Hypoxia and Medicine

Please read! Why is Mike Wallace authoritatively declaring depression is a "medical disease" on CBS primetime?

I saw a short infomercial on CBS in which former newsman Mike Wallace tells the public depression is a "medical disease." What? Only in the rarest cases (e.g., thyroxine deficiency) has it been established a biological origin causes symptoms of depression. Getting treated for clinical depression is important, but if depressive episodes were caused by a biological pathogen (or the popular misnomer "chemical imbalance") meta-analyses done on talk therapy vs drugs would show the effectiveness of talk therapy is zero (not the case). If depression was simply a "medical disease" then combining the two treatment modes would not be more effective than one or the other. The DSM-IV lists this condition as a psychological disorder--a matter of abnormal behavior not a "medical disease." Moreover, despite FDA approval of anti-depressants for demonstrating more efficacy than placebo, there are still indicaters that anti-depressants may work with some people only because of the placebo effect. In truth, the real medical disease can be caused by drug treatments used for depression. The "chemical imbalance" actually occurs when people take anti-depressants (e.g., serotonin remains in the synapse of neuron connections rather than re-uptaking). Drug treatments can lead to Parkinsonisim, cognitive dysfunction, weight gain, agitation, insomnia, and even suicidality (all considered mere side effects according to the literature). Taking several anti-depressants at the same time puts a person at risk for a potentially lethal toxicity lightly labeled "serotonin syndrome." Mike Wallace even says, "It worked for me," but it's bad science to generalize from one case. I guess my question is more: Do you think he's a paid spokesperson for the pharmaceutical industry? If you want some references: http://psycnet.apa.org/?fa=main.doiLanding&doi=10.1037/1522-3736.1.1.12a http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200504/s1338168.htm Very good article: http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:LqzUHKw87HEJ:psychrights.org/Articles/LacasseonDTCAinEHPP.pdf+%22talk+therapy%22+%22just+as+effective%22+drug&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us Just Google It!: Actually, "medical disease" is not so broad a descriptor because it implies the illness is internal and a matter for the internal medicine field, i.e., requires a medicinal cure (drug) from a medical doctor. Ms Cat: No offense, but you're obviously biased. Do YOU have any graduate school training? Moreover, there is not one shred of evidence in scientific literature that individuals who develop clinical depression have a serotonin "deficiency." That is exactly the kind of misinformation the pharmaceutical company has spread. I challenge you to go to the link below and read some real honest information about the issue. Read this link please: http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:LqzUHKw87HEJ:psychrights.org/Articles/LacasseonDTCAinEHPP.pdf+%22talk+therapy%22+%22just+as+effective%22+drug&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us Ms Cat: YOU are among those who believe you can get out of depression by just taking a pill. There's going to be negative consequences for that, and THAT's what the public is never told, unless you actually listen to all the contraindictions said at the end of those pharamceutical commercials. Ms Cat: You said "some of the side effects are a nuisance but the really bad ones only happen to 1 in a thousand people or less and they go away if you stop taking the drug." Problem 1: Talk to me about the "nuisance" of developing Parkinsonism after you've been on a maintenance dosage for anti-depressants after maybe 20 years (BTW no long term studies required by the FDA to approve these drugs showing no neurological damage occurs with longterm use). Problem 2: When you stop taking anti-depressants the side effects do not simply go away. People typically get WITHDRAWAL from anti-depressants in severity based on how long they took the drugs. That withdrawal is often misinterpreted as a relapse of symptoms of depression. Solution? Put the person back on the drug indefinately. That's called "negative consequences" for trying to treat depression like it's purely the "medical disease" that Mike Wallace is telling the public.

Public Comments

1. Yes I completely agree with you, and I think he is just a spokesperson. Depression is way overdiagnosed in my opinion. It's just a scam so the pharmaceutical industry can make money. Why would you put someone who's depressed and suicidal, on a drug that lists suicidal thoughts as a side effect. It doesn't make sense. I also believe that our food supply with all it's chemicals, preservatives, pesticides, lack of nutrients due to over-processing, etc. is a great contributer to depression. Read Kevin Trudeaus books - very imformative on this sort of thing, and no I am not a spokesperson for his books.
2. I think that telling people that depression is a medical condition makes people more depressed.
3. You, my friend, have just demonstrated conclusively the old adage: "Man has no idea as to how much he does not know."
4. I agree with you, and it's a rare occasion (in my opinion and experience) when depression is caused by a "chemical imbalance" instead of something situational. However, the term "medical disease" is not solely indicative of a chemical balance. The term Wallace used is fairly broad and therefore it's subjective and open to interpretation. And yes, I have no doubt he's a paid spokesperson.
5. No. I think he is someone who suffered from depression and got relief from anti depressants. Yep, depression may be over diagnosed and doctors may be too quick to hand over the pills but depression IS cause by chemical imbalances in the brain. Speaking only of your reference to Serotonin, inhibiting reuptake is not creating an imbalance. In this case there is not enough serotonin available in the brain for optimal function (chemical imbalance) and the antidepressant by inhibiting reuptake is only ensuring that the already present serotonin is available for use, thus relieving the depression. Are you implying that all psycological disorders are nothing more than behavioral abnormalities? Bipolar disorder? Schizophrenia? Way to stand on the side of the insurance companies who would love to classify these as behavioral dosorders so they didn's have to cove treatment. As for your panic about all the horrendous side effects....... some of the side effects are a nuisance but the really bad ones only happen to 1 in a thousand people or less and they go away if you stop taking the drug. Big freaking deal. The relief they provide is astounding. Yes I do believe that the phamacutical companies take advantage of people but I am more irritated by people like you, who have no experience with mental illness, trying to sound like you are an authority on the subject and trying to incite panic. Believe whatever you want, but unless you really understand what it is like to be depressed, keep your opinion to yourself or at the very least express your opinion as an opinion and not as though it were fact.