I want to go home
Jan 17th 2006, 3:29 am
#76
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,347
Re: I want to go home
Originally Posted by ShozInOz
There is nothing wrong with using modern anti-depressants, especially along with counselling/cognitive behaviour therapy. This, and straight CBT, is in fact the only form of therapy that has proven effectiveness for depression and anxiety.
Many alternative remedies are really faith medicine with no clinically proven efficacy outside the placebo effect for conditions tested under well controlled double-blind studies - including Flower Remedies, homeopathy, aromatherapy.
Anyway, haven't you heard - faith can move mountains. And if these vibrational remedies work, where's the harm?
I didn't post my response to Scared to enter an argument about the efficacy of alternative medicine or the safety of allopathic. I was offering some solid suggestions to help. FWIW, I was a tranquilliser junkie for over 30 years so don't talk to me about allopathic medications being effective for panic attacks.
Jan 17th 2006, 4:10 am
#77
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 629
Re: I want to go home
Originally Posted by Bella Donna
Each to their own. Why use chemicals when natural remedies work just as well? Not for all maybe, but for some.
Originally Posted by Bella Donna
Yes. And many have been tested under such conditions and have been found to work.
Originally Posted by Bella Donna
Suffer mild to moderate depression in Germany and you'll be given Hypericum. Not prozac. I think you need to go away and do some serious reading and research before making this statement. You sound like a columnist in the Guardian.
Actually I'm a psychologist. A do quite serious reading daily - journal articles though, not Daily Mail supplements.
Originally Posted by Bella Donna
Anyway, haven't you heard - faith can move mountains. And if these vibrational remedies work, where's the harm?
Originally Posted by Bella Donna
I didn't post my response to Scared to enter an argument about the efficacy of alternative medicine or the safety of allopathic. I was offering some solid suggestions to help. FWIW, I was a tranquilliser junkie for over 30 years so don't talk to me about allopathic medications being effective for panic attacks.
As for tranqillisers - no responsible GP would prescribe them for anxiety (or panic attacks, which I didn't even mention) for 30 years. That is untreated addiction, as you surely know. CBT is again the most effective option, though safer medications exist such as anti-depressants which also reduce anxiety.
My argument (and that expressed in all journals of some repute) is that the three remedies you mentioned have no reliable basis in in science, especially for depression/anxiety, and according to the higher-quality journals also for most other conditions according to the largest meta-analyses to date (see The Lancet meta-analyses in 2005 and 1997), and clinical trials over many years. As for Flower remedies and the frankly bizarre claims made - well if you take enough they will have some effect because they are almost entirely brandy! There is no reliable evidence for their efficacy. (An article in The Journal of Anxiety Disorders in 2001 showed no more than a placebo effect for Test Anxiety with Bach Flower Remedies.)
There is no harm in Homeopathy/Flower remedies/Aromatherapy (except some financial loss), but equally there is little evidence that their effects are any greater than placebo .
Last edited by ShozInOz; Jan 17th 2006 at 4:32 am.
Jan 17th 2006, 5:21 am
#78
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Beautiful Mindarie WA
Posts: 320
Re: I want to go home
Originally Posted by scared
Thanks for all of the advice....I am still reading through some of them. The panic attacks and fear are real...I'm in Melbourne so if anyone would like to meet up with me who has been through this them PM me....
I am in Perth so bit difficult for me to catch up with you but I am sure someone from Melbourne will be able to help, if you want just to pm me for a chat that way I would be more than happy to keep in touch.
Regards
Kim
Jan 17th 2006, 7:20 am
#79
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,347
Re: I want to go home
Originally Posted by ShozInOz
Because there is no evidence whatsoever that the specific remedies you mentioned previously work for depression (and most other conditions tested scientifically). This is admitted even in homeopathy journals! Using them for something like major depression is counterproductive.
