> The most common treatments for depression were antidepressants (87.0%), followed by psychotherapy (23.2%), anxiolytics (13.5%), antipsychotics (7.0%), and mood stabilizers (5.1%).
As a former therapist turned software engineer, herein lies the problem. 87% antidepressants? How are we defining "treatment?" Depression is a complex beast, and does it always require "treatment"?
I had a kid with my wife (together 10 years) about 15 months ago. Our little guy slept like absolute shit until a month ago, awaking multiple times per night, every.single.night. Nothing changed this; he finally grew out of it. We also moved, remodeled our home, and became a little isolated. I have suffered depression, including a period of hospitalization early on, dabbled with antidepressants, etc since adolescence. Never had psychosis, as I am lucky. I worked as a therapist for many years. I know this stuff. Yet due to psychosocial stressors, I fell into a period of depression for a couple months. The poor sleep mixed with isolation due to moving, and less exercise, probably. Gained 20 lbs. I know better, I know my triggers, I know warning signs, but it happened. Antidepressants would have masked the issues here. The side effects are subtle but serious over time. And they don't fix the problem for people with my kind of depression. Yet, my primary care doc would have prescribed antidepressants in a heartbeat. That is a serious problem with the medical system in the US.
What is "treatment"? Sleep, exercise and social experiences? Is there a way to measure that reliably and accurately? Probably not; that is why I take articles like this with a big grain of salt.
As a former therapist turned software engineer, herein lies the problem. 87% antidepressants? How are we defining "treatment?" Depression is a complex beast, and does it always require "treatment"?
I had a kid with my wife (together 10 years) about 15 months ago. Our little guy slept like absolute shit until a month ago, awaking multiple times per night, every.single.night. Nothing changed this; he finally grew out of it. We also moved, remodeled our home, and became a little isolated. I have suffered depression, including a period of hospitalization early on, dabbled with antidepressants, etc since adolescence. Never had psychosis, as I am lucky. I worked as a therapist for many years. I know this stuff. Yet due to psychosocial stressors, I fell into a period of depression for a couple months. The poor sleep mixed with isolation due to moving, and less exercise, probably. Gained 20 lbs. I know better, I know my triggers, I know warning signs, but it happened. Antidepressants would have masked the issues here. The side effects are subtle but serious over time. And they don't fix the problem for people with my kind of depression. Yet, my primary care doc would have prescribed antidepressants in a heartbeat. That is a serious problem with the medical system in the US.
What is "treatment"? Sleep, exercise and social experiences? Is there a way to measure that reliably and accurately? Probably not; that is why I take articles like this with a big grain of salt.