Breggin which argues that “the drug’s effectiveness are based on shallow research. 

Anti-depression drugs are legal if prescribed the correct way and controlled. When doctors lose control of their patients dosage things can get out of hand. This is an argument that has been going on for years. Some doctors believe that prozac and Sarafem can become addicting and cause dangerous scenarios. When people get to this level is when addiction starts coming in. They feel the power of this pill and start to feel like without it they wont be able to go on. Abusing this drug can be potentially dangerous to people who don’t know the side effects. Common side effects of prozac can include insomnia, weakness, weigh loss, drowsiness and even shakiness. Public ad’s are playing a big role in society, there are the way people see things the way they think they should. Before you wouldn’t see an ad on an anti depressant site. A common commercial gives you a basic check list and if you think you fall into those categories, then you are depressed. Thats not the end of the commercial, then it informs you to use to take there medicine and go to your doctor and see if it is right for you. We no longer are being lead by doctors who have PHD’s or Masters in medicine but by a checklist. We are being self diagnosed without fulling understanding the long term matter. 

Not only are we affecting ourselves but also affecting people who really need it. Prozac and Sarafem have helped people with depression battle through it and give them the enough boost they need in their life. Many cases have shown that anti depression pills have helped gain some sanity back, but by taking them the right way. Prozac can give you a chemical balance in your brain that lets you live a more stable life.

WHAT I AM THANKFUL FOR

Sometimes when people think about writing things there thankful they forget the small things and I was one of them. Today I was watching a show with my dad and it made me realize that the simple things in life make a difference. Where I’m from some kids in poor cities have to walk miles over a bridge hand made with a single pair of sneakers that they’ve had for over years now. There homes aren’t build to stand harsh weathers and some of there living conditions aren’t capable for any human bean. Things like this make me thankful that I have a bed to sleep in, shoes that can match my outfit and a fridge full food that I can eat at anytime. To us having our basic accommodations is nothing new to us, but some people don’t know what this experience feels like, that is why i am most grateful for my most basic needs. I am also thankful for my parents and my sister because without them I couldn't have all the things I do today.

HAPPINESS IN RELATIONSHIPS

People can cultivate happier relationships by putting more effort and time into it as a pair. A pair can consist of a friendship or a romantic couple. Being able to find your core self and knowing who you are. Taking the time to cultivate a relationship, and knowing rather then validating

“The core self compromises our deepest and most stable characteristics- our character.” Our core self is what we are deep inside, it makes us who we are today and who we will be in the future. A person as an individual should know what components make up who they are. Tal Ben-Shahar gives us an example of a person who has certain characteristics but wants to do an intervention program for underprivileged. The fact that this person wants to do this intervention and how she acts shows her core self, doing something that comes from within taking the good and the bad outcomes with it. It is important to know where you stand as a person in order to let other people come in.

Already established who you are, now you can start picking and choosing the people you want in your life. In the book happier by Tal Ben-Shahar he writes about two different ways people choose there partners, this is called cultivating over finding. Cultivating entails the person to take their time to really find out about their partner. Finding someone is assuming you know who they are without taking the time to reassure yourself.  Cultivating doesn't only have to be with your romantic partners, the best friendships are cultivated with time. I found my best friend Kimberly on my way to school, she was just a random girl that would catch the same bus as I. As the days passed by we started to spend more time with each other, goes to figure that she was the opposite as me. Kimberly use to love to listen to rap and I use to love to listen to salsa, little by little I got use to listing to rap and I even taught her how to dance salsa. Being with Kimberly for so many years I learned that having someone who was the opposite of you came to an advantage, she saw situations in a different perspective and would help me over come it. When you start to build a relationship you see the good and embrace, take the bad make try to make the best out of it. When you just find someone you really don’t learn there inner self, you just see what they want you to see and run with it. Finding someone can have its downsides you can get emotionally attach and find out that they aren't who you thought they were. 

Ed Diener and Martin Seligman did a study on “happy people” and compared them to less happy people, the one difference was the way they would use their time. To them it was important to spend quality time with there loved ones. Spending time with someone can bring closer together and figuring out who they are. The more time you spend with someone the more you learn about them, allowing you to enjoy those moments and bring you to a happy moment. A lot of times the holidays like thanksgiving and new years are usually related to happiness, because its when families get closer together. I love spending time with my family and friends, I learned to value them for the moments they brought in my life. The one memory that stands out to me the  most was when John, Andy, Kimberly and I spend a weekend in Long Island. We didn’t want your typical party place we wanted to experience something new, we spend the whole weekend in the beach. In those two days we learned about one another and even things about ourselves. From that day forward our bond was inseparable, we formed a bond that to this day we still have even if one is missing. The memories you build spending time with each other is something that can never be erased.

So many people can walk in and out of our lives but there are those that stay through thick and thin and these people stand out in our hearts. Doing a small gesture to them just shows them how much we are thankful to have them in our lives. A thank you letter can be such a strong piece of paper that people tend to over look. Taking the time to do something for someone, or even just writing a thank you letter can make them feel like what they offer to the table is being recognized. A lot of people might think “Well I keep them around isn’t that a sign that there doing a good job?”, but wouldn’t you , yourself like someone to recognize the effort and time you put into a relationship. 

Happiness in relationships consist of two people but have you put enough effort to keep them. Knowing who you are, picking the right relationships, making them stronger and thanking them for it helps the process of being happy. Individuals who don’t realize how important and valuable people can be will never reach their full happiness.

BLOG #5

                                                  Spending time with loved ones.  
  
    We are surrounded by people all the time but there are the rare few that stand out the most, these are the one's we spend some of our free time with. They can be within your family, your boyfriend or your best friend. Spending time with someone gives you the opportunity to learn about them, not just the basics but in more detail. It helps you learn to care about someone and having it reciprocated. The person I spend most of my time was with my best friend Kimberly. We meet in Junior High School and we were inseparable, funny thing was she didn't even attend my Junior High School we just happen to take the same route. Kimberly was the total opposite of me, if I said white she would say black and we learned to compromise with each other and come out with something like gray. Spending time with Kimberly wasn't always easy because she had different taste in everything but this is what made our bond stronger, she learned something from my side and vis a versa. The more I spend time with her the more we became closer.

                                                              Gratitude

     Gratitude is something a lot of people take for granted but it can be so simple to do. A lot of people don't realize that someone can be here one day and the next there gone. A gratitude letter can seem some what pointless sometimes, but when you look back and say to yourself " Did I ever thank that person for everything they did for me? " you would want your answer to be YES!. Not everyone has the personality to say Thank You, but writing a letter can show you value someones, and are willing to make an extra step for them to realize it.

                                                      Cultivating Vs. Finding


         Cultivating over finding can vary from person to person. For me personally cultivating a relationship is better then finding one. When you cultivate something as a relationship it shows you the good and the bad. How happy you or how bad the relationship can get and you as an individual decide if this is something you can accept in you life in the daily bases. Cultivating can bring you two closer by sharing the same interest, foods, qualities and making the bond stronger. Some people take there time in there relationship before they get married, others find a person they think is the ideal person. For example my friend Luz thought she had found the ideal person, had a baby with this man and a year later she realized he showed her what she wanted to see. With time people build a bond that they are content in and make the effort to keep it like that, instead of finding what they thought was the right one and finding out later it isn't what seemed.