Posted by SLS on May 11, 2009, at 23:28:18
In reply to Re: Antidepressants Hardly Help ?????????, posted by chumbawumba on May 11, 2009, at 23:17:05
> Regarding #1 I'd say the best criteria for diagnosing depression is just asking a person "Are you depressed?" Seriously. I mean you can go further and say do you feel hopeless, do you feel suicidal, but it all starts with "Are you depressed?"
I don't think it is prudent to ask the patient to provide their own diagnosis. When a person says to their doctor, "I feel weak", the doctor would be remiss in prescribing weight lifting as a remedy without investigating any further.
You still have not answered my question.
1. What is depression? How do you know it when you see it? What are YOUR criteria for identifying depression?
It is my contention that the state of the art of selecting patients suffering from major depressive disorder for clinical investigations of antidepressants is not much more sophisticated than the diagnostic method that you have suggested. You have just proved my point.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:895119
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090505/msgs/895305.html