3 ms·

Prescription of antidepressants really should be coupled with therapy (and often is), which if done right should prompt plenty of introspection. Also in those w

Prescription of antidepressants really should be coupled with therapy (and often is), which if done right should prompt plenty of introspection. Also in those with severe depression, functioning is so low it can be difficult to even engage in therapy or make life changes without other treatment first. I think you make an interesting broader point though. Clinically there is not enough consideration of life circumstances when evaluating depression, in my opinion. Obviously something like a death in the family is taken into account, but from what I've seen baseline quality of life is not a huge consideration in whether depressive symptoms are clinically meaningful. I suspect antidepressants would be more effective if this were better teased out. In any event, there are certainly interesting philosophical and policy questions here, but for an individual that suspects depression, they should seek professional help regardless. A good clinician is not going to just prescribe meds and then tell the patient they're done.

xwdv 4y ago
I view overcoming depression similar to weight loss. A lot of people will try hard on their own or with the help of someone else to achieve it, but at the end of the day it’d be far easier to shove a pill down someone’s throat rather than convince them to change their lifestyle and values, simply because most people will try and fail anyway. With the right mindset, I think you could overcome any depression naturally if you are willing to really reconfigure your life and can endure the change. The deeper in it you are, the harder it will be of course, but I think it’s possible.
- caddemon 4y ago
  I mean there also are people that have genetic conditions which make it almost impossible to not be obese without external intervention. Those people are obviously a minority of the obese population, but I wouldn't say that anyone can overcome naturally. I also don't think it is inherently wrong to include medication (or in the case of obesity, surgery) as part of an intervention in conjunction with lifestyle changes. If done correctly such interventions can be better than the sum of their parts. It's unfortunate that there are so many bad clinicians out there, but that doesn't mean we should let it affect our opinion on actual best practices. There's a difference between putting in a reasonable amount of work and unnecessarily struggling (although admittedly that's sometimes a fine line).

xwdv 4y ago

I view overcoming depression similar to weight loss. A lot of people will try hard on their own or with the help of someone else to achieve it, but at the end of the day it’d be far easier to shove a pill down someone’s throat rather than convince them to change their lifestyle and values, simply because most people will try and fail anyway. With the right mindset, I think you could overcome any depression naturally if you are willing to really reconfigure your life and can endure the change. The deeper in it you are, the harder it will be of course, but I think it’s possible.

caddemon 4y ago
I mean there also are people that have genetic conditions which make it almost impossible to not be obese without external intervention. Those people are obviously a minority of the obese population, but I wouldn't say that anyone can overcome naturally. I also don't think it is inherently wrong to include medication (or in the case of obesity, surgery) as part of an intervention in conjunction with lifestyle changes. If done correctly such interventions can be better than the sum of their parts. It's unfortunate that there are so many bad clinicians out there, but that doesn't mean we should let it affect our opinion on actual best practices. There's a difference between putting in a reasonable amount of work and unnecessarily struggling (although admittedly that's sometimes a fine line).