Depression as bad as smoking

Smoking isn’t the only quick route to the grave – a new study shows depression may be just as bad.

Researchers looked at a survey of more than 60,000 people, and then examined death records for the four-year period following the survey. And they found that both smokers and depressed people had a similarly higher risk of death during that period than everyone else.

The study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, didn’t look at cause-and-effect so much as offer a brief snapshot – albeit one that paints a pretty grim picture of the physical toll that mental conditions can take.

But I wouldn’t be so quick to blame the depression alone.

We all get the blues – and, sadly, folks who can’t get control of their condition may have an increased risk of death, especially from suicide. In addition, many people who suffer from depression tend to take poor care of themselves.

At the same time, I can’t help but think of the meds many of these people must have been taking – prescription drugs with terrible side effects. Some of them even lead to suicide or suicidal behavior – and have warnings on the labels indicating as much.

Not exactly the kind of stuff you want to put in your body – not when there are so many better options out there. The saddest part of all is how so many of these overmedicated patients are never even told of their alternatives.

Like smokers, depressed patients often face a tough hill to climb if they hope to get healthy. Smoking and depression are both difficult conditions to beat… and both smokers and depressed patients are offered a range of gimmicks, treatments and meds that don’t work at all, don’t work well, or appear to work for a time – but quietly do something far worse to your body over time.

But unlike depressed people, most smokers know what they’re getting into when they light up. Depressed people, on the other hand, often find themselves falling into a deep, dark hole without ever realizing what’s happened – until it’s too late.

Then, desperate for any answer, they visit a doctor – who quickly gets them on powerful, dangerous and unnecessary drugs.

Antidepressants are among the most commonly prescribed meds in America. Yet they are routinely beaten in clinical studies by non-drug treatments, everything ranging from regular aerobic exercise to simple talk therapy.

Getting control of your condition won’t just help you live longer – it’ll help you WANT to live longer, and better.

Do it right, and hopefully you’ll never have to struggle with depression again.