When depressed many will go for antidepressants as the best solution, as it is prescribed by doctors; the truth is they are no better any other treatment out there. Millions of people take antidepressants everyday, but do they work? The answer is no, they do not work. Antidepressants lack proof showing they treat depression while there are many other solutions out there that are proven to work. Also studies have shown that those on placebos improve as much as those who actually take antidepressants. People need to see if there’s data on antidepressants before taking them.
Many people use antidepressants without even knowing much about them. They just do as they’re told. Lawrence Diller says, “The lack of supporting data considering their widespread use is surprising and disturbing.” There’s barely any proof showing how effective antidepressants work and yet people take them simply because it’s been prescribed to them. People do not buy expensive products without having read good reviews about them, so people should not just buy antidepressants without reading feedback of how well they work. People blindly take these pills without even knowing their side effects .They are just worrying about treating their depression while the side effects could bring even more depression. Some side effects are anxiety, hunger and fevers which can in turn cause more harm than good. People need to know that what they are taking is safe in order to get better from depression and they should also know the causes of their depression in order to treat depression.
Some causes of depressions are external problems rather than just mental issues. For example, some people have depression because of the loss of close family members or because they can’t make ends meet. Problems like these aren’t just going to go away by taking prescribed antidepressants. Salynn Boyles says “people are better off exploring other treatments options such as psychotherapy or exercise which has been shown to reduce depression.” Since some problems can’t be solved by taking antidepressants, people should start looking for alternatives such as exercise to relieve stress that has been proven to actually work against depression. Exercise is proven to treat depression by reducing stress, ward off anxiety, boost self esteem and improves physical health. Another proven treatment for depression is psychotherapy, which is when a depressed person talks to a certified mental health doctor who uses communication techniques to find the root of the problem guide them to how to overcome their depression.
Data has shown that those who had taken antidepressants are shown to have the same results as those who took placebos in a controlled experiment. Placebo is a pill that has no physical effect, used to make one think they’ve taken the real pill, to produce a psychological effect for a controlled study test. For example one person takes an antidepressant then another person is given a placebo but is told they are given the same antidepressant. Sarah Boseley states that “When all the data was pulled together, it appeared that patients had improved, but those on placebos improved just as much as those on the antidepressants.” This shows that if people think they will get better, they in reality will get better with or without antidepressants. It also shows that depression is more of a psychological problem then a chemical problem that doesn’t need drugs to treat. Since people improve just as much by taking placebos which are used for psychological effects why even take antidepressants with all the unneeded chemicals when people don’t need them in the first place.
There are many ways to overcome depression, but antidepressants are not one of them. Antidepressants barely have any proof that they even work and yet people take them blindly because they are told. Also, antidepressants cannot help those who have external problems as their problems won’t go away just because they took some antidepressants. People really don’t need antidepressants as it is shown that those who didn’t take them improve as much as those who do. With all the facts indicating that antidepressants do not work, those with depression should seek other treatments that actually are proven to work against depression.


Boseley, Sarah “Prozac, used by 40m people, does not work says scientists”
The Guardian, Accessed Nov 30, 2010 Web http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/26/mentalhealth.medicalresearch
Diller, Lawrence “ Do Antidepressants work?” LiveReal Accessed Nov 30, 2010 Web http://www.livereal.com/psychology_arena/do_antidepressants_work.htm Kirsch, Irving “ Do Antidepressants work?” LiveReal Accessed Nov 30, 2010 Web http://www.livereal.com/psychology_arena/do_antidepressants_work.htm

Is there power in positive thinking?

I do believe there is power in positive thinking for many reasons. I think people need positive thinking to make optimistic decisions in life and they also are determined to do make the necessary actions to make it happen. For example a professional boxer must have positive thoughts if he wants to defeat his opponent he must put those positive thoughts into action so he can be at his best to give it his all. Thinking positive also helps with those who are depressed because if they are always pessimistic they will never make the right decisions to be happy in life. Even some mental illnesses are due to excessive negative thoughts that could have been avoided if they just had some positive thoughts. I also believe that we need some voluntary actions to make the positive thoughts into power because nothing will change if we just think it but not put it into motion. The power that comes from positive thinking must be put into action for them to be used.

