The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recently recommended that antidepressants, specifically selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), should be the first-line treatment for moderate or severe depression. This recommendation could be why many doctors reactively turn to antidepressants to treat patients suffering from depression.
With almost 19 million Americans thought to suffer from depressive disorders ... that's a whole lot of drugs.
However, studies have found that SSRIs may increase the risk of suicidal behavior in both children and adults, leading two UK investigators to argue: Antidepressants, for the most part, offer no meaningful benefit.
After reviewing published medical evidence on antidepressant efficacy:
One of the investigators stated she is not convinced there is such a thing as a drug that will specifically relieve depression and that so-called antidepressants are merely drugs that do other things, such as sedating or stimulating people.
A co-author of the report also pointed out that depression should be addressed without drugs, as it is something people need to learn to deal with themselves.
This duo may be on to something, for the continuing concern that SSRIs may increase the risk of suicidal behavior means there needs to be further consideration of evidence for the efficacy of antidepressants.
British Medical Journal July 16, 2005; 331:155-157
Reuters July 15, 2005
Depression is a very serious problem that does not receive the attention it deserves. Many do not realize it can be a terminal illness, as it is not unusual for depression to progress to suicide.
One of the first steps toward treating this serious illness is to understand that you have it. So if you are ever feeling "blue" or believe you or someone you know might be depressed, please review my article, Treatment Options for Healing Depression.
Not only does the article have an excellent table for helping you understand if you have depression, but it is also loaded with practical steps on how to treat this challenging problem. As the above study indicates, you will not want to consider antidepressant drugs as your primary option.
In 2002 I ran an article that performed a similar analysis and a similar conclusion was reached. The study found that 75 percent of the benefit of antidepressants could be duplicated by placebo.
Equally important, the study showed that there were serious flaws in the data the drug companies submitted to the FDA to get these drugs approved in the first place. This is not terribly surprising when you consider it is the drug companies that are actually paying the FDA salaries.
It is bad enough that these drugs don't work as promised, but the situation is far worse than that. The evidence is quite clear that most of these drugs actually increase the risk of suicide. Since depression can be a terminal illness, why would you want to take a drug that would actually increase your risk of killing yourself?
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