I see it everywhere, everywhere I go. For awhile now, there has been an uproar about medication - specifically anti-depressants. There are the groups of people who do not believe in medication for depressed people because they think it's this terrible thing to inject into people's bloodstream, and then there are those people who believe in anti-depressants, because they understand that there really is a chemical imbalance in a person's brain that a "walk in the park" simply cannot help.

"Doctors who prescribe these medications to you don't actually care about you anyway. They just want to sell you this drug to make money. They could care less about your happiness".

"Pills are for weak people who don't actually try. If you want to be happy, go outside and get some fresh air".

These are things that I've heard in my life. These are things that people have told me, and I can't explain to you how horrible it made me feel - that for one second, those people couldn't put away their selfish thoughts and to just focus on me, and to respect my decision. I currently take Sertraline - a form of Zoloft, a medication prescribed to those who have depression, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorder symptoms. I have been on medication for my depression and anxiety since I was about ten or eleven years old. I'm pretty familiar with most of the popular anti-depressants out there, mainly because I have been on them. As far as I can remember, I've tried Paxil, Wellbutrin, Cymbalta, Lexapro, and Flouxitine. There were a few medications that I wouldn't be on for quite some time, only because they wouldn't work in the first couple of months. So, it was back to the psychiatrist to test out a new medication, hoping that it would get me on the right track - a place where I could take control of my symptoms.

Whenever someone finds out about my mental illnesses, or hears that I am on medication (or if I tell them, I'm a fairly open person and I am not ashamed of my disabilities) they usually give me their opinion on the whole ordeal. I've had a few friends in the past who weren't supportive of the medication option, and when I asked them if they had ever been on an anti-depressant for their struggles, they responded with something similar to "No, of course not. I don't need to put those chemicals into my body. I'd rather be off of it". I would be lying if I didn't say that some of their responses made me feel weak, ashamed, and pathetic - because I had been on medication for about ten years now.

There's something that people who are against medication, prescriptions, drugs, what have you should know, and that is this: Some people can survive without medications, yes. And you know what? That's absolutely great. But a person who is on medications for depression and anxiety or obsessive compulsive, what have you, does not make them a weaker person. They are strong for realizing that they need help, because admitting that you need to take a prescribed drug for something society deems inadequate or pathetic, is amazingly courageous. I am not a lesser person because I am taking a medication for my illness. It took me awhile to figure that out, but I am not going to waste my time comparing myself to those who are against medications for mental illnesses. I can't just go outside, travel, or spend time with people to control my depression; it just doesn't work that way for me. Now please understand this: I have a chemical imbalance in my brain. My brain doesn't produce enough serotonin, so I need something to make up for those lost chemicals. And you know what? There is nothing sad or weak about that. I want help, just like everyone else who struggles like me, and I'm not going to spend my life "toughing it out" because society thinks it's the better choice. I'm going to live my life, and I'm going to do that with a medication by my side - because that's the healthy decision for me.

Please do not be ignorant. Educate yourselves. If we could live without medication, we would - but we can't.