DR Philip Gaskell writes of the proven value of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) in the treatment of mild to moderate depressive states and anxiety disorders (Letters, December 8). These, along with greater use of clinical psychologists, may be less cost efficient in the short to medium term than the use of anti-depressant drugs. However the inappropriate use of the latter result may produce long-term dependence.
The benefits of drug therapy have to be weighed against the potential downsides. The introduction of effective anti-depressant drugs has enabled patients to be treated in the community and continue in stable relationships and employment while only those severely disturbed patients, considered at risk to themselves or others, require in-patient treatment.
It would be wrong to over criticise the prescribing of anti depressants but there are grounds for reviewing the use of alternative treatments that may be more appropriate in some circumstances.
Malcolm Allan,
2 Tofthill Gardens,
Bishopbriggs,
MANY diabetes patients will value Dr Philip Gaskell’s letter (December 12) acclaiming your report of the effectiveness of a low-calorie diet in reversal of Type-2 diabetes in a general practice study while correcting the funding figure from £32.8 million to under £3m to date.
Having close knowledge of two women in the earlier stages of MS, I draw attention to the vital importance of research into dietary and lifestyle treatment of MS in a world where most funding goes into drug-development and related research, encouraged by the vast funds pharmaceutical companies command. The debit in this long-established trend is a range of drugs approved but carrying harmful side-effects, so that naturally only those suffering advanced stages of the disease accept them in hope that the short-term alleviation is not overtaken by damage. When will society speak up for the unfairly neglected study of treatments based on the commonly accepted adage that we are what we eat, and how we choose (or are conditioned) to live? The ancient faith in a pill or injection is sadly embedded in our psyche. Any longing for a fresh start could read Overcoming MS by Professor George Jelinek.
Martin Archibald, 49 Kinpurnie Road, Oldhall, Paisley.
I WAS alarmed to read your editorial on obesity (December 13) correlating measures to restrict tobacco sales with restricting sales of food. Obesity is a complex problem but comparing food to tobacco is irresponsible. Food is essential to our existence. Bad diets are important to tackle but suggesting individual foods are responsible and should be restricted by government is not supported by the evidence.
Obesity is a much more complex problem with education, activity and industry action all having their place. We must not get drawn in by simplistic analogies to tobacco that do not stand up to the evidence and do not reflect the complexity of the problem.
David Thomson, Chief Executive,
Food and Drink Federation Scotland, 10 Bloomsbury Way, London.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel