Antidepressant Drugs. Record Prescriptions, but only 1 in 6 will have withdrawal symptoms!

The Lancet Psychiatry journal published a study on 5th June 2024. It found that only one in six people who stop taking antidepressants will experience withdrawal symptoms. The GP magazine, Pulse, thought that this was a good outcome.

            "This is a much lower proportion than other studies have suggested, with previous estimates that over half of patients experience symptoms".

The research found that one in three patients reported at least one withdrawal symptom such as dizziness, headache or nausea. But as 1 in 6 patients experienced the same when they stopped taking a placebo drug, it suggested that ‘approximately half of all symptoms experienced … might be due to negative expectations (the "nocebo effect”) or non-specific symptoms which may occur at any time in the general population’.

So the report concluded that about 15%, of patients experienced one or more withdrawal symptoms as a direct result of stopping antidepressants, with around 3% experiencing ‘severe symptoms’.

Pulse said that this was the first ‘meta-analysis’ on the incidence of antidepressant discontinuation symptoms, analysing 79 randomised trials, which included data from over 21,000 patients, of which 72% were women. 

So, conventional medicine now believes that the 'withdrawal symptoms' were not as bad as was previously thought, certainly after the 'nocebo effect' was used to eliminate about 50% of reported symptoms. But never mind, let's accept this, and apply it to the number of people who are taking antidepressant drugs.

According to the BMJ in 2019, the NHS prescribed a record number of antidepressants in 2018, and that the number of prescriptions for antidepressants in England had almost doubled during the previous decade.

            "Data from NHS Digital show that 70.9 million prescriptions for antidepressants were given out in 2018, compared with 36 million in 2008".

• Therefore, in 2008, 6 million people in England alone suffered from antidepressant withdrawal symptoms; and over 1 million experienced 'severe symptoms'.
• In 2018, nearly 12 million (11,816,333) people suffered from antidepressant withdrawal symptoms, with over 2 million experiencing 'severe symptoms'.

So this is presumably acceptable then? At least it seems to be acceptable to the Conventional Medical Establishment which seems quite willing to continue prescribing an ever-increasing numbers of these drugs.

The Pulse article also told us that the number of people suffering withdrawal symptoms was steadily increasing, year-on-year; and since then we have been told that as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic the number of people who are taking antidepressant drugs (around the world) has risen even more rapidly,  by 25%.

Perhaps I should calculate a new more up-to-date figure, but these numbers are almost meaningless once we realise that each single person within that total number are individuals, someone who is suffering as a direct result of taking pharmaceutical drugs. If the medical fraternity is pleased about this we can rest assured that the 12 million +++ patients are certainly not pleased.

There is a solution at hand, but it is a solution that will likely be ignored. In 2010 Dana Ullman (a leading homeopath) published article in Huffington Post, "Homeopathy. A Healthier Way to Treat Depression" in which he compared the safety and effectiveness of homeopathy alongside the dangers of pharmaceutical drug treatment. It surely is a must read for anyone with mental health problems!

In this same article Ullmann refers to a study that showed antidepressant drugs were ineffective, essentially useless. This is a direct quote from that article.

            "In early 2010, major media reported on a significant review of research testing antidepressant medications. What is unique about this review of research is that the researchers evaluated studies that were submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), though the researchers discovered that many studies submitted to the FDA were unpublished (they found that the unpublished research consistently showed negative results of antidepressants)".

            "This meta-analysis of antidepressant medications found only modest benefits over placebo treatment in published research, but when unpublished trial data is included, the benefit falls below accepted criteria for clinical significance".

So the 12 million +++ have suffered the serious side effects of antidepressant drugs, including links to suicide and violence, plus the (now discounted) withdrawal symptoms that result - all for nothing!

This is exactly what patients get from conventional medicine: a lot of problems, adverse reactions: but not many positive outcomes!

Depression. Why 'Talking' Therapies are better than Pharmaceutical Drugs.

These people all knew why talking therapies are better than pharmaceutical drugs in the treatment of depression. They have described so much more succinctly the power of the mind over our mental health than ever I could!

“There is no true healing unless there is a change in outlook and peace of  mind.”
Edward Bach.

“No matter how good things get, my capacity to make myself unhappy is always equal to it!”
Hugh Prather

“The best way to stay depressed is to keep thinking of all the reasons why you’re depressed.”
RD Laing

“If you are still hurt by something that happened when you were twelve, it is the thought that’s hurting you now.”
James Hillman.

