# Are SSRI antidepressants worthless in the long term? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 30, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052 "2015-11-30T19:36:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/81 "2015-12-04T05:08:33Z")
The gist is that you are wrong. You are factually wrong about the difference between various types of medical practice. You are factually wrong about how psychological drugs are tested as compared to other drugs. You are wrong about your grand theory, too. But don’t worry about me. I am not in pain. Prozac gave me enough emotional stability to solve my most pressing problems, and I haven’t needed it in a couple of years. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/82 "2015-12-04T05:13:33Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Read the links. I didn’t write them. Most of your links are completely irrelevant to the effectiveness of SSRI’s. As others have pointed out many SSRI’s and SNRI’s are now available in generic version. Generic Venlafaxine (Effexor) is $10 for a box of 30 pills from online pharmacies. Affordable even for someone with no medical insurance. Like I said, if you or anyone you know tried taking an SSRI and it stops working, go back and talk to your doc, there are plenty of other good options. Help exists. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/83 "2015-12-04T07:53:58Z")
> [@Mithrander](#): > > I’ve been on anti-depressant meds for 20+ years now, and I feel I can confidently say that without them I would have killed myself long ago. There have been a lot of really good points made in this thread … but none of them where made by drad dog. > > Apologies on preview, I didn’t mean for this to end up quite so quote boxy or long. The snark is intentional though. > > Yes, I’m sure there are plenty of doctors out there who think to themselves, “Screw this healing the sick and that silly Hippocratic Oath I took, I’m totally going to sell out my patients for all that sweet, sweet, big pharma money.” > Yes and? > Given that many of these drugs are fairly new, it is actually impossible to 100% understand what the long term effects are. It’s good to see that you’re only expecting the impossible while slandering the entire profession. > > Reason for caution and not slinging them maybe? > > Well, there is a huge organisation that exists to evaluate drug safety, and my understanding is that doctors are not allowed to prescribe meds that have not been approved. So I don’t see why doctors assuming drugs are benign is a sign of gross incompetence throughout the entire profession. > > Because they are clinical workers and have patients who tell them and they don’t seem to “get it” even over time maybe it’s time to revisit the drug company pamphlet? > > Do you have a cite for that particular piece of bullshit? The fact that malpractice insurance exists kinda shoots holes in that theory. Doctors of all sorts can lose their license to practice medicine, including psychiatrists. > > See my cites in post above. Are you living in a hole? > > I don’t have to imagine, I lived it. For fucking years, no less. Eventually, I found a combination of drugs that reduced my symptoms to the point where I stopped thinking about killing myself on a regular basis. I’m not cured, but I’m in a better place, and I went through absolute hell to get here. > > So I have sympathy for someone who’s had some hard knocks bouncing around in the system. It sucks, without a doubt. But when you associate all shrinks with psychopaths, you lose a lot of that sympathy, as well as making me doubt that you are a real person with real problems, and are instead a Scientologist with an axe to grind. > > Don’t want your sympathy in the least. You are demanding untruth, and attacking messsengers > > I’ve never been prescribed benzo’s long term, and every doctor who has has prescribed them to me short-term has been very clear on tolerance and addiction issues. Again, I’m sorry you went through this, but it doesn’t match my experience or the experiences that others I know have shared with me. > > And? > > You are putting your life in someone else’s hands whenever you drive on public roads. Not a very convincing argument. > > Lame response. You should have to risk your life to see a Dr? Isn’t that defeating the purpose? > > Which drug requires two years to wean yourself off? Please cite that shit or I calll bullshit. > > I already filled you in on your ignorance. Now you should apologize. Captain? > > So trusting a doctor is crazy, but trusting a bunch of untrained yahoo’s on an anonymous internet message board is totally legit. Good to know. I shall now forget that the plural of anecdote isn’t evidence, forget all the training the pros go through, for now I know the truth that random internet yahoo’s are where it’s at. > > Well you have demonstrated that you are the king of the untrained yahoos. I will keep going the other way. > > Really? The following sentence, from the same post, came from a place or respect? > First of all, that’s