drug draft

When depressed many will go for antidepressants as the best solution as it is prescribed by doctors, the truth is its no better any other treatment out there. Millions of people take antidepressants everyday, but do they work? The answer to that is no it does not work. Antidepressants lack proof showing it treats depression while there are many other solutions out there that are proven to work. Also those studies shown those on placebo improve on the same level as those who actually take antidepressants. People need to see if there’s data on antidepressants before taking them.
Many people use antidepressants without even knowing much about it. They just do as their told. Lawrence Diller says “The lack of supporting data considering their widespread use is surprising and disturbing.” There’s barely any proof showing how effective antidepressants work and yet people take them simply because it’s been prescribed for them. People blindly take these pills without even knowing the side effects just worrying about treating depression while the side effects could even bring more depression. Some side effects would be anxiety, hunger, fevers which could in turn cause more harm than good. People need to know what they are taking are safe in order to get better from depression. Some causes of depressions have external problems rather than just mental issues. For example some people have depression because of loss of close family members or couldn’t make ends meet. Problems like these aren’t just going to go away by taking prescribed antidepressants. Salynn Boyles says “people are better off exploring other treatments options such as psychotherapy or exercise which has been shown to reduce depression.” Since some problems can’t be solved by taking antidepressants, people should start looking for alternatives such as exercise to relieve stress that is been proven to actually work against depression. Data is shown that those who taken antidepressants are shown to have the same results as those who taken placebo, placebo is a pill that have no effect used to make one think they taken the real pill with an effect for a controlled study test. For example one person takes an antidepressant then another person is given a placebo but is told they are given the same antidepressant. Sarah Boseley states that “When all the data was pulled together, it appeared that patients had improved, but those on placebo improved just as much as those on the drugs.” This shows that if people think they will get better, they in reality will get better with or without antidepressants.”
There are many ways to overcome depression, but antidepressant is not one of them. Antidepressants barely have any proof that it even works yet people take them blindly because they are told. Also antidepressants cannot help those who have external problems as their problems won’t go away just because they took some antidepressants. People really don’t need antidepressants as it is shown that those who didn’t take it improve on the same level as those who do. With all the facts indicating that antidepressants do not work, those with depression should seek other treatments that actually are proven to work against depression.

Thesis: When depressed many will go for antidepressants as the best solution as it is prescribed by doctors, the truth is it's no better than any other solution.
Article: Do Antidepressants Work quote”
Quote: People may be better off exploring other treatment options such as psychotherapy or exercise, which has been shown to reduce depression.”
Quote: The lack of supporting data, considering their widespread use, is surprising and disturbing.
Source:
Do AntiDepressants Work?" LiveReal.com - Adventures in Modern Spirituality, Psychology, Self-Help and Relationships. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. http://www.livereal.com/psychology_arena/do_antidepressants_work.htm
This article explains that antidepressants aren’t really effective as a treatment for depression and that other treatments are even more effective in reducing stress. It also states that antidepressants barely have any evidence considering the large amounts of people that use them.

Grateful.

       Breathing. The one thing we do all the time and can't live without.Yet we never for one moment stop to think how lucky we are to be able to take a good breath every time.I am grateful for being able to breathe because I've had pneumothorax in the past and recently.What is pneumothorax? Pneumothorax is a collection of air around the lungs, in short it means collapsed lungs. When your lungs have collapsed feeling is much like when running out of air from exercise but the difference is that you can't catch your breath and extra pain in the chest.
      Ever since I've experienced surgeries and pneumothorax I've been very grateful to be able to breathe everyday without problems.In the past I've never thought about breathing at all as I do it every second of my life I've taken it for granted. I think everybody should be grateful for being able to breathe as without it nothing we would all be dead and unable to be grateful for anything else in life.