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.”
William James. The Principles of Psychology.

“Thought is not reality, but it is through thought that our realities are created.”
Sydney Banks.

The reason for depression is to do with what is in our mind, not the chemicals in our brain. 

And if treatment is needed, Homeopathy is so much safer and more effective than conventional medicine because it seeks to support our minds, not mess with our brains.

Many thanks to Ian Watson for providing me with these quotations, during a marvellous lecture entitled "Insight. The Key to Healing", given at the Alliance of Registered Homeopaths' Annual Conference in May 2015.

Antidepressant Drugs and Depression. Another sign of the failure of conventional medicine

A doctor, writing in the GP's magazine 'Pulse' has said that doctors "need to stop prescribing antidepressants".  These medications, he says, are overprescribed and prescribed for too long. He is, of course, talking against the perceived wisdom of the conventional medical establishment, that has been stating for several years that mental health, and depression in particular, has been under-diagnosed and under-treated, and more drug treatment is needed. Dr Des Spence, a GP in Glasgow, and a tutor at the University of Glasgow, says this:

               "The ‘Defeat Depression’ campaign in adults in the 1990s was an unmitigated disaster for society. It led to vast numbers of prescriptions, lifelong treatment and side effects. Antidepressant prescribing rates have since doubled in a decade, to an eye watering 61 million prescriptions in 2015."

This campaign was orchestrated by the pharmaceutical industry, to promote and sell its antidepressant drugs which were based on the 'chemical imbalance' theory of depression. Drug companies believed (or at least they wanted us to believe) that antidepressant drugs could rectify this imbalance. But, as Spence states, the chemical imbalance theory "has limited science to support it", and cites this study, Lacasse JR, Leo J. Serotonin and depression: a disconnect between the advertisements and the scientific literature. PLoS Med 2005; 12: e392, to support this. Certainly, the use of antidepressant like Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil, SSRI (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor) antidepressants that were designed to increase Serotonin levels in the brain, have been spectacularly unsuccessful!

Spence mentions that there is "much evidence suggesting antidepressants are completely ineffective". He quotes two studies to support his statement,

               Fournier JC et al. Antidepressant drug effects and depression severity: a patient-level meta-analysis. JAMA 2010; 303: 47-53

               Kirsch I et al. Initial severity and antidepressant benefits: a meta-analysis of data submitted to the Food and Drug Administration. PLoS Med 2008; 5:e45 

He also mentioned studies that I have already mentioned in my blogs, namely "that even by the most optimistic calculations 85% of patients get no benefit from medication at all".

               Arroll B et al. Antidepressants versus placebo for depression in primary care. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2009; 3: CD007954

               Haddad PM, Anderson IM. Recognising and managing antidepressant discontinuation symptoms. Adv Psychiatr Treat 2007; 13: 447–57

Spence also mention the withdrawal symptoms when patients have to stop taking the drugs, causing agitation, insomnia and mood swings "which many construe as a return of their low mood".

Yet he does not mention how spectacularly dangerous antidepressant drugs have been. I have written about this extensively on this page of my 'Why Homeopathy? website. There is now convincing evidence that these drugs have become a major cause of violence and suicide. The dangers of antidepressants is well-enough This does not prevent the conventional medical establishment promoting such drugs. It never has! And Spence himself knows that amongst his peers he is a voice in the wilderness.

               "Most people in primary care have reactive depression or adjustment disorders. But challenging this prevailing wisdom of course means I am stigmatising and dismissing mental illness and should be shouted down. But we all suffer mental illness at times, be it anxiety or depression, I know that I certainly have. The issue is how we manage mental illness."

                "Clearly psychological pain, just like physical pain, has a purpose - it is an evolutionary response. Psychological pain is the catalyst of change, acceptance and moving on. Talking it through, addressing social stresses, changing lifestyle and perhaps ending unhappy relationships is the solution. Antidepressants are not the answer for the vast, vast majority of people. We should aim to normalise, not medicalise."

                "Of course this will be dismissed as simplistic drivel, as life ‘is more complex than this’. But in my view it isn't, it really is as simple as that." 

Presumably Spence realises that his colleagues will prescribe antidepressant drugs quite regardless of how ineffective they are, or how dangerous they can be. This is what happens within the NHS. He calls for more use of, and improved access to counselling as a top priority. But he probably realises that 'talking therapies' are not profitable to the pharmaceutical industry, and so are unlikely to be promoted as he wants.

