Posted by JohnL on July 6, 2000, at 4:55:16
In reply to Why the drugs don't work, posted by Alex Birkett on July 5, 2000, at 8:39:41
I've seen the right medication totally change the lives of sufferers over and over and over. Statistics give it about a 70% to 80% success rate, but that represents a few million people in the USA alone. Not too shabby.
I've also seen people not improve much with counseling and psychotherapy, aimed at targeting the very topics you've discussed. When the right medication was found, all those supposedly big problems became minor.
Depression has a way of turning molehills into mountains. Perspective is twisted. All the psychosocial issues become quite tame and easily manageable however once the depressive chemistry has been fixed. Those mountains can be reduced to tiny molehills.
It's interesting to pose theories on why this or why that causes depression. It's interesting to blame society and politics. That could be correct. Maybe not. Who knows for sure. Just theory. I think it is a shameful waste of human energy though. Talent would be better utilized in helping alleviate the suffering, rather than pointing fingers.
JohnL
poster:JohnL
thread:39430
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000630/msgs/39531.html