OVER the years, there has been an alarming influx of people being diagnosed with depression.
Anyone can fall victim of this illness. Not only ordinary persons experience depression, even famous/accomplished individuals may have it too.
Depression, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), is a serious mental illness that negatively affects the emotions, behavior, and way of thinking of an individual. One of the common misconceptions about this mental illness is that there exists a medicine for it; like it is some sort of disease that can be cured.
Take note that while cure, in medical aspect, means that someone is now free of that condition, treatment will only lessen or control the symptoms.
While it is said that depression is treatable and there are “ways” of combating it, people who have symptoms of depression would seek doctors or psychiatrists for help and counseling.
Upon counseling, some patients are being prescribed with medicines to be taken for a period of time which intends to “better” ones condition.
However, what if you find out that this medicine is a placebo medicine?
A placebo is a drug or substance which does not really have any therapeutic value; meaning, it has no effect at all. These kinds of medicine are given to individuals and deceive them into thinking that they are being cured by it, but the truth is---they are not. Placebo medicines are not limited to depressed people, it can also be given to those suffering from other illnesses and diseases.
In the case of depression, after the doctor or psychiatrist finishes counseling, there’s a high chance of prescribing placebo medicine to the patient. Of course in the mind of the recipient, this medicine would cure him or her.
While placebos have no therapeutic value, it helps the patient’s psychological aspect. The act of taking a pill, with the idea that this was prescribed by a tending physician, promotes improvement to the patient; an effect of conditioning. The saying “Mind over matter” proves this point.
Not many people know about these kinds of drugs. They are being sold in pharmacies just like any other medicines.
Geno Castila, not his real name, 20, a registered pharmacist, shared that not many people know about these kinds of drugs. They lurk and are being sold in pharmacies just like any other medicines.
“Placebo medicines cannot usually be found in community pharmacies, they are mostly sold in hospital pharmacies. I do know a few placebo medicines but we are not allowed to disclose their brands or generic names,” Castila added.
A mind boggling question would be, is it ethical to prescribe placebo medicines to patients who suffer depression? Deceiving them into thinking that these meds, upon consumption, would cure their condition?
Mei Avido, not her real name, 23, a registered psychometrician, believes this act is unethical. However she argues that although deception of the patient is unethical, prescribing such is a humane thing to do.
“You just want to help and placebo medicine prescription is one way of helping the patient. For those who show symptoms of depression, since it’s just the early stage, it can still be controlled and that’s the use of placebos,” Avido said.
Avido added that psychiatrists and doctors do not imprudently endorse placebos to their patients. There are guidelines to follow for the justified prescription of the placebos. In addition, the manner of how the nature of this “medicine” is explained to the patient plays a crucial role.
Admittedly, not everything can be cured by real medicines, sometimes the environment and the people around you help in the improvement of one’s condition. And that is the very purpose of the placebos; that doctors, within therapeutic situation, play an essential part in the process of treating the patient.
Placebo medicine may be new information to some, however, it has been there for quite some time and these can be of service to our doctors and psychiatrists. Placebo treatment is not pure deception, the intent is benevolent and can be considered a humane thing to do. (Karl Maglana, AB Mass Communication, AdDU)