Yet Spence's article does indicate that there are doctors out there, no doubt too few, who are beginning to realise that conventional, drug-based medicine, is failing. So far (at the time of writing) there have been 43 responses to his article. I have looked through these, and perhaps 5 are critical of his article. Most responses seem resigned in hopelessness - doctors have to respond somehow - prescribing antibiotic drugs is 'pragmatic' -  they may not work, but they are effective as 'placebo'. A few responses suggest that if this is true of the prescription of antidepressant drugs, it is also true of antibiotics, and many other areas of conventional medical practice.

Sadly, few doctors seem to be aware of the serious side effects of antidepressant drugs. But the realisation that conventional medicine is failing is slowly progressing, and this article, and the responses, show that even the soldiers, the ground troops of conventional medicine, are realising that the game is up.

Depression. Conventional or Homeopathic treatment?

This article was first published in the "Why Homeopathy?" website.

Depression seems to be an ever-increasing problem in modern society, and patients should realise that they have a choice of treatment, from counselling services, to Homeopathy, and other Alternative Therapies, to conventional medicine’s antidepressant and antipsychotics drugs.

Conventional Medical Treatment for Depression

According to the NHS Direct website, your doctor might refer you for counselling (talking therapy), and if he does this there are no drugs involved, and therefore no adverse consequences. Otherwise, the doctor will prescribe Antidepressant drugs, of which there are evidently about 30 different kinds.

SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors)

These are drugs based on Prozac, thought to be a ‘wonder’ drug when it was first introduced in the 1990’s. They are frequently known to have very serious adverse reactions, which include apathy, nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, headache, tinnitus, dizziness, fatigue, urinary retention, insomnia, weight loss or gain, increased risk of bone fracture, unwanted changes in sexual behaviour, depression and anxiety, panic attacks, tremors, renal impairment, cardio-vascular problems, suicidal thoughts, photosensitivity, mania, hypomania, bipolar disorder, and much more.

The sexual side effects have been widely commented upon, such as sexual dysfunction, erectile dysfunction, diminished libido.

But it is the increased risk of suicide in children and adolescents that have been most worrying, and this has led to a few of these drugs being withdrawn from the market, whilst the remaining SSRI drugs now have ‘black box’ warning about their ‘adverse reactions’!

TCAs (Tricyclic Antidepressants)

These drugs are also known to have adverse reactions, including minor side-effects like dry mouth, dry nose, blurry vision, to more serious conditions such as constipation, urinary retention, cognitive and memory impairment, and increased body temperature. They are also known to cause drowsiness, anxiety, apathy, confusion, restlessness, dizziness, hypersensitivity, changes in appetite and weight, sweating, sexual dysfunction, muscle weakness, nausea and vomiting,, hypotension, tachycardia, and irregular heart rhythms. They can also cause hallucinations, delirium and coma by overdose.

MAOIs (Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors)

This class of drugs also has serious adverse reactions. They include severe anxiety, confusion, seizures or convulsions, severe drowsiness or dizziness, cold clammy skin, rapid and irregular pulse, fever, hallucinations, severe headache, coma, tremors/spasms, excessively high or low blood pressure, muscle stiffness, difficulty breathing, extreme sleep difficulties, or abnormal irritability.

But above all, these drugs are known for the problems they cause when they interact with other drugs, and even with foods, so they have an effect on diet. They can also cause serious withdrawal symptoms.

SNRIs (Serotonin-norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitors).

The most common adverse reactions include loss of appetite, weight, and sleep, but there is also drowsiness, dizziness, fatigue, headache, nausea/vomiting, sexual dysfunction, and urinary retention. There are two common sexual side effects - diminished interest in sex (libido) and difficulty reaching climax, similar to the SSRIs.

Drug Withdrawal Symptoms

As NHS Direct says, antidepressants can be addictive, and when you stop taking them yuo may have some withdrawal symptoms, such as:

• upset stomach
• flu-like symptoms
• anxiety
• dizziness
• vivid dreams at night
• sensations in the body that feel like electric shocks

ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy)

If these drugs do not work, then you might be offered ECT, where you will be given an anaesthetic and drugs to ‘relax’ your muscles, and then receive electric shocks to your brain.

