rebafan asked this question on 4/23/2000:

Thank you for the replies--- I did not expect them.

To the person who said that it does not require a professional to help with depression: very good point, and I did not mean to say otherwise.

To the person who called me "desertphile," my name is David Krauth, not Martin Fry. Two seperate individuals. I object to much of what "desertphile" wrote, specifically about brain chemistry--- he is one of the persons I had in mind when writing that some of the "experts" in here appear to be writing about what they no little or nothing about.

To the person who said meds are not entirely safe: excellent points. I wish I could go back and qualify what I said by adding that compared to NOT being treated, medication is vastly safer than not being treated for depression. Some 32,000 people in the USA will kill themselves this years and it is a damn shame that most of those were not treated for their illnesses.

Thank you for all of your imputs!

P.S. One reply mentioned "censorship" in this forum. I said, implied, and desire no such thing.

jillyk gave this response on 4/23/2000:

I have read both your entries and thank you for your concern in both instances. Many people are qualified in different areas in addition to their life experiences and serve the clients on this site with the sole aim of assisting people by giving them options and alternative strategies to the person in qiestion. You will understand that quite a few of the people write to us and state they are in a state of confusion. Our input may assist them in being less confused and enable them to think in logical terms, thus the possibility of empowering them to find the solution that is best for them is greatly improved. Again thank you for noting your concern. :) Jill.

The average rating for this answer is 4.

rebafan rated this answer a 4.

Excellent "reality chech," and thank you for it. :-) I trust professional psychologists and psychiatrists and tend to distrust advice found on the Internet. I should always keep in mind that there =IS= sound advice from people who have "been there" and "done that," and I should not dismiss their input lightly.

It is just that I am concerned that some answers are manifestly harmful. One "expert" (I don't recall which) wrote that anti-depressants "cause more harm in the long run." That is not true for 99.99% of the cases. The "expert" then suggested "spitting for half an hour a day." Can you imagine a real doctor suggesting this, let alone someone on the Internet?