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Look. It's not some earth shattering revelation that "SSRIs don't work for many people". This has been known since SSRIs first appeared on the scene. This is a

Look. It's not some earth shattering revelation that "SSRIs don't work for many people". This has been known since SSRIs first appeared on the scene. This is also true of any other treatment you can think of. The reason they became the first choice as far as antidepressants go is they were a lot safer and better tolerated than the older alternatives. Besides, there's a lot more to psychiatry than just SSRIs. But with people like you it's always about SSRIs. Can't shut up about the SSRIs. If you hadn't noticed, this new drug is not an SSRI! Psychiatrists recommend therapy, they recommend changes in diet and they recommend exercise. Clinical psychology, though technically a separate discipline from psychiatry, not being under the umbrella of medicine, is very much developed, researched and practiced in tandem and cooperation withpsychiatry, and vice versa. You're constructing an elaborate strawman here, where the only reason for using drugs is some evil financial motive. It's just not that simple. There bad apples, and perverse incentives, but not only bad apples. Most doctors do in fact care about helping their patients. Therapy can't fix everything. Therapy alone is not always sufficient and can be just as hit and miss as medication. Not everything is some deep personal issue that needs to be analysed and resolved. Mental disorder is often genetic, even neurological in nature. All the therapy in the world won't stop a bipolar person from cycling between mood disturbances, or someone with ADHD from being unable to concentrate. We can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Medication, therapy, meditation, diet, exercise, sleep hygiene are all part of the psychiatric toolbox.

zpeti 3y ago
I agree with you, but what we are arguing about is how much, and when? Looking at how many people are medicating for mental health issues in the west (or world), I find it extremely unlikely this is because all these people have gone through therapy, exercise and diet and they have to take medication. No. It’s the easy route to some sort of medicated happiness, and it’s profitable, so everyone does it. But this many people shouldn’t be doing it. They shouldn’t be taking the easy route, because it’s not dealing with many issues we should be dealing with, as society and as individuals.
- habinero 3y ago
  It's not the "easy route". It's a route that _works_. Saying it's "medicated happiness" is ridiculous fearmongering. Antidepressants do not make you happy. They do not change how you think or how you act. They can't. If you think they do, you do not know what you're talking about.
- ShivTheShiv 3y ago
  This particular drug is about post partum depression. Sleep deprived women, often functioning as milk machines, while experiencing major hormonal changes and possibly recovering from major abdominal surgery. These are not people “taking the easy route”. Save the bootstraps talk for other patients.
  - zpeti 3y ago
    Sorry, but no. I have two children. I as a father probably had mild PPD, and so did my wife after our second child. You know why my wife had PPD? Because being a mother is hard, and she also had a lot of unresolved anger and issues towards her own mother, and she was reminding herself of her own mother and causing quite a bit of anxiety. We were also at an extremely difficult part of our relationship, we basically hated each other for a year. What did we do? We both went to therapy, and asked the hard questions about why this was happening, and how to resolve them. My wife spent 6 months in therapy and resolved the issues with her mother, and now she is happy with her own performance as a mother. We went to couples therapy, which was extremely hard, but after over a year, we are basically in love again, and we are STARTING to understand what patterns are causing our issues, and how to deal with them. We took no medication. But we were on the road to depression, but decided to actually look behind WHY this was happening. Popping pills of course is much easier. You don't need to face your demons, or your parent's demons. The trouble is it is at crucial times in life like childbirth when these demons emerge. Yet hardly anyone wants to face them anymore. This is not mentally healthy. And what's even worse, you are very likely to pass on many of these issues to your children if they remain unresolved. I know this is counter to 70% of what americans believe in, but it's the hard truth, and I think many people deep down know this is the truth, but it's just much easier to take pills and bury the fact that EVERYONE has mental issues that need resolving, without taking medication. I'm not talking about the extreme cases btw. I know in some instances medication is necessary. But it is WAY overused, to get out of making hard choices.

zpeti 3y ago

I agree with you, but what we are arguing about is how much, and when? Looking at how many people are medicating for mental health issues in the west (or world), I find it extremely unlikely this is because all these people have gone through therapy, exercise and diet and they have to take medication. No. It’s the easy route to some sort of medicated happiness, and it’s profitable, so everyone does it. But this many people shouldn’t be doing it. They shouldn’t be taking the easy route, because it’s not dealing with many issues we should be dealing with, as society and as individuals.

habinero 3y ago
It's not the "easy route". It's a route that _works_. Saying it's "medicated happiness" is ridiculous fearmongering. Antidepressants do not make you happy. They do not change how you think or how you act. They can't. If you think they do, you do not know what you're talking about.
ShivTheShiv 3y ago
This particular drug is about post partum depression. Sleep deprived women, often functioning as milk machines, while experiencing major hormonal changes and possibly recovering from major abdominal surgery. These are not people “taking the easy route”. Save the bootstraps talk for other patients.
- zpeti 3y ago
  Sorry, but no. I have two children. I as a father probably had mild PPD, and so did my wife after our second child. You know why my wife had PPD? Because being a mother is hard, and she also had a lot of unresolved anger and issues towards her own mother, and she was reminding herself of her own mother and causing quite a bit of anxiety. We were also at an extremely difficult part of our relationship, we basically hated each other for a year. What did we do? We both went to therapy, and asked the hard questions about why this was happening, and how to resolve them. My wife spent 6 months in therapy and resolved the issues with her mother, and now she is happy with her own performance as a mother. We went to couples therapy, which was extremely hard, but after over a year, we are basically in love again, and we are STARTING to understand what patterns are causing our issues, and how to deal with them. We took no medication. But we were on the road to depression, but decided to actually look behind WHY this was happening. Popping pills of course is much easier. You don't need to face your demons, or your parent's demons. The trouble is it is at crucial times in life like childbirth when these demons emerge. Yet hardly anyone wants to face them anymore. This is not mentally healthy. And what's even worse, you are very likely to pass on many of these issues to your children if they remain unresolved. I know this is counter to 70% of what americans believe in, but it's the hard truth, and I think many people deep down know this is the truth, but it's just much easier to take pills and bury the fact that EVERYONE has mental issues that need resolving, without taking medication. I'm not talking about the extreme cases btw. I know in some instances medication is necessary. But it is WAY overused, to get out of making hard choices.