Dispelling Antidepressant Myths

 By Licensed Psychologist Dr Randy Cale



Dispelling the myths about antidepressants. There were two meta -analytic studies, these are huge studies that looked at the impact of antidepressants about 10 years ago and another one about eight years ago. Both of these studies found the same thing and it was essentially this. Antidepressants work fairly well when we compare it to a sugar pill, a placebo that has no effect, but compare it to a live placebo, a drug that makes the person think they've got the real McCoy, so to speak, we see that antidepressants make a difference for about six, maybe 8 % of the population. And these are the folks who are severely, severely depressed, often comatose depressed. So that data has been out there for quite a while. Also then in March of 2022, a really seminal study came out in Science Magazine, which looked at over 300 studies which tried to prove the serotonin deficiency theory behind antidepressants correct. Most of these studies were conducted by the pharmaceutical industry and in that summary journal article they concluded that not one of the studies demonstrated that there was a serotonin deficiency involved with antidepressants. Now do a lot of people feel better? after taking it, yes, no doubt you may be one of those folks. But what we do know is if we give individuals, adults, children, a sort of live placebo, something that kind of creates symptoms similar, we get almost identical effect. So it is the belief in that medication that is really making the big difference. And yet, when we believe, we know that there is power in belief. However, the challenge becomes that when we look at antidepressant medication, if many of you went down this path, six months or a year later, you're going, I'm not feeling quite, let's give you a little more. let's try this one. we can add this. It's gonna amplify what's happening. And so the sort of story goes on in ways to keep feeding this mythology, which is now well proven that there is no serotonin issue that's involved in depression. And thus, a lot of this is based upon the public believing in it. Now, if you have any question about the power of placebo, is worth doing your research. Whether we look at surgeries or whether we look at medications, we look at cancer treatment, we see over and over again, if I believe, if I believe in the treatment. The treatment is likely to make things better. And yet, over time, what we see with antidepressants is six months a year, three years, 10 years. You look at somebody who's on an antidepressant and you ask them if they're happy, unlikely that you'll get that they're happy. They're afraid to come off of it because the side effects are so horrendous. It has to be done carefully. Here in our clinic at Capital District Neurofeedback, we often help our clients. either get off of medications or if they're off medications we help them with depression because when you're feedback we're able to actually change the brain in predictable ways to improve that brain's performance and actually help folks get happier and find more ease and less anxiety in their life. But if you're interested in this issue of antidepressants and their effectiveness Just search for meta -analysis of antidepressants. You'll find one large study done here, one in Europe. You also in March 2022 find that science journal article which reviews the mythology of the serotonin effect of antidepressants. All right, well, if you have questions about neurofeedback and how it can help you or someone in your family, just give me a call or set up a free consult. You can do that on my website. No charge, you just get to ask questions. I hope you find this helpful. I'm Dr. Randy Cale. I look forward to chatting with you perhaps. Take care. https://www.google.com/maps?cid=9506404712696954036 Learn more about Dr. Cale and Capital District Neurofeedback by visiting our website at https://capitaldistrictneurofeedback.com Capital District Neurofeedback Therapy 634 Plank Rd 101 Clifton Park, NY 12065 518-606-3805 Therapist Frequently Asked Questions: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkfUNjUr9-vRDoTgZwB5LNCEjWyF1Y__P We serve the Albany, NY area: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkfUNjUr9-vRb9aSQ5KHkjG41Ajsh0Qur We serve the Clifton Park, NY area: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkfUNjUr9-vTsmknP9Vbmmz4PwsDLhX3G

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