Do antidepressants really work?

[Katy]

I've never taken them, but know many others who have and mostly seemed to find them unhelpful.

Comments seem to range from ....they enabled me to continue with situations that I was actually very unhappy about and needed to change..... to ....they made me groggy, hazy.... I couldn't function properly.... I found them really hard to stop taking... they made me worse...

I've had homeopathic treatment and counseling for my own depression and found these to be supportive and helpful, through a process of exploring what the actual experience and feelings are. Though I wouldn't necessarily say I never get depressed anymore, perhaps the way I relate to myself and feel towards myself when I feel low has changed.


Did you find them helpful/unhelpful?
Have you experienced others finding them helpful/unhelpful?
Have you experienced any alternative medicine which was helpful by comparison?

I found a discussion on this page suggesting that acupuncture might be helpful for depression, which sounds like it might be helpful too:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joshua-Enk...2526014259

[gigs]

If it is absolutely necessary then see a doctor who can prescribe the drug. Remember the doc will put you on different antidepressents and different doses to adjust to try to make it work for you.

Personally, I didn't feel these any helpful, until I resolved the issue that was bothering me. In fact, these made me crazy as I was getting some flash during the day and even could not work. These drugs made me so confused and shaky that I couldnt wrok or think properly. I let these drug go to the trash and carried on with my little and smalll frustrations of life. Thanks to God, I am ok now.

I think accpunture is still better as it does'nt have any side effects.

[SmartAss]

What is 'really work'?

A definition for 'really work' is that it works better than a placebo.
But that's just a statistic definition, because the comparison is between two groups.

Meditation, counseling, jin shin jyutsu, and so on make you feel different in the body.
At least, you are again 'in' the body, and not only in the mind.

Jin Shin Jyutsu has some specific flows which deal with the stack-overflow of thoughts,
and therefore can be very helpful if used regularly and with considering the nine factors of enlightenment, which are helpful for ANY situation.

[Chris]

I definitely think putting medicine in your body like that is unnatural. Acupuncture has been around for thousands of years and it is still being practiced. It works. I would definitely give that a try a few times before you turn to the prescriptions. Here is some good information on acupuncture with a great video to hopefully calm your nerves about it: http://thehealinglife.org/acupuncture/
I just had my first appointment with it and I loved it. I will definitely go back and I think you should try this first.

Good luck to you!

[ƦєdAиgєℓ]

Antidepressants are a placebo. Check out the documentary below from 15:33....

"Placebo: Cracking the Code":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvbQnMvhQFw