> I read this sort of critique often, but what are people living with debilitating depression supposed to do? I don't disagree strongly with anything you've sa

> I read this sort of critique often, but what are people living with debilitating depression supposed to do? I don't disagree strongly with anything you've said here, but I think as someone more on the other side of this argument – that in most cases people are probably better off not taking SSRIs – that part of the problem is that people don't learn to deal with their depression anymore and as a society we don't care to help those suffering with depression beyond just telling them to take psychoactive drugs. As a depressed person myself and someone who knows a fair few depressed people, I do believe you can learn to manage it in the vast majority of cases. I think as a society if we tried to help people understand and manage their emotions then perhaps we could help people without medicating them to be honest. It's just that medicating them is easier, as you suggest. I don't really care what others do though. If people want to medicate then more power to them... All I can say is that in my experience it's the wrong thing to do and that the only long-term way to deal with depression is to learn to experience it without being overwhelmed or burdened by it. In this sense pushing people straight to SSRIs denies them the chance at a more lasting solution. Ideally I think SSRIs should be the last option.