Agree that the system is a bit fucked, in pretty much every country (as far as I can tell). Unless you are involuntarily committed, you won't be put on the dru

Agree that the system is a bit fucked, in pretty much every country (as far as I can tell). Unless you are involuntarily committed, you won't be put on the drug path if you don't want to. Psychiatric medications like SSRIs are generally awful. What I mean when I say "awful" is that the experience of taking them is awful. You may end up with symptoms that are under control, but you may still experience symptoms, or the symptoms can sometimes get worse, and the side effects are often just kind of shitty to deal with. These are generally not habit-forming drugs. These are nasty pills that you'll look at in the morning and dread taking. Non-compliance rates are already high, when you have patients who want to take the medication. There is no way you're going to prescribe antidepressants to somebody who says they don't want to take them. It's just a waste of time. Xanax is different. It's a benzodiazepine. The entire category of benzodiazepines is known to have a high rate of misuse, and Xanax in particular has a high rate of misuse. It's prescribed because it's an extremely effective and fast-acting. Very different from SSRIs.