draft

     In today’s modern society, everything is set in motion by technology. The food people eat, the television they watch, it can even affect people’s relationships. While technology helps make people’s lives easier, it only weakens people’s intimate relationship resulting in unhappiness. Some ways it affects people’s relationships are social networks, texting and just all the time being spent using technology. All these things only distract people from the things that really matter in a relationship which are intimacy.
     Dating sites, interest based communities and other social networks such as Facebook are growing increasingly popular everyday. The reason behind this are people are social creatures to begin with, they like to socialize with others whenever given the chance. This doesn’t mean it improves relationships as studies even show it harms relationships. The article Relationships on Facebook, Social Networks by Rick Nauert he talks about interest based communities such as Last.fm stating” You don’t do a variety of activities together. You tend to be kind of specialized in what topics you talk about.” He means that people who socialize in interest based communities usually only talk in what the community is based on. They would barely ever go out of that area and do other activities that aren’t based in the community which in turn limiting the level in which the relationship can go. Another growing issue would be the social network Facebook as its number grows daily as do the problems that grow with it. One major problem would be for intimate relationships as it is shown to reinforce jealously. In the article Facebook Reinforces Relationship Jealously by John M Grohol he states “Researchers discovered that people who are more prone to jealously will find Facebook just reinforces that jealously.” This happens because those who get jealous will only get more jealous when seeing their partner comment on someone of the opposite sex, or even add their old boyfriends or girlfriends. They could even get jealous from having others starting a conversation with their partner or the information that is on their partner’s page. These increasing social networks problems will continue to grow until people learn to rely less on them.
     What are people doing most of the time? Texting. People are texting everywhere from their homes all the way to school everyday. While it keeps them in contact with people which most would look at as a good thing. In reality it is actually limiting face to face communication which weakens relationships intimacy. In the article Text messaging affects student relationships by Theresa Kasallis says “As cell phones go mainstream, more people are relying on text messages to get their word across.” This would be ideal for those who are shy but will only weaken their relationships as they will lack social skills when met face to face. This problem will only continue to grow as people are relying on technology more than they have to which will weaken their social skills needed to be in a strong relationship.
     Technology in general is weakening relationships as it takes time from people that could of used it to spend times with their partners. In the article Is Technology Short-Circuiting Your Relationship? By Suzanne Phillips she states “ When technology disrupts the reality shared with one’s partner it can undermine the very benefits it affords.” This means that when technology takes the time that is supposed to be spent with one’s partner it can be more damaging than beneficial. For example checking email or text messages while on a date with a loved one would be considered using their time. Phillips also says “As we have become increasingly efficient at researching and finding information, we
have become increasingly impatient with human exchange and process.” By this she means while people have become so good at using the internet for finding information they have depended less on spending time with people for it. The reason this is bad for relationship is because being intimacy is important in a relationship. For example laughing at the right or wrong movie names with a special someone is a moment to be remembered but would be lost if they would just search the name over the internet. Technology as a whole takes time that could be spent socializing with people in person which in turn weakens intimacy in relationships.
     Technology in most cases weakens relationships as time is being used on technology rather than with people. People texting all the time which takes away their social skills needed when face to face with others weakens relationships as social skills are an important part of relationships. Also social networks, interest based communities which limits the number of topics one can talk about and reinforces jealously only makes relationships even more unhappy. Technology as a whole mostly distracts people from things in life that matter resulting in being less happy in relationships.

Blog 5

       Happiness in relationships? Relationships can be many things such as friendships, family relationship or having an intimate relationship. There are always up and downs in relationships, but mostly they are good because that’s the reason you stay in them to begin with. Relationships take a long time to become a good one as it builds on trust, love and many other factors. This applies to friends, families and the significant other. People are generally happy in relationships of any kind as humans are social creatures.                             

       Many like to socialize, so being in a friendship with someone would make them happy. They can do fun activities together or just talk about whatever is on their mind. Talking can let their stress out and relieve them of their emotional problems. They can spend time just playing sports or going to movies.  Being in a relationship with friends is essential to being happy because when your not happy they can cheer you up or at the very least distract you from being depressed.   

       Being in intimate relationships can also be what some would call true happiness. They feel the world melt away as they spend time with their partner. They feel emotions for each other that are strong and full of love. In time they could also form a family which adds on to their happiness. Intimate relationships are a major factor in being happy in relationships as their partner is their other half, who shares the same feelings and understandings.

2:50 PM 10/18/10 In class forced to write down thoughts

Today in class I took a test for career skills to see what we are good at. To much of my surprise it is completely unaccurate as it says Im a supervisor meaning being in charge and rising in positions. I hate being in charge as I like people giving me instructions so I dont have to think. Nonetheless it was a enjoyable experience to know what other people are interested and good at.