As for testing scientifically, there is no way you can conduct a double-blind, randomised, cross-over trial (gold standard for the medical profession) on homoeopathy or any other form of vibrational medicine. Anyone with the slightest understanding of homoeopathy should realise that. They treat the person, not the illness/dis-ease.
Yes, mostly herbs, acupuncture, chiropractic, etc. I have no problems with remedies that work.
Hypericin is not one of the three pseudo-remedies I mentioned. It is a herb, and many herbs do work. After all, there is active ingredient in them (unlike some!), and many pharmaceutical drugs are derived from them.
Faith is great, but let's not preserve it in Brandy and sell it in bottles.
'Solid' is the bit I'm debating. These unproven (mostly disproven) remedies can prolong suffering or suspend it. The best outcome is usually a placebo effect.
Better remedies (clinically proven) are available for depression, such as CBT or modern anti-depressants, or both.
As for tranqillisers - no responsible GP would prescribe them for anxiety (or panic attacks, which I didn't even mention) for 30 years. That is untreated addiction, as you surely know. CBT is again the most effective option, though safer medications exist such as anti-depressants which also reduce anxiety.
My argument (and that expressed in all journals of some repute) is that the three remedies you mentioned have no reliable basis in in science, especially for depression/anxiety, and according to the higher-quality journals also for most other conditions according to the largest meta-analyses to date (see The Lancet meta-analyses in 2005 and 1997), and clinical trials over many years. As for Flower remedies and the frankly bizarre claims made - well if you take enough they will have some effect because they are almost entirely brandy! There is no reliable evidence for their efficacy. (An article in The Journal of Anxiety Disorders in 2001 showed no more than a placebo effect for Test Anxiety with Bach Flower Remedies.)
) And then they are picked and chosen to prove a point? And their research is mostly funded by big pharma...? Because, after all, there is no profit in people who are fit and healthy, is there?I didn't recommend three *remedies*; I recommended three *therapies*. I practise aromatherapy professionally, and I am studying classical homoeopathy. Both have recognised therapeutic benefits for many conditions, and there are published studies concluding this.
There is no harm in Homeopathy/Flower remedies/Aromatherapy (except some financial loss), but equally there is little evidence that their effects are any greater than placebo .
At the end of the day, what matters is the person who is suffering. If a therapy makes them feel better, it doesn't matter to me why. Every person is individual and every person's suffering is different in some way from the next. Homoeopathy in particular is gaining popularity all the time, and among all socio-economic groups, for want of a better way of expressing it. Aromatherapy is recognised as practically mainstream nowadays by the orthodoxy, and many insurance companies indemnify for it. Many GPs recommend it and make referrals. Are all these people wrong? And if they are, if sick people are regaining their health, what does it matter?
I've had my say. I'm not taking this debate any further.
Jan 17th 2006, 8:34 am
#80
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Merseyside
Posts: 106
Re: I want to go home
Originally Posted by TruBrit
My husband...they broke the mould when he was born...I've not given in yet..still trying to meet people in this metropolis, I'm a little down to say the least but certainly not out. Where in Merseyside are you? I was born in Liverpool
Jan 17th 2006, 10:14 am
#81
Banned
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Brisbane, Northside
Posts: 2,138
Re: I want to go home
Originally Posted by Bella Donna
I have several homoeopathic professional journals in my desk that have articles quite to the contrary - homoeopathy has proved very successful with depression. I'm realise that you have picked up on depression because I mentioned hypericum, but I did not suggest specific *therapies* for depression in my original post.
As for testing scientifically, there is no way you can conduct a double-blind, randomised, cross-over trial (gold standard for the medical profession) on homoeopathy or any other form of vibrational medicine. Anyone with the slightest understanding of homoeopathy should realise that. They treat the person, not the illness/dis-ease.
Herbs are remedies. Acupuncture and chiropractic are therapies or modalities. There is a big difference.
As for testing scientifically, there is no way you can conduct a double-blind, randomised, cross-over trial (gold standard for the medical profession) on homoeopathy or any other form of vibrational medicine. Anyone with the slightest understanding of homoeopathy should realise that. They treat the person, not the illness/dis-ease.