not an analogy, it’s a simile. Second, it’s fucking terrible simile. I know some psychopaths who give very good life advice to others, as they tend to have a unique viewpoint. Third, it’s completely unconnected with reality, and makes you seem like a member of the tin-foil hat brigade. > > See the links above again, Einstein. > > Also, I’ve never dealt with a psychopharm doctor. Other than sounding like an insulting term for psychiatrists, is that a real thing? > > I use the term because it says what they do more accurately, not to insult them or take away their title or piss off anyone here. > > But comparing psych doctors to psychopaths is totally legit, amIrite? > > If the shoe fits. > Whereas psych meds are tested by shamans commuting with the spirits? I’m pretty sure they use scientific test there too. > > That would be much less corrupt than the way they do it. Are you in a hole? See the links above. > > Simply because the science is newer doesn’t make it science. I do agree with the idea that prescription meds shouldn’t be advertised to the public, but I feel that way about all prescriptions, not just psych meds. > Freudian slip here? I agree it doesn’t make it science and it isn’t so far. Maybe someday. Not now. > > You are correct that it is not science, however it’s also not even remotely close to the truth. Do you even know anyone in real life who has been treated for depression? > > This is gibberish. What is correct that is not remotely close to the truth? > > Captain Obvious would like to remind you that all mental states are relative. Your claim that depression doesn’t compare to drug withdrawal I find both offensive and inaccurate. I’ve gone off benzos, and it isn’t even in the same ballpark as my depression at it’s worst, though it does aggravate it. > > You were never prescribed benzos long term. Why are you bragging about being able to get off them easily? Your testimony is utter BS. My point if you were listening was that if you were getting off another drug right now you might have even worse time of it and recall today as the good old days. It can break you and ruin your life. That is what relative means. Noone took away your precious depression and it’s champion status. > > So you’re the one advancing crazy theories, but I’m supposed to do your research for you? That’s so not happening. You can either link some of that “research” here for us to look at, or I will happily disregard your claim. The burden of proof here is on you, not me. > > So you say. But I have since posted the links. It took me 3 minutes to do it. One google search. So what is your burden now captain? > > Quoted for stupidity. May I suggest a heavier grade of tin-foil for your hat? > > You ought to know stupid. Joke is a real knee slapper. > > Sounds like you need to stop seeing GP’s for your mental issues, and see a real professional. I haven’t been presribed by a GP in over a decade, I see a shrink for hour long appoinments weekly, she manages my meds. She’ll admit when something isn’t working, and she works with me so I understand what’s going on. In other words, the exact opposite of what you are claiming. > > You don’t know what I do, so don’t presume. You don’t know what I am claiming, so don’t presume. > > I’m not claiming that the process you describe never happens, but I’m not accepting your claim that it is the default without some form of evidence. > > This seems like a good place for a pot and kettle analogy for some reason I can’t put my finger on. > > Maybe because your right hand is pointing left and you left hand is pointing right? > > Newsflash: People do their jobs for business reasons. Also, I’m not sure here, but it appears that you are implying that all mental health professionals have personal psychopathology, but because they are too busy screwing over people for profit they can’t screw them over because they are psychopaths. Is that correct? > > I wasn’t explaining why Drs do their jobs, I was explaining why they do not behave morally when they don’t. Lots of people get screwed over. You’ll learn. Read the links > > I read your cite. Despite coming from a website run by someone who talks to aliens through a Ouija board, the original source seemed legit. The only problem is that it doesn’t prove what you seem to think it proves. How do a percentage of studies not being published prove the entire industry is corrupt? > > Not publishing studies is cheating and corrupt. You don’t do it for the fun. You do it to sell your rancid product to sick people. Get it??? > > I don’t think the word palliative means what you think it means. > > This is true. However … > > This statement does not sound like it came from a reasonable person. This statement sounds like it came from either a scientoligist with an axe to grind who has never seen a shrink in their life, or a paranoid schizophrenic who needs treatment. Actually, damn near everything you’ve posted in this thread seems like that. All sarcasm aside, get some help, you need it. You say I insulted the name of good Drs everywhere and it offends you but you can say this to me? Way to go. Keep fighting that ignorance. You got a long war. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/84 "2015-12-04T08:41:34Z")
