[ad_1]
My experience is very different from that described by Professor John Read and his colleagues, who say that "antidepressants are only slightly better than placebos" (Concerns about the rise in the use of antidepressants, Letters, 6 April). I have recently started taking antidepressants after being proud, somewhat arrogantly, never to go to the doctor or take any medications.
I have developed metastatic tumors in my brain, probably at the origin of anxiety and terror that have developed very rapidly. I was offered anxiolytics (antidepressants) and therapy, and I took both. After starting the tablets, I was so much better when I saw the therapist that we agreed not to continue our sessions. Antidepressants were miraculous. It took them two and a half weeks to get into action, and then I felt good. I had no side effects.
I am a retired psychiatrist from Shropshire, where I have worked with brilliant and forward-thinking psychologists and nurse therapists. My concern is that these negative letters will deter people from taking something that could help them.
Name and address provided
• Professor John Read and others say antidepressants are only slightly better than placebos. A 2018 study, published in the Lancet, examined data from 522 randomized, double-blind, controlled trials of different antidepressants. Some 116,477 subjects diagnosed with major depressive disorder were treated for at least eight weeks. The study showed that antidepressants were significantly more effective than placebos.
The problem is that general practitioners prescribe antidepressants for patients with mild to moderate depression, or simply sadness, for whom another approach would be more appropriate.
Richard Bartley
Henllan, Denbighshire
• Join the debate – email [email protected]
• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters
• Do you have a photo you would like to share with Guardian readers? Click here to download it and we will post the best submissions in the letters of our print edition
Source link
