FAA Says Pilots Can Now Fly While Medicated on Antidepressant Drugs

Pilots taking medication for mild or moderate depression will soon be allowed in the cockpit under new Federal Aviation Administration guidelines that reverse a nearly 70-year ban. Clinically depressed pilots, including those undergoing therapy or prescription treatment, are currently prohibited from flying.

The policy change, which takes effect Monday, was sparked by reduced risk of antidepressant side effects, such as drowsiness, and a need to "change the culture and remove the stigma" associated with the illness, said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt.'

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Disgusting: Psychiatrists Warn About Warnings on Antidepressant Drugs (They'd Rather Have No Warnings at All)

Strong warnings by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about suicide risks linked to antidepressant use in children and young adults have had a "spillover effect" on depression care in older adults, researchers said on Monday.

They said the warnings resulted in a lasting decline in depression diagnosis and treatment, even for older adults, and urged the FDA to revise its policy.

"Policy actions are required to counter the unintended consequences of reduced depression treatment," Anne Libby of the University of Colorado and her colleagues wrote in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

U.S. and European regulators sent out a series of public health warnings on use of antidepressant drugs beginning in 2003 after clinical trials showed they increased the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children and teens.

In February 2005, the FDA added its strongest warning, a so-called black box, on the use of all antidepressants in children and teens to draw attention to the possible risks of these medications. In May 2007, it extended the warnings to young adults aged 18 to 24.

Many psychiatrists have criticized the warnings, saying they scare people away from effective treatment for depression, the leading cause of suicide.

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Panel Advises Depression Screening for US Teens

An influential government-appointed medical panel is urging doctors to routinely screen all American teens for depression _ a bold step that acknowledges that nearly 2 million teens are affected by this debilitating condition.

Most are undiagnosed and untreated, said the panel, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which sets guidelines for doctors on a host of health issues.

The task force said that when followed by treatment, including psychotherapy, screening can help improve symptoms and help kids cope. Because depression can lead to persistent sadness, social isolation, school problems and even suicide, screening to treat it early is crucial, the panel said.

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Obama's War on Recovery

Obama came to power with the idea of repeating the storybook-view of FDR's presidency and how he saved us from the Great Depression. Had he and his friends read the history more carefully, he would have seen how FDR did nothing of the sort. His policies waged war on recovery, perpetuating the problem he said he was solving.

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Excessive Television for Teens Raises Risk of Depression as Adults

Teenagers today are spending more and more time slouched on a couch in front of the electronic box - although nowadays it's rather too flat to really be called a box anymore - called a television. And a recent University of Pittsburg and Harvard Medical School study has found that TV time for teens could elevate their risk of becoming depressed adults.

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Then they are put on psychotropic drugs and then either commit suicide or go on a school murder spree!

This Financial Crisis is Now Truly Global

In Florida, a state devastated by tumbling house prices and repossessions, the inhabitants are arming themselves against recession, with requests for concealed weapon permits up 42 per cent in the past 45 days. In Moscow, the murder rate has climbed by 16 per cent. At Tetsuya's – the most exclusive and expensive restaurant in Sydney – the waiting list has shrunk from three months to 24 hours.

Over the past few months, we were told that we were caught in the worst economic crisis for 20 years, then 30, then 80, then 100. It can't be long before someone points out that really, all things considered, the Black Death was comparatively pleasant.

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The Great Depression Has Arrived - Collapsing American Dreams

It almost seems amusing that we are still discussing the “coming” depression because of the fact that it is already arrived and settling in. Really, what this entire new “era” is all about is watching our dreams deteriorate right before our eyes.

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Monetary Union Has Left Half of Europe Trapped in Depression

Events are moving fast in Europe. The worst riots since the fall of Communism have swept the Baltics and the south Balkans. An incipient crisis is taking shape in the Club Med bond markets. S&P has cut Greek debt to near junk. Spanish, Portuguese, and Irish bonds are on negative watch.

A great ring of EU states stretching from Eastern Europe down across Mare Nostrum to the Celtic fringe are either in a 1930s depression already or soon will be. Greece's social fabric is unravelling before the pain begins, which bodes ill.

Each is a victim of ill-judged economic policies foisted upon them by elites in thrall to Europe's monetary project – either in EMU or preparing to join – and each is trapped.

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Brain Stimulator Treats Depression By Beaming Magnetic Pulses Through The Skull

The U.S. government has approved the first non-invasive brain stimulator to treat depression - a device that beams magnetic pulses through the skull. The pulses trigger small electrical charges that spark brain cells to fire.

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'St John's Wort Plant As Effective As Prozac For Treating Depression', Say Scientists

It has long been a happy alternative for those reluctant to pop pills for depression.
But the herbal extract St John's wort now has more than just cheerful converts to testify to its mood-lifting powers.
In what is billed as the most thorough study of the plant, scientists have found it is just as effective as Prozac at treating depression.

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Electro Shock Therapy Makes a Quiet Comeback

When Bill Russell tells people that his severe depression was relieved by shock therapy, the most common response he gets is: "They're still doing that?"
Most people might be quicker to associate electroshock therapy with torture rather than healing. But since the 1980s, the practice has been quietly making a comeback. The number of patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy, as it's formally called, has tripled to 100,000 a year, according to the National Mental Health Association.

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