Herbs are remedies. Acupuncture and chiropractic are therapies or modalities. There is a big difference.
At the risk of sounding (and being) argumentative, hypericin is not a remedy. It is the active ingredient in Hypericum perforatum, aka St Johns Wort. The same active ingredient that is in hypericum oil, used in aromatherapy (and documented as being very effective) for conditions involving trauma and inflammation to the nerves.
Why not? I ask you again, if it is effective, and relieves someone's suffering, what harm is it doing? FYI, although alcohol is used to preserve the stock remedies, the amount actually in a bottle of Bach Remedy is miniscule.
And they can also make it better. Surely *improvement* is the key issue? Or are you only in favour of someone improving as a result of pharmaceutical medication?
Right, so better = chemical? In your opinion? Ask the families of those that have committed suicide as a result of being on Seroxat or Prozac. How do you stand on NLP, as a matter of interest?
Didn't work for me mate. I was addicted after eight weeks of use. But it took 33 years to get off them for good. Because withdrawal was very painful... As for CBT - sorry, no doctor considered it effective...
Surely meta-analyses are just another term for collections of statistics? (What is it they say about statistics...?
) And then they are picked and chosen to prove a point? And their research is mostly funded by big pharma...? Because, after all, there is no profit in people who are fit and healthy, is there?I didn't recommend three *remedies*; I recommended three *therapies*. I practise aromatherapy professionally, and I am studying classical homoeopathy. Both have recognised therapeutic benefits for many conditions, and there are published studies concluding this.
How patronising this sounds. You and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum and our views are, and always will be, diammetrically opposed. You see disease and illness, I see people who are suffering dis-ease. You treat the medical *labels*, I treat the person. Our philosophies of health/disease are separated by a rather large fence. That's the way it is.
At the end of the day, what matters is the person who is suffering. If a therapy makes them feel better, it doesn't matter to me why. Every person is individual and every person's suffering is different in some way from the next. Homoeopathy in particular is gaining popularity all the time, and among all socio-economic groups, for want of a better way of expressing it. Aromatherapy is recognised as practically mainstream nowadays by the orthodoxy, and many insurance companies indemnify for it. Many GPs recommend it and make referrals. Are all these people wrong? And if they are, if sick people are regaining their health, what does it matter?
I've had my say. I'm not taking this debate any further.[/QUOTE]
Personally I prefer drugs to witchcraft any day.
Jan 17th 2006, 10:21 am
#82
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 12,063
Re: I want to go home
Originally Posted by 232Bar
Personally I prefer drugs to witchcraft any day.
Jan 17th 2006, 10:26 am
#83
Banned
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Brisbane, Northside
Posts: 2,138
Re: I want to go home
Originally Posted by possoms
what witchcraft?? dont think this is really helping the op do you
Jan 17th 2006, 10:36 am
#84
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2005
Location: uk-perth northern suburbs-uk
Posts: 740
Re: I want to go home
Originally Posted by ShozInOz
I've adapted a previous post here Scared. This touches on an issue that is often ignored - the trauma of loss.
When I arrived here, I HATED it. Seriously, I really couldn't stand it. In fact - I felt like that from the moment I got to the airport at Manchester. We arrived in Sydney in October 2003 and I thought I had made the biggest mistake in my life. I was with my beloved wife but felt completely alone. I'd been here before but it felt completely foreign. I was desperate and after a few weeks felt I was breaking down. I certainly wasn't coping. I took 2 weeks off work, which helped. I also took anti-depressants, which relieved the symptoms. I also has some therapy which was probably long overdue but brought into the fore by the homesickness. We'd been here before but a holiday is no indicator of how one will cope. In fact it is very misleading.
I had major depression for the first 4 months, then it changed considerably - due to a combination of 'time', talking about it, and therapeutic interventions. Now I've been here over two years and have enjoyed the majority of my time here.