The Homeopathic Treatment of Depression

Please click here to see the evidence basis for Homeopathy

Homeopathy has been treating depression now for over 200 years. In the Homeopathy Materia Medica the term ‘depression’ is not used. It is a highly medicalised word. Instead, it is the word ‘sadness’ that is used. Large numbers of homeopathic remedies have large, and quite intricate symptom pictures dealing with all kinds of emotions - including sadness or depression. 

In his book, Homeopathic Psychology, Philip Bailey, MD lists 35 remedies as being the most useful, and provides detailed psychological descriptions of each remedy. Here are some of them, with brief descriptions.

Alumina

Powerful depression: despair, anger, anxiety. often contemplates suicide; alternates with contained state. Withdraws into self (Nat Mur, Aurum) Desire to kill self with knife. PMT; post natal depression. Confusion with sudden bouts of rage or violent impulses

Aurum Metallicum

Endoginous / organic depression; in the pit of despair, with self-loathing; self-recrimination, isolation. Silent, flat emotional expression. Does not weep. Suicide seems an attractive option; thinks fondly of death

Ignatia

The chief remedy for grief (with Nat Mur). Both feel unloved during childhood, trauma of losing love. Nat Mur is more controlled, silent grief. Ignatia will sob hysterically at first, shock reaction, followed by weeks of emotional volatility. Loss of control; hysterical. Also tends to isolate herself (epilepsy, cramps, numbness, etc); can be deep /prolonged; uncontrolled weeping, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite; hysteria

Lycopodium

Not really a depressive type; but withdraws; sits/broods; has little self-respect; entertains suicidal thoughts; worse when waking, improves as day goes on.

Nat Mur

More prone to depression than any other group; arises from suppressed sadness, inability to cry; many abused women; sudden onset; triggered by loss of love (bereavement, separation); series of traumas, starting with difficult birth; lack confidence and self-esteem; a silent depression; apathy; sleeps/eats a lot; better for company; but withdrawn, and consolation makes her worse; related to hormones in female cycle;  suicidal; manic depressives (depression alternating with euphoria).

Nat Sulph

Depression and mania. Pressure of thoughts, dwells on past. Thoughts crowd in, obsessive. Many regrets. Unrealistic romantic desire. A gentle melancholy, but resists suicide because of strong family ties. Very sensitive, emotional person, strong sense of values. Claustrophobia, stoicism, self-reproach in more depressive cases.

Phos Ac

Profound grief, ailments from grief; separation from partner, emotions shut down. They can remember a time when they were happy, and that their feelings are not normal. Being in a state of limbo. Long term grief. Very passive.

Pulsatilla

Sensitive to withdrawal of affection; insecure, weeps, runs to bedroom when unhappy, or shouts and cries; irritable. When happy, excitable or mild and co-operative; fun loving, sociable; flirtatious; interested in personal side of relationships.

Sepia

When true nature suppressed, loses spirit, deadens appetite for life; sluggish mentally and physically, loses enthusiasm; emotions blunted, she becomes indifferent (to family), just feels irritable, impatient; unsociable. Loses enjoyment of being sociable, indifferent to pleasure. Drained of energy and motivation. Feels panicky, weepy, anxious; restless; fears develop; fear of insanity; depression, suicidal; agoraphobia, withdrawal.

Veratrum Alb

Manic-depressive psychosis, with manic side more to the fore. Restless, aimlessly busy, cannot sit still. Depression - brooding despair; sits silently for hours thinking about how wretched he feels. Despairs of recovery; suicidal.

Randomised Controlled Tests (RCTs) on Homeopathy

RCTs are the third, and decidedly the least important type of evidence supporting Homeopathy as a medical therapy.

Homeopathic Individualized Q-potencies versus Fluoxetine for moderate to severe depression: double-blind, Randomized non-inferiority trial.

Adler, Paiva, Cesar, Adler, Molina, Padula, Calil.  August 2009
eCAM 2009; Page 1 of 8; doi: 10.1093/ecam/nep114

 “This study illustrates the feasibility of randomized controlled double-blind trials of homeopathy in depression and indicates the non-inferiority of individualised homeopathic Q-potencies as compared to fluoxetine in acute treatment of outpatients with moderate to severe depression”.

(In other, simpler words, the authors found that individualised homeopathic prescribing using Q (LM) potencies is as effective as fluoxetine in the treatment of patients suffering acute moderate to severe depression). For more information on Fluoxetine, see this link.

