I think there are multiple types of depression. There is a "chemical depression" which appears to be long term and is helped by drugs. There is also a "behavioral depression" whose problems appear to be more psychological than physical and drugs only dull them, not help them.
I've had the chemical depression and been aided by the zoloft/paxil type medicines although I stopped them myself many years ago. I do think some of the people who are put on these drugs and then kill themselves or others were people who were not chemically depressed and the drugs only made their mood worse because they did not see themselves getting better even when drugged.
Treating both depressions the same way is like treating Type I and Type II diabetics the same way. There are similarities, yes, but the way to treat them might be totally different.
I say none of this as a doctor or a scientist. I say it only as a patient who went through hospitalization and therapy twice over my depression and observed many others while there. Medicine helped some but seemingly did nothing for others.
Thanks for your posts and your pains to make your point. We agree with one another here. Sometimes drugs are prescribed that relieve the symptoms when there are actually other underlying causes. These causes may not be the sufferer's fault, like past trauma, or they may be the sufferer's fault, like a guilty conscience.Stingray: Conservative Christian News and Commentary
there is also a real danger when people with bipolar disorder are diagnosed as having (unipolar) depression, and are then put on an anti-depressant instead of on a mood stabilizer.
the anti-depressant can trigger a manic episode, and then all sorts of unfortunate things can happen.
