Antidepressants may be no better than a placebo, so why take them?

Seventeenth-century Oxford scholar Robert Burton's lifework, The Anatomy of Melancholy, weighs in at a door-stopping 1,400 pages. But his cure for the "Black Choler" of depression came down to just six words: "Be not solitary, be not idle." Writing today, he might add: "And maybe take a placebo."

Placebos are sham treatments that work even though they lack an active ingredient. Pills made of sugar or corn starch have improved Parkinson's disease, anxiety and pain. Now research suggests placebos may be as good as real drugs for treating depression ............

............. An alternative to grappling with this often conflicting information is to raise the profile of non-drug treatments for depression. Psychotherapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy are as good as drugs, except for people with severe depression.Continue reading.

Originally posted on Medical Express.