From personal experience, it seems to me that there are (at least) two kinds of depression. Classic depression (emotional depression, if you will) seems to respond fairly well to drug treatment. I think this kind of depression may frequently be caused by the chemical balance (or imbalance) in the brain, so it is open to correction through drugs. The other kind (which I will call cognitive depression) is the type where you are depressed for specific reasons. Drug therapy doesn’t seem very useful for this type of depression. You often have specific, real reasons to be depressed, so adjusting you brain chemistry is not particularly effective. Cognitive depression may be based on an incorrect world view, in which case it is very similar to what we where discussing earlier in this thread. On the other hand, it is possible that your life really is going badly, in which case a certain amount of depression is probably unavoidable. In those cases I think an attempt to address the real world causes might be more effective than medication.

This is an extreme non sequitur. We all use thought experiments all the time. His were a considerably more out there than most, and they were right.

I use the term 'anti-depressants' as a very wide umbrella term to refer to the whole range of drugs used to treat depression. A person close to me took an 'up' drug unsuccessfully for her depression and was then switched to a 'down' drug - still called an anti-depressant - which did help her. It dulled her misery and she lost her urge to kill herself. It did not change the circumstances that she was depressed about, but she ceased to care about them. She played solitaire on the computer 16 hours a day and felt nothing. Which was better than wanting to kill herself, but not exactly a 'cure'.

I believe that the depression that people feel because of circumstance is called 'reactive' depression. Think blues lyrics: 'my dog died, my wife left me, my house burned down and I'm standing on the side of the road in the rain with no money and my guitar just broke a string.' Anyone would be justified in being depressed.

I'm not sure what they call it, but many people get depression that feels like reactive depression but there is no specific causal incident that it can be traced to. So they feel as sad as if their best friend had just died, but don't know why. to put it simplistically, it seems that their brain chemicals are 'broken' and have slipped into the wrong gear. Whether their brain chemistry change actually traces to some unremembered instance of childhood abuse or not does not help the individual much in the short term - they just need to feel better. Therapy can help to trace the causes of unconstructive behaviour patterns, but before a badly depressed eprson can talk through it, they need to be able to stop crying and take a breath, hence the medication.

If you break your leg, one of the first things the medical folk will do for you is give you some pain relief, then they will treat the injury and you will be sent home - with further pain killers - to let your body heal.

If a woman has just lost her child in a car accident. She will obviously be very upset. Her brain chemicals change to a 'grief cocktail' which has a hell of a kick and it is not unusual for her to be given some sedatives to help her get some rest from her anguish. Grief with a cause is something that we can understand, and the bereaved will get support and understanding from all.

If someone just feels like they have lost a child, and there is no obvious cause for their feelings, they are usually examined and medicated to a point where they can be interviewed by a psychiatrist, then are often given anti-depressants with the hope that whatever is causing the emotional anguish will heal with time.

It does not help that the person whose emotional chemistry is 'broken' is treated by much of the community - even some healthcare professionals - as though they are 'faking it' or seeking attention. It will take a major shakup for may people to come to understand that a person who is depressed can no more 'snap out of it' than can a person with a ruptured spleen.

I can't tell if you're making fun of me or not.

Just go with it and see what happens, you could experiment with this ;)

On consideration, Omnot, I think you're more accurate than I was - 'anti-' doesn't have to indicate opposite. Anyway your unfortunate friend was still behaving in a classically depressed manner - the stereotype would be sitting in the dark with the shades drawn playing solitaire, and coming out of the room only to eat and hit the bathroom (if then).
It's tough for MDs to treat depression if they only see the patient casually and periodically - there are so many potential causes and treatment effectiveness is so variable across patients. Meds on their own can counteract pretty much any organic problem, but the behavioral and emotional roots still have to be addressed while the meds are most effective. Otherwise it all keeps coming back. That's why it's real important to be followed closely by a psych MD to watch how you react to the med and also talk to someone who can help you get down to whatever is triggering the depression, to get it out where you can see it and find a way to live with it. Finding a good counselor you can work with is a lot like finding a good doctor or lawyer or spouse - it may take a bunch of tries before you find one you click with (and of course going through that selective process is hard enough when you're _not_ depressed).. Friends can help; probably more than family, because there's less emotional static involved.

MrToad - a bit irrelevant, but I just thought I'd point out that Prozac isn't meant to feel like an upper; coz it's a downer. It inhibits the reuptake of serotonin (which makes you high); that's why Prozac and similar drugs (SSRIs) are often taken by users of ecstasy to bring you back down without it feeling as nasty as normal.