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The Business of Depression

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  • Description

    Author Gary Greenberg on the $11 billion made by pharmaceuticals from antidepressants every year.

  • Duration 5:51
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You're happy to like a pill makes you feel better -- -- of the year maybe I don't.

These are anti depressants eleven billion dollars of these are sold every year in just the name anti depressant makes these sound like.

Magic pills will make you feel -- But this book manufacturing.

Depression argues that the pills are oversold on that some of you take them would do just as well the sugar pill.

Psychotherapist -- -- the author.

-- mean manufacturing.

Depression and sugar pills might work well there's two problems here the first is that.

-- clinical trial show that antidepressants are only moderately effective with depression.

And what that means is that they.

Don't necessarily do better.

Then placebos do it treating what we -- depression you had this experience and -- -- I had the experience -- going to clinical trial -- being treated with either placebo or -- not knowing which.

And I had the experience of according to the studies getting better according to the tests getting better.

The test is set all you're doing better protester was convinced that I was on the anti depressant.

However.

Toward the end of the trial -- a few extra pills and sent them off to a -- And indeed I was on the placebo.

So I guess some walking evidence that the placebo effect is real and that it is has an effect particularly on the thing that we call depression.

All right but the placebo effect is powerful that works for lots of problems you.

My understanding is depression for many people is a kind of chemical imbalance and if 250 million prescriptions are.

Britain for these things I -- there's truth to that there's very little proof that depression is a chemical imbalance and if it is nobody really knows what chemicals are unbalanced.

Let alone what the balance would.

-- the idea of chemical imbalances and myth that's been created over the years -- -- fairly intentional way.

By the medical and pharmaceutical industry.

Any Doctor Who keeps up with the research has known for at least ten or fifteen years.

That this idea that a simple and balance of say serotonin.

Is what is causing depression and -- any doctors can put up with the knows that's not true so -- to all these doctors write these prescription.

Because the drugs work in some way.

People take them and they feel -- 75% of the people who take antidepressants don't have a diagnosis of depression.

Now I'm not sure why that is and maybe because they're doctors don't want it on their records but they go to the doctor they get the tail.

And they're not necessarily depressed and there certainly officially not pressed.

Now I have a college friend who's head of psychiatry -- a major hospital.

And he came to me -- reunions once said he can't take will -- -- trend you know even if you're not depressed it just makes you feel great.

Well this was the original observation about antidepressants in the 1950s was that they made you feel better than well.

And that is either -- problem or not depending on how you feel about taking drugs to change how you feel.

In this country we are very confused about taking drugs to change how you feel.

And one of the things that's happened over the years that antidepressants have been on the market is that we've increasingly.

The food drug industry really has increasingly encouraged us to think.

We're not taking the drugs to feel better.

What we're doing is taking the -- secure this -- chemical imbalance.

And what's wrong with just feeling better -- I think they work well there are two things one of them is.

If in feeling better you think that you've had your illness -- and you never had -- disease in the first place -- nobody knows what that disease was.

Then in some way you know living in the truth and the second problem is that we don't really know.

What the long term effects are there also could be short term side effects oh absolutely and sixty to 70% of people who take.

Anti depressants at least the modern version of them suffer sexual side effects for instance.

Loss of sex for a loss -- extra.

Now the tests to figure out if someone really is -- press is interesting because.

There's no you can't stick and a thermometer -- -- this that they they have these questionnaires that asked questions like what.

Well it asks you if you feel guilty it asks you how you sleeping it asks you how your appetite is this.

The -- looking at is called Hamilton depression rating system rank them from zero to four feelings of -- -- Insomnia.

Yes and the doctor asks you these questions and notes your answers and -- adds up the numbers and if you made over let's say an 818 points.

Then your depression and -- said to have depression and what what we do what with doctors do when they measure.

The effective anti -- -- -- measure how much it moves your scores on the Hamilton depression ratings.

How much you get better how -- you get better or not.

And people say they do Hugh Laurie the actor they help with confidence and confidence that's the pre -- of all successful endeavors.

Rosie O'Donnell reports taking anti depressants to control her depression Jim Carrey.

Stalked on TV about using prozac.

People think this works for -- well it's a fascinating thing isn't it the first step person mentioned Hugh Laurie he talks about confidence will.

Is confidence not having confidence the same as being depressed there's no question these drugs do something.

But we don't really know what it is because the drug industry has spent most of their time measuring them against the Hamilton depression rating scale which actually is a lousy way to measure what they do.

It just happens to be convenient because it allows them to then say these are drugs that are treating this bonafide disease called depression.

In -- in reality the drugs are probably more like.

Some of the drugs of people take recreational -- To enhance their feelings about themselves and their world to their -- drugs that help people function in a world that is increasingly demanding.

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