Homeopathy for depression: a systematic review of the research evidence. 

Pilkington K, et al. (2008)

Homeopathy, 94, 153-163

The Epidemic Of Mental Illness

"You can judge your health by your happiness". 

Dr Edward Bach. 

Diseases that affect the brain, and reduce our mental capacity to cope with life, are becoming increasingly prevalent. Depression, for instance, is a problem that appears to be on the increase - not only in terms of numbers of people affected, but also the age at which people are now becoming affected. 

The Mental Health Foundation provides these statistics about the problem.

     * 1 in 4 British adults experience at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any one year and 1 in 6 experiences this at any given time (The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity Report 2001).

     * It is estimated that approximately 450 million people worldwide have a mental health problem (World Health Organisation 2001).

     * Mixed anxiety and depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain, with almost 9% of people meeting criteria for diagnosis (The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity Report 2001).

     * One in ten children between the ages of one and 15 has a mental health disorder (The Office for National Statistics Mental Health in Children and Young People in Great Britain 2005).

     * Rates of mental health problems among children increase as they reach adolescence. Disorders affect 10.4% of boys aged 5-10, rising to 12.8% of boys aged 11-15, and 5.9% of girls aged 5-10, rising to 9.65% of girls aged 11-15 (Mental Disorders more common in boys, National Statistics on Line, 2004)

     * Depression affects 1 in 5 older people living in the community and 2 in 5 living in care homes (Adults in later life with mental health problems, Mental Health Foundation, quoting Psychiatry in the Elderly (3^rd Edition), OUP 2002.

Another UK web site describes the situation like this

     * Major (or clinical) depression is a huge and growing problem. "(It is) the No.1 psychological disorder in the western world, it is growing in all communities, in all age groups, with the greatest growth being seen in the young, especially teens".

     * Major depression is the 4^th most disabling condition in the world, and 2^nd in the developed world (the biggest consumers of ConMed drugs).

     * The escalation in the problem, and the recurring episodes of depression show that "while the first line treatment of depression by antidepressants may sometimes control the symptoms, it usually does little to give sufferers depression-free lives".

     * Clinical or major depression is growing at an incredible rate.

This website makes two important points about the reasons for the depression epidemic. First, it claims that there is 10 times more major depression in people born after 1945 than in those born before. Second, it says that this increase is not due to more people telling their doctor, and that misdiagnosis and undiagnosed cases would indicate the problem is much bigger. 

     * Depressive disorders affect approximately 18.8 million American adults or about 9.5% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year (including major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder).

     * Everyone, at some time in their life, will be affected by depression - their own or someone else's, according to Australian Government statistics (its states that depression statistics in Australia are comparable to those in the US and the UK).

     * Pre-schoolers (children under 5?) are the fastest-growing market for anti-depressants, with at least 4% - over a million children being clinically depressed.

     * The rate of increase of depression among children is an astounding 23% per year.

     * In the developed countries 15% of the population suffers severe depression.

     * 30% of women are depressed. Men's figures were previously thought to be half that of women, but new estimates are higher.

     * 5% of depressed people will commit suicide.

So is this evidence of yet another ‘epidemic’ of illness that has occurred over recent decades? Or is there something else that needs to be understood about this increase in mental illness? Whilst the statistics found on these two websites demonstrates the size of this epidemic, an important question needs to be asked. Is it a real epidemic of real disease? Or is it an epidemic that has been constructed by a health industry that has come to see Mental Health as a source of income and wealth?

Mental Illness has become a big money earner for the Big Pharma drug companies, and in recent decades there has been a rapidly increasing supply of suitably diagnosed patients who are said to have a ‘Mental Illness’ of some kind. Indeed, where individuals show no sign of disease the ConMed Establishment appears to be willing to invent new mental disorders - see ‘Invented Diseases’!

The Conventional Medical  Establishment has developed, and relies upon the theory that Mental Health problems are caused by a ‘chemical imbalance’ in the brain, and that mental illness arises when someone has low levels of Serotonin in their body (see ‘Depression’). Naturally, the Big Pharma companies have just the drugs to correct this imbalance - unproven, and unsound, as the theory might be!

The sale of Antidepressant and Antipsychotic drugs have been, and continue to be, a major source of revenue for the Big Pharma drug companies for many decades.

