"Official Study"? You mean there are also unofficial studies into antidepressant drugs?

Paroxetine worked well for me.

Prozac didn't do a thing and neither did cipramil.

I would say though that the side effects aren't pleasant with these SSRIs. I started taking sertraline last year and ended up in hospital with extreme panic and anxiety.

The best treatment I found was jogging for 10 minutes every day. It really helped.

Also writing down my thoughts in the form of short stories helped too.

I can't believe the Independent is scare mongering to such a degree with sensationalist headlines. It is ezxtremely dangerous for people to abruptly stop taking SSRI medication and front pages such as this may prompt people to do just that.
If this research is to be believed why is it not published in a prestigious peer reviewed medical journal, instead of an online journal no-one has heard of. And the journalists further rubbish their own article by printing a list of treatments "which do work" - when some of those on the list have no evidence base - such as counselling and friends. Depression is a serious illness which people die from - it's ridiculous to say in a national newspaper that talking through your feelings with friends can help. There is no evidence base to say that counselling (which is a poorly defined term anyway) is of help in depression either.
Combinations of anti-depressants and CBT or IPT are the most effective treatments.

My experience with antidepressants has been the witnessing of the side effects my husband has suffered from taking Prozac and then citalopram. My first awareness of my husband being depressed was when I found the tablets by mistake and this immediately answered few questions about the apparent deterioration of his health; sweating, tiredness, weight gain, mood swings, personalty changes i.e. just not himself. There were many concerns I had; 1. why hadn't I picked up on the depression, surely if he was ill enough for antidepressant medication there should have been some obvious signs like not being able to get out of bed. 2. the readiness in which the doctors prescribed the medication 3. despite known side effects loved ones can still remain in the dark, which on the face of it does not help the patient. Friends and family need to be aware to help, even if they may have even contributed to the depression. As far as I could work out the pills only brought about more disharmony rather than harmony. When I asked my husband about the form in which his depression took his answer was that he was having dark thoughts and thought a lot about death, his death and others death. Not suicidle, but a common symptons of depression. Digging into his passed this was not a surprise,with his father dying when he was 9 years old and then moving from the family home almost immediatley to then be sent off to boarding school. Deep issues had never beeen dealt with and it was obvious to me that a talking therapy would have been much more appropriate. He decided that Prozac was not working for him and was then given citalopram. Within three weeks of taking it he collapsed and was rushed to hospital with a slow heart rate. They couldn't find anything wrong with him although I suspected the citalopram, we decided he would stop the citalopram. About four weeks later he admitted himself to hospital, his mood uncontrollable. He was agitated, verging on aggressive. It was Saturday morning three weeks after our second child had been born. We went to out patients and they admitted him, he was afraid he couldn't control his anger, he had got angry because he couldn't open a draw that had been over filled with phone books, my fault. After a week of thorough testing it was decided the problem was not physical but psychiatric. I went to collect him with our two and half hear old and our month old baby. I was concerned. I didn't recognize this man, my husband. High as a kite while now unbeknown to me dosed up with diazapam. We had a consultation with the hospital pyschiatric mediator, I burst into tears I was fearful of how we were to cope she handed me a card at the last minute the CRISIS team. Our saving grace. In conclusion my husband was voluntarily admitted to a psychiatric ward 24 hours later. He had suffered from what we now know to be a manic episode at forty two. If a person has a propensity to becoming manic, antidepressants can bring about this sate. When he was first admitted he was so high that even 30mg of diazapam couldn't keep him still. As a result of this he has been diagnosed as being bipola, however from the reading I have done you can only be truly diagnosed as being bipola if you have had a manic episode that has not been caused by medication. We have come a long way since then, that was 18 months ago, he is on a mood stabilizing drug called sodium valporate, which comes with its own set of nasty side effects which makes the process of recovery somewhat blurred around the edges, however he is hopefully going to be medication free within the next year. He has had successful CBT, takes 3,6,9 oils, multivitamin and mineral supplements and has a very healthy diet, with little or no alcohol and had now committed to regular exercise and walks to and from work every day. Its true what they say, every day we get better and better. What I would say to the medical profession is that prescription of antidepressants warrants a warning sign for the whole family, not just the patient. If it doesn't do what it says on the box it may certainly bring about side effects listed inside the box. To anyone in my position; question everything, every decision, every sympton and don't assume what the patient is experiencing is the illness itself it could be a side effect of the medication.

