Mental health medications aren't for everyone, but they’ve helped millions of people.

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	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Hey there! I’ll be hosting a Community Call on May 22nd at 12pm PT / 3pm ET. Save the date and upgrade your subscription if you’d like to join. 🙂 I also recently published a Reader Survey to learn more about what you’re most interested in. As always, thank you for reading! 🙏 Antidepressants Save Lives Mental health medications aren't for everyone, but they’ve helped millions of people. Chris Guillebeau May 13   READ IN APP   Last week I posted a note that a lot of people reacted to:  Chris Guillebeau 13d Been seeing multiple posts about “natural” antidepressants, usually as a critique against medication. I get sunshine, electrolytes, daily exercise, and sleep. But I’ve also taken different meds for years, including SSRIs, and they’ve been very helpful. Consider this a reminder to please stop shaming people for getting the help they need, whatever it is. 💊 💚 630 24 As mentioned, I was responding/reacting to a number of other posts I’ve seen recently that are critical of taking medication for depression. The people who write these posts mean well, I’m sure. But it’s a very misguided viewpoint to say that “natural” treatments can replace medication for someone who is seriously depressed.  I’ll try to be concise here, and not end up writing thousands of words on the topic. In fact, some of the most helpful info comes straight from reader responses to my note. For example: Jessica L. Williams 12d Thank you for posting. I never realized that some people will make you feel almost like a failure for getting medication. It was hard enough for me to admit that I couldn’t manage without the extra support. And I’m so glad I made the call. I feel better able to cope now. 14 Kimberly Brown 12d Thank you! I always thought I was the kind of parent who would avoid medicating their child. Then I tried medication for my own brain chemistry (on top of a whole lot of natural and lifestyle approaches that also help in increments). When I felt what it was like to be clear and confident and strong and sure and more myself, it became very difficult to justify denying my child a way to access that same freedom. It’s a… 1 Jaclyn Castro 13d Medicine is helpful. And so are natural methods. Both are needed in different situations. I try to do my best to do what’s most natural but I’m so grateful for medicine because it’s still a solution and can be a weapon depending on who you are and the situation you’re in. I imagine it’s a matter of life and death for many people. Sephone Veres 12d Yikes. That must be so frustrating to see. Those “natural” factors are just some variables that can absolutely help but they aren’t magic nor work for everyone (especially considering how depressed they are, comorbidity, etc.). What we should be advocating are these “natural” aids as building a physically healthy and mental health-supporting foundation for our bodies. And meds 100% belong alongside that. There are… 1 Share David Ballenger 12d As I said to my psychologist years ago when I was struggling and wanted to go on antidepressants: The medication patches the hole below the waterline. Everything else helps me repair the mast, raise the sails and chart a course. All of which is useless if I’m still sinking. 28 Charity Erickson 12d Agreed. We have many tools in our mental health arsenal. Why shouldn’t it be possible to access them all as needed? Mental health treatment is very specific to the individual. Sometimes medication is needed just so that a person can get themselves together enough to implement those non-medicinal strategies. I think the shaming is a reaction to how the medical-industrial complex has used medication as a bludgeon for… Jessica 7d Before medication I worked soo hard to just feel slightly less awful and often times all the sunshine, exercise, meditation, etc. didnt even do that much. Now that I'm on medication I have the ability to actually make progress in therapy and the personal growth I am experiencing is incredible. Also I'm actually capable of feeling happy, so that's pretty cool. Jess Greenwood 13d I always find it interesting that we label taking medication for depression or other very real, mental health conditions a weakness. No one is shaming me for taking birth control for my endometriosis. Can you imagine how ridiculous it would be for someone to tell me to just practice natural pain control for that condition? Let’s all just assume we have no idea what’s best for another person’s condition and be… 7 Share Dr Emily Leeming PhD 12d So with you on this! I write about food and mood - food has to be seen as complementary to and not ‘instead of’ medication or therapy. Broccoli is not the new prozac. It’s not to say that nutrition etc can’t be helpful for some people with depression (e.g. the results from SMILES trial) but we also have to guard against the ‘food is medicine’ trope, IMO it amplifies stigma and judgement 6 Billie Hinton 12d Psychotherapist of 32 years - it’s often true that medications are needed to help people get to the point where therapy can be helpful to them. Some need continued medication, others can taper off at some point. Everyone deserves help to manage suffering, and it’s their call what works for them. 11 JD Greene 13d Thank you for this. I tried for years, both with the help of Naturopaths and on my own to manage my chronic depression naturally. There was only one remedy or regimen ever that helped me, and it was absolutely unaffordable at the time. Luckily, I had VA Health benefit access and was able to get anti-depressants without cost. But the luckiest thing of all was having a psychiatrist who saw into the complexity of my… 4 Henry Oliver 13d Reminds me of the natural birth stuff. Don’t be mean to women who use doctors! 19 Share Medication isn’t for everyone, but it helps millions of us. (And not only in the U.S.) 📷 My Experience, The Short Version At some point I might write a longer post about how I navigated the process of trying to take an SSRI, what I decided to take (and what I didn’t want to take). For now, maybe just one observation: when you take this kind of drug, you don’t always realize that it’s helping you. Some people feel remarkably better within a couple of weeks of starting a treatment. Other people don’t notice that they’re feeling better—or they attribute their mood change to something else—yet clearly something is still working.  I noticed this during the first year I took Wellbutrin. I didn’t suddenly feel amazing, I just didn’t feel terribly bad, the way I had felt for weeks or months. I thought it was because of other changes I’d made, but when I tried to stop taking the meds for a while, I felt worse almost immediately. Surprise! It turns out it was doing what it was supposed to. I went back on. (I later got off it and stayed off for more than two years, before starting something else. It’s important to monitor these things as you go, and of course consult with a doctor before starting or stopping any treatment.)  But What About “Big Pharma?”  I know a lot of people have concerns about pharmaceutical companies, as well as general skepticism about the wealth and influence of big multinational corporations. I get it. But here is the thing: just because a big company profits from something doesn’t mean that thing can’t improve your life.  Do you carry a phone around with you? Do you use any kind of social media? These things are not made by humanitarians. They too are made by big companies that are out to profit. In some cases, they encourage addictive, harmful behavior because it increases their bottom line. Lots of people have said lots of things about this. But most of us understand that phones are still incredibly useful inventions, and it’s also nice to be able to connect with people online. You shouldn’t feel guilty about using an iPhone, or being on Instagram, or whatever else.  It’s worth debating whether antidepressants and antianxiety medication are overprescribed these days. The same could be said of stimulants, like Adderall, Ritalin, and Vyvanse. It’s also true that not everyone responds to these medications. Fair enough! But none of these things are the point. The point is that, for many people, these medications can help. And yes, they can even save lives.  That’s the key takeaway, in fact. For a lot of people who are so depressed that they struggle with basic functioning, the boost from an SSRI or other antidepressant allows them to get other help they need, like therapy.  Getting back to antidepressants or other meds, maybe you feel that you don’t need these things, and that’s fine. But please refrain from saying that other people don’t need them, or that “natural” solutions are just as effective.  Lastly, if you ever find yourself in a place where you’re struggling, and it’s hard to find your way out—maybe it’s time to reconsider your overall perspective on medication. I did that, and was much better off.  Comments are open, just be civil. Leave a comment You’re currently a free subscriber to 🌻 A Year of Mental Health. For the full experience, consider upgrading! 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