[pachyderm]

This is an article by Robert Whitaker, who is known for his criticism of present-day psychiatry, and particularly its reliance on drugs. He criticizes a New York Times op-ed essay by Peter Kramer titled "In Defense of Antidepressants". The conclusion is

on Sunday, in this essay "In Defense of Antidepressants," the American public has been treated to yet another dose of misinformation.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...idepressants-0

[Perna]

I thing general "reliance" on any one tenet/magic bullet will cause problems. The more I work with my own body/health, the more I realize just how much an individual I am and how all the "rules" and ideas that are necessary for doctors to learn and use when practicing medicine don't work very well unless there's a conversation and general partnership between doctor and patient. Yes, doctors have to "try" what's available, see if it works but patients can't sit back and just judge whether this or that medicine helps/works; they have to actively do everything in their own power to help it work or come up with ideas of what else to try if it doesn't seem to and communicate with the doctor exactly what is going on. I think those who go to a doctor for pills and then don't do much more aren't going to get much benefit no matter what, anymore than going to a therapist and sitting there waiting for the therapist to ask all the questions and "cure" one is going to work.

Yes, there's too many pills being prescribed and they don't necessarily work very well, etc. but it's not the pills/doctor's fault really; we've "allowed" that to happen by taking a passive role in our lives and thinking someone/something outside us can do all the work to cure us or solve our problems.