It would be hard to quantify the benefits of SSRIs or CBT or anything as an universal aid for depression. No definitive answer to this and other mental health problems exists and don't believe those who say there is, eminent psychiatrist or layman. Or pharmaceutical companies who know what dangers may exist but will jealously guard the secret (ask Dr. D. Healy). If anyone has benefitted from drug therapy or talking therapy then this is to be welcomed, but it is very much an individual's case. My experience has made me conclude that taking SSRIs for me was of no benefit at all and were even worse, subjectively, than tricyclic anti-depressants. Plus, I found CBT and other talking therapies were on the whole pleasant but ineffectual. I don't wish to sound ungrateful but this is my reflection on it.

What can be observed is that quantifying the degrees of therapy success is a game fraught with difficulties. Note Orne's (1962) study re: the client pleasing the experimenter in a research study (i.e. the client will write down what the researcher wanted to see as a result because they feel they should please them). The human animal in reporting the success or failure of psychotherapeutic therapy they have received can provide unreliable evidence as there is no way to determine the veracity of their response.

Can I direct any interested (but sceptical)parties to read Dr. David Healy's book 'The Antidepressant era', any book on depression by Dr. Dorothy Rowe and also Jeffrey Masson's 'Against Therapy'. In some ways Ivan Illich's thoughts on medicine not being a science are even more relevant here as well.

Have Your Say: The drugs don't work
The drugs do work. Depend on what you define as drugs. Not all pills and caplets, tables, capsules re drugs. When we talk of the heavy drugs like the Prozac, Valium that kills we are on the right tracks.
I have a friend who in 1960 because of the restlessness prescribed the sedation. Librium. The capsule. This registry is a place to share positive or negative side effects of using Librium. If you directly experienced a side effect while using Librium, then we encourage you to enter it here. Please note that entries here are the experiences of individual users, and in no way means that you or anyone else will experience the same side effect, since the same medication affects people in different ways. Please always contact your physician.
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Buy Generic Tofranil (Imipramine) 25mg, 75mg - Fast Worldwide Delivery, Secure payment. No prescription required. .the antidepressant. Why was he given two? Then the doctors were not were very good.. Not all had the stress. He has been using this form 1960 and the doctors keep on toying with the medications. If it is not this, try another then binds to the plasma etc. Diazepam, Alprazolam Xanax Anxiety Medicine Canadian Pharmacies Drug Discounts Alparazolam have taken the market . This thread is from the net.
I have also included the..Conditions apply like clause.
These drugs are bad but they are needed also. In fact take these out the users will commit suicides. I think it is better to carry on staying as we with drug addicts rather then shortening the lives. . I am not in the medical field but the users will use these as we have no alternative. We cannot have the so called spring stuck in the neck for the depression. Or any chip that is affordable. In fact the sleeping pills like Melatonin was splashed by the NEWSWEEK so much that all think this is then the wonderful drug. Yu will not one that says genetically. The VEGANS LIKE. All want to make cash for the sick and make them sicker. The papers advertisement about the over the shelf, safe drugs, are the biggest culprits.
I thank you
Firozali A. Mulla MBA PhD
P.O.Box 6044
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Tanzania
East Africa

Debate about treatments for depression can too easily be polarised and with 'mental ill-health' there needs to be a series of issues discussed and practices available to the patient. When I 'broke down' in 2000 my GP was my first port of call. Although he immediately proscribed seroxat he also did two very important things: ensured that I saw him every 2-3 days and sought to find me a psychiatrist with whom I could communicate. I remember him clearly saying 'I needed not just a psychiatrist capable of proscribing medication but also one who could engage me intellectually'. I was at that time a senior member of staff in a university and mental illness for me was a physical and a mental shock and I required challenging and supporting on a number of levels. I believe that had I not had both my GP and my psychiatrist's support then I would have been hospitalised.
With their support I was able to 'let go' and eventually take early retirement on health grounds from the university.
However I was also taking Seroxat and although this 'slowed me down', encouraged me to sleep and added recovery it was through another process that I took control of that recovery. This was starting to paint. I had been involved in art and art education at university level for many years, always on reflection 'giving out to others' rather than feeding my own creative abilities.