Drad Dog, why is that your claims seem to mirror almost exactly the arguments on this page, including you calling Psychiatrists Psychopaths and other names: > **[Quick Facts About Psychiatry](https://www.cchr.org/quick-facts/introduction.html)** > > Read the evidence debunking several of the main claims psychiatry makes. Find out the truth from the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, the group that is watching out for psychiatric abuses and reporting on them. SSRI’s / SNRI’s save lives, they do undoubtably work. ---
**Author:** ![Stoneburg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/85 "2015-12-04T15:06:38Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Hey, when my kid was little, I mixed up a bottle of water, corn syrup, and a little food coloring, labeled it “Placebo”, and gave him a teaspoon of it every 4 hours when he had a cold, or some other malady that I didn’t have any actual medicine for. Worked great. I am a fan of the placebo effect. I don’t believe antidepressants are purely placebos, because so very many people need to try a lot of them before finding one that works. But if they are, well, they are relatively safe, and very cheap. That’s awesome, and very smart/healthy (well… corn syrup but ok). I think the main issue here is that people don’t understand placebo. They think it is a “Bad thing” or that it means they “Got tricked”. Just guessing at the underlying motivations here. To me the opposite seems the most rational. If we can increase the chemical effectiveness by adding a placebo effect, we should do it. If we can even get the effect without any (dangerous) chemicals that’s even better. That’s basically how homeopathy works, no active real ingredient, but really, really potent placebo thanks to the whole marketing. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/86 "2015-12-04T15:41:37Z")
It was my husband’s idea. It was quite effective – he always felt better for a while after we gave him a spoon full, and I never worried about dangerous side effects. Yeah, corn syrup is demonized and all that (as is food coloring for that matter) but the quantities were very small, and less than most of us get in our normal diet. My doctor (not the current one, but one who retired) once recommended a remedy for me and I said, “don’t the studies show that doesn’t work any better than a placebo?” and she replied, “well, I’ve had good luck with it, and hey, don’t knock the placebo effect. Sometimes a good placebo is helpful.” I didn’t try it, because I didn’t want to end up feeling like I had to keep buying the stuff. 🙂 But I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it had helped. ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/87 "2015-12-04T16:00:09Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > You’re in the industry? What is your job? Are you actually interested? Will anything I say change your opinion? I doubt it, but I’ll try in good faith anyway. I work in clinical research for a very large and very well known pharmaceutical company. I am directly involved in the testing and reporting of study results. > [@](#): > > How do you see the relationship of Drs to the Drug Companies? Do you think that money doesn’t play a part? We (that is, the employees of the company in general) are not permitted to give physicians anything. We can’t even give them a pen or buy them a cup of coffee. Even the things we are allowed to say to them - verbally or in print - are subject to extremely stringent internal and external regulations, and violating them comes with massive penalties for the individual and the company. In more than a decade in the industry, I can honestly say I’ve never seen a single instance of a Doctor being offered financial inducement to prescribe a particular drug. > [@](#): > > My understanding is that negative outcomes in trials are not reported, and that much medical literature is ghostwritten by the drug companies. This doesn’t happen? Your understanding is entirely false. Every trial of every drug in human subjects is subject to intense monitoring by regulatory authorities (in the US, that’s the FDA) throughout the trial. Every single step is documented, verified, and subject to audit at any time. The FDA knows every single trial that my company has underway (indeed, we would not be permitted to even administer an unapproved product to a human being without advance clearance from FDA). We provide regular updates while the trial is in progress and a detailed clinical study report when it closes (regardless of the outcome). We also report trial results publicly (via press releases and such). No trial is ever buried; the results of every study conducted in the last two decades are yours to see, if you want them. Now, negative outcomes are not always _published_, which is a different thing. Understand that drug companies have no control over what the medical journals want to publish; if a journal doesn’t want to publish an article on a failed trial - and why would they, unless it was high profile or important in some way, there are hundreds of failed trials ever year - that’s their call. > [@](#): > > I live in the medical capital of the country, and I have good insurance. I have had just as many or more bad Drs as good ones, and I’m not being nearly as rude as they are in their practice. I’m not lying or exaggerating. I let my Drs off the hook for whatever they do. You have no leverage with them anyway. They will simply say you are wrong if you say they are sleeping during your appt, for instance. (It’s your “issue”) Dr.s are crazy. I’m being “rude” to them here on a web forum??? Boo hoo hoo. These Drs can cause more harm to a person under the cover of law than anyone else on the planet except for POTUS using a drone maybe. You want to sanction me for libel or ban me. Come on and do it. I’ll give a deposition anytime. I’m sorry if you got a Dr in your family. You’ll be well taken care of so I’m not crying. You need a new doctor. I have never had any experiences like the ones you’re describing, and I’ve been going to the doctor for 40 years. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/88 "2015-12-04T17:06:24Z")
> [@storyteller0910](#): > > Are you actually interested? Will anything I say change your opinion? I doubt it, but I’ll try in good faith anyway. > > I work in clinical research for a very large and very well known pharmaceutical company. I am directly involved in the testing and reporting of study results. > > We (that is, the employees of the company in general) are not permitted to give physicians anything. We can’t even give them a pen or buy them a cup of coffee. Even the things we are allowed to say to them - verbally or in print - are subject to extremely stringent internal and external regulations, and violating them comes with massive penalties for the individual and the company. In more than a decade in the industry, I can honestly say I’ve never seen a single instance of a Doctor being offered financial inducement to prescribe a particular drug. > > Your understanding is entirely false. > > Every trial of every drug in human subjects is subject to intense monitoring by regulatory authorities (in the US, that’s the FDA) throughout the trial. Every single step is documented, verified, and subject to audit at any time. The FDA knows every single trial that my company has underway (indeed, we would not be permitted to even administer an unapproved product to a human being without advance clearance from FDA). We provide regular updates while the trial is in progress and a detailed clinical study report when it closes (regardless of the outcome). We also report trial results publicly (via press releases and such). No trial is ever buried; the results of every study conducted in the last two decades are yours to see, if you want them. > > Now, negative outcomes are not always _published_, which is a different thing. Understand that drug companies have no control over what the medical journals want to publish; if a journal doesn’t want to publish an article on a failed trial - and why would they, unless it was high profile or important in some way, there are hundreds of failed trials ever year - that’s their call. > > You need a new doctor. I have never had any experiences like the ones you’re describing, and I’ve been going to the doctor for 40 years. So the Journals are the ones that leave out bad outcomes from the record? The poor drug companies have nothing to do with it? Of course I want to know what you do. Your statement doesn’t seem strong to me though. See the links above from CCHRINT, and Alternet in particular. If you can’t answer those concerns I have to ask why. There is plenty of $$ flowing from Drug companies to Drs. These companies also have had a huge influence on the DMS, which means, in effect, the whole psychiatric industry, and anyone who is prescribed psych meds. It sounds like you are you are obfuscating. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/89 "2015-12-04T17:09:37Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Drad Dog, why is that your claims seem to mirror almost exactly the arguments on this page, including you calling Psychiatrists Psychopaths and other names: > [Quick Facts About Psychiatry](http://www.cchr.org/quick-facts/introduction.html) > > SSRI’s / SNRI’s save lives, they do undoubtably work. I got my opinions honestly by experience, reading, and communicating online. I searched that out and found it just before I posted it. I’m glad they work for you, but nobody knows exactly why and your outcomes are not universal. You realize I support what works for individuals? ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/90 "2015-12-04T17:27:46Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I’m glad they work for you, but nobody knows exactly why and your outcomes are not universal. Thats right but still many people get good outcomes. Not every doctor is corrupt. