New Study Claims Depression Meds are Placebo: Thoughts?

I'm glad you brought this up! I've been trying to talk to friends and family about it, but no one else is on antidepressants so they don't really care. Over all I think that if it is a placebo, it's ok, I'm just glad it's working. I was upset at first though because I've been dealing with uncontrollable weight gain and fatigue since I've started these meds and I wouldn't have those side effects on a sugar pill.. so I'm hoping this means they can find better cures with less side effects for this.

There’s no way…I’ve gone through various SSRI’s over the years and some had some beneficial effects, but nothing compared to Prozac. I went from the lowest dose to 60 mgs daily and my life has changed dramatically for the better.

Yeah. I’m not so sure I buy into it. I’ve been off and on antidepressants since I was like 12 years old (27years) I can tell you that some have made my depression worse. Some have help. And some couldn’t feel worked. Right now im taking one and if I miss a dose or am late with it. “Crazy Summer” comes out to play! 🤣 That’s not a pretty thing! I get extremely irritable and my depression kicks back in. But when im consistent and taking it on time. I see a huge difference! I go from being suicidal without meds to feeling like I want to live! So I can’t hardly believe that that could be some placebo effect I’m making up in my mind! 😕

If it’s a placebo then it’s a placebo that helped curb my depressive episodes so they’re less frequent and less bad. That’s good enough for me to keep going.

I am new here and not sure if you posted the study or not but I am very interested in this cause I have a sensitivity to anything that increase serotonin. I have had serotonin syndrome multiple times and have a list of things I learned cause an increase of serotonin one way or another: - resveratrol / Japanese knotweed (extra strong) - 5-HTP (extra strong. Precursor to serotonin) - Niacin (pretty strong. precursor to serotonin) - Lowers Benzos/Benzo Withdrawal - opiates (work like an SSRI) - recreational drugs like crack/cocaine, MDMA, research chemicals - amphetamines - antihistamines (some of them) - black walnut (medium) - ginkgo biloba (light) - stinging nettle - ginseng If you are on anything that causes serotonin to increase in the brain or not be taken by it’s receptors site, or not be broken down by enzymes, and then you take ANOTHER substance that also does, then you are risking a dangerous reaction called Serotonin Syndrome, which has symptoms that vary greatly. For me, confusion, disassociating, feeling manic, speed talking, having trouble listening, racing heart, feeling cold, a buzzing feeling in the brain, Brain fog, short term memory loss, trouble focusing, making mistakes, a decrease in coordination, fever.. are all symptoms I’ve had in different combinations over the course of having this happen to me at least a dozen times. The only treatment for serotonin syndrome: 1. Stop Serotonin increasing Substances immediately (3 days later, you should feel a lot better but it can take much longer to feel back to normal) 2. Oxygen Therapy 3. Benzodiazepines is the only drug used to treat this condition due to its ability to lower serotonin

yeah that article kinda made me upset, it feeds into the idea that depression isnt a legitimate issue. also, medications are always tested with placebo groups. its not a placebo effect, although there might be evidence that depression isnt just a seratonin issue but with multiple neurotransmitters- that i definitely believe. overall though i think this does more harm than good when the research hasn’t been completed yet

Important takeaway: SRIs have pretty serious side effects, and over-prescribing them is both dangerous and irresponsible in that it ignores other causes for depression in favor of a quick fix. -- I want to make it super clear that it is VERY IMPORTANT for people to have access to this type of meds and it's saved me from suicide at multiple points in my life. However, in some of those times I could have probably also used like... Proper medical treatment for other issues like chronic bladder pain or therapeutic / social service support in escaping the sexual abuse that probably causing it. Furthermore, for undiagnosed bipolar or bpd folks, SRIs can trigger manic episodes and do more damage than help. So while yes, SRIs are super critical, maybe they shouldn't be the first / only line of defense. And that's what this study was trying to say.

Misconception 2: This study tested whether depression is caused by low serotonin levels. -- This study didn't actually test anything, it's a review of a lot of other literature, so they are summarizing many findings over time. This is important because it's very unlikely that any follow up study could just disprove everything in this review. The reason they're doing this review is because they think there's an important point to be made and I think that's true, though I don't think they've done a great job communicating it.

Really glad we have this safe space for discussions like these

Very dangerous for people to believe this.

If this was true ill be dead

Hello! Would you mind sharing this study with me? I’d love to read over it and try to see their logic.

the issue is that sometimes it IS a disorder originating in the brain's inability to properly produce neurotransmitters, and sometimes what we call depression is actually just a normal response to awful circumstances. I will say a lot of psychologists and psychiatrists are also disagreeing with the study and saying you can't make blanket statements like that because of how complex and varied the brain and psychology are

I’m having a hard time believing this too. Zoloft almost made me malice myself, and talking Prozac has freaking changed my life. If it were a placebo, i would be able to function when i forget to take them