I started one night, probably about 3-4 months into my depression, with a large piece of white paper on the wall and some black paint and brushes. I recall vividly getting out of bed, naked in the early hours, not putting the light on b ut just filling the brush with paint and physically attacking the white paper. I continued until day-light showed I had made large, vibrant marks, semi-figurative, with hints of a face and eyes. I slept soundly. I continued in this vein to paint, starting during the early hours until day-light and produced approximately 68 paintings, large 3 x 4 feet across within a space of 4 months.

I recall talking to Roger, my GP about them and bringing some in to show him. I also took some to show my psychiatrist and it was a moment to savour because he completely ignored this huge rolled bundle until the last 5 minutes of our session. I had deliberately waited for him to mention them. Since he didn't I did and laid them out, brushing aside whatever he wanted to talk about. He then started to ask if I could 'talk him through them'. And this was the moment I realised recovery was possible, for I just snapped back at him 'no you just look and tell me what you see.!'
We remained friends and he asked me to talk to hospital staff responsible for mental patients a valuable experience in my recovery. I also produced a booklet illustrating some of the paintings together with some of the notes I made during the 2-3 years I was most badly affected by illness.

So if there is any advise I can offer to this debate, and I offer it with some reticence it is that 'medication should NEVER be viewed as the sole solution to mental illness' and that any practical activity that generates some self-esteem, or that allows distressing thoughts to be exposed 'outside the self' have to be positively and actively encouraged.

Should anyone wish to view either the paintings or the booklet please contact me.

Steve Blundell

I was severely depressed two years ago following a major heart operation. My GP recommended counselling but this did not help in the slightest and my depressive state got worse. Eventually I ended up in my local A&E begging for help. I was referred to a consultant who diagnosed a chemical deficiency probably resulting from the effects of the anaesthetic and I was put on a course of Citalopram. The fact that I was receiving some practical help at last enabled me to pull out of the crisis and over the ensuing weeks I began to feel better and return to normal. I was able to reduce the dose and come off them altogether. In my view, Citalopram saved my life.

I suffered a nervous breakdown in the early 70's and was fortunate enough to find an excellent psychiatrist who put me on a trycyclic anti-depressant called Limbritol. The effects were dramatic (if not immediate) and after about 2 to 3 weeks I was back to normal. I had been severely depressed for over six months and a course of valium had been of no use whatsoever. After 3 months on the trycyclic drug, though, I was able to gradually reduce the dosage until I no longer needed it. I have not suffered from that degree of depression since but were I to, I know which drug I would look to. I can't say if it would work for everyone but its effect on me was remarkable.

I was prescribed Seroxat about seven years ago because I felt wretchedly ill and exhausted. It did nothing to help so they pushed me up to a very high dose. The side effects were abysmal - vile headaches, nausea, severe stomach and intestinal pains, I suddenly couldn’t digest anything, and in the end my mind was destroyed. The effects became more pronounced as the dose got higher. I couldn’t do anything without great confused effort as though I couldn’t remember how to do anything – like making a cup of tea or walk. I got confused as to where I was, I forgot everything I knew. I felt like I’d had a lobotomy. Many times I was rescued from just wandering into the path of a car accidentally – I was no longer “here”, I didn’t feel alive, I didn’t feel real.

