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Antidepressants Don’t Work
By Linda | October 11, 2008
Several clients have recently asked me about taking antidepressants to get through their financial nightmare. Some fear loss of their homes, others may lose their retirement savings. They are fearful and anxious, and want relief.
Nine of 10 people who attempt to discuss these feelings with their physicians get prescriptions for drugs. I guess it’s easier to send someone away with the hope of a cure in a pill rather than to address our feelings or discuss healthier solutions.
Although it may seem taking an antidepressant is a powerful way to escape emotional pain, it turns out sugar pills work as well or better than these drugs. That’s right, according to a report in the Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, a placebo works as well or better than drugs in alleviating depression.
Drug companies are required to conduct two trials showing success before they can market their product. It took five trials of Prozac before positive results were seen. Paxil and Zoloft required even more testing to show results.
On top of that, antidepressants are now so strongly linked with suicide, a warning is now required on product labels. They come with other side effects as well, like type 2 diabetes, fatigue and weight gain.
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, more than 100,000 deaths per year result from properly prescribed meds. Other reports suggest double this number. Even more people die from overdose, drug interactions, or mistaken prescriptions. Why wouldn’t you want a natural and probably more effective remedy than a drug? Do you really need new health problems from drug?
While I can’t change your financial situation, I can offer you proven and effective natural tools to feel better and cope. Numerous studies show lifestyle and nutrition can be highly effective remedies for depression, fatigue and anxiety. Just a few ideas include:
Aerobic exercise
Omega-3 fats (fish or cod liver oils)
Sunlight
According to one study an hour of aerobic exercise reduces tension, anxiety, depression and fatigue. Sunlight on non-sun-screened skin is well-known to produce levels of vitamin D needed to stimulate brain catecholamines that stave off depression and anxiety. Fish oil, a concentrated source of omega 3 fat is used by Harvard Medical School to treat depression.
Other studies show being proactive helps cure depression. Plant a garden or pots on your patio with edible herbs, winter greens and carrots. Find a community garden plot. Stock your cupboards with inexpensive and nutritious grains, beans, peas and lentils. Learn to make hearty inexpensive slow cooked winter meals. See if your neighbor needs help.
More mood-boosting ideas are to come in my next Top Tips Newsletter, so be sure you are signed up.
Share your ideas here for keeping your spirits up during this financial crisis. Leave your comment below.
Topics: Drugs, Mood, Uncategorized |
October 14th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Wow, what timely information! It is interesting that the number 3 suggestion is more sunlight. The American Academy of Pediatrics just doubled the recommended amount of Vitamin D for kids. Why pay when you can enjoy the sun?! Why do dermatologists suggest even 10 minutes of sunlight a day is dangerous? It sounds like NOT getting 10 minutes a day is more dangerous!
October 14th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
A surprising number of my clients take anti-depressants; it’s amazing how easily doctors prescribe them, even for “situational” or appropriate depression (loss of a loved one, injury, financial stress), where time and the support of friends and family would likely help just as much.
Are there certain types of fish that are better than others for combating mood changes? Thanks for the article, I’ll forward it to a friend.
October 14th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Thanks for the article as well. Please keep me posted on your good advice. Anti-depressants are prescribed in my immediate family and will forward this to them.
October 14th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I am in the sun walking almost every morning, so the sun and exercise are taken care of. (I suppose I could add intensity to get my heart and breathing rate up. I am planning that.) I just started taking Carter’s Cod Liver Oil and in addition to a greater experience of fullness, I am feeling more boyant and opptomistic. Being bipolar, I have struggled with bouts of depression almost all of my life. I have cut way back on my medication and hopt to stop them all as soon as possible.
A slimmer and happier jumbo giraffe, Craig.
October 14th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Linda, thank you so much for the great advice. I look forward to receiving your emails. This one (in particular) was great because I have been dealing with this particular issue recently. Keep up the good work!
October 14th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Linda, again, some great info - I follow your regime, as outlined above + though I have as much, if not more stress than most, I rise above it with exercise, cod liver oil + Vut D from the sun, as well as taking D3, too. A healthy diet helps, too! like the way you have advised me to eat, to keep my pain + inflammation at a very tolerable level. Thx tons!
October 16th, 2008 at 10:37 am
The natural prescriptions for depression and anxiety are the same as for pain and disease: exercise, fish oil and sunlight. So while boosting your mood with these strategies, you are also blocking pain and heart disease.
For those of you who like to see the research, the journal Psychosomatic Medicine in 2000 reported that for patients with major depression, aerobic exercise worked as well as Zoloft after four months. Exercise OUTPERFORMED this drug after 10 months. Outperformed!
It’s good to see those of you with mod challenges are trying out the alternatives. More to come.
October 17th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
This is so important, thank you. I have used fish oil for years and have drastically reduced my mood swings - even as I enter that ’special time of life.’ Not only does it work for my spirit, but my heart, hair and skin are healthier, too. Exercise always makes me feel better, and now with days getting shorter and cooler, I really have to push myself to do it. Thankfully I have an active puppy (could be listed as #4 on your list;-)which keeps me running - in the sun!
Karens last blog post..Preserving Summer: Roasted Tomatoes
October 18th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I am amazed at how quick doctors are to prescribe meds for feelings of depression and anxiety. I am sure in some cases, the patient may need them for certain conditions, but when they are given out like candy, it is so concerning to me. Our society has become so accustomed to ‘quick fixes’ and getting what they want at a speedy rate, that when a doc offers us a pill, it seems like another quick fix and a fast solution!
What works for me during this economical crisis, hence much added stress? Enjoying children’s laughter and listening to them at how they perceive the world. Their innocence is heart warming and the joy they find in life’s ’simple things’ brings you back to what’s important and helps you realize that there is a lot of beauty and good still out there:)