On a Serious Note

I've always enjoyed the company of complicated people. I like people who are constantly questioning things but I've noticed that complicated people are often conflicted people. I have several friends and family that have struggled with depression. I have always felt that whatever option they chose to combat this struggle was a personal decision.

Last week Newsweek published a long article referencing a study published in Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA). The study compared the effectiveness of multiple anti-depressants to the effectiveness of a placebo. Except in cases of very extreme depression placebos were practically as effective as any of the drugs. This means it is possible that many people could possibly see improvements when on medications simply because they expect to see improvements.

****Please understand that I am in no way against the use of anti-depressant medications. I feel this is a very personal decision. I have only posted this because I think people should be informed in their choice. Talk to your medical professional. I am just a mom who blogs. These are some of the most popular drugs in America but they can have some undesirable side effects. Here is the link to the abstract of the article. You can purchase the complete article or view it at a university library.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/303/1/47

Depression is this study was rated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. You can see a version of it at this link:

http://www.strokecenter.org/trials/scales/hamilton.html