It’s a bit strange to hear antidepressants called “addictive”. It’s true that some SSRIs, for some people, need to be tapered off before stopping (though I thin

It’s a bit strange to hear antidepressants called “addictive”. It’s true that some SSRIs, for some people, need to be tapered off before stopping (though I think in some cases this is overblown), but they are not habit-forming in the sense that, say, smoking is. Anecdotally, I’ve gone off Zoloft after years of daily use without any side effects more seriously than temporarily being a little mopey. As for benefit … we’ll, in raw numbers plenty of people see some benefit. Given the low side effect profile they’re worth trying as a first line of defense for therapy-resistant anxiety and depression. Particularly severe depression may require interventions such as ECT, but for mild to moderate cases a combination of an SSRI and CBT is often pretty effective.