Think of homesickness as grief. You are mourning a loss. Unlike bereavement, there seems to be a solution that will fix the feelings - to go home. But to go home now, unfortunately, would almost certainly replace grief with regret.
It is good to have a review date - perhaps 6 months. But you may feel that even 6 months is too long. Still, try it. I found I had to live one day at a time. I had to do something for myself every day that was positive. I phoned home every day for a chat - but then I cope with things by communicating. Some people isolate instead. You will engage in lots of negotiation with your partner over this issue. Maybe negotiate a 6 or 9 months review date. If you are hanging in there, then look at 12 months review, then 18. Formally plan them and have them. Maybe even write the pros and cons on paper at the time - this issue can seem so complex that it is impossible to keep all the issues in your head at once - like choosing a mobile phone plan...
Please do not think "This is it forever now". This is a disastrous error of thinking. Maybe it will only be for six months, a year, maybe two, maybe five or ten or forever. Who knows. But for now, try to get through each day as it comes, one day at a time, and approach life on life's terms. If it were up to me, my courage would have failed me on day one. If my wife had not talked to me and been there for me, I would have got back on a plane to the UK ANYTIME in the first 4 months. Then it changed.
Most importantly, ensure that you listen to each other and empathise with each other. Work with the process. I personally have found that the three most difficult situations of my life (immigration was one of them, but the least painful by some way) resulted in the most growth in me as a person.
You won't feel it now. BUT if you stick around a while, the feeling of being comfortable in your environment will return. You will gain a new perspective and will feel that you have made an enormous accomplishment in life. You will gain a new inner strength, knowing that you can face the challenges that life throws at you, and the feelings they evoke. You will gain new friends. You will keep your old friends. Your family will love you all the same. And you will, for however long, enjoy a new way of life.
Your feelings of sadness and homesickness will begin to disappear. Not immediately, but over the coming months. If you return right now, you will be left, I fear, with a very bitter taste of defeat and may well look back in regret at not having given it a fair go. Or rather not having faced up to challenging feelings.
(By the way, we are now planning to leave in April - 2.5 years after arriving. We've loved living here mostly, and are well over that homesickness! But on balance, we just prefer the UK [south coast] / Europe. For us there are also career, logistical, travel, social and some family reasons that make the UK a better option. The Australia package just isn't enough to keep us here permanently. All the same, given the chance again, I would do it all the same. By fighting those feelings that you describe we are now returning with an Aussie baby, a new qualification and career for my wife, dual citizenship, new experiences, new friends, and broader horizons.)
When I arrived here, I HATED it. Seriously, I really couldn't stand it. In fact - I felt like that from the moment I got to the airport at Manchester. We arrived in Sydney in October 2003 and I thought I had made the biggest mistake in my life. I was with my beloved wife but felt completely alone. I'd been here before but it felt completely foreign. I was desperate and after a few weeks felt I was breaking down. I certainly wasn't coping. I took 2 weeks off work, which helped. I also took anti-depressants, which relieved the symptoms. I also has some therapy which was probably long overdue but brought into the fore by the homesickness. We'd been here before but a holiday is no indicator of how one will cope. In fact it is very misleading.
I had major depression for the first 4 months, then it changed considerably - due to a combination of 'time', talking about it, and therapeutic interventions. Now I've been here over two years and have enjoyed the majority of my time here.
Think of homesickness as grief. You are mourning a loss. Unlike bereavement, there seems to be a solution that will fix the feelings - to go home. But to go home now, unfortunately, would almost certainly replace grief with regret.
It is good to have a review date - perhaps 6 months. But you may feel that even 6 months is too long. Still, try it. I found I had to live one day at a time. I had to do something for myself every day that was positive. I phoned home every day for a chat - but then I cope with things by communicating. Some people isolate instead. You will engage in lots of negotiation with your partner over this issue. Maybe negotiate a 6 or 9 months review date. If you are hanging in there, then look at 12 months review, then 18. Formally plan them and have them. Maybe even write the pros and cons on paper at the time - this issue can seem so complex that it is impossible to keep all the issues in your head at once - like choosing a mobile phone plan...
