Patients taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants, may be at an increased risk of suicidal behavior. While there has been previous debate on whether or not antidepressant drugs increase the risk of suicide in some children, recent studies concerning the suicide risk of people over age 18 have widened the possible effect to adults.

In one study, researchers analyzed 345 antidepressant trials for depression and other conditions; the trials involved over 36,000 men and women. The goal was to determine if a link existed between the use of SSRIs and suicide attempts.

The Study Found:

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Over 140 total suicide attempts

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Suicide rate was twice as high in patients taking SSRIs, when compared to those taking placebo (dummy) pills or other forms of therapy, but no more likely to complete the act

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There was no difference between patients taking SSRIs and those taking other antidepressants, such as tricyclics

Such findings--which place taking antidepressants in a negative light--should make doctors aware that SSRIs and tricyclics may evoke or worsen suicidal behavior during the early phases of treatment, prompting closer monitoring of patients. Also, routine prescribing of antidepressants for children and adolescents should be discouraged.

Many people are not familiar with how to diagnose depression. If you are one of them please review a previous article I ran that lists the criteria to diagnose depression.

Depression, or more accurately, unrepaired emotional short-circuiting, can absolutely devastate your health. In my estimation depression causes far more profound negative health consequences than all the rotten food, toxins and poisons we expose ourselves to. With that said, I believe you can work to provide your body with the tools to compensate for the bioelectrical short-circuiting that can cause serious disruption in many of your body's important systems without relying on toxic drugs that can actually kill you. I list some natural options below.

Optimizing your diet is clearly an important step, and one of the most important tools will be to make sure you are getting enough omega-3 fats. I have had large numbers of patients spontaneously take themselves off their antidepressants once they started taking omega-3 fish oils.

Dr. Stoll, director of the psychopharmacology research lab at Boston's McLean Hospital and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, discusses this topic extensively in his book The Omega-3 Connection. I highly recommend this book, which reviews evidence supporting the use of omega-3 oils for depression.

It is necessary to have a high-quality source of fish oil to ensure that toxins and other impurities have been removed from the oil. Those of you who read the newsletter regularly know I'm a fan of the Carlson's brand of fish oil and cod liver oil, as I have seen clear and often substantial improvements in my patients who use it. You can find Carlson's fish or cod liver oil at your local health food store, or, for your convenience, on my Recommended Products section.

Also, it is known that exercise, insulin and sugar are strongly related to depression, and appropriate cardiovascular exercise is one of the most effective ways to normalize insulin resistance. Interestingly, the federal government came up with the first new dietary guidelines in 25 years, and they support the exercise recommendations I have been saying for some time now. When using exercise to reduce insulin resistance, however, it is important to set a goal of at least 60 to 90 minutes per day, every day of the week. Obviously, depending on one's current condition, one needs to work slowly up to this level. This is far more exercise than a healthy person requires, but when one struggles with insulin resistance it is necessary to pay back the debt of not exercising for many years to help restore the insulin resistance.

Once a person has improved their health they can reduce their exercise to about 45 minutes three times per week.

It is equally clear that one could have no problems with insulin resistance, follow a perfect diet and ideal exercise program and still struggle with serious depression. That is where effective energy psychology tools can intervene to help resolve depression. However, energy psychology techniques like Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) work much better when diet and exercise are optimized. EFT is based on the same energy meridians used in traditional acupuncture to treat physical and emotional ailments for more than 5,000 years, but without the invasiveness of needles.

Because depression is such a serious challenge I would not advise using self treatment for it, but rather only as a supplement to a trained EFT practitioner. Dr. Carrington has compiled some guidelines on selecting an EFT therapist, followed by a list of EFT practitioners throughout the U.S. and world. Many of these therapists even offer a free 15-minute phone session in which you can ask them questions to see if you connect.

Finally, there's no questioning the power of prayer either. So many studies have documented it and the science that proves its healing power is very solid. In fact, I believe it's criminally negligent for physicians not to recommend it. And talk about cost-effective; there is no cost to prayer except for time. It makes no logical sense to me why someone would not utilize this resource.

A simple powerful application of prayer is journaling, which articles have shown to be useful in treating chronic illness.