The most common prescribed medication for the mentally ill are antidepressants and stimulants. Using medication as a solution is very practical. It is convenient, concealable, and effective, should the proper dose be administered and consistently taken. However, it is not uncommon for these medications to have unexpected and serious side effects. 

 

The National Institute of Mental Health, a federal institution devout to researching in mental health, states directly on their website that, in some cases, “children, teenagers, and young adults under 25 may experience an increase in suicidal thoughts or behavior when taking antidepressants” (2016). Another study in 2015 found that adults taking antidepressants were more aggressive than those who were not, and their rate of suicide and akathisia (an extreme form of restlessness) increased significantly (Sharma, 2016).  

 

These results are very concerning to people whom are used to taking antidepressants in order to cope with their mental illnesses. Another study completed by Pal Pacher and Valeria Kecskemeti finds that there have been cases of cardiovascular death in patients who have never before experienced heart and circulatory trouble. The only connecting factor is their use of Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs)- antidepressants formed of a three-ringed molecular chain which inhibits the uptake of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. The most concerning elements of these findings are the several deaths of children after accidental or deliberate overdose on only a few hundred milligrams of the drugs (Patcher and Kecskemeti, 2004). To put this in perspective, the general dosage of antidepressants is upwards of 300 mg, knowing this, it is far more apprehensible that slight variations of prescriptions may cause heart problems and even death.

 

Though antidepressants have their positives, their negatives are unmistakable and irreversible. Of the other forms of therapy that are commonly practiced in the United States, many can be seen to do more harm than good.