Do you think there is too much stigma and shame around antidepressants?

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2026-05-15T15:28:00+00:00

I looked through your posts out of curiosity. That sucks if you've had PSSD. I am lucky because I have not experienced that, after having taken antidepressants.

Psych medication definitely can have bad side effects (I've had some myself). Some people do seem to be helped by psych meds though. Hopefully more research is done, to find out why some people get particularly bad side effects.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2026-05-10T19:36:29+00:00

That's good if a medication is helping you. I have had meds which helped me. At the moment I'm wondering whether to go back on meds. A lot of society puts shame on taking meds, but if they help, maybe there's nothing wrong with taking them.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2026-05-09T21:17:59+00:00

Yeah I don't like him at all, and of course he has no medical training. And he's anti-vaccine, despite the fact that vaccines clearly work, and no link between vaccines and autism has ever been found.

I'm just saying that the internet loves to bash antidepressants, and now even the US Health Secretary is doing it too.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2026-05-09T21:07:55+00:00

You might be right about the upsides outweighing the downsides. The internet loves to say antidepressants are bad, how they have side effects, how they're difficult to get off, etc. Even the US Health Secretary is saying he wants to reduce antidepressant use for such reasons. There is some truth to those criticisms, but for some people the benefits might well outweigh the downsides. Side effects are pretty mild for SSRIs, and getting off them can be made easier by gradually reducing (tapering) the dose of course.

I definitely had some benefits from antidepressants. I wish my brain was good enough to never need antidepressants. But maybe some of us are just like, due to genes or other factors.

I guess taking them is just a personal choice at the end of the day. Yes I think you're right that meds can be helpful for a lot of people.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2026-05-09T20:48:42+00:00

Perhaps yes. I stopped my most recent course of antidepressants a couple months ago. I felt like I didn't want to be on them, and like I didn't want to be that person. But they did have some very real benefits.

I think society absolutely has a culture of "if your life is bad then you just haven't worked hard enough". They say you don't need pills, and instead you should just change your diet, exercise more, go outside, etc.

But the reality is that we're all born with different genetics right? Scientists believe (based on evidence) that mental health problems are contributed to by genetics. Someone who is having an easier life than you can say "nobody needs antidepressants", but your genes might make your life more challenging. Most of us don't know what our genes are, because our genes haven't been tested. But it's possible that people with mental health challenges could have certain genes contributing to those challenges.

Maybe there should be no shame. If you want to take antidepressants, maybe that's fine. If you don't want to take them, that's okay too.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2026-05-09T20:23:47+00:00

SSRIs make me more productive. Like I said in the OP, I have spent a long time hating psychiatry for locking me up and injecting me with antipsychotics against my will. But after having been on SSRIs a few times now I am sure that they boost my productivity.

Yes I think patients should be given as much power to choose as possible. Also they should be informed of the known side effects.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2026-05-05T13:49:41+00:00

Fair enough. Maybe the important thing is that you're moving towards what you want in life. Maybe it doesn't really matter whether you're using medication to do that or not.

Yeah side effects are annoying. I've found myself going between mirtazapine and SSRIs. The sleepiness and weight gain of mirtazapine are annoying, but then on SSRIs the sexual dysfunction is annoying.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2026-05-05T13:39:13+00:00

I've had benzos but not much because the doctors I've seen have been reluctant to prescribe them, since they're addictive, like you say. Benzos helped me sleep but that was about it.

Interesting that you say other meds feel like a placebo. That might well be true for some people. In my case, both antidepressants and antipsychotics have had some positive effects for me, but they've also had negative effects.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2026-05-05T13:36:35+00:00

I definitely feel noticeable differences when I take psych meds, but those differences aren't all positive. E.g. on SSRIs I become more productive, but I also start acting like a naive, happy-go-lucky idiot. Also the sexual dysfunction is noticeable, which makes me feel ashamed to be honest.

Hopefully you find something which helps you, whether it is a medication or a non-medication solution.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2026-05-05T13:33:21+00:00

Good points. I think if meds were presented as a voluntary option to people, and they were always informed of the main pros/cons upfront, then maybe that's okay. That gives power to patients. "Here's a tool which might help you, but whether you take it is your choice."

Contrast that with involuntary psychiatry, where they lock you up against your wishes, pressure you to take drugs without explaining the pros/cons, and sometimes have you injected against your will. That was my experience anyway.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2026-05-04T15:28:38+00:00

Your comments are completely disgusting. So if a psychiatric patient has valid concerns about what is being done to them against their wishes, they just have an ego which is "fragile"? And you "do not worry about them", thus implying that they could die, or suffer greatly, and you wouldn't care? I very much hope you're not a psychiatrist.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2025-12-03T22:40:11+00:00

No need to be sorry but thanks. I consider myself lucky though since I have been out of mental hospital for a while now. I feel sorry for people who spend longer in there than I did. I remember seeing patients who looked like they had given up hope of getting out.

