Health Buzz: Salmonella-Tainted Raw Alfalfa Sprouts and Other Health News

What a confusing and poorly-presented article on depression. One could easily get the impression that doing nothing was as good as not. 70% of people WHOSE DEPRESSION IS UNTREATED are likely to have another episode. That is why it is so important to seek treatment. However, a primary care physician cannot possibly stay up-to-date and thoroughly versed in every aspect of a patients' needs, especially not if s/he has only 5-10 minutes to see each patient. The success rate of psychiatrists or, even better, psychoparmacologists IN COMBINATION with "talk therapy" is much higher than for PC docs who have neither the time nor the expertise to treat anything more than the simplest depression. And while it is true that depression is virtually impossible to "cure," consistent, appropriate and competent treatment can lead to years of remission and the return to a "normal" life.

Please be careful about misleading vulnerable people away from treatment--remember that depression, especially untreated depression, is a potentially fatal illness.

Kathy Cronkite of TX 7:21PM April 27, 2009