This is an excellent analysis. Your comments about what happens to someone when they start taking antidepressives reflects mypersonal experience as a patient.

I have been chronically depressed at least since I was 16, with some major depressive episodes during the years. I got married in 1981. My wife observed in the early 1990s that I was depressed about ten months out of any given year. This is with more or less constant talk therapy from college on (which was very helpful for coping).

Finally my therapist sent me to a psychiatrist in 1999, who prescribed Seratonin. The effects are subtle, but after two months the depression mostly went away. Basically, my life started at the age of 46. Certainly I have up days and down days, but I am functional on a level that I was not able to accomplish before.

The last generic company stopped making Seratonin a couple of years ago. After trying a handful of alternatives, nothing seemed to make a difference, except for my developing a minor case of tardive dyskinesia (oh well, ...). So my primary care physician and I decided to forgo all antidepressives altogether and lo and behold, the depression did not come back.

Since I am 69 and it is known that depression tends to lift for people my age, this is not suprising. But my life story is a counter-example to the claim that depression is caused by "things going wrong". It is more correct to say that depression is triggered by "things going wrong", but the underlying physiology amplifes the problem. The averge person could be feeling blue for a day or so, or maybe have a few months where they are down becuase of a majoe event. But for someone like me, before Seratonin, it would take a good year to exticate myself from a particular slough of despond.

Luckily, I am over that for the last 23 years. Thank you Dr. Chrobok, and Dr. Mann my therapist for sending me to him!