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I am so grateful that you and your wife have medications available that help. I think these meds are of critical importance but I also see them overprescribed to people who are in bad marriages, life sucking jobs etc.
For those who have physical/chemical needs - sometimes there seems to be no chemical fix. I recall meeting an 19 year who had dark circles under his eyes - the result of 8 years of deep depression. He watched all his friends go away to school and he tried to go to but it was too hard with his depression. He had tried all the drugs, nothing helped. His pain was so palpable, I just wanted to hug him - as if THAT ‘cure’ had not been tried by his own mom!

It is sad to see that happen to people. A good LCSW {therapist} can't cure but they can in quite a few cases help a person come to terms with things. That is as much as important as the medicine. People think of Psychiatrist as having a couch you sit on and talk. Most of them see a patient 15-20 minutes every three months. Psychologist and LCSW's are the ones who usually have the one on one interaction with the person.

I have one very dear to me who has battled clinical depression the 25 years I've known her. Many reasons some which will never go away in this life. A very talented LCSW has made living with it a lot more bearable though. Another person close to me takes Luvox. It works fine. Yet another one nothing will help. Depression can sometimes be overcome and sometimes despite every-ones best efforts and intentions can not. The pain is very bit as real to that person as cancer is to another. What works for one may be impossible or make matters worse for another.

I consider myself fortunate to only have what I have. That might be hard for some to understand but it was better than the several things I thought I had and for good reasons :>} It won't kill me. Sometimes make me think I'm dieing but it won't kill me. What scared me to death 16 years ago is now just an major inconvience I know will pass.