When I stopped, I had a kind of ‘convulsion’ or ‘seizure’ every three minutes, all the time for months. They were like electrical flash-storms in my brain. I also had a constant acute burning pain in my frontal lobe – just like it was burning and melting. I had vivid and terrifying hallucinations at night and was seriously dazed and confused all day – I often would suddenly be unable to recognise or remember what town I was in, where I was going or why. My mind just didn’t recover! Seven years on, I am still housebound and unable to work. I can’t even do things I love. I can still hardly digest anything. Processing and retaining information is incredibly difficult although I’m improving a bit, finally. My frontal lobe still feels ‘scorched’.

I’ve lost everything – my partner, my home, my career. I now know that my initial symptoms were due to a form of heart failure that induced chronic exhaustion for which the prognosis would have been good if I’d got proper advice. I said at the time I was not depressed! My ex-partner was also prescribed Seroxat for mild Obsessive Compulsive disorder and stress induced Irritable Bowel Syndrome and experienced severe psychosis of a most horrendous kind - he was in a daily state of absolute terror due to his mind being ‘possessed’ by persistent thoughts that he couldn’t control - of murder sprees in the city and of murdering and mutilating me. He was such a gentle soul really, and was again not long after finishing the drug, but his personality changed permanently. He ended up seeing a psychiatrist who believed the Seroxat was the cause. He stopped and got better very quickly.

My experience is that Seroxat is a very dangerous mind-altering drug with severe and potentially long-term effects on the nervous system. In my recent research into Seroxat use, I find the same stories over and over again. I have tried to warn the doctors but they won’t listen – they have a blind faith in the drug.

There has been some brilliant independent analysis raising major concerns – and all in the public domain yet nothing is done! Some American doctors are studying the correlation between Seroxat use and the many school shootings over there. It’s disturbingly high. Many people report Seroxat induced psychosis. The problem is that we are a vulnerable group of people – once you’re diagnosed with depression, what are clear, undeniable side-effects to the patient are seen as proof of mental instability! Even if it was a misdiagnosis!

I am just getting over a severe depressive illness/anxiety disorder and must say that after being on 'Sertraline' for just over 3 weeks now i am beginning at last to feel much better. The SSRI medications will not cure the root causes of the depression/anxiety and that is why i am also about to undertake a course of CBT[cognitive behavioural therapy]. I did suffer some very nasty side effects in the first two weeks[agitation, bad nausea, insomnia etc], but people must realise these drugs take 3-4 weeks to really get into your system and start to work. I think splashing these negative headlines all over yours and other front pages today is a dangerous thing, and could lead to people stopping their medication and becoming suicidal. All i can say that sertraline is starting to really help me and along with the talk therapies i know i will get better!

With the collusion of the corrupt British media, claptrap in the shape of a pill, is marketed as 'wonder drugs'.

Most effective treatment to health problems are via physical surgerie (hacking, stabbing and poking away at people's inner bits) or natural products like penecillian or just taking it easy and mending and looking after oneself- just as its always been.

I find your headline 'Antidepressant drugs don't work' misleading and irresponsible. I have suffered from depression, which stemmed from a serious illness, since 2004. Having initially resisted anti-depressants (fluoxetine) - in part for their stigma, in part because I did not like the idea of chemically altering my mood - the effect was almost immediate and I wish I hadn't held out for so long. After a waiting list of a year, I was fortunate to have the most wonderful counsellor who also taught me CBT. I welcome Alan Johnson's move to provide more therapists, but there is most definitely a place for anti-depressants.

I'd just like to point out that the research on antidepressants under discussion is freely available for anyone to read.

You can read the full study in the open access journal PLoS Medicine: http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0050045

For those of you who don't have time to read the whole thing, a useful editors' summary is here:

http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0050045#toclink1

I was prescribed Prozac when it was very new in the UK - it made my depression worse and I attempted suicide. I was prescribed Seroxat a few years ago and it's made an incredible difference to my life. I now feel 'normal' after 30 years of moderate to severe depression. Surely the brain is such a complex organ and depression is caused by so many things that drugs which work for some people won't work for others.