The ability to persuade us that we are ill, and that, as a result, we need ConMed treatment, especially Big Pharma drugs, has been one of the main reason for the rise of our drug-dominated NHS. It is more difficult to persuade someone that they have the physical symptoms of illness, but not so hard to persuade them that they are not thinking properly. 

And it has been the ability of ConMed to persuade so many people that they are ‘mad’ or ‘sad’ or ‘bad’ has certainly proven to be a lucrative ploy. Who was it who said, with amazing insight, you have to be mad to be able to live in the modern world! It is certainly true that traditional communities are less susceptible to depressive. And major depression is apparently almost unknown in the Amish society in the USA. Perhaps it also needs to be noted here that one feature of such groups, including the Amish, is that ConMed drugs are not used or approved there.

Indeed, it can also be argued, very strongly, that Big Pharma drugs can contribute to to genuine Mental Health problems. The link between mental health and suicide is often sited, on the basis that depression leads to people taking their own life. For instance, it has been estimated that 80% of suicide victims suffer from major depression. But it is equally true that most people who suffer from ‘major depression’ are taking antidepressant drugs. The question arises, therefore, about whether it is the depression, or the drugs that is causing the massive increase in suicide. It certainly means that antidepressants are not stopping people from taking their lives!

This article was originally published in "The Failure of Conventional Medicine".

Mental Health and Pharmaceutical Drugs

Pharmaceutical treatment for mental illness has been, and continues to be a disaster. The BBC 4 programme 'Mental. A history of the madhouse' relayed on 11th January 2011 outlines how mental health treatment has 'developed' from the 1940's to 1990's. So how did ConMed, or 'scientific' or 'evidence-based medicine' set about the task.

* Electro-convulsive Therapy (ECT), or passing an electric current through the brain to cause a seizure. Was there any evidence for it? Did it work? Was it humane? Answer to all three questions - No.

* Insulin Therapy, or giving insulin injections until the patient went into coma. Any evidence for it? Did it work? Was it humane? No. The treatment led to several deaths, and was described as 'a harmful medical failure'.

* Lobotomy. This produced some of the most dreadful images in the programme. Was there any evidence for it? Did it work? Was it humane? Again, no, it was none of those things. There were, apparently, 15,000 operations, and the comment was made in the film - "they did not  know what they were doing - it was a disaster".

* New drugs, Chlorpromazine (Lagactil), Lithium; considered to be 'miracle' drugs at the time, that would 'solve the riddle of mental illness'; but 'worked' solely by drugging, sedating or tranquillising the patient, and used for containment rather than treatment. There was contemporary footage of people who suffered from this sedation, as well as personal testimony about the impact on the drugs of their lives at the time.

This is a dreadful history, and the programme showed visually just how hopeless and bad conventional medical treatment has been over the years. The only positive development outlined by the programme was the work of a group of psychiatrists in the 1960's and 1970's, led by RD Laing, who realised that mental health had something to do with the society we live in, and how some struggled to cope with the circumstances in which they were living. They realised it had little to do with the chemistry of the brain. Sadly, that strand of psychiatry did not prevail. They did not want to use drugs, so presumably they did not receive the support of the conventional medical establishment, monopolised as it is by Big Pharma interests.

No doubt, some conventional medical apologists would want to argue that drug treatment for mental health has improved, and indeed, there is a new generation of drugs now in use. However, they too have similar effects on those people given them (often, now, legally enforced).

All pharmaceutical drugs seek to interfere with natural brain chemistry, and for this reason, their side effects or DIEs (disease-inducing effects) are quite horrendous.

What this BBC film demonstrates, so well and so visually, is how hopeless conventional medicine has been over the years dealing with mental health issues. It has been the same for most physical illnesses too. From the days of leeches, blood-letting, right up to the present, and the disasters of today's toxic drugs, conventional medicine has few answers for our mental health.

Homeopathy can be more successful, and of course it is always safer. As a homeopathy student, I came across Catherine R Coulter's books, Portraits of Homeopathic Medicines; and Philip M Bailey's book, Homeopathic Psychology. Both outlined the personality profiles of some of homeopathy's major remedies, and those books are how always at my side. The homeopathic Materia Medica is full of remedies that have a beneficial impact on depression, and other mental health issues. And the Homeopathic Repertories describe those 'mental health' issues sometimes in great detail.

And linking the symptoms of the patient, with the symptoms of a remedy, can lead to some remarkable outcomes.

