Bob Finbow, do you were glasses? If not, do you tell other people its because thety are available, a few hundred years ago people didn't wear them. People are certainly phyically different, why not mentally?

Peggy Webb, Blyth, England

Dear Sir, I suffered from major depression for years, the first episode occurring when I was twelve or thirteen. Had it not been for a friend telling me: "you are suffering from depression and you should treat it like an illness", and giving me the address of two behavioural therapists, I would probably have committed suicide by now. The therapist saved me and Prozac helped me through the process. I would also like to recommend Andrew Salomon's book The Noonday Demon to fellow sufferers or non-sufferers who cannot grasp what it feels like. Thank you.

elizabeth schumann, Paris, France

I simply must take issue with Dr Guthrie's remarks. If the doctor feels that a patient is not a suitable candidate for medication, then it is their hand on the prescription pad, and it is within their power to refuse to prescribe the drugs, no matter how much the patient requests them. I can quite see that this may be difficult - GPs are under great pressure, with too many patients and not enough time, but nevertheless, if so many feel so strongly on this issue (as they seem to) one has to wonder why they keep prescribing the things. Surely there can be better dialogue with these allied professionals to find alternative treatments, if that is thought sensible.

As to the point about a powerful pharmaceutical industry, they may be persuasive, but I would hope that are GPs views cannot be entirely swayed on clinical matters by visiting salesmen proffering branded ballpoints and post-it notes.

Margot, Toronto, Canada

Could it not be that the very presence of this "wealth of other health advisers" is the cause of it all. Whilst genuine depression no doubt existed in previous generations, it is only in the last 30 - 40 years that it has assumed epidemic proportions. In todays world, people are repeatedly told they cannot cope with life's little ups and downs without an analyst, councillor or, indeed, doctor to tell them what to do. Perhaps a return to a bit of good, old fashioned stoicism is the answer, with all health professionals being prepared to refuse prescribing 'happy pills' except in the most extreme cases. It will not hurt most people to learn to put up with a little less than a perfect life and, in the age-old phrase, "pull themselves together". Long-term, I suspect most would become far happier, more independent people. Why must people expect a drug to do this for them?

Bob Finbow, Haverhill, England