5 ms·
Yup. Just to get rich selling pills that barely make a difference. As someone who’s probably had a prescription for every major anti-depressant, the only differ
by jrs95 8y ago
Yup. Just to get rich selling pills that barely make a difference. As someone who’s probably had a prescription for every major anti-depressant, the only difference I never noticed from taking them is that my dick didn’t work.
Not saying that depression isn’t a serious issue and that it can just be “thought away” though. But the drugs are really only helpful to some people, and there’s not much evidence to substantiate that this is just a chemical problem. There may be a chemical element, but IMO this is being exaggerated for profit. Meanwhile we aren’t dealing with any of the underlying social problems that probably play a much larger part.
- ianai 8y agoFunny, I’ve known several people who clearly were depressed through physiology. Nothing to do with being able to “think it away”
- jrs95 8y agoPhysiology and “chemical imbalance” aren’t exactly the same thing. Just because you’re physiologically predisposed to depression doesn’t mean that you can fix that by ingesting chemicals, which is usually what’s implied by that phrase.
- 4183821747 8y agoThe drugs can be really, really helpful to some people though. There is no doubt in my mind that Prozac saved my life 25 years ago.
- JshWright 8y agoYep, my wife was on Zoloft for ~18 months after a pregnancy (postpartum depression), and it absolutely made a massive difference.
- ianai 8y agoI first felt the genuine desire to seek out and socialize with strangers after a dose of kava. I now can’t take it as it conflicts with other medication. But before then and after then, I genuinely experience discomfort around all people.
- simongray 8y agoI recently read the book "Lost Connections" by Johann Hari which covers this issue. In fact, it's a really a book about some deeper problems of Western society (where depression, anxiety, etc. has been on the rise for a long time), so the pharmaceutical pill-pushing and the fairly debunked "chemical imbalance" explanation of depression really just sets the backdrop of the story. He emphasizes - like you mention - social changes in modern Western societies as major causes of depression. I really recommend the book. If you're not convinced or just want an audio version, then I recommend the episode of the Ezra Klein Show podcast where Johann Hari is a guest - that's what convinced me to read the book.
- hellofunk 8y agoI’m curious, if depression doesn’t have some basis in chemical roots, then why is it often hereditary? Like other forms of mental illness which are chemical and hereditary, depression also exhibits these characteristics.
- simongray 8y agoThe current mainstream view is that depression is partly physical, so you're not wrong. (edited for clarity) Some say that depression is a chemical imbalance, but this is not a mainstream view any longer (I think, although it's often mentioned in comments on the Internet), although treatment is still very much based on chemicals like SSRI drugs, which have very little proven effect, require constant upping of dosages to gain the small effect they provide, and also having several undesirable side-effects.
- JshWright 8y ago> there’s not much evidence to substantiate that this is just a chemical problem > we aren’t dealing with any of the underlying social problems that probably play a much larger part. I assume your concern for evidence applies to your pet theory as well, are you able to share any?
- jrs95 8y agoIt’s just my opinion based on personal experience, from my own struggles and those of people that I’ve known. It seems to make a lot of sense that we like the chemical imbalance narrative because it allows us as a society to wash our hands of this and pretend it has nothing to do with us.
- ThrowawayP 8y agoWhile I don't directly agree with jrs95, the fact is that the pills just plain don't work a lot of the time. Google the medical term "treatment-resistant depression". The very first link says "Despite advances in the understanding of the psychopharmacology and biomarkers of major depression and the introduction of several novel classes of antidepressants, only 60%–70% of patients with depression respond to antidepressant therapy." (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3363299/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3363299/) Presumably, the odds were worse before. Consider, too, that that probably doesn't even include those that develop tolerance effects afterward; with that, the numbers likely climb much closer to 50%-50% or worse.