SSRI antidepressants are often 'carelessly prescribed'

[Sly Saint]

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are among the most widely prescribed antidepressants in the world.

Drugs such as Prozac, Zoloft and Lexapro are used to treat depression and anxiety disorders in millions of people.

But some experts believe we have become over reliant on such drugs and that that has led some doctors to treat ordinary human distress as a medical illness.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger that carries signals between nerve cells throughout the body.

It is one of four so-called happiness hormones, and the one most associated with stabilizing mood. It regulates anxiety and sleep cycles, and creates an overall sense of well-being.

"We know that in depression, if you use SSRIs, you increase the amount of serotonin that cells can use to communicate. And this is the first step," said Carmine Pariante, a professor of Biological Psychiatry at King's College London, UK.

"Serotonin is a chemical that brain cells use to talk to each other. It is particularly important for emotions," Pariante said.

So, maintaining a healthy level of serotonin is considered essential for fending off, or managing depression.

"The person starts appraising the world around them," said Pariante, "so, they become less negative about it."

But some experts say depression involves more factors than just the one chemical imbalance — low serotonin levels — in the brain.

Are antidepressants overprescribed?​

Joanna Moncrieff has long argued that SSRIs are overprescribed. "Psychiatry allowed people to believe that depression was caused by a serotonin deficiency and that antidepressants reversed this, even though this had not been proven," said Moncrieff, a professor of Critical and Social Psychiatry at University College London, UK.

"There was never strong evidence — some findings here and there but never a consistent picture," Moncrieff told DW, adding that their apparent effectiveness may instead result from a placebo effect. That's when the simple act of taking a medication leads the person to believe it is helping, when in reality, it's having zero effect.

When to take SSRIs​

Pariante said that SSRIs should only be prescribed for people who have clinical depression, a "constellation of symptoms" that goes beyond ordinary sadness.

"There has to be an impact on life that is beyond just feeling sad for a few days or a couple of weeks because of something that has happened," said Pariante.

"Their life needs to be suffering or deteriorating because of the depression," Pariante said. "For example, they cannot go back to work, or relationships within the family start falling apart because of the depression."

Moncrieff said that the risks and side effects of SSRIs are often underestimated.

"They are a drug that interferes with our brain chemistry and other biological systems," said Moncrieff.

MSN