One of the amazing methods of marketing is to provide a very complex scientific explanation for why things work. This full-text article from the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences certainly would lead you to believe that Prozac works.

But does it?

Are the changes observed in the study a result of the drug or a belief that it will work? My vote is for the latter and there is some fairly compelling evidence to support that. 

A study in the International Journal of Psychopharmacology showed that the majority of antidepressant trials conducted by drug companies have found that sugar pills, or placebos, produce results similar to -- or better than -- antidepressant drugs. In one study of 96 antidepressant trials conducted between 1979 and 1996, no difference could be determined between the effects of antidepressants and sugar pills in some 52 percent of trials.

This is an important issue as depression is a very serious disorder, and over 15 percent of adults will suffer from depression at some point in their lifetime.

Further, it can be pre-terminal as many people with depression commit suicide. Clearly, this is not something to be taken lightly.

Part of the problem is identifying if you have depression. If you need help in learning if you or someone you love truly has depression then review the first link below, as it extensively reviews how to do this.

Optimizing your diet is clearly an important step in treating depression, and two of the most important parts are to eliminate sugars and make sure you are getting enough omega-3 fats. I have had large numbers of patients spontaneously take themselves off their antidepressants once they started the fish or krill oil, which has been particularly useful in those with depression.

Dr. Stoll, director of the psychopharmacology research lab at Boston's McLean Hospital and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, discusses this topic extensively in his book The Omega-3 Connection. I highly recommend this book, which reviews evidence supporting the use of omega-3 oils for depression.

However, when it comes to the major player here, it is certainly energetic rebalancing techniques, my favorite of which is EFT. You can review my free, 25-page report that discusses how to perform the EFT technique, however, depression is best treated with a trained EFT therapist. To find an EFT therapist, you can review Gary Craig's EFT Practitioner Referrals.