A new study conducted by Irving Kirsch at the University of Hull has found that millions of people taking some commonly prescribed anti-depressants, including Prozac, Seroxat and Efexor, may as well be taking a placebo.

The study looked at the research data of 47 clinical trials submitted to gain licensing approval. Researchers found that there was no evidence of a clear clinical benefit.

“The difference in improvement between patients taking placebos and patients taking anti-depressants is not very great. This means that depressed people can improve without chemical treatments.” Professor Kirsch also added that the study raised serious issues about drug licensing and how data is reported.

I think that the powerful drug lobby is vastly underestimated by most of us because how can a drug gain licensing approval when an independent study shows that there is no benefit to it? I'll leave that thought to your imagination.

The most interesting words in the reports that I read are "depressed people can improve without chemical treatments". Well of course they can. If you think about it logically, anti-depressants are supposed to work by blocking the depressing feelings created by a cause. They don't deal with the cause, they deal with the symptoms (allegedly).

In principle, it's a bit like having a slow puncture in a tyre (*cause*) and going to the garage every day (*anti-depressants*) to top up with air rather that just getting the puncture fixed once and for all (*hypnotherapy*).

The placebo effect proved in the research also proves the power of our own belief systems. If a doctor tells us we will feel better by taking a tablet, we believe it. But what are the side-effects of some of these anti-depressants? Would prescribing a sugar pill instead be ethical or not?

I of course believe that hypnotherapy is probably the quickest and most effective way for most people to become happy again. It is far quicker, more effective and cheaper than the NHS's new love child, CBT.

Here is something to ponder over when considering the power of the human belief system. When Doctors strike, less people die. Fact. Think about that over a cup of tea or coffee.

Be happy, and you can be happy without filling yourself full of unnecessary drugs!

Dave.