In 1992 Professor Irving Kirsch of the University of Hull did a meta-analysis of both published and unpublished anti-depressant studies and discovered that anti-depressants had a (curiously) equal efficacy to placebo: 31 - 32%.
As a (now retired) pharmacist, I can attest that anti-depressants do not work - they are a band-aid; a socially sanctioned holding pattern option and a pharmaceutical company marketing dream.
I am now a therapist, and, after 16 years in private practice, the only way to beat depression (the fourth stage of grief) is to process the trauma, the grief, the emotional pain and all the issues around it with a competent therapist with whom you have rapport and trust. Is it easy? - no. Is it worth it - absolutely. I have also been a client and done extensive work with a therapist and an immensely capable trauma therapist. The relief, the freedom, the clarity, the contentment is immeasurable. Drugs are the fairytale, easy, short-cut, bandaid option. Therapy is the hard work that pays dividends for the rest of your life.
Thanks for your comment. Often when I hear people say that antidepressants "work", I wonder what the word "work" means to them. Lots of thinks can change after antidepressants, including brain chemistry, blunting emotions, even one's circumstances. In many people, depressive episodes have a natural history of resolving after several weeks without drugs.
“…studies examining the efficacy of antidepressants have not shown any meaningful effects, such as improvements in quality of life, and they make it more difficult for people to function.”
So antidepressants are snake oil?
Yet another fraudulent medical product being pressed upon the community.
Meanwhile…
“…the global antidepressants drugs market is expected to grow from USD 17.02 billion in 2022 to USD 36.41 billion by 2032…”*
The lucrative medical industrial complex, with the wholehearted collaboration of the medical ‘profession’, rolls on…
Yes, claiming efficacy (which in clinical trials is a few points on a rating scale) is not the same as actually helping people achieve meaningful life changes.
Thank you for this article. I cancelled my The Conversation contributions because they publish this kind of rubbish. Including the other day which stated on one hand only those over 70 are at risk from but the vaccines are safe and effective... ?!?!
I was told so many lies about SSRIs when I was prescribed them as a vulnerable youth decades - the chemical imbalance crap, it's just like taking insulin for diabetes, and just like diabetes you'll need to take them for life. The SSRIs wrecked my health.
Thanks again for publishing this. David Healy's work in this area is also excellent. Highly recommend "Children of the Cure".
Yep, David is great. He is part of the group suing the FDA for failing to act on a petition to update warnings about the potential for SSRIs to cause persistent sexual dysfunction.
Fortunately I wasn't aware of these slights when I stumbled onto his work. And his writings mirrored my own personal experience of the psychiatric industry to the letter, so I had no trouble trusting him.
Meanwhile Prof of Paychiatry Roy Perlis at Harvard has recommended that antidepressants be sold over the counter and his list of COIs with the major drug companies is a mile long. And at the same time the New York Times published an article claiming that antidepressants are 70% effective based on the corrupt STAR*D study. I don’t think that this is happening because the sale of antidepressants is sagging. More likely it’s because they just want to keep growing the market.
It would be interesting to read Salmaso's conflict of interest statement.
She and "The Conversation" in general sound like shills for Big Pharma.
As with most maldies affecting modern humanity - obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, mental health, cardiovascular disease, hypertension- treatment has moved from lifestyle modification to drugs.
Questioning of the Church of Vaccination is verboten.
It’s all about protecting the lucrative ‘The Science ™’.
It’s mind-blowing to think of the damage done by ‘The Conversation’, by its deliberate shutting down of debate and transparency.
And ‘The Conversation’ is yet another organisation associated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - “The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded The Conversation Media Group in Australia to help launch pilots in the United States and in South Africa.” https://theconversation.com/us/partners/the-bill-and-melinda-gates-foundation
This was achieved by coercion and mandates - 'No Jab, No Job' to 'No Jab, No Life'.
Those critical thinking people who refused to submit to the injections lost their jobs and were denied participation in society at the height of Covid madness. This happened in so-called 'free' Australia.
A little thing called 'voluntary informed consent for vaccination' was destroyed by the threat of penalty for refusing to comply.