The utter irresponsibility of the banner headlines all the papers including to your discredit your own, seem to be displaying in this matter makes me angry, especially when we have people battening on the desperate with everything from homoeopathy to singing and dancing.

the report for those who actually are interested states what has been known for years SSRIs are not for minor depression they are for major depression. I have major or clinical depression. to the lady who advocates singing and dancing I am a singer I also exercise and do talking therapy however, I could not function were it not for the SSRI I take. it is the third I have been prescribed. This one works.

When diagnosed with clinical depression (Major Depressive Disorder), I was prescribed Prozac. It made me feel ten times worse. But since going on to Citalopram, my mood has definitely lightened. I stopped taking them for a few weeks and the suicidal feelings returned. But once on them again, I don't get those anymore.

I think it might be more about misdiagnosis than drug ineffectuality. If your depression is due to chemical problems in the brain (i.e. the lack of serotnin, serious lack) then anti-depressants would help, if not, then you need to talk to your GP about talking therapy or even CBT, as long as your PCT will pay for it that is.

Remember, chemical therapy treats chemical problems, not lifestyle problems.

My wife was prescribed Venlafaxine (Efexor) after the death of her mother in 2003. She was left on these for a period of 10 months with no monitoring of the side effects on her overall mental health and well being. She felt suicidal (a common side effect) on a number of occasions and suffered delusions. But the most dangerous time was when she was trying to stop them, with dreadful withdrawal effects - mania, jumbled thinking and extreme vulnerability. As a result of all these she she was admitted to a mental health in-patient unit, where she stayed for over 5 months. The really sad fact is that we both felt then and since that she hadn't needed to be prescribed antidepressants at all, when bereavement counselling would have been far more effective. I reported the unwanted side effects and dreadful withdrawal symptoms of Efexor (Venlafaxine) to the MHRA using the yellow card system available at the Doctors surgery. More people should bother to do this, and then perhaps these dangerous drugs would be used with more caution, or banned altogether. Look up Venlafaxine on the web and see for yourself the comments from addicted users who cannot get off this antidepressant. I feel (and have evidence) that Venlafaxine is worse than Seroxat or Prozac for making people feel suicidal, so why is it still being prescribed? Comments from some people in the know confirm that some Drug companies are still incentivising Consultants and GPs to prescribe new drugs without disclosing the awful side effects which many readers have spoken about. It is good that the Independent has exposed the dangers - keep up the good work.

Amazing. Drug companies can't deliver decent anti-depressants [not for lack of trying] yet marijuana which dispels depression is illegal. Talk about priorities. I know, I'm a HADD depressive and now take dexamphetamines which has cured me off the weed. As a social worker said: `the difference between legal and illegal drugs is one letter: `i' for illegal. But politicians won't bite the bullet. So depression stays. It's a mess of their own making. In the 19th Century when all drugs were legal there was no drug problem and depression was not as prevalent. Historical truth but the fictions that are dispensed are worse than the obvious cure, such as laudanum. I rest my case.

Seroxat can be helpful for some people, but the manufacturer has not come clean about the severity of side-effects that a significant proportion of people have suffered, and continue to suffer after stopping it.
It can be an utter nightmare, far worse than whatever the patient was suffering and very painful. This cannot be emphasised enough, it can be very painful to get off it.
After a prescription to take it for one month it may take another six months to recover.
Just because it does help some does not negate the potential disastrous harm it will do to those with a susceptible metabolism.

Have any of those who rely on their mainstream Docs with their standard hard drugs, ever thought that there may well be alternatives? There are, and these are milder, not habit-forming nor have negative side effects. There is kava kava, valerium root, the amino acid phenylalinine just to name a few. Alternatives have active chemicals with pharmacological effects, that raise nor-adrenaline, the happy hormone levels, (and affect mood through other pathhways). Vigorous exercise, exceeding 20 minutes also does this. A little google-ing on alternatives, before hitting the hard toxic stuff, will open many windows for the depressed. Of course, expect mainstream to advise against that path with their ..false hope baloney. Take your health into your own hands and out of greedy big pharmas...

