Have Anti-depressants Stopped Working?
A very recent study on the effects of anti-depressants have revealed some stunning results. Can you imagine reading: "This means that depressed people can improve without chemical treatments..." and not be excited for the wellfare of the planet?
And there are some fantastic treatments out there that we can employ!
Study casts doubt on anti-depressants
By Salamander Davoudi
Prescribing anti-depressants to the vast majority of patients is futile, as the drugs have little or no impact at all, according to researchers.
Almost 50 clinical trials were reviewed by psychologists from the University of Hull who found that new-generation anti-depressants worked no better than a placebo – a dummy pill – for mildly depressed patients.
Even the trials that suggested some clinical benefit for the most severely depressed patients did not produce convincing evidence. Professor Irving Kirsch from the university’s pyschology department said: “The difference in improvement between patients taking placebos and patients taking anti-depressants is not very great.
“This means that depressed people can improve without chemical treatments. Given these results, there seems little reason to prescribe anti-depressant medication to any but the most severely depressed patients.â€
The researchers focused on four widely prescribed anti-depressants and the clinical trials that were submitted to win licensing approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.
The drugs included fluoxetine (Prozac), venlafaxine (Efexor), and Paroxetine (Seroxat).
All belong to a family of drugs known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). These drugs have become popular over the past 15 years as doctors consider them to be safer than tricyclic drugs that carried a high risk of overdose. In 2006, 31m prescriptions for anti-depressants were issued in England, up 27 per cent since 2001.
Alison Cobb, policy officer at mental health charity Mind, said: “This study represents a serious challenge to the predominance of pharmacological treatments for depression. Anti-depressants have been shown to help many people, but by no means all.â€
“Too many GPs are being forced to dish out drugs because they don’t have proper access to psychological therapies services which are recommended by Nice.â€
Mind is urging GPs to consider alternative therapies such as exercise – particularly outdoor exercise – which it believes has shown to be very effective in combating depression.
However, Dr Gary Bell, consultant psychiatrist at Capio Nightingale Hospitals, the provider of private psychiatry treatment, contested the conclusions of the Hull research. “Anti-depressants are one of the great breakthroughs in the treatment of depression in last 20 to 30 years,†he said.
“They do not always suit everybody but the results are often life-saving. People who do studies do not have the hands-on experience of using these medicines.â€
According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, at least one person in five will suffer from a depressive illness at some point.
February 28th, 2008 at 1:23 am
One of the reasons for depression is nutritional. According to Derrick Londsdale, M.D., "Many of us, in the so-called developed part of the world, suffer unknowingly from the effects of high calorie malnutrition. The primitive part of the brain becomes irritable and the victim becomes more inappropriately emotional. Children have temper tantrums and may become violent and destructive. Adults become angry too easily and their emotional reactions are exaggerated. In short, we become more primitive in our reactions to the outside world..." Depression is also a side effect of malnutrition. Supermarket produce is being grown in nutrient depleted soil. GMOs are inherently nutrient depleted. It's a given that processed foods are depleted of essential nutrients and enzymes. Let's face the fact that decadent society pushes people into depression by diet alone. There are also factors of pollution, emf, elf, the economy and so much more pushed upon us by decadent society. Perhaps, we should work more towards prevention towards our health and well being rather than instant gratification pharmacology in collaboration with decadent society.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:16 am
Excellent article. I wonder, has there been any study concerning the new anti-depressants creating a mindstate that would make the user more open to suggestion? It just occurs to me that many people I once considered intelligent are in a state of denial that I don't feel is natural. I realize that in this forum, we focus on positivity and leave out much negativity, and I understand why (I think), so I will not embellish on other common mind dulling components of daily life in the '1st world'.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:13 am
Depression is also self inflicted according to lifestyle. There was a short TV series about the History of Mormonism on PBS.
One of the most poignant moments in the PBS series was when a Mormon wife and mother sadly reflected upon her lot in life. She said something to the effect that she had to try to be beautiful at all times, smiling when she did not feel like smiling and in general live as a perfect example of what a good Mormon wife was supposed to be. And when that issue was brought up, one of the Mormon apologists offered the statistic that their women use more antidepressants than any other demographical group in the US!
So Marie Osmond is not the only one. She gets the most press about her condition, but the press forgot to mention the family and peer pressure that she and all other mormon women suffer.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:59 am
HealingMindN / Randolf / Barbarosa:
Absolutely! There are plenty of factors that play a role in depression.
Here's what I think: Western medicine has redefined a common emotional state into somewhat of a disease. Sure there are genuine depression cases out there - but I think a majority of depressed people can be treated without pumping them full of mind-numbing chemicals.
High time something like this research was brought to light!