Hormonal Birth Control Has Finally Been Linked To Depression
When you tell certain gynecologists that your birth control’s making you depressed, they like to claim that birth control affects differently. They might claim it’s all about finding what works for your body, or even tell you it’s all in your head.
Well, if your gyno’s one of those, you can officially tell them to cut the shit because a study has finally been released that links all forms of hormonal birth control with clinical depression.
The Danish study, published by JAMA Psychiatry, found that women who were on hormonal birth control — whether it was a pill, IUD, or vaginal ring — were way more likely to be prescribed antidepressants.
The effect of birth control was even worse on teenage girls. The study found that there was an 80 percent increased risk for teens to start taking antidepressants after going on the pill.
Remember when you thought your BFF was “so lucky” that her mom put all her daughters on birth control when they turned 16? Yeah, I bet you’re rethinking that now.
Sure, teens can be reckless when it comes to sex. But wouldn’t it be easier to educate young girls about using protection (and scold the boys who try to get away with avoiding condoms) rather than fucking with a girl’s brain and body just in case she has sex and gets pregnant?
The reason that condoms are reported as being less effective than birth control isn’t because they don’t prevent pregnancy as well, it’s because people are using them improperly. Moreover, pulling out is actually decently effective if you do that correctly.
We’ve gotten used to the idea of the pill as the “best” preventative measure and the “easiest,” but half of the reason for this is because the two pioneers of birth control were men and nobody could be bothered to spend time and money researching women’s health, explains Broadly.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the doctor that pokes their fingers in your vagina once a year actually wanted what was best for you?
I know I can’t be the only one whose doctor has urged her to start some form of birth control even though I complained that the pill made me feel not like myself, and also made me constantly bloated and gain weight.
If you’re feeling like you’ve been out of whack since you started taking the pill, it’s not just in your head. Don’t let your gynecologist coax you into going on birth control if you’re not 100% sure that it’s right for you, and you won’t know that it’s right for you until you do your research.