The criticism of antidepressant drugs here is quite good and well-deserved. However, what's not said here, e.g. when it's suggested that psychotherapy gives better results than drugs, is that much mental illness, including depression, has a physiological basis. For example, people with depression are more likely to be insulin resistant; lithium acts as an insulin sensitizer; people have reversed schizophrenia on a ketogenic diet; exercise is a more potent treatment for depression that either psychotherapy or drugs; the list goes on.
Plenty of evidence points toward the metabolic and obesity disaster of the 21st century, brought about by garbage processed food, being sedentary, lack of sunlight, as a significant source of mental illness. Add on top of that social isolation and other factors, and it's no wonder rates of mental illness are high.
Naturally, the medical and psychiatric establishment for the most part has no clue about any of this.
Sadly, due to the indoctrination of the medical professionals, particularly GP's and persistent PR peddled by Big Pharma, the taking of medication has become the norm.
Big Pharma are not looking to heal anyone, their only intent is to addict as many people to their poisons as soon as possible and for as long as possible. What better than to pressurise concerned parents that the best thing they can do for their children is to put them on anti-depressants.
Big Pharma and their policy of medicating children to become life long dependents is no different to the tobacco companies policies to hook teenagers on vapes now, as it was on cigarettes a generation ago.
People need to realise that medication is not provided to improve their health - medication is purely the product by which one industry makes massive profits, in a similar way to McDonald's peddling their burgers for the same outcome. The commonality between the two is that neither is beneficial to one's health overall!
From a clinical perspective - anti-depressants are most effective for anxiety as the drugs seem to have the primary effect of blunting the emotions. A numbness that is helpful for the anxious mind. The anxious patients do not typically find meaningful relief with therapy ( or I am simply seeing the subset that fail therapy). There is usually marginal or no relief for depressive, negative symptoms. One severely depressed patient told me that the beneficial effect is a numbness to the depression itself but not a lifting of the mood. Unfortunately, even after explaining the likely outcome of treatment, many depressed people still want treatment with these medications. The advertising is very appealing. A pill is much easier than the lifestyle modifications and,frequently, the life re-direction that is needed to actually improve the mood. Likely this will not change until there is a public health messaging change.
Yes, I just did an interview with Dr Mark Horowitz who is in Australia at the moment teaching about antidepressant withdrawal. He said when people say antidepressants “work” it usually means it “numbs” them and that’s enough for some patients.
Now that I know pharma funds our healthcare agencies and universities, I no longer trust anything at all. When you realize even our doctors when prescribing medication get all their info from the pharmaceutical company who produces the drug. It’s corrupt through and through.
Anti-depressants are probably best thought of as neurotoxins. Not only are they a rip-off for the consumer, but they contribute to the overall dumbing-down of society -- they go along with coffee (caffeine), and alcohol, to diminish brain function. It makes us easier for the power elite to control, which is what they want.
In 1992 Professor Irving Kirsch of the University of Hull did a meta-analysis of both published and unpublished anti-depressant studies and discovered that anti-depressants had a (curiously) equal efficacy to placebo: 31 - 32%.
As a (now retired) pharmacist, I can attest that anti-depressants do not work - they are a band-aid; a socially sanctioned holding pattern option and a pharmaceutical company marketing dream.
I am now a therapist, and, after 16 years in private practice, the only way to beat depression (the fourth stage of grief) is to process the trauma, the grief, the emotional pain and all the issues around it with a competent therapist with whom you have rapport and trust. Is it easy? - no. Is it worth it - absolutely. I have also been a client and done extensive work with a therapist and an immensely capable trauma therapist. The relief, the freedom, the clarity, the contentment is immeasurable. Drugs are the fairytale, easy, short-cut, bandaid option. Therapy is the hard work that pays dividends for the rest of your life.
Thanks for your comment. Often when I hear people say that antidepressants "work", I wonder what the word "work" means to them. Lots of thinks can change after antidepressants, including brain chemistry, blunting emotions, even one's circumstances. In many people, depressive episodes have a natural history of resolving after several weeks without drugs.
“…studies examining the efficacy of antidepressants have not shown any meaningful effects, such as improvements in quality of life, and they make it more difficult for people to function.”
So antidepressants are snake oil?
Yet another fraudulent medical product being pressed upon the community.
