Brave New World Research Paper

769 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Antidepressants in treating depression essay

What are anti-depressants? Do they do anything? Or is it the idea that taking a pill makes one feel better and take away all the stress? So many questions and risks go along with taking anti-depressants. If there were no risks or dangers of taking an anti-depressant, wouldn’t anti-depressants be worldwide? In 1932 the fictional novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, there is such a thing. This drug is called soma. Soma’s chemistry and ingredients are unknown seeing as this drug is completely fictional. Supposedly “perfect,” soma is a type of drug, with no immediate side effects, that lets people not feel pain or have to deal with the struggles and horrors of like on their own. The only negative aspect to soma is that one’s lifespan is shortened by a significant amount. If such an anti-depressant existed in today’s society, should everyone take this? I believe that society today is somewhat similar to Huxley’s Brave New World. In addition, the technologies have been in my opinion, beneficial in our society, however detrimental in the novel.
Antidepressants are at an all-time high in this day and age. Studies show that every “1 in 10 Americans take an antidepressant” (Hendrick). This could be a quick fix, however the stress just keeps piling up and up. “The use of antidepressants soared in the United States in recent decades with the development of Prozac and other similar drugs” (Stein). Is this use a bad or a good thing? This amount of Americans using an antidepressant means that people will be less stressed and on “edge.” However, this also means that Americans might be in a “zombie stage.” During this “zombie stage,” one does not feel anything. This is the work of an antidepressant. An antidepressant does not make your proble...

... middle of paper ...

...ld society and today’s society have proved themselves to be different worlds entirely.

Works Cited

Molly Jackson
Mrs. Hoagland
Academic English III
1 May 2014
Works Cited
Davis, Rowenna. "Antidepressant Use Rises as Recession Feeds Wave of Worry." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 12 June 2010. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Hendrick, Bill. "Use of Antidepressants on the Rise in the U.S." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper & Bros., 1946.
Stein, Rob. "More than One in 10 Americans Aged 12 and Older Take Antidepressants, Survey Shows." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
"Taking Antidepressants: Truth About Side Effects." WebMD. WebMD, 29 Sept. 0000. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Wagner, Karren D. "Antidepressants: Risk vs Benefit in Depression." Psychiatric Times. N.p., 1 Aug. 2012. Web.

Show More
Related

  • Pros And Cons Of Antidepressants

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    Antidepressants are in no way uncommon to today's society. These drugs are used by millions of people everyday, young and old. Studies show that about one in every ten

    Read More

  • Teen Suicides and Antidepressants

    1652 Words  | 4 Pages

    Depression is becoming more common among adults due to the stresses that accompany everyday living. Along with the increasing numbers of adults suffering from depression, an ongoing rise in depression among the youth is also becoming a growing concern. Depression induced by peer pressure, bullying or other stresses can contribute to the growing numbers of adolescents taking antidepressants. According to Dr. Vincent Iannelli, there is an estimate that 3 percent of children and about 12 percent of teens suffer from depression. What most people are misinformed about is that they believe that antidepressants will prevent users from having depression or stop it completely. This is a misconception about antidepressants that can be misleading. The idea of taking a supplement to combat an internal emotional conflict should be severed out as a means of treatment unless ultimately necessar...

    Read More

  • Children and Antidepressants

    1497 Words  | 3 Pages

    In summary, the article talked about the effects that antidepressant pills have on children. Immense publicity about antidepressants causing suicidal behavior in children is prompting more parents to hesitate to take their kids to psychiatrists. More doctors are hesitating to put their patients on antidepressant prescriptions. Last October, the Food and Drug Administration ordered black box labels, the most severe warning, on all anti-depressants. Some doctors think that these medicines are "speed bumps" and might end in more suicides. Other doctors think, "For children who really need treatment, a ‘wait and see' approach could be dangerous." The percentage rate of children's antidepressant prescriptions has dropped within the last couple months. Psychiatrist Bruce Black says, "Kids are unhappy for a lot of reasons, and antidepressants often aren't the solution."

    Read More

  • Risk of Antidepressants in Teens

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    FDA research has shown that tricyclic antidepressants such as Paxil can actually increase the severity of depression and suicidal behavior in teens and young adults. In the shocking expose “Treating the Mentally Ill,” medical journalist Rob Waters warns “Antidepressants including Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft, and Effexor have provoked hostile behavior and thoughts about suicide in a number of teenagers who have been prescribed the drugs. Some of th...

    Read More

  • Effects Of Antidepressants On Children And Teens

    1177 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the FDA, about 2.5% of children and around 8% of adolescents are affected by depression (Temple). A common way to treat depression is by taking antidepressants. Children and teens have also been prescribed antidepressants for various reasons other than depression such as OCD and anxiety disorders. While it is legal for teenagers and children to take antidepressants, many people are concerned with the issues that taking antidepressants have. Children and teens should be allowed to take antidepressants only when other forms of therapy don’t work. Antidepressants are serious drugs that have severe warnings when children and teens use them. There is also an increased risk of worsening depression and suicide in children and teens, especially in the when they begin to take it. Even the less severe side effects can make quite a negative impact on life.

