Heh, as someone who was on SSRIs for a long time at high dosages, they definitely do something, but the issue is less whether the drugs do anything and more wha

Heh, as someone who was on SSRIs for a long time at high dosages, they definitely do something, but the issue is less whether the drugs do anything and more what you do during that time. Personal experience with Sertraline - it doesn't make you happy or feel better or anything. It just numbs you, and you're really susceptible during this time. It's part of the reason why therapy is also really important in addition to the drugs to help get down to the core of what you're having issues with. The old Zoloft "sad blob" to "happy blob" commercials are a real disservice to modern anti-depressant medicine since it is a very incomplete picture. Aside from glossing over the side effects of the medication, the pills themselves don't do much except stop the feeling of absoutely horribleness for awhile. They don't make you feel better - they don't make you feel much of anything. But things at least stop seeming hopeless after awhile, and hopefully you can begin to address the underlying issues. In the case of true chemical imbalances like it's suspected I have, during this time you help find non-drug related coping mechanisms. Finding ways to help create a strong positive part of your life so the imbalances are offset and don't hit as hard. A lot of this comes just through therapy or at least a counselor while you work. My first few times on SSRIs were the result of rather serious and dangerous break downs where those around me had pretty good reason to think I was a threat to myself. But these cases were mishandled pretty heavily since the doc just wrote a prescription for Sertraline and sent me on my way. Therapy wasn't even discussed, and our insurance at the time certainly didn't cover it since it was a non-essential medical procedure. It wasn't until many years later and many changes of drugs later that I was finally in a position when I could do both therapy and have the drugs to assist that I actually made some progress -- the counselor and the psychiatrist worked in tandem; the counselor worked and would constantly try to see how I was when we lowered the dosage, the psychiatrist spent time making sure that the dosage was enough to keep me level, not pushing either way and consulting with the counselor to ensure they had a source of info that wasn't me. I hope we find something better since looking back at the SSRI period, it was not a very good time in my life and I was lucky enough to get to a situation where I could get proper mental healthcare. I can't imagine how many others were just tossed on an SSRI without the proper monitoring and assistance necessary to actually make use of the effect, or worse, who weren't watched at all as the more dangerous side effects kicked in.