Dr. Rhonda Barofsky

He didn't even want me to go to Amherst College because he thought, well, you know, they'll take your religion away from you and turn you into a communist, that kind of thinking. And I resented it then, and I resent it now.

He didn't even want me to go to Amherst College because he thought, well, you know, they'll take your religion away from you and turn you into a communist, that kind of thinking. And I resented it then, and I resent it now.

Well, I'm being more honest now because I'm elderly and half-demented. My wife says I'm old enough now to speak my mind. So I'm trying to do that a little bit more often. I mentioned in my thing, in my response in the show notes, that when I wrote Feeling Good...

Well, I'm being more honest now because I'm elderly and half-demented. My wife says I'm old enough now to speak my mind. So I'm trying to do that a little bit more often. I mentioned in my thing, in my response in the show notes, that when I wrote Feeling Good...

I had a chapter on Consumer's Guide to Antidepressant Drugs, and I had that in there because I knew that a lot of my readers were taking antidepressants, and I wanted them to be able to look up each one and see the side effects, the dangerous effects, and so forth. But I knew at the time... And this was in the mid to late 1970s.

I had a chapter on Consumer's Guide to Antidepressant Drugs, and I had that in there because I knew that a lot of my readers were taking antidepressants, and I wanted them to be able to look up each one and see the side effects, the dangerous effects, and so forth. But I knew at the time... And this was in the mid to late 1970s.

I could see very well that the chemicals called antidepressants did not, in fact, have any meaningful antidepressant effects above and beyond their placebo effects. But I didn't put that in the book.

I could see very well that the chemicals called antidepressants did not, in fact, have any meaningful antidepressant effects above and beyond their placebo effects. But I didn't put that in the book.

And the reason was I didn't want to pull the rug out from under anyone because I knew a lot of people took antidepressants and a third of them got a lot of improvement after taking antidepressants, which they wrongly attributed to the antidepressant. It was actually due to their expectation of improvement.

And the reason was I didn't want to pull the rug out from under anyone because I knew a lot of people took antidepressants and a third of them got a lot of improvement after taking antidepressants, which they wrongly attributed to the antidepressant. It was actually due to their expectation of improvement.

Their thinking, their hope brought them the improvement because if you look at the literature, the world literature comparing antidepressants with placebo pills, the differences are not meaningfully different. Statistically, maybe every now and then, but not clinically. But I didn't want to put that in there because I didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings. Now I'm older.

Their thinking, their hope brought them the improvement because if you look at the literature, the world literature comparing antidepressants with placebo pills, the differences are not meaningfully different. Statistically, maybe every now and then, but not clinically. But I didn't want to put that in there because I didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings. Now I'm older.

I'm being less political. I'm saying more what I believe and let the chips fall where they may.

I'm being less political. I'm saying more what I believe and let the chips fall where they may.

Not be as smart.

Not be as smart.

Yeah. There was a lot of that when I grew up. Even different brands of Lutheranism we looked down on. Like the Missouri Synod. We were some other synod. And there was always about who's thinking is superior and who's thinking is inferior. And it's addictive.

Yeah. There was a lot of that when I grew up. Even different brands of Lutheranism we looked down on. Like the Missouri Synod. We were some other synod. And there was always about who's thinking is superior and who's thinking is inferior. And it's addictive.

Yeah. That's the cause of war.

Yeah. That's the cause of war.