“Clear evidence” for serotonin hypothesis of depression?
SSRI
Most people on antidepressants don’t need them: time to wean them off
This leader-article comes from The Economist. It begins: “Almost 35 years ago American drug regulators approved Prozac, the first in a series of blockbuster antidepressants known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Prozac and its cousins were lauded by patients and…
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Ethical issues in psychopharmacology
Guidance for psychological therapists: information for GPs advising patients on antidepressant withdrawal
“The Defeat Depression Campaign was successful in changing wary public opinion. Now, 24 years on, some patients are still being given the same story about chemical imbalances, a theory that has never been proven, and about withdrawal not existing.” This…
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Understanding Anxiety and Depression (part 2): Antidepressants
“Despite the exponential use of antidepressant medications … We still have no clue about levels of serotonin, or any other neurotransmitter, before or after treatment, or if this correlates with improvement in symptoms. More to the point, as a society,…
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Science Media Centre: A lesson in Spellcasting
From the blog-site of Auntie Psychiatry : “There is a very, very long background story to this cartoon. I will try my best to be brief, but please do bear with me. First of all, let me translate the Latin Spell. ARGUMENTUM AD VERECUNDIAM:…
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Let Them Eat Prozac
First published in 2006 and written by psychiatrist David Healy, the full title of this book is Let Them Eat Prozac: The Unhealthy Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression. The publishers say (within a North American context): “Prozac. Paxil….
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The Original Zoloft Commercial
Sertraline, sold under the trade name Zoloft among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. In this 60 second video you might find it interesting to see the original TV advert/commercial for Zoloft, as aired…
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My life in sex: ‘After taking antidepressants, my genitals felt numb’
A 30 year-old, who can’t orgasm, writes in The Guardian Newpaper : “I had a normal libido and a good sex life until I was 22 and prescribed an SSRI antidepressant. I had been with my partner for two years, and we were…
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