Birth Control Alert: There’s Got to Be a Better Way to Stop Making Babies (Article by Elizabeth)

Those of us with mood disorders must be especially careful with what we put into our bodies. Anything you eat that is not food can hurt you. This site does not promote the use of psychiatric medication when there are better alternatives available but caution should not be limited only to these drugs, as Ken has pointed out in other articles.

Sometimes it is necessary to take a pharmaceutical. But you would do well to consider alternative options to any health problem before resorting to medication, because of the potential havoc all drugs can play on your physical and mental health.

Ladies, please pause for a moment to consider what type of birth control you are using (if you choose to use any). It you are using “the pill” know that this pill is not an innocent little thing made user-friendly in small easy-to-swallow tablets that are organized neatly according to the days of the week, and sold in neat little boxes with appealing designs in soft pinks and purples, or pretty flowers, or young female heartthrobs staring contently into the sunset.

“The pill” will do more than just prevent you from making unwanted babies. The pill is a medicine or a drug same as any other. And like all drugs, the body and mind may not react kindly towards it.

“Women with a history of depression should be carefully observed and the drug discontinued if the depression recurs to a serious degree.”

- Pharmaceutical company Phizer on a warning label for contraceptives.

Following is a short excerpt from a link to one of many sites aimed to educate you on the possible negative effects of “the pill” on your moods and behavior:

Results showed women using the Pill had an average depression rating scale score of 17.6, compared to 9.8 in the non-user group. The women involved in the study were aged over 18, not pregnant or lactating, had no clinical history of depression and had not been on anti-depressant medication in the previous 12 months.

Please follow this link to learn more:

http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com/news/hormones_depression.shtml

I personally used different birth control pills for years, never giving a second thought to how they could be affecting my moods or behavior. I was used to ingesting pills and blindly thought they all more or less did what they were supposed to do, just as the doctors said. If I felt sick or moody or depressed I figured that was a natural part of my supposedly incurable bipolar disorder. And I suppose some of it was.

But several months after I started converting my whole lifestyle to a more holistic one, I began to wonder about the little pill I was taking for most of every month. I googled “the pill and mood swings” (which I highly suggest you do as well, if this issue is of concern to you) and came up with more than 2,000,000 results. I only had to peruse a few of them before I came to a decision.

I did not want hormones in my body that were not meant to be there. It was time to say good bye to “the pill”.  But… small problem there. I did not want a baby. And I did want sex.

After some research, I decided that the non-hormonal IUD was a good option for me. It is just as effective as “the pill” and puts no drugs or hormones into the body. I write this for those who are unsure of whether there is a safe and effective alternative. But, of course, you will likely do your own research as well, if you come to the same conclusion I did.

I noticed an almost immediate and marked difference in my moods when I stopped the pill. I used to experience constant swings into depression throughout the day and a good percentage of these simply vanished. Some of the agitation and extreme irritably that I had experienced also became less intense.

I hope this post is helpful for some of you out there. If “the pill” is the only option for you, then you might do well to consider the different types of pills carefully and their effect on your moods and behavior and choose accordingly.

If you are comfortable with a safer and more natural option, all the better.

Wishing you all continued peace, strength and success on your journey towards better mental health,

Elizabeth J.

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