Do anti-depressants work?
There's a fantastic piece at the New Yorker. Norm Pattis reproduces an interview with the author of Manufacturing Depression: The Secret History of a Modern Disease. Today at Above the Law, a therapist discusses lawyers and depression.
Most lawyers use alcohol as an anti-depressant. How many of your friends (or how many of you?) are alcoholics? Too many to keep track of.
My advice to men? Take testosterone:
Jan. 3, 2003 -- Testosterone replacement therapy was commonly prescribed 50 years ago for depression in men, but the treatment was all but abandoned with the introduction of antidepressant drugs. Now new research suggests the male hormone may have been rejected too quickly.
Testosterone saved Andrew Sullivan's career. See "The He Hormone."
I monitor my testosterone regularly. I'm at 664, which is just slightly above average. I can tell when my testosterone levels fall, and I adjust my diet and exercise accordingly. Eat more saturated fats and fewer carbohydrates to increase testosterone. Think Steak and potato - hold the potato. Broccoli is an anti-estrogenic food, and thus I eat it every day.
If you have low testosterone levels, see a doctor for a prescription. It will do way more to combat male depression than booze and Prozac.
