HEALTH - Depression

THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION states that depression is the leading cause of disability, affecting more than 120 million people worldwide. Antidepressants are now the most popular class of drugs in the U.S., and their use has been growing rapidly over the past two decades. From 1990 to 2000, prescriptions for SSRIs (the leading class of antidepressant drugs) rose by a staggering 1300%. In the last year alone, 30 million patients in the U.S. spent over $12 billion on antidepressants.

However, despite their aggressive promotion and widespread use, recent evidence suggests that antidepressants are not as effective as we have been led to believe. Other studies have raised concerns about the long-term safety of antidepressant drugs, including a potential increase in suicidal behavior in both children and adults.

In this series of articles we’ll examine the nature and causes of depression, challenging the notion that depression is caused by a deficiency of serotonin in the brain. We’ll talk about how depression is perceived and treated in traditional cultures, and what we can hope to learn from that. We’ll review the scientific evidence of the efficacy of antidepressants, and the serious side effects and risks associated with their use. Finally, I’ll present natural treatments for depression that are proven to be as effective or more effective than antidepressants for most people – with a fraction of the side effects