Please do not think "This is it forever now". This is a disastrous error of thinking. Maybe it will only be for six months, a year, maybe two, maybe five or ten or forever. Who knows. But for now, try to get through each day as it comes, one day at a time, and approach life on life's terms. If it were up to me, my courage would have failed me on day one. If my wife had not talked to me and been there for me, I would have got back on a plane to the UK ANYTIME in the first 4 months. Then it changed.
Most importantly, ensure that you listen to each other and empathise with each other. Work with the process. I personally have found that the three most difficult situations of my life (immigration was one of them, but the least painful by some way) resulted in the most growth in me as a person.
You won't feel it now. BUT if you stick around a while, the feeling of being comfortable in your environment will return. You will gain a new perspective and will feel that you have made an enormous accomplishment in life. You will gain a new inner strength, knowing that you can face the challenges that life throws at you, and the feelings they evoke. You will gain new friends. You will keep your old friends. Your family will love you all the same. And you will, for however long, enjoy a new way of life.
Your feelings of sadness and homesickness will begin to disappear. Not immediately, but over the coming months. If you return right now, you will be left, I fear, with a very bitter taste of defeat and may well look back in regret at not having given it a fair go. Or rather not having faced up to challenging feelings.
(By the way, we are now planning to leave in April - 2.5 years after arriving. We've loved living here mostly, and are well over that homesickness! But on balance, we just prefer the UK [south coast] / Europe. For us there are also career, logistical, travel, social and some family reasons that make the UK a better option. The Australia package just isn't enough to keep us here permanently. All the same, given the chance again, I would do it all the same. By fighting those feelings that you describe we are now returning with an Aussie baby, a new qualification and career for my wife, dual citizenship, new experiences, new friends, and broader horizons.)
take care and remember baby steps and the "moving back to the uk" part of this website
c x
Jan 17th 2006, 10:45 am
#85
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 12,063
Re: I want to go home
Originally Posted by 232Bar
And the big debate over plants versus drugs was condusive to the OPs situation was it? - seemed more like a p***ing contest to me. And I think the OP has enough offers of 'there there there it'll all be alright' to keep her going for a while
Jan 17th 2006, 11:04 am
#86
Forum Regular
Joined: Jun 2004
Location: future Victorian
Posts: 104
Re: I want to go home
The things that made a big difference to me were:
getting started in work (even if only temping at first!)
having my own rental place & getting a few familiar things around me (are you in short term accommodation?)
focusing on the short term..don't worry about what you'll be doing in a year, just concentrate on the now if you can! Treat it as an experiment, don't feel like you have to stay in a job if you hate it.
I can imagine having your pets back will also be wonderful!
Remember you have already shown that you have a lot of balls by moving out here, but maybe things just need to settle a little before you can really enjoy yourself here??
If your confidence has taken a knock and you're feeling down the last thing you probably feel up to is getting out and meeting new people...(it can seem like and effort and you're bound to meet some people you don't gel with...) but try to do something that takes you out of the house everyday, slowly things will start to feel better, you'll meet people and find some favourite places to hang out.
I guess your husband knows how much you love him, he is probably just scared too... that may be you'll head back early, and leave him here on his own? But I'm sure he will realise that you being soo unhappy can't be good for either of you, if it continues long term... goodluck!!!
getting started in work (even if only temping at first!)
having my own rental place & getting a few familiar things around me (are you in short term accommodation?)
focusing on the short term..don't worry about what you'll be doing in a year, just concentrate on the now if you can! Treat it as an experiment, don't feel like you have to stay in a job if you hate it.
I can imagine having your pets back will also be wonderful!
Remember you have already shown that you have a lot of balls by moving out here, but maybe things just need to settle a little before you can really enjoy yourself here??
