Dispelling these five antidepressant myths

During my work as a clinical psychologist and neurobiologist, I have spoken with many individuals who are considering taking antidepressant medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Many ask me for my thoughts on whether they need medication, whether the talk therapy will be enough or whether they are “strong enough” to get over it without medications.

I always make a point of listening to their reasons for taking medications versus their hesitations. While many are reasonable, such as potential interactions with other health conditions, I also hear many unfounded reasons over and over, suggesting that myths underlying antidepressant hesitancy exist deep in our collective psyches.

Given the rising rates in depression and anxiety, it is time to talk about how treatments work and why people hesitate so we can make informed treatment decisions — especially when hesitations may not be grounded in science.

Here are some of the most common myths I hear, along with my responses:

Myth 1: I am stronger if I do this without meds

Overcoming depression is like overcoming a broken leg. You could be an extremely strong competitive weightlifter, but if your leg is broken you cannot use it in the same way. You may be an incredibly strong person psychologically but if you have depression, your brain is no longer responding to everyday life in the same way and it needs to “heal” before you can expect it to function like it did pre-depression.

Myth 2: I will be dependent on antidepressants to be happy

Antidepressants don’t make people happy; they allow people to experience all emotions in an appropriate and balanced way. Antidepressants do not offer immediate symptom relief, in fact they take four to six weeks to take full effects. However, they are a long-term (typically at a minimum for a year) and (hopefully) curative treatment, much like chemotherapy for certain types of cancer. With chemotherapy, you typically have to do a certain number of treatments over a prescribed time in order to kill the cancerous cells and be considered in remission.

Similarly, most studies show that if you take antidepressant medications for a year before coming off of them, the majority of people will not relapse. That means you will likely need to take them for a certain period of time to maintain the effects, but the effects will often remain long after you stop taking them. However, a small portion of people have a more chronic form of depression and may need to remain on medications for longer periods.

Myth 3: Meds will change who I am, I will be different or feel high

Antidepressant medications do not make people feel “high.” They don’t change what you know, what you learn or who you are, but they do allow you to view things from a more balanced perspective. I once heard a patient describe taking antidepressant medications quite simply: “I still see the same good and bad things, but when I was depressed I seemed to only pay attention to the bad and now I pay attention to the good as well.”

Myth 4: I will become addicted

Antidepressants taken as prescribed are generally not addictive and have a low potential for misuse. Antidepressants are not associated with things like cravings for the drug, as seen with addictive medications like opioids. Some patients report withdrawal symptoms such as headache or nausea when they stop taking certain antidepressants suddenly, but these are generally short-lived and can be minimised by tapering off treatment slowly.