blog 4

     Happiness in work! Most people would say can those two words even be said in one sentence? While on the other hand, some would say they love what they do. Why is that? Well, ironically I never had a job but I think the reason for that is because those who like what they do, have found a job that suits their interest while those who dislike it have no interest in it. The reason I say that is because of the feedback I get from friends who did have jobs where they either liked or disliked them.   
     A while back I had a friend who was into skateboarding as a whole. So he applied for an apparel store where its clothing revolves around surfers and skateboarders. He told me while he isn’t having a blast working there he doesn’t hate it. The fact he doesn’t hate it is because even though he’s not skating he is doing something that revolves around his interest in skateboarding. Not everyone can find a job that they love but they can they can find a job that is close to their interest.
     Hate in work! It’s almost everywhere in America maybe even in the rest of the world. My friend who I mentioned earlier is probably the only person I know who is somewhere in the happier state in work. Most of my friends are in the unhappy state in work. One of my friends works in an office 5 hours a day. The only reason she’s even there is because her sister got her the job and she feels it’s her responsibility to stay there and help her out.  Art is actually her talent as she’s very gifted in drawing and painting. So an office is not her true calling but she keeps the job because she needs money and does not know what else she can possibly do in this tough economy.
     I think in this economy it’s very hard to be picky about jobs that make you happy. Some may be lucky to find a job that where they can use their talents or close to it. While others might not be so lucky and have to take the job because it’s the only paying job they can get in these tough times.

blog 3

Everyone has a different perspective of education. Some view it as a source of great knowledge. Some on the other hand like me, view it as a waste of time as it has nothing of particular interest. There are good parts and bad parts to education, but mainly I am unhappy with what I am doing in school. The only good part would be always meeting new people with all sorts of background and interests. For bad parts I find there are more than good parts, such as how schools kill creativity as explained in the video TED presentation by Ken Robinson. Another thing I dislike about the education system is the financial issue which affects almost everybody. Also I believe that social support is important to be happy in education such as being encouraged to do what you like. Afraid of being wrong is a huge negative emotion I feel toward education as it limits almost all my decisions. In this blog I will express why I am unhappy in education as a whole                 I’ll start off with the good part of education such meeting people. Humans by nature are social animals. We like to communicate, play, and do a lot of other things of explicit nature. This is the only thing that makes me happy in education as everyday in school; I see and meet different people. Each and every single person is different with their own unique characteristics such as some are creative, funny, and charismatic just to name a few. It is for this reason I like going to school to see fresh faces everyday.                          A bad part about education is how schools make creative classes such as, music, art, or dance much less important than say an academic class. Ken Robinson states “there isn’t a education system on the planet that teaches dance every day to children the way we teach them mathematics” (9:00 Ken Robinson) Meaning in every system creative classes are placed bottom as they are not as important as say mathematics or science. When I was in junior high I wanted to take drama class as an elective but my parents urged to pick computers as they assumed it would help me in the future. They automatically assume other creative classes were of no use to me as I would never be actor because the chances of becoming one are so slim.                                                                 I also dislike how a financial issue affects almost everyone in some way in education. Financial aid could pay for almost everything in one’s education but the catch would be you are required to take courses that you may not find in your best interest. I am affected by financial issues by the fact I don’t even want to be in college but I have no choice as this is the only way my parents will support me until I graduate and get a job. For me I think financial issue is the biggest factor in education as it limits the choices people can make in their education or can’t even afford to get education.                                               When I was in junior high I began to love movies and T.V. Shows. I was amazed as to how the actors could be so convincing as if you were right there with them. So I told my parents I didn’t want to go to college and instead go to an acting school. Without hesitation they told me to forget about it, and that it was one in a million chances that anyone can even make it big. They told me to just focus on practical things, such as math if I wanted to be an accountant or computers so I can be a programmer. None of these things are what I wanted at all, but yet I’m still in school unhappy as one can be.                         Being wrong is one of the worst things that can happen when you’re an adult. As I’m afraid to take risks for I know what the consequences will be I do not think I can be happy in education. Ken Robinson says in his video” If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original. We stigmatize mistakes. Mistakes are the worst thing you can make” (5:30 Ken Robinson) I agree with what he means very much because I feel as long as I don’t take a chance I’ll always be miserable in the current state I am in education.                                                                                                                               In the long run I am still unhappy in education for many reasons. Some would be financially because I can’t support myself yet to choose a career that is best suited for me. Another would be I have no social support to even learn what I’m interested in. Also I find there isn’t enough value of creative classes versus the academic classes so even if there is a class that I am interested in it would not be treated as important. While I do enjoy the company of others when in school, but mainly I am still unhappy as I am not doing what I am interested in. I think I will be unhappy in school until I gain the courage to get a job to support myself and really choose what I’m truly interested in.

