The Land of the Free is imprisoned on SSRI antidepressants.SSRI stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, also known as an antidepressant medication that alters the brain’s chemical makeup to make people emotionally numb.SSRI drugs are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants and work by selectively blocking the reabsorption (reuptake) of serotonin into neurons in the brain. As reported by Tucker Carlson, over 250 million prescriptions have been written for antidepressants in the past 20 years – for a population of around 350 million.The “chemical imbalance” theory of depression has been questioned and even proven wrong, but this idea is what triggered the steady rise in antidepressants starting in the 90s. The SSRI antidepressant Prozac was FDA approved in 1987.As reported by the Epoch Times:“The popularity of the ‘chemical imbalance’ theory of depression has coincided with a huge increase in the use of antidepressants,” said the article’s lead author, Joanna Moncrieff, a professor of psychiatry at UCL. “Prescriptions for antidepressants have risen dramatically since the 1990s… Thousands of people suffer from side effects of antidepressants, including the severe withdrawal effects that can occur when people try to stop them, yet prescription rates continue to rise…We believe this situation has been driven partly by the false belief that depression is due to a chemical imbalance. It is high time to inform the public that this belief is not grounded in science.” SEE ALSO: Moderna sues Pfizer in a head-to-head battle for billions When the statistics behind antidepressants weren’t so diluted, Harvard Health reported that women were 2 ½ times more likely to be taking antidepressants than men. The largest group on antidepressants, as reported, is women in their 40s and 50s – which used to stand at 23%.For many Big Pharma doctors, it’s much easier to write a prescription to numb the problem than it is to get to the root cause and address the issue at hand. It’s also an easily guaranteed way to put struggling patients on costly drugs for years, if not for life.The Food and Drug Administration’s database identifies 11 antidepressants as increasing the risk of violent behavior, with further research concluding that the potential for violence while on these medications is a “genuine and serious adverse drug event.”By 2027, SSRI sales globally are expected to rise to an estimated $18.29 billion.But still, our society doesn’t take a step back and ask why so many social and mental issues are even occurring in the first place. There’s no proven reason why our society is so mentally unstable, but there are several possibilities. The vast majority of every adult age group seems to be struggling through some emotional challenge while being handed substances to survive on.Whether people’s minds are dependent on video games, porn, social media, TV or any other temporary satisfaction, it’s true that we have become a society that bases everything on instant gratification instead of real significance.The marriage rate is dropping, and at the same time, the divorce rate is at an all-time high. Almost 50% of marriages today will end in divorce, according to statistics. Back in 1920, 1% of married women divorced, which has skyrocketed to 15% today. SEE ALSO: Young People Are Hungry for Meaning – Our Culture Robs Them of It In a world where instantaneous connection is at our fingertips, we seem to be more lonely and impatient than ever.How can we be self-governing citizens if we are all reliant upon Big Pharma to relieve our mental state?We can’t simultaneously question why our culture has gone awry while ignoring the fact that Big Pharma and the government are pumping us full of artificial chemicals messing with our brains.So instead, drug reliance leads to dependence on the medical system and administrative state – all while bringing in a fortune for health care providers.Self-governance is key to well-being and a prosperous livelihood, and it starts with never allowing oneself to become a pawn in any temptatious, deceptive scheme.Silence Dogood, who writes under Benjamin Franklin’s famous pseudonym, is a staff writer with the Convention of States Project, a project of Citizens for Self-Governance.