Meanwhile…
“…the global antidepressants drugs market is expected to grow from USD 17.02 billion in 2022 to USD 36.41 billion by 2032…”*
The lucrative medical industrial complex, with the wholehearted collaboration of the medical ‘profession’, rolls on…
* https://finance.yahoo.com/news/antidepressants-drugs-market-grow-cagr-110000430.html
Yes, claiming efficacy (which in clinical trials is a few points on a rating scale) is not the same as actually helping people achieve meaningful life changes.
Thank you for this article. I cancelled my The Conversation contributions because they publish this kind of rubbish. Including the other day which stated on one hand only those over 70 are at risk from but the vaccines are safe and effective... ?!?!
I was told so many lies about SSRIs when I was prescribed them as a vulnerable youth decades - the chemical imbalance crap, it's just like taking insulin for diabetes, and just like diabetes you'll need to take them for life. The SSRIs wrecked my health.
Thanks again for publishing this. David Healy's work in this area is also excellent. Highly recommend "Children of the Cure".
Yep, David is great. He is part of the group suing the FDA for failing to act on a petition to update warnings about the potential for SSRIs to cause persistent sexual dysfunction.
David Healy has done so much to educate people but his reputation has been sullied by the psychopaths who sell them.
Fortunately I wasn't aware of these slights when I stumbled onto his work. And his writings mirrored my own personal experience of the psychiatric industry to the letter, so I had no trouble trusting him.
Meanwhile Prof of Paychiatry Roy Perlis at Harvard has recommended that antidepressants be sold over the counter and his list of COIs with the major drug companies is a mile long. And at the same time the New York Times published an article claiming that antidepressants are 70% effective based on the corrupt STAR*D study. I don’t think that this is happening because the sale of antidepressants is sagging. More likely it’s because they just want to keep growing the market.
Also remembering Maryanne's article: Is it time to make antidepressants available over the counter? https://substack.com/home/post/p-143510105
Of course!
🙏 and no doubt no mention of the benefits of a healthy and varied microbiome in the gut
It would be interesting to read Salmaso's conflict of interest statement.
She and "The Conversation" in general sound like shills for Big Pharma.
As with most maldies affecting modern humanity - obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, mental health, cardiovascular disease, hypertension- treatment has moved from lifestyle modification to drugs.
Salmaso did not disclose any COIs, but I agree, that across all aspects of chronic diseases, there is a pharmaceutical focus over lifestyle.
“The Conversation” in general is a shill for Big Pharma. This highly conflicted website has been a disaster for Australia.
And called ‘The Conversation’…how ironic… This is a website that cancels out dissenting voices, no conversation allowed.
I know, I was banned personally by the editor, Misha Ketchell, in April 2016, because of my comments on taxpayer-funded vaccination policy, see: https://over-vaccination.net/the-conversation-forum/
Questioning of the Church of Vaccination is verboten.
It’s all about protecting the lucrative ‘The Science ™’.
It’s mind-blowing to think of the damage done by ‘The Conversation’, by its deliberate shutting down of debate and transparency.
And ‘The Conversation’ is yet another organisation associated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - “The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded The Conversation Media Group in Australia to help launch pilots in the United States and in South Africa.” https://theconversation.com/us/partners/the-bill-and-melinda-gates-foundation
I was unaware of the link with the BMGF. Explains a lot.
Another conflict of interest that gets brushed under the carpet.
Your experience with "The Conversation" is a badge of honour for you!
There's a huge research sector network Gareth, they're got this all sewn up, particularly shutting down dissent.
The 'tyranny of experts'.
See here Peter Doherty supporting The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/uk/nobel-laureate
Listen to what he has to say...and laugh...
'The Conversation'...actually dictating to the public, no questioning allowed.
On the subject of Peter Doherty, it's shocking to consider the impact the Doherty Institute has had upon Australia throughout the Covid debacle.
For instance it was the Doherty Institute that put us into lockdown in March 2020, with its modelling influenced by the now infamous modelling of Neil Ferguson and co in Imperial College London: https://www.doherty.edu.au/news-events/news/covid-19-modelling-papers
And it was the Doherty modelling that also kept us under restrictions until 70/80% COVID-19 vaccination targets were reached: https://www.doherty.edu.au/news-events/news/doherty-institute-modelling-report-for-national-cabinet
https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-06/national-plan-060821_0.pdf
This was achieved by coercion and mandates - 'No Jab, No Job' to 'No Jab, No Life'.
