A little bit of research will show you that the 3 Percent Choice can make a huge impact for people who battle depression. In America we are often very willing to go for the quick fix. Going for the quick fix - the meds - can keep you from addressing the real cause for your problems. A recent story in the UK talks about a different strategy when you visit a doctor and tell them you are mildly to moderately depressed (not suicical). Instead of a quick prescription for an antidepressant, you will be prescribed a self-help book and follow-up visits with a mental health professional. They were concerned that after the average 7 minute visit, that so many patients were being prescribed meds.
In 2005 over 189 million prescriptions were written for antidepressants in America. In a $35 million taxpayer-funded study, the largest trial of its kind ever conducted found “antidepressants fail to cure the symptoms of major depression in half of all people when the disease even when patients are given the best possible care.” Do a little research and you will see how rarely they ever work. Recent studies show that antidepressants are barely better than taking a placebo. Here is a quote from the article:
“More than half of the 47 studies found that patients on antidepressants improved no more than those on placebos., Kirsch says.
"They should have told the American public about this. The drugs have been touted as much more effective than they are."
He says studies finding no benefit have been mentioned only on labeling for Celexa, the most recently approved drug. The others included in his evaluation: Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor and Serzone.”
All I can say is WOW – is that an amazing summation or what! If you are currently taking antidepressants, please take a few minutes to go read this letter to the editors of the WSJ from Michael J. Reznicek, Psychiatrist. It is so important I put the entire letter below. You can find the source here.
Depressed About Results? Science May Explain It
January 26, 2008; Page A9 WSJ
Word comes that unpublished studies of antidepressants show the drugs are overrated ("Antidepressants Under Scrutiny Over Efficacy," Personal Journal, Jan. 17). This isn't a surprise to many of us who have prescribed them. Sadly, the $21 billion antidepressant industry is built more on marketing hype than medical science.
The medicalization of depression dates to a "chemical imbalance" theory of the late 1950s, when some patients taking the anti-hypertensive drug reserpine got depressed. Reserpine was known to partially deplete catecholamines, a kind of neurotransmitter in the brain, of which serotonin is one example. This led to the theory that depression was caused by low catecholamine levels. Drugs have been successfully marketed as antidepressants by showing that they enhance catecholamine activity.
While this looks like a neuroscience success story, the truth is that no case of depression has ever been shown to be caused by low catecholamine levels. If you find this hard to swallow, ask your physician what your serotonin level is and how it compares to a group of depressed, suicidal patients. The honest answer is that they are the same.
Psychiatrists can promulgate chemical imbalance theories and sleep well at night because they are devout biochemical determinists, for whom every thought or feeling is caused by chemical reactions in the brain. To the true believer, good feelings come from good chemistry, bad feelings from bad chemistry. If the science hasn't been worked out yet, it is only a matter of time. What is important is that depressed people keep those catecholamines "balanced." Whether bad theories arise from bad chemistry has not, to this point, generated much interest.
To be sure, antidepressants can be helpful. The sedating ones, for instance, often benefit depressed people who can't sleep. But the real harm of these drugs is the theoretical baggage that comes with them. The more a patient believes that pills are the cure for depression, the less likely he is to think seriously about the meaning of his life.
Michael J. Reznicek, M.D.
Psychiatrist
Spokane, Wash.
The illumination of the science behind the whole “chemical imbalance” theory is amazing to anyone on antidepressants I am sure. The real power is in the last two sentences. By making the 3 Percent Choice and living it amazing things will happen. Much research has been done into the ability to fight depression with aerobic routines as well as weight training.
Check out this great article on exercise and depression – but is anyone telling depressed patients about exercise?
I think the big benefit in exercise for many is going to the gym and being around a different group of people who are motivated to work out. Not many have the discipline to do it themselves in a home gym. Join a club that excites you to go to. It could vea physical club or a running club, USTA tennis league, Ulitimate Frisbee League etc. Better yet if you need motivation, higher a personal trainer - pay them in advance for the first 10 sessions. When you put your money up in advance, you will show up for that 6:30am session!