Posted on 04/03/2007 5:32:26 AM PDT by shrinkermd
Up to 25 percent of people in whom psychiatrists would currently diagnose depression may only be reacting normally to stressful events such as a divorce or losing a job, according to a new analysis that reexamined how the standard diagnostic criteria are used.
...Diagnoses are currently made on the basis of a constellation of symptoms that include sadness, fatigue, insomnia and suicidal thoughts. The diagnostic manual used by doctors says that anyone who has at least five such symptoms for as little as two weeks may be clinically depressed. Only in the case of someone grieving over the death of a loved one is it normal for symptoms to last as long as two months, the manual says.
The new study, however, found that extended periods of depression-like symptoms are common in people who have been through other life stresses such as a divorce or a natural disaster and that they do not necessarily constitute illness.
The study also suggested that drug treatment may often be inappropriate for people who are experiencing painful -- but normal -- responses to life's stresses. Supportive therapy, on the other hand, may be useful -- and may keep someone who has been through a divorce or has lost a job from going on to develop full-blown depression.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Now THAT’S depressing!
too many people making too much money foisting ‘feel-good’ pills off on a gullible public...
Two months for the loss of a loved one? There’s a reason while the old grieving period for the death of a spouse or a parent used to be a year...
its against the law and the drug industry to just be SAD.......not allowed apparently......
Have you ever wondered what D.C. would be like if no one read the Washington Post? A lot fewer depressed people would be my guess.
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