2nd blog

       When people think of education their initial impression is more work, school sucks, or just plain boring. They never stop to think of how education can ever be enjoyable or lead to happiness. Why do people think negatively about education? The TED presentation Ken Robinson explains that schools, instead of encouraging kids to be creative they educate kids out of creativity.  Since schools mainly focus on mathematics, literature and other things that most kids do not enjoy, they should balance out the criteria with more art, music, and other creative courses that kids might be interested in. While I'm not saying the entire educational system is bad for I had a lot of enjoyable experiences in school as well, such as group work and humorous teachers.  In this blog I will explain the positives and negatives of school as there are no all good or all bad areas in education. 

      On the top of the priority list in school are always math and science states Robinson. In this area is the most rewarding as well as almost all scholarships or jobs want these two subjects. In today’s society, creative classes are not taken seriously as people think the chances of becoming say an artist, musician or actor are extremely slim. So instead of encouraging kids to be more creative they are taught to be good at things that are of practical use such as math and literature. If school could be more enjoyable for kids, the classes should be evenly divided between artistic classes and practical classes. So that kids won’t feel overwhelmed about all the classes they aren’t interested. They should be taught that all classes are equally important and successful in the future, instead of being discouraged to believe their dream job is just a dream.

     When I was in high school there were many choices of electives, which was pretty fun as you could choose any of your interest. The only downside to this was the class a complete joke. The joke wasn’t the learning part; it was the how easy the grades were given out. For example you could fail all your tests and not show up and still manage to get a 65. Even the atmosphere of elective classes was not the same as math or English where as you fail the class you’re not going to graduate on time. This means that everything you choose in school of particular interest is not going to be taken seriously not even by the school. The only things schools care about are the classes they think are important which again in this case would be mathematics and science.

      Lastly I would like to talk about the good parts of education such as group work. Group work is enjoyable for many reasons for you get to work together and share thoughts instead of sitting by yourself thinking if it’s the right thing to do. Also group work is a great way to build your social interaction skills which everyone needs later in life either for work or personal situations.  Another thing that makes learning a great and fun experience would be humorous teachers. I was lucky to get quite a few hilarious teachers that believed if something’s funny you’re going remember it. I believe if a teacher breeds a good atmosphere students will keep coming back for more versus if a teacher that is nothing but mean and boring will just make students cut class and hate that subject.  Teachers are the most important thing in being happy in education because without teachers there won’t be an education system.            

      There are many reasons why people aren’t happy in education like those who are being discouraged not to follow their interest or just their subjects are not worth anything compared to other subjects. But there are also good things in education that makes it all the worth while such as having good inspirational teachers that drawn you to them making the learning process exciting. There’s nothing too good or too bad about education, but with the right improvements there could be happiness in education for everyone.

                                 

toms blog

In the article “The Futile Pursuit of Happiness” by Jon Gertner is about a Harvard professor named Dan Gilbert who studies happiness. In this article Gilbert talk about something called “impact bias”, it is the gap between what we predict and what we experience. This means that when we are excited to get something when we actually get it, it’s actually not as exciting as you initially thought it would be.                                                             Something like this actually happen, or better yet always happen when I think the thing I want at the time is going to make my life so much better.  Around two years ago I got a guitar to learn how to play because I just had a surgery so I couldn’t skate for about a year. It was exciting as first cause I always thought how awesome it would be to like play crazy songs like Metallica, but instead the second I got it was almost like the excitement I had inside me just disappeared like the money I paid for it. Practicing was what I should have been doing everyday when I gotten the guitar, but in reality I just played less and less and just lost interest after learning a couple of scales and chords. Getting a guitar was definitely the most memorable “impact bias” experience I had that I almost regret.                                                                                                                                                 A more recent impact bias event that happened was the highly anticipated video game called Halo: Reach. I waited for the game for about a year and half when I saw the previews and trailers. I even played the beta they opened for a couple of weeks and was more excited than ever about the game. So when it finally released on September 14, the day right after the first day of college, It felt almost identical to getting a guitar, my excitement for the game vanished the second I handed the cashier my money. I just thought of all the other things I could have brought with that money that could have made me happier.                                                                                                                                         Dan Gilbert was right about having high hopes that will almost certainly be less cool in time. Gilbert says the real problem is deciding which decision in the future has the most benefits and truly makes you happy.  I guess this will make me think twice before I pick something so I won’t be as disappointed when the time comes again.

1st blog

in composition class doing my 1st blog. its septemeber 20th. 2010. sunny windy. sweater weather.  the end