I do not get your logic. I was comparing AD's in hard cases to insulin for insulin-dependent diabetics.

Herbs or supplements are just substances that you ingest; there is not much of a distinction in principle between herbs and medications - you ingest something that you hope would make you feel better. Herbs grow and medications are produced, so there is that little distinction but it is not that big. If you really want to be substance-free, you would want to look at things such as therapy, exercise, improving social functioning, yoga, or whatever of that sort - those things do not involve ingesting substances.

If you want herbs, there is evidence that St John's Wort is more effective than placebo for mild to moderate depression: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...00553-0017.pdf

But it is just like with medications: you have to try it and see if it works for YOU. Clinical trials just show a tendency of the herb to outperform placebo in a group of people but not in every individual case. It gives some hope without a guarantee that it would work for YOU.