9/16/08. Are psychologists and psychiatrists advising patients to take antidepressants when they are merely sad, but not clinically depressed? When does depression stem from biological causes? When does a person's environment trigger a depressed state? We know that antidepressants help many people --- no doubt preventing suicides, and makeing life worth living for those struggling to come back from the depths of despair. We know that for some, antidepressants offer no help. We know that separating the influences of nature and nurture on the causes of depression is often difficult, if not impossible. We know that the combination of medication therapy and psychological therapy is the most powerful treatment for depression for most people.
In this article, psychiatrist Ronald Pies makes many good points regarding the above questions, among them: "...undertreatment of severe depression is a more pressing problem than overtreatment of normal sadness."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/health/views/16mind.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
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