With almost 20 million Americans currently suffering from depression it’s no wonder the pharmaceutical industry was able to bolster revenue in excess of $300 billion dollars in 2009. This article, featured in Wired Magazine references research showing placebos are as effective as prescription medications at treating depression. Check it out for yourself:
CLICK HERE and read the article in Wired Magazine
Depression Statistics:
• Depressive disorders affect approximately 18.8 million American adults or about 9.5% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. This includes major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and bipolar disorder. [1]
• Pre-schoolers are the fastest-growing market for antidepressants. At least four percent of preschoolers — over a million — are clinically depressed. [2]
• The rate of increase of depression among children is an astounding 23% p.a. [3]
References and Further Reading
[1] NIMH. “The Numbers Count: Mental Illness in America,” Science on Our Minds Fact Sheet Series.
[2] Study published in Psychiatric Services, April 2004. Reported in our health news archive: Pill-Popping Pre-Schoolers, Even Toddlers Get the Blues
[3] Harvard University study reported in Harvard Mental Health Newsletter, February 2002.
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I’m just reading a book called “Predictably Irrational” by psychologist Dan Ariely. He talks about how there are even surgeries that only work by placebo effect. It seems that it’s the expectation that a treatment will work actually activates the body’s own healing ability.