Do you think medication like SSRI's are over prescribed?

Selected seratonin reuptake inhibitors like prozac are pretty much the most widely prescribed drugs in the world and they give them out sometimes for quite mild depression. Sure, they make a big difference to some people but in the mild cases, is this a good idea? The way they work is really badly understood and we really have no idea of the long term impact on the brain. There is also a potential link to schizophrenia and I can help but wonder, are we going to end up giving people with mild depression a much worse condition like schizophrenia? Thoughts?

Answer #1

Most psychotropics are over prescribed. However, you really do want to look at it from another perspective. Getting therapy is not only time consuming, it is also costly. Much more expensive than getting dr*gs. So for those who cant afford therapy, it may be a reasonable solution. Also prozac has been around for over 30 years. If it was going to have long term impacts, they would have found it at this point.

‘There is also a potential link to schizophrenia’

Anyone who has done research knows that a correlation does not mean causality. The dr*g hasnt been proven to CAUSE schizophrenia. Any link could have several explanations.

I am not a fan of dr*gs. But they have their uses and I wouldnt deny those who need it.

Answer #2

I think all drugs are over prescribed. Back when ADHD was this big crisis and just had to be cured, my brother was diagnosed and they had him on all sorts of medications. I don’t know how to accurately describe him now because I haven’t lived around him for some years, but when I left he was a zombie. Same things with SSRI’s.

People think that by taking these medications all problems go away, but they’re only aids in recover or treatment; the cause will still be there the next morning. By taking these they become absent from their own treatments and get surprised when they have to switch meds or take higher doses. For some reason we live in a world where we think the only possibility of full existence is if you’re blissfully happy, but maybe the reason so many people feel bleak in life is because they never get the chance to feel anything else and don’t learn how to cope with feelings that aren’t positive and happy.

Some people really do need them, but I know for a fact others don’t but get told to take them anyway. Doctors are getting lazy. If we’re not causing worse conditions like schizophrenia, we change the personality of these people and create dependency, entire generations submerged in pill bottle culture.

Answer #3

its hasnt been shown to cause it but there hasnt been aot of research. Also, thirty years is not long considering how long it has taken to build up the little knowledge of neuroscience we have. Its quite scary how little we know but how willing we are to mess with it anyway. And I dont mean it should be denied to people who need it, but that it shouldnt be prescribed to everyone automatically with a few symptoms of depression

Answer #4

I know what you mean. My boyfriend was on SSRI for ages and when he finally came off them, he felt so much better. In the end, they were not even helping him at all, they were just putting off the time when he had to actually work though his issues and in the meantime, he had become more and more emotionally dependant on them

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