If your confidence has taken a knock and you're feeling down the last thing you probably feel up to is getting out and meeting new people...(it can seem like and effort and you're bound to meet some people you don't gel with...) but try to do something that takes you out of the house everyday, slowly things will start to feel better, you'll meet people and find some favourite places to hang out.
I guess your husband knows how much you love him, he is probably just scared too... that may be you'll head back early, and leave him here on his own? But I'm sure he will realise that you being soo unhappy can't be good for either of you, if it continues long term... goodluck!!!
Jan 17th 2006, 11:27 am
#87
~~~
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,849
Re: I want to go home
[QUOTE=ShozInOz]Actually I'm a psychologist. A do quite serious reading daily - journal articles though, not Daily Mail supplements.
Here ... have a good read of these links then before you start advocating the use of these drugs and putting down alternative routes !!!
http://www.prozactruth.com/drtracy.htm
http://www.breggin.com/index.html
Your very lucky that it worked out for you .... you said yourself that your anti-depressants "relieved" your symptoms ... this is because they are not a cure only a mask BUT they cartainly are a killer !!!
Here ... have a good read of these links then before you start advocating the use of these drugs and putting down alternative routes !!!
http://www.prozactruth.com/drtracy.htm
http://www.breggin.com/index.html
Your very lucky that it worked out for you .... you said yourself that your anti-depressants "relieved" your symptoms ... this is because they are not a cure only a mask BUT they cartainly are a killer !!!
Jan 17th 2006, 7:50 pm
#88
Bitter and twisted
Joined: Dec 2003
Location: Upmarket
Posts: 17,503
Re: I want to go home
Originally Posted by Bella Donna
As for CBT - sorry, no doctor considered it effective...
You will also find that that is the current thinking in Australia
I am a CBT therapist currently working in (and researching) the Treatment of depression.
It is misleading to suggest that herbal remedies are anywhere near as effective.
You also should declare a vested interest when you start getting in to arguments about matters like this as you have previously stated your wish to be an 'alternative' therapist....or have I got that wrong?
G
Jan 17th 2006, 8:09 pm
#89
Bitter and twisted
Joined: Dec 2003
Location: Upmarket
Posts: 17,503
Re: I want to go home
Originally Posted by Bella Donna
I'm not taking this debate any further.
G
Jan 17th 2006, 9:20 pm
#90
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 629
Re: I want to go home
Let's go back to your original post:
"There are loads of alternative remedies out there that can help you without resorting to drugs - Bach Flower remedies spring to mind as being both safe and effective without dulling the senses. Mimulus is the remedy for fear of known things, with Rock Rose for terror. Wild Oat figures for uncertainty over your future path, Walnut is effective for periods of change and helping adjustment, and Star of Bethlehem is excellent for shock - for whatever reason. Have a look at this to guide you - http://www.bachcentre.com/centre/remedies.htm. Ultimately, Rescue Remedy rarely fails to help anyone, but it's a more generalised remedy and you may get better results deciding for yourself."
Can you see how ridiculous that is? WILD OATS FOR UNCERTAINTLY OVER YOUR FUTURE PATH!!! Are you serious? Come on - were you having a laugh? I would certainly not recommend anti-depressents universally. I am a research psychologist and favour psychological medicine that works (e.g. CBT) for psychological issues - not magic potions with no basis in science. Anti-depressants (and I would not take Prozac - there are now far safer alternatives) can useful to help the person enter therapy, but the therapy is where the psycholgical issues are dealt with.
I'm not debating ther distinction between remedy/treatment - you're really splitting hairs there!
