Today, the central questions at the intersection of psychiatry and culture seem to concern diagnosis. A number of books have appeared on the subject, each claiming that the medical professions have pathologized normality-making illnesses of unhappiness, shyness, and boyish impulsivity. To my mind, the most thoughtful of these efforts is The Loss of Sadness, by [...]

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Do antidepressants work? They do. New evidence comes from a study of children and adolescents, patients in age groups where the efficacy of antidepressants has been hard to demonstrate. It’s just the sort of research that critics of drug trials ought to find convincing. Antidepressants seem to do less good in the young. For decades, [...]

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The antidepressant, Prozac, may help to curb disease activity in a particular form of multiple sclerosis (MS), new research indicates. A team of researchers followed the progress of 40 patients with the relapsing remitting form of MS. MS is a condition which affects the brain and spinal cord. It is characterised by a slowly progressing [...]

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There’s major news on the antidepressant front, but it comes in an odd form: research on treating “lazy eyes” in rats. A study suggests that, yes, Prozac and similar medicines really do make the brain more flexible. The report, titled “The Antidepressant Fluoxetine Restores Plasticity in the Adult Visual Cortex,” appears in the current issue [...]

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The New York Times science section today features an essay on the long-term use of antidepressants. The lead refers to the sort of question I introduced in Listening to Prozac: how do these medications shape identity? But most of the piece concerns the biological effects of taking the drugs for years. The author, Richard A. [...]

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Over time, how deadly is the combination of depression and heart attacks? A recent study that received attention in the media found no connection, in the long term, between depression and death in heart attack victims. But that study was followed almost immediately by another that found the combination of heart attack and depression to [...]

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Antidepressants may be associated with an increased risk of suicidal behaviour, particularly in the early stages of treatment, the results of three new studies indicate. The studies, which looked at SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) – the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant – as well as tricyclic antidepressants, are published in the latest edition [...]

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What would you say about a remedy for depression that lifted your mood, restored your energy, realigned your brain chemistry, improved your sense of self-and cost nothing? Then put on your walking shoes or find a workout class. Researchers are finding that physical activity works at least as well against mild to moderate depression as [...]

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Depression is a major mental health issue in America. But it is also, increasingly, a major workplace issue. A landmark 2003 study draws the sobering conclusion that depression costs employers $44 billion a year in lost productivity alone. Those are strictly indirect costs; they don’t even begin to reflect medical costs. The vast majority of [...]

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No interest or pleasure in things you used to enjoy Feeling sad or empty Crying easily or crying for no reason at all Feeling slowed down or feeling restless and unable to sit still Feeling worthless or guilty Change in appetite, leading to weight gain or loss Thinking about death or suicide Trouble thinking, recalling [...]

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