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/91 "2015-12-04T17:42:17Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Thats right but still many people get good outcomes. Not every doctor is corrupt. Many people. Some people. Without a cite, they are the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/92 "2015-12-04T17:49:39Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Many people. Some people. Without a cite, they are the same thing. Well fuckit. “my friend” is me. SNRI specifically, Effexor saved my life. I wouldn’t be here posting without it, so excuse me if I get a bit dramatic. SSRI / SNRI work and I am the living proof of that. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/93 "2015-12-04T17:52:43Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Well fuckit. “my friend” is me. SNRI specifically, Effexor saved my life. I wouldn’t be here posting without it, so excuse me if I get a bit dramatic. SNRI / SNRI work and I am the living proof of that. The only conclusion we can draw from your anecdote is that Effexor worked for you. There is a big difference between “Effexor works” and “Effexor works for me”. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/94 "2015-12-04T18:01:34Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > The only conclusion we can draw from your anecdote is that Effexor worked for you. There is a big difference between “Effexor works” and “Effexor works for me”. We can also draw the conclusion that maybe other people should try various anti-depressants before they give-up . I would rather be alive than dead. ---
**Author:** ![Stoneburg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/95 "2015-12-04T19:39:40Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > We can also draw the conclusion that maybe other people should try various anti-depressants before they give-up . I would rather be alive than dead. Or try solving the issue without drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/96 "2015-12-04T19:58:20Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > We can also draw the conclusion that maybe other people should try various anti-depressants before they give-up . No, not when such a conclusion relies solely on your anecdote we can’t. It is meaningless when applied to any larger population. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/97 "2015-12-04T20:21:19Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Thats right but still many people get good outcomes. Not every doctor is corrupt. There is corruption endemic in the system the Dr is working and prescribing for you in. Your Dr may be personable and trustworthy but it is very unlikely he is another Erin Brokovich, or Karen Silkwood. Noone wants to argue that you aren’t being helped you know. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/98 "2015-12-04T20:29:59Z")
> [@storyteller0910](#): > > Are you actually interested? > Now, negative outcomes are not always _published_, which is a different thing. Understand that drug companies have no control over what the medical journals want to publish; if a journal doesn’t want to publish an article on a failed trial - and why would they, unless it was high profile or important in some way, there are hundreds of failed trials ever year - that’s their call. > > . What is the definition of a “failed trial”? Is it when it was mucked up or interfered with in some way, like people dropping out, contamination etc. or is it when the drug failed to work as prescribed? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/99 "2015-12-04T20:30:34Z")
> [@Stoneburg](#): > > Or try solving the issue without drugs. Ah, you’re one of those who believe that depression and anxiety can be solved by “just getting over it.” ---
**Author:** ![Stoneburg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052/100 "2015-12-04T20:42:48Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Ah, you’re one of those who believe that depression and anxiety can be solved by “just getting over it.” Ah. You’re one of those who creates straw men and decides what other people think… :smack: (I wish there was a pill for THAT) Nobody (that I know on) denies that changing your body/brain chemistry will also change your mind/consciousness. But only fools think that it is the only way to do it. My opinions is that drugs are a great way to help the therapeutic process, assuming it is the right drugs. SSRI does not seem to be the right drug since there are others that are more effective and have fewer downsides. I also think it is quite stupid to not combine it with other therapies. If you want to increase your physical health it is better to both make your diet more healthy and _combine_ it with exercise. The idea to cover up a mental issue with drugs and then leave it untreated for the rest of your life seems unhealthy, lazy and financially irresponsible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-ssri-antidepressants-worthless-in-the-long-term/739052.md?page=6)