I used antidepressants Zoloft and Effexor and I found they did work for me but I just couldn't cope with the side effects- most notably weight gain and sexual problems, but also weird stuff like sweating at night, sleeping more/less, constantly feeling thirsty etc.

I think the problem with all this field of medicine is that it borders on philosophy at the moment, becuase doctors know (comparatively) very little about how the brain actually works in a biological sense, and this might even be separate from how the mind works in a psychological sense...We don't know precisely if and how the mind and body are connected.

So we are stuck dealing with a lot of theories, and of course those which let the patient off the hook are going to be more popular than those which blame factors under the patient's control (negative thinking, poor diet etc) becuase that sounds like blaming the patient!

To make matters worse drugs are sold and research is funded by drug companies who are as interested in profits as patient welfare. Drug trials take place over short periods, so they can't monitor effects of long term usage of the drug though the majority of patients are prescribed drugs for more like 6 months or a year (or maybe even longer) instead of just six weeks..

some thoughts anyway....