Depression is a complicated condition, a condition that cannot just be solved with antidepressants. So it is with great relief to see the article Initial Severity and Antidepressant Benefits questioning the effectiveness of antidepressants. Antidepressants have become widespread for a number of reasons, which may include 1. over prescribing, 2. cost, antidepressants are cheap compared to talking treatments, 3. the role of drug companies and 4. the individual. My intention is not to explore these reasons but the cumulative effect of them as popularity doesn’t necessarily mean success especially over the long term and especially when antidepressants do not respond to the triggers, but to the symptoms of depression. One widely cited symptom is chemical imbalance, yet the proof for this is open to debate. Therefore it is not a surprise to hear of the numerous side effects antidepressants cause in attempting to address this balance, side effects which include suicide and self harm. It is frightening though not surprising that these side effects appear to be brushed under the table by drug companies and in some cases doctors.

My thoughts on depression and why it occurs is that an event or an accumulation of events occur to which the body (genes) respond to with the response we have named depression. Depression exists because natural selection favoured species with genes that had depression as a response. If a person is not functioning and therefore at risk it is logical for the body to respond in such a way as to shut down and cause the person to slow down and/or stop for a period of time. During this time the person can ‘recover’ mentally and physically. However depression did not evolve in the present climate, but a long time ago along with a lot of the other responses humans display. I also want to stress that I don’t believe that depression is genetic in terms of it runs in the family say like the colour of hair. Although it is plausible that some people could be more susceptible to the depression response in terms of the strength of the trigger that is needed to cause the body to respond with the depression response, though depression occurs via a complex mix of behaviour and genes (amongst other factors) and so a lower threshold doesn’t necessarily mean a higher susceptibility to depression.

How we interact with other people has a profound effect on us and can cause many responses for example love, with depression being another. Other people’s behaviour and how we in turn interpret it and respond to it can be a major reason behind why we get depressed. Antidepressants cannot change the core behaviours we have learnt and live by. For those that claim that antidepressants work all I can think of is that they help the person respond to what is causing the depression and change or that they mask what is happening and allow them to gain functionality again and to find other ways of masking depressive behaviour and so allow themselves to perceive themselves as not depressed.

Antidepressants don’t work for a lot of people this is shown by numerous side effects. The person is left confused as the body (genes) want to shut down and take time, while antidepressants causes a different effect in that they are trying to make the person feel they are ready to function before they are ready. When side effects are felt the depression can become more severe though the processing of thoughts including: nothing works, you are useless for not functioning, not responding to these ‘magic’ pills. If people are told depression is a chemical imbalance and then antidepressants don’t ‘fix it’ then they are left feeling lied to and further lost to why they are feeling depressed. It is not surprising therefore that the severity of the depression could increase.

Talking treatments on the other hand can look at what causes the trigger(s) into a depressive state and also look at improving the symptoms of depression, for example, low mood. Talking treatments can help the client look at behaviours and how they respond to them and how this makes them feel, this increasing awareness can help them feel less depressed. Talking treatments may explore what happened in the past but also looks at the present and it is important to make changes now in order to come out of depression. At some point responsibility has to be taken for this response to he triggers despite what happened in the past, obviously what happened in the past has a bearing on this. To take responsibility is very had and can take a long time, but is very important if not essential. As with responsibility comes the ability to control your own life and how you respond to situations. Talking treatments are not a quick fix; they are a long journey which the client must undertake.

Overall when a person first feels depressed they are often not presented with all the facts about depression and the range of treatments available, therefore it is not surprising that uninformed decisions are made. However the popularity of antidepressants I also partly down to the individual and how society functions. To generalise society is fast and want quick fixes, it doesn’t want you to be off work, it doesn’t necessarily want you to change and so it is not surprising that antidepressants are often the first and sometimes the last line in treating depression (let alone the economic reasons). Talking treatments can be seen as going against the demands of the society we live in. It is good that this article has been published and hopefully it will stimulate debate and cause people to ask for more information when they feel depressed and explore its nature and the many ways out of it. Mental wellbeing is often kept private and secret; this is not healthy and will certainly not help a depressed person to recover but does point to why that person may reach for pills instead.

