Top Ten Reasons Not to Buy Antidepressants, Part 5 of 5

First, the predictable disclaimer: Reading an article is no substitute for consulting a doctor. Changing medication without consulting your physician can be very dangerous. Although each suggestion made in this series reflects the findings of one or more medical studies, articles, or books, and each suggestion made in this series has been helpful to some depressed people, anyone seeking treatment or counselling for depression should discuss these ideas with his/her psychiatrist or psychologist.

Loving Relationships with Human Beings

First, some bad news for young men, or young women who take pick-up lines seriously: Sexual frustration does not cause serious depression or irritability. Sex hormone imbalances that can cause severe depression or irritability are serious medical problems that may become life-threatening; they need to be treated by an endocrinologist, because they will not be relieved by any amount of sexual activity. However, lack of close emotional bonds with others can cause chronic low-grade depression and aggravate several disease conditions. Cardiologist Dean Ornish is best known for asserting that intimate friendships are as crucial as diet and exercise in preventing or treating cardiovascular disease.

Statistics tell a revealing story. Married men live longer, healthier lives than bachelors; men who have been single for most or all of their lives live longer, healthier lives than recently widowed men, and even widowed men are better off than recently divorced men. Women who have been single for most or all of their lives live longer, healthier lives than divorcees, but even widowed and divorced women are better off than married women! This overall tendency for the entire population does not seem to apply to specific population groups. Dr. Ornish's studies of people who have survived one stroke or heart attack, which means people over age 50, found that married women recovered and survived better than single women--and single, widowed, or divorced men who rushed into marriage were no better off, during the year after remarriage, than newly divorced men.