Antidepressants work for some people, especially severely depressed people, but we have no idea why because the theory under which they were developed has been thoroughly debunked! Apparently making depressed people STAY UP REALLY LATE TAKING PSYCHADELICS might be even more effective, and a lot more fun for everyone involved -- although I'm pretty sure it counts as torture under the Geneva Convention.

It's disappointing that someone -- doctors or the FDA or SOMEONE -- doesn't force the Pharma companies to stop selling such placebos. 

we know pharma is in it for the money, so do we have to stop trusting them and their cohorts with our health? now that people have access to so much information, is it the patient's job to research the substances s/he puts into her/his body? (kind of difficult for someone with depression...)

Videbech also mentioned several new therapies that could gain traction in coming years. Ketamine, for example, shows promise, but must be given at regular intervals; transcranial magnetic stimulation, in which magnets are used to non-invasively manipulate brain activity, and wake therapy, in which patients are kept awake for prolonged periods, are two other options backed by reams of scientific evidence. In the future, we may even see psychedelics return to the psychiatric clinic; a number of psychedelic compounds – including psilocybin, the hallucinogen found in magic mushrooms – have shown promise as antidepressants in recent years, a fact that has led many to call for an end to bans on psychoactive drug research.

and why would people want to end research in the realm of psychedelics? if depression exists, and it does, shouldn't we be seeking a solution, regardless of whether it comes from cow patties or laboratories?

It turns out it was always the patient's job to regulate what goes into her or his own body.

It turns out we can never trust that a corporation will put our interests ahead of their own.

Many people still don't realize these things. 

maybe that's the realization that comes with magic mushrooms...  :)

Maybe. I'm still grappling with the lie we've been told all our lives that marijuana is bad for us.

we've been told a lot of lies.  duped again!

marijuana and mushrooms are free—they grow in the wild—and who can make money if it's free and legal?

once people in the alcohol/tobacco/pharma industries figured that out, they started spewing negative propaganda asap.  it starts with the greed, then the lies, the laws, the bad medicine... oh lordy!!

Well, and even now in 2015 that we know about the marijuana lie, legalizing it is STILL happening very very slowly. 

not everyone believes the lie is a lie.  (plus, we still have those old tyrants in the conflicting industries fighting with all their might!)

I reread the article and the antidepressants DO work for some people but no one knows why. 

i thought that was why you made the placebo comment...?

I was overly critical. Something in the drug does actually work for some people when a placebo wouldn't. They don't know why it works -- the main theory was shown to be incorrect -- and it doesn't work for everyone, but it does work for some people. 

the article is surprisingly thorough on the history of depression and its medical remedies.

Yes, it's a good article. And some medicines do help some people so I have to be careful not to be dismissive of the whole industry. 

Forget "doesn't work" for a moment.  What about "does damage"?  Whenever I hear of a murder-suicide like the Germanwings my first (okay, second) thoughts turn to medications.  We never hear about the specific treatments and it seems like a Big Pharma conspiracy sometimes.

Good point. If it's found to actively harm then we can sue the corporations for negligence. 

let's make them all eat mushrooms and smoke marijuana until they see the light.

We can make corporations do drugs?! :)