Gary Greenberg: Manufacturing Depression

An interview, slightly edited, from the Democracy Now! broadcast of March 1, 2010. The following introduction was copied from the Democracy Now! website.

Is depression manufactured? Two decades after the introduction of antidepressants, it's become commonplace to assume that our sadness can be explained in terms of a disease called depression. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that more than 14 million Americans suffer from major depression every year and more than three million suffer from minor depression. Some 30 million Americans take antidepressants at a cost of over $10 billion a year. Gary Greenberg argues that while depression can be debilitating, it has also been largely manufactured by doctors and drug companies as a medical condition with a biological cause that can be treated with prescription medication.

Unedited interview: http://www.democracynow.org/2010/3/1/gary_greenberg_manufacturing_depression_...

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Gary Greenberg
• Amy Goodman
• Democracy Now
• depression
• antidepressant
• Mirtazapine
• Remeron
• Escitalopram
• Lexapro
• Venlafaxine
• Effexor
• Sertraline
• Zoloft
• Citalopram
• Celexa
• Bupropion
• Wellbutrin
• Paroxetine
• Paxil
• Milnacipran
• Savella
• Fluoxetine
• Prozac
• Duloxetine
• Cymbalta
• Fluvoxamine
• Luvox
• Reboxetine
• Vestra
• big pharma
• psychology
• psychiatry
• neurology

[dilwich123]

90% of people who take anti-depressants dont need the medication and the other 10% will kill themselves even with the medication.

[nephthysuk]

Slightly alarmed by the guy mixing up sadness and depression. It really isn't the same thing.