Depression is reality.... Nothing wrong in getting help to overcome the mental problem, if it is treated properly at the right time. They can lead their normal daily life. It is like being at the cross roads. The person may sync into more depressed state or become violent or hurt themselves if not watched closely with the medication, so need regular visit to the professional and need continuous support of their family. Once the person is on the medication, they will loose touch with the reality. "No fear or sorrow" touches them and only the "chirpy" state for unknown reason. They cannot function without the medication, a chemical dependency and will not be able to come out the medications. This what I saw from someone I am familiar with in a closed circuit.
Attacus girl! Don't shy from borrowing one of my multifarious and multi-dimensional ids. What are friends for if they can't lend pencils, clips and virtual handles to each other. hugsmiley
Doctor's are using bibliotherapy to treat mild to moderate depression. Not any book but a select set of approved titles such as, “Overcoming Depression,” “Mind Over Mood,” or “The Feeling Good Handbook.” Here's the article: Doctors Are Now Prescribing Books to Treat Depression | Smithsonian
I am amused you chose to quote this. Mindfulness was nearly as effective (in terms of relapse rates) as antidepressants. So given a choice - 8 weeks of mindfulness based therapy versus 2 years of antidepressants, which would you prefer? We have to limit ourselves to recent scientific literature because the state of the art is continuously changing. We know more about our brains now, than we did two decades ago. Would you be okay if your doctor treated you with techniques developed two decades ago without taking into account recent advances? You say and I quote, "efficacy of using medicine in managing depression to a satisfactory level has been proven across drug classes" -- vague, hand-waving! What is satisfactory level? Satisfactory to whom? I cannot imagine a scientific paper using such weasel words! "different classes of drugs have been proven to work on vast number of patients with considerable diversity in issues" -- another statement that says exactly nothing in a lot of words. Vast number of patients? What does that mean? "Diversity of issues" -- seriously? I provided you with links to peer-reviewed research. I see you have provided no sources for any of your claims. Any further discussion is pointless without reliable references.
I have mixed emotions about this thread. Predominantly sad. A few responses make me feel hopeless. Its not easy for me to digest the fact that there is very less acceptance for something that is present but is not widespread (roughly translates to each and every person does not feel it). Say, autism spectrum is becoming a reality now when compared to 15 years ago in India. There is very slow increase in awareness and acceptance for it and those who have it. The acceptance is slightly more now because a larger crowd is facing it now and there is a need for something to be done about it. Everything is unreal until it happens to you or to those you care about. So is depression. The triggers can be many and yes, it is misused widely. It can happen to anyone. A few people are self-motivated and could just suck it up and face it, even come out of successfully. There are others who need help. To identify those who need help is a bigger problem than depression itself. Only a professional should suggest someone to go on medication or not. Encouraging a friend or family member to get diagnosed, to talk openly about their feelings and providing moral support, understanding and spreading awareness are more crucial factors. Note: I am no comparing autism spectrum with depression here, just used it as an example.
Readers of this thread may find this article and the related study interesting/useful: Pill linked to depression?
Sparkle, many points in your post, and also in that other thread Shabnam started. One thing that stood out to me was your observation regarding patient reading up sufficiently about depression, and the point here that only a professional should suggest to go on medication or not. These are a discussion by themselves - how much should a patient research, from what sources. How much of a say a patient has in his care for regular health issues, somewhat serious ones, and the kinds that are rare and fatal. I've been reading some studies on the interaction between patient and doctor where patient is suffering from a rare disease. And, also the views of doctors about patients using the internet for medical information. Maybe a separate thread sometime soon.
I have seen many use depression to shield themselves from plain laziness. Also, some of them are hungry attention seekers. Thats my observation, maybe wrong. I am not denying the fact that there are people who are really affected and need help but I have seen many faking it.
May be, but feeling like sleeping/lying on bed or not feel like doing anything even bathing etc is a symptom of several mental health issues.