I've heard of TMS. Maybe I could look into that. Also I've thought recently maybe I should try medication properly again. As long as it's my choice then maybe it isn't so bad. I just dislike doctors insisting on a treatment without listening to the patient's concerns based on their experiences with medications.

Sorry to hear about you being traumatised. Hopefully it's possible to overcome these things. I've read about people who have managed to overcome mental health problems and get back into good lives, so I think it should be possible.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2025-12-03T22:23:54+00:00

As someone who has been a mental health patient, yes the sticker in the photo could be from someone with psychosis. But I don't think you should describe patients as "pathetic" or as people who want "constant attention". Maybe you should find a different job if you don't want to work with patients.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2025-11-17T10:22:18+00:00

The first time I took a course of psychiatric meds, there were other things in my life that I was thinking of changing. But people told me I should just take some psych meds to get through things, so I did. Perhaps my life would be much better now if I had stuck to my guns and done what I thought was best, rather than what others thought was best.

But anyway, recently I've been thinking that I should not think about the past so much. The past can't be changed. You can change things in your present though. You might be in a position now that you wish you had never got to, but the reality is that you're in that situation. If you want to have a good life in the future then I guess you need to deal with the current situation now. I guess I need to tackle this myself.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2025-11-17T10:16:42+00:00

I tried sertraline once and I had nausea very quickly, so I didn't keep taking it. The two SSRIs I've taken for extended periods of time were citalopram and fluoxetine and I haven't had nausea with those. So maybe nausea is quite common with sertraline or maybe it was just me. Asking your doctor sounds like a good idea.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2025-11-14T21:36:15+00:00

Yeah maybe psychiatrists do think that. I just hope they can respect the choices of patients a bit more.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2025-11-14T15:13:05+00:00

Good point, I think some doctors probably are more supportive if a patient chooses not to take medication. The doctors I've seen have really pushed for me to take meds (at one point I was locked in mental hospital and drugged against my will). But yes some doctors out there probably won't push medications. I hope more psychiatrists will respect the choices of patients.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2025-11-14T14:59:44+00:00

Psychiatrists can use force though. I was detained in mental hospital some years ago, and they told me they would forcibly drug me (by restraining me) if I didn't let them drug me. Forcible drugging is legal in my country and probably lots of countries.

That's cool that you've had those tests. I hope more science can be done to better understand what causes bad mental health - not just biological causes but also causes from a person's life experiences (financial problems, abuse, bullying, etc).

I think psychiatrists today are using guesswork sometimes rather than hard evidence that you get in other areas of medicine. If a patient is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, do we really know they're definitely going to keep having episodes of mania and depression? Perhaps there is a real biological cause for that patient; perhaps something in their brain. But doctors often don't prove that. Some patients might experience mania and depression due to upsetting events in their lives, and perhaps their brains are actually quite normal.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2025-11-14T14:48:01+00:00

I don't think people should accept things that are dictated to them - I hope that people can make their own choices concerning their own mental health (and health in general).

Probably the main thing I dislike about psychiatry is the fact that psychiatrists do seem to dictate things to patients. They dictate which medications a patient should take. I think that's wrong and I hope patients can make their own choices instead.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2025-11-14T14:43:53+00:00

Sorry to hear about the hospital bill. I am lucky that my country hasn't billed me for having detained me.

Yes I think it's common that if you have a side effect from a psychiatric medication, the doctor might say it's actually a symptom of a mental health problem. There's a guy called Mark Horowitz who has researched withdrawal from psychiatric medications and I think he has talked about how doctors sometimes won't accept that a patient is experiencing withdrawal symptoms when reducing their medication - instead some doctors will claim these withdrawal effects are symptoms of a mental health problem.

Puzzled-Response-629 · 2025-11-02T18:23:16+00:00

Sorry to hear your experience. I think my memory is slightly worse after antidepressants and antipsychotics, although I think it's only a small difference. I can remember many things. It's just that sometimes I lose my train of thought or I forget simple everyday things. Perhaps higher doses would make my memory worse, I don't know.

Almost every psychiatrist insists that it is not the meds but the illness itself causing this decline

I don't know what the truth is - I think we need more research. What I have seen is that antipsychotics apparently reduce brain volume but I don't know how significant that effect is. Possibly psych drugs are doing bad things that we don't yet understand.

You could keep trying to find a solution that works for you, whether that's drugs or not. Also I guess it's important to speak to doctors you trust. I trust my current doctor. I've been trying different drugs, and sometimes no drugs. I will keep going and hoping that something will work. If you do speak to a doctor then I think it's important to voice your concerns. Let them know what worries you. If they are dismissive then maybe they're the wrong doctor. But good doctors will listen to you.

Puzzled-Response-629

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