Depressive Studies on Anti-Depressants

This study, noted by a Wall Street Journal blogger Jacob Goldstein, on anti-depressants is a little depressing. He notes:

"...The authors looked at 74 antidepressant studies that had been filed with the FDA, and found that those deemed positive by the agency went unpublished only 3% of the time, while those deemed negative by the agency went unpublished 67% of the time. When unfavorable studies were published, it was in a way that conflicted with the FDA’s opinion of the study, according to the article."

This is not going to be a rant on the biblical case for/against anti-depressants, rather just pointing out that in many cases even the drugs themselves don't deliver as advertised.

As we all know drugs are big business and especially drugs that say there going to make you happier or at least not (anti) sad (depressant). Now, I believe anti-depressants can be a gift of God's common grace, but I think in a lot of cases it just plain doesn't work. I'm no clinical psychiatrist but I think this could be for several reasons probably two being: (1) It doesn't work because a chemical imbalance in the brain is not the real problem it's relational, spiritual, or another biological/physical deficiency be it in the mind or in the body; (2) it doesn't work.

After reading this, I recalled speaking to a psychiatrist friend of mine a few months ago and he shared with me similar findings of the article. He mentioned that usually anti-depressants don't work. No, not never work, but usually don't; and when they do work many times it's not actually the pill working but its the placebo effect. Herein though lies the rub, if I give you a pill that makes you fell less depressed or not as depressed and you do in fact become less depressed, even though its not the physical causation of the pill, did not the pill work?

Hmmm...I think that itself has much to say about being human.