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There was a thread (probably more than one) on this very same subject a week or so ago. One of the guys argued that mental illnesses are the result of not being sufficiently Christian. That's probably true in many cases. But while I wasn't too surprised that someone came up with that reasoning, I was surprised at how many joined in with him or proposed similar thinking.

A person that I grew up with -- one of 4 children in a healthy, loving family -- contracted schizophrenia in her early 20s. She disappeared and her parents found her 3 years later living under a bridge in some place like Cleveland or Cincinnati. Medicaiton has helped her immensely. Of course the placebo lover folks had no answer for that. I have also had friends who took antidepressants and literally got their lives restored.

Having a chemistry and chemical engineering background, I would suspect that the study is somehow flawed. If it was limited to people with mild situational depression, then a placebo would be expected to perform about the same as the real drug. If it were limited to people with severe, recalcitrant depression, then it is likely that the drugs would perform significantly better than the placebo. Unfortunately, I believe that the scientific education of those debating against me pretty much ended after the 8th grade.

So many people are blessed in not having had this disease touch their lives. But they seem to think that if they or their loved ones do not have it than it must not exist. Having been married to a sweet and loving woman who is a wonderful example of a Christian woman and also a sufferer of bipolar disease I can assure you that it does exist.

The various treatments she has taken have ranged from harmful to nearly miraculous. She had taken medication for years which did little to help until she was diagnosed as being bipolar as opposed to depressed and given a different treatment. A placebo would have worked no matter what the diagnosis.

I'm sure many FReepers would be shocked to learn that the most effective treatment she has received has been Electroconvulsive Therapy. Yet it saved her life at a time when I did not think it would be possible.

Having a chemistry and chemical engineering background, I would suspect that the study is somehow flawed. If it was limited to people with mild situational depression, then a placebo would be expected to perform about the same as the real drug. If it were limited to people with severe, recalcitrant depression, then it is likely that the drugs would perform significantly better than the placebo. Unfortunately, I believe that the scientific education of those debating against me pretty much ended after the 8th grade.

I think you hit nail right on the head. Many of those who deny that depression and ADHD are not real medical problems usually do not have education to make such assumptions. I myself, bought into this line of thinking for years, and thought my depression was a personality flaw that could be cured by positive thinking. I had to lose the woman I loved, and my job to consider I had a chemical imbalance. I totally agree that an active spiritual life is important for a healthy well-balanced life, but some people's brains lack the chemicals to maintane a normal, functional outlook of life. That's where real, psychoactive medication needs to be involved to correct the imbalance.