Depression and Homeopathy

Dana Ullman, one of the world's leading homeopaths, has published another of his articles in the Huffington Post, this time on the homeopathic treatment of depression. In it he compares the safety of homeopathy with the obvious dangers of pharmaceutical drug treatment. Published in 2010 you can read it here. And for anyone struggling with mental health problems it is well worth the effort.

All pharmaceutical drugs cause disease-inducing-effects (DIEs). Whilst the drug companies call these 'side-effects',  diseases, and indeed the death of a patient, is NOT properly described by this term! The issue Dana raises through his article, because it is dealing with depression, is an interesting one.

Depression is an ailment that focuses on the brain, the most sensitive of all our organs. Therefore, if pharmaceutical drugs and vaccines cause disease, it is quite likely that drugs will cause more diseases of the brain than anything else. And this, indeed, is what we find. The epidemic levels of dementia, autism, depression, ADHD are without parallel, and have probably been largely caused by pharmaceutical drugs.

The message for anyone who feels depressed is simple; they should spend time studying and comparing the outcome of pharmaceutical drugs used for depression (drugs like Prosac, once a wonder drug, now known to cause many chronic diseases), with the safety and effectiveness of homeopathy.

Mental Health and Homeopathy

Homeopathy is able to treat all forms of mental illness, safely, gently and effectively. So if you suffer from any of the following conditions you should consider a homeopathic consultation.

• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Fears and phobias
• Issues arising from sexual or physical abuse
• OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder)
• ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder)
• Eating disorders, Bulimia, Anorexia, etc.
• Mood swings and bipolar disorder (once called manic depression)
• SAD (seasonal affective disorder)
• Suicidal feelings
• Schizophrenia
• Confusion or Dementia

Homeopathy and Depression
Homeopathy is very effective with depression, which seems to be so common now. It is not necessary either to suffer from, or to resort to taking conventional drugs, such as the Benzodiazepams (eg, Valium and Librium), or even the newer drugs, like Prosac, that are known to have dangerous side-effects.

Conventional drugs can give you a temporary lift from feelings of depression, but the ‘lift’ lasts only as long as the drug remains active within the body. In the longer term, nothing changes – the underlying social and emotional causes of your depression remain unchanged. Research on antidepressant drugs indicates that 40% of people who have tried them either do not respond to them, or they cannot tolerate the side effects. Moreover, many conventional drugs cannot be prescribed for too long as they have serious adverse reactions and addictive qualities.

Homeopathic remedies are not addictive, and they do not have the unpleasant side effects of conventional drugs. They are safe and harmless – but at the same time they are very effective. They can also be augmented with Bach Flower remedies, which developed in the early 20th Century - a closely related off-shoot of homeopathy.

So Why Choose Homeopathy?
1. It can provide deep, long-lasting change - without drugs
Homeopathy can produce positive results in people with psychiatric and mental health problems. A well-matched homeopathic remedy stimulates emotional healing and can transform a person’s life. Even those people who have been depressed for a long time can find renewed hope, develop brighter spirits, more energy, and improved physical health.

Homeopathy can help you to cope with the subconscious as well as the conscious mind. Old hurts, grief, anxieties, injustices, jealousies, and obsessions can be put in their proper perspective and released. Anxious people can find themselves calmer and less worried, their panic relieved.

2. It is safe and effective
Homeopathic medicine is one of the safest forms of medicine. It is natural, non-toxic, and non-addictive. Conventional drugs are chemical substances that have direct physiological and psychological effects, and these cause adverse reactions. Homeopathy is an ‘energy’ medicine. Remedies work by stimulating the body's own natural powers of recovery, and enabling it to restore balance and health.

Homeopathic remedies are made from substances that have been highly diluted. So even remedies made from poisonous substances are not harmful because the extreme dilution means that none of the original substance is left. What is left is the gentle energy of the substance that can cure – safely, gently and effectively.

Homeopathic prescribing matches a patient's detailed symptom profile with a remedy that has a similar profile. Therefore, the key to the homeopathic approach to mental health is to find the remedy that corresponds most closely to the individual’s mental and physical symptoms.

When this is achieved, homeopathy can lift depression and mental illnesses quickly and effectively. But an accurate matching with a remedy is required, so an appointment with a registered homeopath is recommended.

More serious, longer-term mental illness can also be treated, but again, it is best to consult with a registered homeopath who is prepared to work closely with the conventional medical authorities.

For more information on the homeopathic treatment of mental illness, go to this website.