Perhaps anti-depressants should be best reserved for the very extreme cases and, more importantly, for those who do not respond to alternative forms of interventions.

Perhaps 10 percent of patients who are prescribed antidepressants are really benefiting from the drugs' active ingredients.

Nocebos often cause a physical effect, but it's not a physically produced effect. What's the cause? In many cases, it's an unanswered question.

If you're taking an antidepressant, it's working, and you're not experiencing side effects, go on taking it. But if it's not working, or not working well enough, or if you have side effects you don't like, talk to your doctor about an alternative approach.

If doctors just spent more time with their patients so they felt more reassured, that might help.

To someone who is not currently on anti-depressants, I would suggest trying other treatments first - for example, psychotherapy.