Posted by mworkman on July 20, 2005, at 17:32:55
In reply to Bad (but expected) news about ADs, posted by med_empowered on July 19, 2005, at 13:53:07
>hey. I was just checking out yahoo news, and it >turns out theres a growing feeling that ADs >aren't that great. A British study was cited >which found: 1) anti-depressants, by and large, >dont' do so well in placebo-controlled trials. >There are positive studies, but factoring in >all good, available data points to a very weak >anti-depressant effect at best....2) the entire >concept of an anti-depressant is flawed. The >researchers theorize that anti->depressants "work" by controlling some symptoms >of depression--by stimulating or sedating, >controlling anxiety, inducing sleep, that kind >of thing--rather than through some >magical "depression busting" mechanism. Their >conclusion?
Is this growing feeling based on just one study? Is this talking about all AD's, or just SSRI's? And yes there is no "magical "depression busting" mechanism". Most people know that taking an AD doesn't just magically make them less depressed.
>Maybe more people should do drug-free >depression treatment involving social support >and community integration rather than drugs. >The American Psychiatric Association calls it >a "radical sociological theory of depression".
Just like you and many sociologists consider the psychiatric medical profession radical in thier ways.
> As a budding sociologist, I can tell you >that "mental illness" is itself largely a >concept, one dependant upon the social context >in question; given this, it makes sense to >approach the disorder at an individual and >social level rather than a medical one. Its >also worth noting that the APA receives >millions of dollars in funding each year from >Big Pharma and individual psychiatrists are >often very well compensated by drug companies.
Yes, this would make sense to a " budding sociologist" or maybe you just have a case of tunnel vision and can't see the whole picture, just the side your sociology studies have shown you.
poster:mworkman
thread:530123
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050718/msgs/530701.html