Those critical thinking people who refused to submit to the injections lost their jobs and were denied participation in society at the height of Covid madness. This happened in so-called 'free' Australia.
A little thing called 'voluntary informed consent for vaccination' was destroyed by the threat of penalty for refusing to comply.
So there is no valid consent.
I was aware of Doherty's role through Covid, but not in "The Conversation".
Thank you for that information.
More confirmation of the truth of the maxim on power attributed to Lord Acton.
Oh that explains A LOT!
The criticism of antidepressant drugs here is quite good and well-deserved. However, what's not said here, e.g. when it's suggested that psychotherapy gives better results than drugs, is that much mental illness, including depression, has a physiological basis. For example, people with depression are more likely to be insulin resistant; lithium acts as an insulin sensitizer; people have reversed schizophrenia on a ketogenic diet; exercise is a more potent treatment for depression that either psychotherapy or drugs; the list goes on.
Plenty of evidence points toward the metabolic and obesity disaster of the 21st century, brought about by garbage processed food, being sedentary, lack of sunlight, as a significant source of mental illness. Add on top of that social isolation and other factors, and it's no wonder rates of mental illness are high.
Naturally, the medical and psychiatric establishment for the most part has no clue about any of this.
Yeah, imagine if psychiatrists were only allowed to prescribe lifestyle modifications….?! 😳
Sadly, due to the indoctrination of the medical professionals, particularly GP's and persistent PR peddled by Big Pharma, the taking of medication has become the norm.
Big Pharma are not looking to heal anyone, their only intent is to addict as many people to their poisons as soon as possible and for as long as possible. What better than to pressurise concerned parents that the best thing they can do for their children is to put them on anti-depressants.
Big Pharma and their policy of medicating children to become life long dependents is no different to the tobacco companies policies to hook teenagers on vapes now, as it was on cigarettes a generation ago.
People need to realise that medication is not provided to improve their health - medication is purely the product by which one industry makes massive profits, in a similar way to McDonald's peddling their burgers for the same outcome. The commonality between the two is that neither is beneficial to one's health overall!
My observation of people that I know on anti depressants the numbing is what I see more than a resolution of the problem or coping strategies.
From a clinical perspective - anti-depressants are most effective for anxiety as the drugs seem to have the primary effect of blunting the emotions. A numbness that is helpful for the anxious mind. The anxious patients do not typically find meaningful relief with therapy ( or I am simply seeing the subset that fail therapy). There is usually marginal or no relief for depressive, negative symptoms. One severely depressed patient told me that the beneficial effect is a numbness to the depression itself but not a lifting of the mood. Unfortunately, even after explaining the likely outcome of treatment, many depressed people still want treatment with these medications. The advertising is very appealing. A pill is much easier than the lifestyle modifications and,frequently, the life re-direction that is needed to actually improve the mood. Likely this will not change until there is a public health messaging change.
Yes, I just did an interview with Dr Mark Horowitz who is in Australia at the moment teaching about antidepressant withdrawal. He said when people say antidepressants “work” it usually means it “numbs” them and that’s enough for some patients.
The companies denied for decades that the withdrawal challenges were real.
So did the psychiatry colleges. Shameful.
Now that I know pharma funds our healthcare agencies and universities, I no longer trust anything at all. When you realize even our doctors when prescribing medication get all their info from the pharmaceutical company who produces the drug. It’s corrupt through and through.
A Midwestern Doctor did a comprehensive takedown on SSRIs in November 2023: https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/why-are-antidepressants-so-harmful?r=ntl6o&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Anti-depressants are probably best thought of as neurotoxins. Not only are they a rip-off for the consumer, but they contribute to the overall dumbing-down of society -- they go along with coffee (caffeine), and alcohol, to diminish brain function. It makes us easier for the power elite to control, which is what they want.
See @RobynChuter's many great substack articles on this topic. Including a recent one on depression as 'failure feedback'.