    Read More

  • Depressive Symptomatology

    3238 Words  | 7 Pages

    ...ceutical productions which define the pathology itself. In support of the idea that depression expresses a reduced capacity to interact with the environment rather than an abnormality based around an unidentifiable measurement of “chemical balance,” I will argue that the way in which pharmaceutical drugs standardize chemical deviance and treat mental illness like a biological disease disregards the normative component of depressive illnesses which must be considered as a response in one way or another to the environment in which they are experienced by each patient. By thinking about antidepressants not as correctional of a biological pathology but as a form of adaptation, I hope to show how their use must be considered in relation to values which combine scientific, social and experiential components that cannot be explained by scientific means alone.

    Read More

  • The Side Effects Of Antidepressants : An Overview

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    Antidepressant are a form of pharmacotherapy treatment developed to treat the symptoms of major depression. Antidepressants are used for many other types of conditions including anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, dysthymia, eating disorders, sleeping disorders, and substance abuse, pain syndromes, gastrointestional disorders. Antidepressants usually require several weeks to notice significant effects. There are no antidepressants or any medication that is completely free of adverse effects. This article explains that the adverse effects of antidepressant can decrease compliance and slow down the rate of recovery. It is important for one to take note of potential side-effects before choosing the best antidepressant to suit their personalized needs. Statistics show that about 28 percent of patients sto...

    Read More

  • Brave New World Theme Analysis

    1557 Words  | 4 Pages

    "'God isn't compatible with machinery and scientific medicine and universal happiness.'" So says Mustapha Mond, the World Controller for Western Europe in Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World. In doing so, he highlights a major theme in this story of a Utopian society. Although the people in this modernized world enjoy no disease, effects of old age, war, poverty, social unrest, or any other infirmities or discomforts, Huxley asks 'is the price they pay really worth the benefits?' This novel shows that when you must give up religion, high art, true science, and other foundations of modern life in place of a sort of unending happiness, it is not worth the sacrifice.

    Read More

  • Brave new world essay

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World illustrates a colorful, fantastic universe of sex and emotion, programming and fascism that has a powerful draw in a happy handicap. This reality pause button is called “Soma”. “Take a holiday from reality whenever you like, and come back without so much as a headache or a mythology.” ( Huxley 54 ).

    Read More

  • The Lonely Raindrop: Depression

    1877 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ion. Antidepressants make a person feel less or not at all depressed, giving them more energy and confidence. Just like any medication in the the world, they have side effects. The most common side effects with anti depressants are insomnia, sleepiness, nausea, and weight gain. Some researches say that antidepressants increase the chance of suicide. Which has not been proven, although it would not be totally impossible. If a person is willing to change and keep a can do attitude, just might stay non depressed.

    Read More

  • Characters Dealing with Depression in Two Popular Contemporary Novels

    1008 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mukherjee, Siddhartha. "Post-Prozac Nation: The Science and History of Treating Depression." New York Times. 19 April 2012: 3-4. Web. 6 April. 2014.

    Read More

  • Manufacturing Depression: The Secret History of a Modern Disease

    1429 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gary Greenberg is himself a psychologist who practices in Connecticut and has dealt with depression many times over his lifetime. In his book he gives some very chilling facts about depression and its impact on our society. He states that in recent years the numbers of diagnoses of depression and prescriptions for antidepressants have sky rocked to the point where there has become an epidemic of depression (Greenberg 2011). Depression is so prevalent nowadays that it is being called “the common cold of mental illness” and is “the leading cause of disability” (Greenberg 2011:10)

    Read More

  • Overcoming Mental Illness

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    One consequence of untreated mental illness could be suicide, often a constant struggle for people who battle with a mental health problem. According a study, “In 2004, the FDA looked at published and unpublished data trials of antidepressants that involved nearly 4,400 children and adolescents...four percent of those thought or tried suicide (“Mental Health Medications”). In otherwards antidepressant are usually prescribed to overcome depression however, for others it can increase the thoughts of suicide greatly. Suicide is number 10 for the leading cause of

    Read More

  • Depression And Anxiety Essay

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    The World Health Organization estimates that there are over 350 million people in world who struggle with depression. It is also the leading cause of disability worldwide. Similar to anxiety, depression effects people of all races, ages, and genders however it has been shown that women are more likely to be effected than men. Depression is growing problem. Specifically in America, approximately 17% of adults will suffer through a season of depression at some time in their lives. This rate has been increasing since 1915 and the trend shows that it will continue to do

    Read More

  • Depression and anxiety among college students

    1096 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Statistics About College Depression | World of Psychology." Psych Central - Trusted mental health, depression, bipolar, ADHD and psychology information . (http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/09/02/statistics-about-college-depression).

    Read More

More about Brave New World Research Paper

Open Document