Depression Becoming More and More Common

A scary, new study shows that 1 in 10 adults are on an antidepressant medication and 1 in 25 adolescents aged 12 to 17 are taking antidepressants.  Also, researchers found that more people should probably be on antidepressants than actually are.  The survey that was conducted included 12,000 people and researchers discovered that many people have depressive symptoms but are not on any type of medication for depression.  One major flaw in this study is to consider how many people just went through a traumatic experience or who were just having a bad day.  It is scary to imagine that more than 1 in 10 adults should be on an antidepressant.  It almost seems that if all of our problems are now being solved with medication because we show some depressive symptoms.  It is important to remember that there are many people who are greatly affected by this terrible disease but we have to wonder how many people just make up symptoms so they can get medication. Being in college can be stressful and really take a strain on us sometimes. It is important to stay healthy, get sleep, eat right, etc in order to keep our mental health at an A+ level. If you ever feel like life is getting too much to handle, remember there are free therapy sessions offered through USC and there is no reason not to use these helpful sessions to clear our minds and remind us of what is important.