You make a lot of assumptions abut me my my philosophy. Remember I am a phd research psychologist not a medical doctor. Chemical does not equal better. Equally, natural does not equal better (snake venom is natural, after all). Some chemical treatments should not be prescribed. Some natural treatments can leave a pedrson with untreated depression. How many homeopathy/flower remedy users have committed suicide due to untreated depression? We'll never know. I believe in treaments/remedies/modalities/medications/therapies that WORK and are acceptably safe. That does not include all medications by any means, but some. The three treatments you mention are not based in evidence according to the top journals - not minor 'professional journals/magazines for alternative therapists. I'm sure iof the meta-analyses favoured homeopathy, you WOULD believe them. And so would I. I'm not talking about the journal 'Homeopathy' here - I'm talking about real journals with a high impact score. In such, there is no reliable evidence for the treatment of depression - otherwise prove it. I can show you several articiles from The Journal of Anxiety disorders, The Lancet, etc that disprove it. I can also show you plenty from Homeopathy journal (I read that too!) that state that there is no evidence that it works for depression.
You just give no proof for your claims. "Mimulus is the remedy for fear of known thing" - PROVE IT. That claim was made by Bach decades ago, with no peer-reviewed proof either! So what if insurance companies cover an aromatherapist - what can go wrong? I agree that massage works. Don't get me wrong. I use chiropractic every month for scoliosis. I've used herbs for skin problems very successfully when drug treatments didn't work. I use massage too. We use aromatherapy oils for the nice smell and mild relaxation. But for any treatment, I demand evidence. But then I am a scientist, not a homeopath.
"There are loads of alternative remedies out there that can help you without resorting to drugs - Bach Flower remedies spring to mind as being both safe and effective without dulling the senses. Mimulus is the remedy for fear of known things, with Rock Rose for terror. Wild Oat figures for uncertainty over your future path, Walnut is effective for periods of change and helping adjustment, and Star of Bethlehem is excellent for shock - for whatever reason. Have a look at this to guide you - http://www.bachcentre.com/centre/remedies.htm. Ultimately, Rescue Remedy rarely fails to help anyone, but it's a more generalised remedy and you may get better results deciding for yourself."
Can you see how ridiculous that is? WILD OATS FOR UNCERTAINTLY OVER YOUR FUTURE PATH!!! Are you serious? Come on - were you having a laugh? I would certainly not recommend anti-depressents universally. I am a research psychologist and favour psychological medicine that works (e.g. CBT) for psychological issues - not magic potions with no basis in science. Anti-depressants (and I would not take Prozac - there are now far safer alternatives) can useful to help the person enter therapy, but the therapy is where the psycholgical issues are dealt with.
I'm not debating ther distinction between remedy/treatment - you're really splitting hairs there!
You make a lot of assumptions abut me my my philosophy. Remember I am a phd research psychologist not a medical doctor. Chemical does not equal better. Equally, natural does not equal better (snake venom is natural, after all). Some chemical treatments should not be prescribed. Some natural treatments can leave a pedrson with untreated depression. How many homeopathy/flower remedy users have committed suicide due to untreated depression? We'll never know. I believe in treaments/remedies/modalities/medications/therapies that WORK and are acceptably safe. That does not include all medications by any means, but some. The three treatments you mention are not based in evidence according to the top journals - not minor 'professional journals/magazines for alternative therapists. I'm sure iof the meta-analyses favoured homeopathy, you WOULD believe them. And so would I. I'm not talking about the journal 'Homeopathy' here - I'm talking about real journals with a high impact score. In such, there is no reliable evidence for the treatment of depression - otherwise prove it. I can show you several articiles from The Journal of Anxiety disorders, The Lancet, etc that disprove it. I can also show you plenty from Homeopathy journal (I read that too!) that state that there is no evidence that it works for depression.
You just give no proof for your claims. "Mimulus is the remedy for fear of known thing" - PROVE IT. That claim was made by Bach decades ago, with no peer-reviewed proof either! So what if insurance companies cover an aromatherapist - what can go wrong? I agree that massage works. Don't get me wrong. I use chiropractic every month for scoliosis. I've used herbs for skin problems very successfully when drug treatments didn't work. I use massage too. We use aromatherapy oils for the nice smell and mild relaxation. But for any treatment, I demand evidence. But then I am a scientist, not a homeopath.