We’ve examined the common reasons people stop taking anti-depressants. That’s part of this puzzle. We’ve looked at the difficulty of proving the type of depression an individual has. Now, let’s answer the big question: why does the “cause” of depression really matter? Let’s start with something that happened recently.

Research published by Dr. Irving Kirsch of the University of Hull in England recently made headlines throughout the world. His research showed that many people can take placebos in place of their anti-depressants and achieve about the same outcome as if they had been taking their real medicine. [To note, his research did not include all anti-depressants.] In other words, many people don’t need the drugs, they may just need to think they are taking the drug. Check out some of the article headlines about this research:

• Anti-depressants ‘of little use’ — BBC
• Anti-Depressant Drugs Don’t Work — MSNBC
• Depressed? Here, Try This Tic Tak — Blogging Canadians
• Depression Medication Not Much Better than Placebos — Eflux Media
• If it’s all in the mind, fine — TimesOnline

Hmmm…

For a second pretend that you took medication for depression. Medicine that had side effects. Medicine that cost money. Medicine for a disorder/illness that may be biological, but then again, may just be how you handle stuff. Medicine that is for a disorder that you don’t have blood tests, sonograms or X-rays as hard data to convince others… to convince yourself that what you “have” is something real, physical, and tangible. Medicine for a something that researchers suggest may not need medicine. What if, in fact, you were putting a chemical in your body for a condition that may be “all in the mind”? Would you be okay with that?

People in the mental health field are quick to point out that some people really do need these medicines. They reiterate that some people need anti-depression medicine like a heart patient needs their pills to survive. In fact, there are quite a few articles devoted to this subject, experts warning people, regardless of the study by Kirsch, not to stop medicine without a doctor’s guidance. I don’t disagree. But from a patient’s standpoint, do you understand the uneasiness with which we “pop” our “happiness pills”?

Truth be told, until biologically-based depression can be separated from other forms of depression, or conditions that people call “depression”, I won’t be entirely convinced that I need the medication. It isn’t enough that I have attempted to stop taking my medicine loads of times only to find myself unable to function. It isn’t enough that every psychiatrist I’ve seen has told me that they really believe there is a genetic explanation to my depression. It isn’t enough that the difference between me on medication and me off medication is like light and day. But until I, like the heart patient, walk out of the office with test results in my hand, a tiny part of me will question… could all this really exist only in my mind?

Reference

Kirsch, I., Deacon, B.J., Huedo-Medina, T.B., Scoboria, A., Moore, T.J., Johnson, B.T. (2008). Initial Severity and Antidepressant Benefits: A Meta-Analysis of Data Submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. PLoS Medicine, 5(2), e45. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0050045