This is just my asshole opinion but I do believe medications can work, HOWEVER, they are not a permanent fix. They are not meant to be. I think the whole point of medication is to stabilize you long enough so that--with help--you could deal with the root causes of said "mood disorder". Problem is, seeing someone once a week or every other week is just not enough for anyone. Treating mental illness requires intense continuous maintenance and care from a professional. Western medicine mostly focuses, treats, and measures health based on the condition of the physical body.

I was prescribed the anti-depressants when I was going through some stuff, and I had been really stressed out. But now I'm at the point where I feel like I'll be alright without them. So, I've been trying to kinda ween myself off of them slowly. The last time I tried to stop taking them. I just quit cold turkey. And I felt like crap for days.. couldn't sleep and felt like I had the flu. Hope nothing like that happens this time around.

Can I get an AMEN!!!

I disagree on that. Once a week can be plenty for many people. Most of the work of therapy is what you do yourself and happens outside the session anyway. Trust me on this one.

On the other points, I can agree with you on the allopathic medicine thing, e.c., hence the ways that I take care of my well-being these days. Certain parts of Western medicine can be useful and necessary (such as diagnostic tests) but are often just treating symptoms. When it comes to healing the root causes and treating the WHOLE PERSON, it definitely falls short of the mark. I find integrative health (i.e. combining the Western with Eastern) to be much more effective and promising. The problem is at this point not as many people are open to some of it and also that the health insurances refuse to pay for a lot of it. Due to what I do for a living I can tell you that changes in the direction of integrative treatments and getting people more involved and into taking care of themselves would be a good thing.

ArSiNiK said that perfectly. What he/she pointed out is something many people in modern society seem to miss. They visit their doctor for the smallest little pain or discomfort they come across. Life is full of sickness and problems, but with depression all the pills in the world cannot help you. Depression is a state of mind, and can only truly be cured by a change of lifestyle, which I know from experience is easier said than done. It is a vicious circle you find yourself stuck in, with negative thoughts ruling your life. Taking pills just drugs you up, what you really need is an adventure. Something away from the dull, ordinary life you have grown so used to. A vacation is a step to getting out of the depression cycle, but it isn't everything. You ultimately need to find something to live for, something to work towards and a hopeful future. Suicide is weak, pills are weak, changing your life around alone will always be the winner.

Yes, I do agree on a lot of that.

I'm only speaking from my personal experience and from what I had been told by others but the only time meds seem to make sense is if either someone is in crisis or they need to lessen the severity of symptoms in the process of working on the root issue. The problem is that most of the time people are kept on them past the crisis point for too long. Also in the case of the lessening the symptoms situation usually wind up masking the problem and get nowhere if they stay on them long term with increases. IMHO it's better to learn how to deal with emotions and life situations and stressors rather than pop a pill (or self-medicate in other ways as well). Life's about changing and growing. It's not about numbing yourself so you don't have to change or deal with things.