School of thought
Q I started taking antidepressants as well as seeing a therapist. A few friends have strong opinions on antidepressants and I’ve been made to feel bad – or misguided – for taking them. I know they don’t mean to offend me, but the medication seems to be he
eleanor says:
Before even starting to reflect on this predicament of yours, I want to say that being proactive about your mental health in the way you have been – going to your GP, trying medication and seeing a therapist – is excellent. It would be patronising to say ‘well done’, but you shouldn’t lose sight of that strength and honesty as you move forwards.
Now, these friends of yours. I can imagine how the scripts go. ‘ You don’t want to be messing around with your brain chemistry’, or ‘ They’re addictive’, or ‘ They’re just a sticking plaster, you’re not getting to the root cause’ – am I right? Unfortunately, these kinds of attitudes reflect the common misconceptions people have about what antidepressants are and, more abstractly, what it means to be taking them.
Let’s be clear. Antidepressants are not an exact science. For example, SSRIS – the most commonly prescribed antidepressants – are thought to work by increasing the amount of serotonin (a neurotransmitter that regulates our mood and behaviour) in the brain, as diminished serotonin is thought to be linked to things like depression and anxiety. Even though the science is not precise (very little to do with brain chemistry is), we know through rigorous trials that they can work for people with all kinds of mental distress.
We cannot ignore the conversations surrounding how often antidepressants are prescribed in the UK. It reflects both how overstretched and under-funded talking NHS therapies are, and the devastating impact of austerity on people’s health. Antidepressants are not magic bullets, either. There is no such thing when it comes to mental health. But I really believe that, if someone is suffering, whatever works for them to live their life is the ‘right’ option. If that means taking medication alongside therapy, fine! It ‘means’ nothing more than you taking your health seriously.
If people have strong opinions about your decisions, it reflects more on them. Attaching a sense of nobility to suffering is how so many of us find ourselves in despair. I hope your friends are able to see that.