There are many people today who are alive or who live markedly better lives because of medications
But the gist of the article was that actual research reveals that, in spite of your arrogance (typical of those pushing psycho-babble when they have no facts to fall back on) those results can be equally expected as a result of the administration of placebos. As a matter of fact, it is entirely possible that the drugs in question are "working" only because of the placebo effect, given that they perform no better.
... whether they be for the brain or for something else.
Prescribing drugs for the brain when you don't understand the brain is irresponsible, especially when you can't even demonstrate their effectiveness as compared to placebos.
As for drugs for "something else", that's completely off the subject and irrelevant to the discussion at hand.
Luckily, we can distinguish between these illnesses and treat them appropriately. I think we simply don't have enough information about depression and brain function to do that yet.
I don't think lacking that information means we should throw out the meds until we understand things better. Some people probably need the medication. Other people find it helpful, for whatever reason.
I think anti-depressants can validly be used as a tool. Oftentimes a depressed person can find it difficult to impossible to make the sustained lifestyle changes which might be needed to cure their type of depression. To give that person some relief and motivation to make those changes is not a bad thing. It seems unlikely that we will find out later that these meds do lasting damage. But we know that even overprescribing of antibiotics has become a problem, so this is a possibility. Whether it is worth the risk has to depend upon personal circumstances.
Personally, I have been battling a moderate depression for 3 years. I have tried 2 different anti-depressants, neither have worked. I know people who have had sucess with these meds.
My own son, who is 10, suffers from extreme anxiety. He refuses to "work" on it. I believe he doesn't think he can feel any differently and anxiety has had a huge effect on him socially, physically and academically. We have, after consulting with learning specialists, an allergist, a neurologist, and batteries of tests with his pediatrician, 6 months of group social therapy, and several years of hoping that maturity would have some effect, have finally tried medication. We are having some sucess and are still in the process of adjusting the medication.
I wish we knew more about the drugs. I wish we knew more about how the brain works. I think the meds are overprescribed. But I think they have to be an option.
Do I take it that you're willing to admit that drugs can work for some diseases but somehow not for brain diseases? In the light of your worldview, how can you explain Alzheimer's, senile dementia, strokes, and Parkinson's? There are drugs that help those diseases, too. Do you think that they are just figments in people's imagination that a few verses from the Bible would somehow magically cure?
Yet you call me arrogant?