As someone who's been on SSRIs for the majority of my life for Panic Disorder[1] (from age 11 to age 28), there was a period of time when being on Paroxetine (P

As someone who's been on SSRIs for the majority of my life for Panic Disorder[1] (from age 11 to age 28), there was a period of time when being on Paroxetine (Paxil in the US) I started to read these stories and sympathize with them, trying to blame all of my behavioral / mental problems on the drug, even though the drug literally saved my life. Paroxetine isn't without its issues, and it took many many years to taper off of it without side-effects, but these sorts of anecdotes do nothing to help people in these situations. There's a stigma with SSRIs that you either a) lose your creative ability and become a pharmaceutical drone or b) become suicidal. I've heard people tell me that anti-depressants are bad since they are not "pure" and you aren't being "yourself". They clearly don't know what it's like to have something like Panic Disorder, or severe depression. It was this stigma that made me taper off Paroxetine. I felt like I was "cheating". Eventually my anxieties started coming back (though less severely) in my later years and I'm on Lexapro now, and I've realized that not only have these drugs worked, my life is in every way better than it was before. Who cares if it's cheating? I know this is just an anecdote just like the ones in the link, but I think it's important that people do what they need to do to live a good life, and if you're reading this and considering anti-depressants, there is nothing wrong with trying, and the stigma should be fought. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_disorder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_disorder