I had fibromyalgia/severe depression back in the early 90's; all I can say is, several ADs were tried, the one that worked was Prosac, it truly changed my life. My pain diminished, I was able to sleep, I was in better spirits.

Eventually after 7 years of continual use, about 30mg every other day (started out at 60mg) I weaned myself off and am ok without them; but I can say back then, I was near suicidial with pain/depression/hopelessness. Prosac DID work, so I'm not convinced they are a placebo, not at all. Not saying they are right for everyone, but for some people, they save lives, for others it appears to be the opposite.

My sugggestion is to find a good well-informed, experienced psychiatrist, NOT a psychologist or family Dr. to prescribe these types of medicines and make sure they do a thorough intake on your life history, genetics, etc. this makes a BIG difference in what is prescribed.

It's good to have a public discussion about this.

The pharmaceutical companies have been profiting from the market in antidepressants for years. Doctors collude in this quite often.

We live in the kind of society which medicalises loneliness and isolation and finds it hard to tolerate sadness. We are afraid to look for the real reasons for the drug taking.

People come to believe that a pill can fix all their problems. Sadness and trauma seem to be inevitable life experiences, as are happiness and joy, and they all help us discover our own iiner power.

I am a homeopath. A client of mine heard about the recent SSRI report and sent me this description of her depression and the relief she got from Homeopathy.
Whatever you may have read to the contrary, Homeopathy is a wonderfully effective therapy. If you are suffering give it a try. The healthiest mind is an open one…

"Having suffered from depression for most of my life, I had read all I could about the subject and had been to various therapists to try and remedy what seemed to be "just the way I was". It would have been easier to have a complaint like a broken arm since from the outside everything looked normal.In fact I can be regarded as a having a life that a lot of people only dream of...a great husband, two gorgeous children, no health problems, I had everything I could possibly want but still I couldn't shake the emotional cloud that engulfed me for days, sometimes weeks, on end. Only someone who has truly suffered from depression understands how isolating it is. No amount of rationalising helps, whether by others or yourself and so the guilt sets in, creating a cycle. And then as quickly as it sets in, it can lift for no apparent reason. I felt like it was always a time-bomb then, waiting for the next cloud to come.

I never took anti-depressants even though they were prescribed for me twice by GP's. In my desperation, I went as far as to buy the one lot and left them at the back of my cupboard while I tried to decide whether the good effects would outweigh the side-effects.I was quite concerned about having to wean myself off them one day and then what would happen? Would I be in a worse situation? That would be intolerable.

Having recovered from post natal depression after my first child, I was plunged into almost a permanent depression after having my second child, and after about two and a half years, my depression became more severe. I felt as though I was underwater or in a bubble, my body was incredibly heavy, my energy was the lowest it had ever been and my short term memory was non-existent. I could hardly get through the day and I was terrified that I would further deteriorate and would have to take to my bed and even worse, admit it!! I stopped alchohol completely, restricted sugar in my diet, took more excercise and led a really clean life.

I had heard about Mary Aspinwal ( a homeopath registered in Ireland) from family members who had seen her for various ailments and took my daughter to see her for a chest complaint. I decided to ask her advice and after a consultation, she chose the most suitable homeopathic medicine for me. Of course, I expected to at least feel a bit better and what happened next was most unexpected...it seemed like a slippery slope down even further. I rang Mary after a further 8 weeks of deep depression and she advised me to hold on for as long as I could, although she would give me an antidote if I preferred. I decided to hold on and within the next two weeks the cloud lifted, my energy started returning and I could function as normal. To this day, which is now more than five years later, I have been entirely well. It is almost beyond belief that I have not had a bout of depression once in the last 5 years. Along with that, my chronic sinus, which I have suffered from since I was 10, has disappeared - a rather pleasant side-effect!! It is amazing how bleak things were for me for years, and how one little tablet could change my life to this extent."

Hope this is of help to people who are suffering - my sincere gratitude to Homeopathy.”