Antidepressants

The $19 billion antidepressant industry is built substantially on a 1.8-point improvement above placebo. Antidepressants add only 1.8 points of improvement on the Hamilton Depression Scale beyond what placebo achieves. Published research on psychiatric drugs is selectively reported, with trials showing harm or no effect frequently excluded from the literature. Antidepressants perform only marginally better than placebo in clinical trials, with many positive results attributable to placebo effect. Women taking antidepressants were more likely to initiate breastfeeding, but the finding requires cautious interpretation. Many patients do not respond to SSRI treatment because their depression is dopamine-mediated or insulin-driven, not serotonin-mediated. The FDA has never received a clinical trial from ECT device manufacturers demonstrating safety or efficacy. The article rejects antidepressants as a recommended approach to depression, asserting better alternatives exist. Antidepressants commonly prescribed for depression work on serotonin recycling, not dopamine. Postpartum depression or anxiety can reduce motivation, energy, and self-efficacy for breastfeeding. Magnesium, depleted b…