With the high percentage of depressed Americans (about 10 % of the population to be exact), it should come as no surprise that some form of depression medication is being administered to depression patients on an almost daily basis.

However, what should be more of a concern are the side-effects common to these forms of depression medication. Take the popular anti-depressant, Prozac. Many people take it for depression as well as premenstrual syndrome and panic attacks. In some cases it has even been experimented with in helping smokers to quit. For quite a while, the drug has been thought to have few side effects and many benefits. However, new studies are beginning to show that this isnt true.

In as much as this depression medication may adjust the levels of serotonin in the brain (the chemical linked to happiness), this drug as unpleasant mental and physical side effects. Moreover, any improvement in a depression condition remains only as long as the drug is used.

The other popular depression drug commonly prescribed for depression symptoms is the controversial Zoloft. The most common side effects to this depression medication, according to the Zoloft web site are dry mouth, upset stomach, decreased appetite, fatigue, trouble sleeping, sexual dysfunction, diarrhea, tremor, feelings of agitation, indigestion, and increased perspiration.

These side effects are even more pronounced in children who are prescribed this drug for child-hood depression. Other less mentioned, yet equally frightening symptoms of this so-called depression-help drug are liver problems, hallucinations, psychosisyou get the gist right?!

Now, when depression patients finally get informed of the dangers of these forms of depression medication, automatically, they take the steps to try to cease its use. Is this easy? No.

Take Zoloft for example; withdrawal symptoms have included dizziness, extreme nausea and high fever. Some other side-effects have been labeled as so painful that patients seeking to end the use of this depression medication have actually committed suicide to end their misery.

From all the factors above, it will be safe to say no depression medication drug can truly help mental disorders. Brain chemicals can be temporarily adjusted, but not permanently fixed.

It will be best to seek natural treatment methods such as getting counseling, Yoga and a change in dietetic habits incorporating short fasts as the latter has been deemed a panacea for nearly all ailments known to man, including depression. Sometimes drugs are not whats best. Today, they are being prescribed very often when sometimes they can cause worse problems.

These days, drugs can be approved by the FDA with only a few clinical trials done. If a company produces a few studies that prove that a drug works even at a marginal level, a form of medication can be approved. This leads to occasional drugs that dont have real results or in-depth trial (long term side effects are almost never tested; this takes too long) on the market for the general public to get at them. Taking this into consideration, it is advised that any form of depression medication may be best unused and avoided.

Many circles recommend Yoga, changes in dietetic habits and even prayer and a deeper connection with the Omnipotent as safer and perhaps more effective drug-free alternatives to using depression medication as a route to treating emotional disorders.

So weigh your options carefully next time depression sends you seeking treatment. With this article, my hope is your intuition will guide you to safer-drugless methods of depression treatment.