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Sugar Pills Fight Depression. "After thousands of studies, hundreds of millions of prescriptions and tens of billions of dollars in sales, two things are certain about pills that treat depression: Antidepressants like Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft work. And so do sugar pills."
"The new research may shed light on findings such as those from a trial last month that compared the herbal remedy St. John’s wort against Zoloft. St. John’s wort fully cured 24 percent of the depressed people who received it, and Zoloft cured 25 percent — but the placebo fully cured 32 percent."
"The confounding and controversial findings do not mean that antidepressants do not work. But clinicians and researchers say the results do suggest that Americans may be overestimating the power of the drugs, and that the medicines’ greatest benefits may come from the care and concern shown to patients during a clinical trial — a context that does not exist for millions of patients using the drugs in the real world."
Could it be that loving attention and intention are what really matter, and we do not suffer from a lack of Prozac but from a dearth of loving touch and trustworthy friendship?
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