Depression, Drugs and Dissertation

In the life of every PhD student there comes a time where he or she has to decide which drugs to take. Usually, this time is around the dissertation stage, when the student has:

• Figured out what a crappy place academia is
• Lost all contact with friends
• Not sure whether he or she will ever finish dissertation
• Has acquired a realistic picture regarding employment prospects

My impression is that at least 50% of graduate students in my department were on some sort of drugs. Some told me openly which drugs they were using and for how long. Usually it's Prozac or something similar to that.

For some people Prozac may not be a good choice for reasons like:

• You don't have time to go to a doctor to get the prescription
• You are too embarrassed to ask for that kind of help
• You don't wanna pay for the visit and subsequent prescription
• You are simply afraid of taking drugs
• You have a wife/girlfriend that you have to please sexually(usually a a very rare case)

There seems to be a very good natural alternative to anti-depressants. It's called St. John's Wort:

St John's wort is today most widely known as a herbal treatment for major depression. In some countries, such as Germany, it is commonly prescribed for mild depression, especially in children, adolescents, and where cost is a concern. Standardized extracts are generally available over the counter — however, in some countries (such as Ireland) a prescription is required. Extracts are usually in tablet or capsule form, and also in teabags and tinctures.

You can buy it in any vitamin store, such as Vitamin Shoppe for like $10 per 100 capsules. Even though it's over-the-counter drug, there seems to be scientific evidence supporting its efficacy:

An analysis of 29 clinical trials with more than 5000 patients was conducted by Cochrane Collaboration. The review concluded that extracts of St. John's wort were superior to placebo in patients with major depression. St. John's wort had similar efficacy to standard antidepressants. The rate of side effects was twice lower than for newer SSRI antidepressants and five times lower than for older tricyclic antidepressants

I'm not a doctor but all I can say is that it seemed to work well for me.