Comments on: New Study: SSRI Antidepressants ‘Clinically Insignificant’ For Most People

By: Geekwad

Geekwad — Sun, 03 May 2009 18:36:30 +0000

Barry, the "so what" is that these placebos have adverse effects. If we are going to be prescribing placebos, we can do a lot better than SSRIs.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:17:00 +0000

All of the information I have read that supports the effectiveness of SSRI`s makes note that the effects are not immediate, and often tend to “creep up” on the patient after 4-8 weeks of use. I believe that this phenomenon (improvement in symptoms that comes about in an unexpected manner) undermines the theory that the improvements are largely due to a placebo effect – where expectation is the driving source of improvement in symptoms.

I am not familiar with the statistics used in the medical world. However, from an engineering perspective, the scatter of the data about the regression lines makes me question the statistical significance of the regression lines which are used to judge the statistical significance of the drug effectiveness.

By: Barry

Barry — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:42:00 +0000

I believe SSRI's can work wonders....I've seen it firsthand...but I also believe they are vastly over-prescribed, which accounts for the scattershot results. There are lots of reasons for depression, and as many definitions of depression as there are people. There is no real clinical way to measure depression, other than asking a patient how they feel. That limitation alone could explain why the medicines have inconsistent results.

And even if it IS only effective as a placebo in some cases, so what? Whatever works, right?

A placebo is certainly less depressing than this study.

By: Dianne m

Dianne m — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:53:00 +0000

I have been dealing with depression on and off since childhood, I was undiagnosed and learnt to pretend. One day the bubble broke.
It happened during the 1980's with the rise of SSRI, I was encouraged like so many to 'get with the program', I have always mistrusted the idea behind these drugs but they were scientifically 'proven' a 'wonder drug' and you can't argue with science, I was worried about sounding irrational.
Four days on Zoloft and I didn't have a care, I spent money freely, money I didn't have, I was wonderfully 'artifically happy' and I knew it.
I stopped taking them. I have always leaned toward Jung, and with the support of Art Therapy, self examination and a hell of alot of time... I am here.
This came about after I was able to accept once and for all that the 'family' I was born into were not loving or kind, and it was not my fault. I have severed ties and feel so much better, eventhough this goes against 'learned social norms' I honestly think this was a large part of the problem.
I feel rage, anger, sadness, desire, wonder, all sorts of feelings, but I do not feel depressed, and the best thing is every now and again unexpectedly...I feel happy.

By: violet_yoshi

violet_yoshi — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:31:00 +0000

I use Zoloft. I don't know how I'd be without it. I have been diagnosed with clinical depression. I would like to see what those of you posting against SSRIs would say, if someone you loved started sleeping all day, cutting themselves, and hating themselves. You'd want to help them of course. Why is it such a big deal if that help should come in a pill?

The problem with the suicide risk isn't the SSRIs themselves, it's unprofessional people prescribing them. Like doctors instead of Psychatrists, who have to legally check in with the patient to assess how they feel on the medication.

I think people who are saying to get rid of SSRIs, clearly have never been touched by depression. Perhaps they should be greatful, instead of seeking to make life more difficult for those who have depression.

By: doctorcb

doctorcb — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:55:00 +0000

As a GP I agree that antidepressants are over-prescribed, but do believe that there is a case for at least trying them in some patients. I am saddened that despite the increasingly strong evince for counselling and psychotherapy to treat depression it's availability is so limited in the UK. Counselling on the NHS is frequently restricted to a 6 session limit with a long waiting list or not available at all.
I find the above comment that 'GP's are not psychologists and are not qualified to assess mental illness' very insulting. GP's are doctors with a minimum of 10 years training and that includes psychiatry. We use accepted depression scales to assess the severity of a patient's depression. We are also trained in trying to identify the 'high'risk' suicidal patients.

By: Tim Young

Tim Young — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:10:00 +0000

By the way, somthing I forgot to add in my previous post....

I do agree that antidepressants are too easily prescribed to people. The medical profession should be held more accountable here.

The fact that anyone can go to a GP and spin a line about feeling down and walk away with a prescription is wrong. GP's are not psychologists and are not equipped to properly assess a persons mental condition.

I personally know several people who are on antidepressants and in my opinion don't need them. In fact some of these people treat them as an adjunct to their recreational drug use.

The use of antidepressants needs to be more strictly controlled.

By: Tim Young

Tim Young — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:48:00 +0000

What everyone needs to keep in mind is that it is impossible to generalize about these things. Whether antidepressants are effective on any one individual is dependant on many different factors.
For some they will have little or no effect. For others they can be life changing or life saving.
And there are many other results in between.
For me personally, they have been life changing.
After 17 years of intensive analytical psychotherapy which although it gave me great insight and understanding of my condition, didn't really help much to alleviate my depression, I started taking antidepressants with an almost instant (within the first hour) relief from my depression.
After several years on them I am still going strong and am finally living some sort of "normal" life.

By: Will

Will — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:20:00 +0000

Psychlaw, that was exactly my point. It's impossible for me to say what the cause of the change might have been. My thoughts about the effectiveness of the medicine were cast into doubt because it seemed to "go away" on its own as you say.

I agree with your point about competent therapy. I would even go so far as to say that lifestyle change and improved outlook could help combat almost all depression. Jeremy has already posted about the effectiveness of group therapy on treating mild depression. Having an active social life (which group therapy can be part of), staying fit, getting good rest, and knowing how to maintain a positive outlook and handle stress - these are all things that we tend to sacrifice in the name of modern efficiency which probably contribute strongly to depression and other problems.

By: psychlaw

psychlaw — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:40:00 +0000

Will, you stated that you're depression subsided after several years. That is wonderful. However, it's important to note that the elimination of depression may not have been due to the SSRIs. Clinical depression, by nature, has the tendency to "go away" in most people with no treatment whatsoever.

Also, I think regardless of the implications of the study and its strength, it highlights one important point: for most people (those with mild to moderate depression) , psychotherapy will not onlyb perform as well, if not better, than anti-depressants, but the effects are longer lasting. It's the ol' "teach a man to fish" theory. If taught how to restructure negative and dysfunctional thinking instead of being given a pill, an individual is more likely to cope and deal with depression if it comes about again in the future.