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Show 983: Intriguing Approaches to Overcoming Depression

Nondrug approaches could replace or complement drug treatments for depression; one medication could lift severe depression within hours instead of weeks.
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Intriguing Approaches to Overcoming Depression

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Antidepressant medications have become part of popular culture ever since Prozac came on the market in the mid-1980s. Only those who have weathered a suicidal crisis themselves or watched a loved one face such an emergency may truly appreciate how inadequate our current antidepressants are in such circumstances.

Ketamine

An old drug, ketamine, is now being tested for use against suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Where it takes many weeks, even months, for an antidepressant to reach its potential effectiveness, ketamine kicks in within hours. This medication was originally developed as an anesthetic and is administered through an intravenous injection. Listen as researcher Elizabeth Ballard, PhD, describes the promise and possible pitfalls of using ketamine for treating life-threatening depression.

Non-Drug Therapies

Even without suicidal ideation, chronic depression is debilitating. While many people respond to antidepressant drug treatment, some do not. Others would prefer natural approaches overcoming depression.

Stephen Ilardi, PhD, has studied how well non-drug approaches can work to alleviate depression. They do require effort, but they are all within anyone’s reach.

This Week’s Guests:

Elizabeth Ballard, PhD, is an NIMH research fellow and clinical psychologist working in experimental therapeutics and pathophysiology. Her study was published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research (Nov., 2014).

Stephen S. Ilardi, PhD, is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Kansas. His work has been honored by the American Psychological Association’s prestigious Blau Award for early career contributions to the field.

His book is The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression Without Drugs.

Listen to the Podcast

The podcast of this program will be available the Monday after the broadcast date. The show can be streamed online from this site and podcasts can be downloaded for free for four weeks after the date of broadcast. After that time has passed, digital downloads are available for $2.99. 

Download the mp3

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About the Author
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist who has dedicated his career to making drug information understandable to consumers. His best-selling book, The People’s Pharmacy, was published in 1976 and led to a syndicated newspaper column, syndicated public radio show and web site. In 2006, Long Island University awarded him an honorary doctorate as “one of the country's leading drug experts for the consumer.”.
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