I’ve had an on-again, off-again relationship with antidepressants since I was 15, when a combination of traumatic life events and ordinary teenage angst sent me to the darkest place I’ve ever been.
Zoloft, Lexapro, Wellbutrin, Effexor — you name it, and there’s a good chance I’ve tried it. Antidepressants are among the most common prescription drugs in the country, and millions of people take them, including nearly 18% of adult women.
That medication is a huge reason why I’m still here today, writing this story, living a life that 15-year-old me wouldn’t have believed was possible.
It also seems to be the target of the newest moral panic.
There are the conspiracies: U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has suggested that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and other psychiatric drugs are the real cause of mass shootings, including the July 4 shooting in Highland Park, Illinois.
Tucker Carlson is spouting similar nonsense on Fox News, saying “a lot of young men in America are going nuts” and “a shockingly large number of them have been prescribed psychotropic drugs by their doctors, SSRIs or antidepressants, and that would include quite a few mass shooters.”
He went on to discuss the “connection” between the rise in antidepressant use and the rise in mass shootings, topping it off with the baseless assertion that Big Pharma and Democrats are teaming up to take away your guns.
All of this, obviously, is ridiculous. But it’s not just the wildly conspiratorial rhetoric that can be harmful.
A recent study, which found that there is “no clear evidence” that low serotonin levels are responsible for depression, has been used to question the efficacy of SSRIs and suggest that taking them isn’t worthwhile. It doesn’t help that the authors of the study are generally skeptical about the use of psychiatric medication and seem to be using the findings to affirm their narrative.
It’s caused people like Carlson and conservative political commentator Matt Walsh to proclaim that “Tom Cruise was right” when he said in 2005 that the use of antidepressants was “irresponsible” and referred to psychiatry as a “pseudoscience.” (This is a core belief of the Church of Scientology, to which Cruise belongs.)
People on both the left and the right are now claiming that SSRIs are just a way for the government to numb us into acquiescence. Users with sizable Twitter followings are suggesting that antidepressants are, somehow, fueling cancel culture, or labeling those who rely on them “Big Pharma pill junkies.”
To be clear, taking antidepressants is not ideal, and it doesn’t work for everyone. Finding the right medication and the right dosage can be a miserable task, and the journey often gets worse before it gets better. Many people decide that the side effects, which can range from frustrating (weight gain, reduced libido) to a complete nightmare (suicidal thoughts), are too much to bear.
Antidepressants are not miracle drugs. Even the colloquial term, “happy pills,” is a serious misnomer. They don’t guarantee happiness, and they certainly aren’t going to cure your depression. But for many people, including myself, they’re a lifeline.
This medical skepticism — and in some cases, hysteria — is not entirely unfamiliar. We’re living through a massive pandemic that a significant portion of the population still refuses to take seriously. The anti-vaccine movement, which took hold long before COVID, was fueled by disinformation, fear mongering and mistrust in government. It’s stigmatizing, and it’s dangerous.
People who take medication for mental illness are not pill junkies, and suggesting that we’ve simply been brainwashed into believing it works is just another form of ableism. There is certainly an argument that SSRIs are overprescribed, and an even bigger argument that we need better ways to treat mental illness.
But demonizing an often life-saving medical intervention isn’t going to fix that. Pill-shaming is already ubiquitous in our society. We’re told to drink more water, go outside, meditate — anything besides the one thing that sometimes helps the most. “You don’t need the meds,” they say, as if there’s something wrong with us because we do.
This moral panic isn’t saving anyone. It only heaps further shame upon those who struggle with mental illness and choose to take medication for it — something that carries enough stigma already.
Paige Masten is a Charlotte-based opinion writer and member of the Editorial Board.
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