Hot Air has a great writeup on the British SSRI/Serotonin study + an interview with Professor Joanna Moncrief, one of the authors. We strongly recommend this article. To sum up the study, for decades scientists et al have thought depression is caused by bad serotonin levels. This study says that's not the case. Dr. Moncrief says life events are more to blame for depression. Ya think?
To be honest, we're not exactly sure what to think anymore. We'll say it once more, antidepressants work, as our late friend Kathy Shaidle said again and again. In our own experience we've popped the pills and felt better within hours. We've taken SSRIs for two reasons. First to calm our temper*, settle us down, make us more agreeable. Second, to combat actual depression. There's nothing complex about that second point. We took SSRIs to keep from being sad.
We've been depressed for perfectly good reasons. Dropping out of school. Being out of work for eight months. But the maddening thing was always getting depressed for no damn reason. This happened to us in the summer of 2017 when our biggest problem was the motorboat not working. That was bad serotonin levels, right?
We were heavily medicated in November and December of 2020 and down in the existential dumps anyway. Remember when we declared, 'Fuck it. We ain't blogging no more'?
Heck in 2015 our professorial career blew up, we had a massive gout/plantar outbreak and a 'cardiac event' and by the end of the year we were saying, 'Is that all you got?' In 2018 we lost our grandfather and mother and kept right on going.
In the interview Dr. Moncrief warns about coming off SSRIs. There's another problem. Quitting the regimen leads to withdrawal, the shakes, brain-zaps, etc etc. One is actually detoxing oneself. Prescription drugs work just like illegal drugs. It's cute that people think there's a difference because one is gotten from a doctor and one is gotten from dealer.
No one ever told us about the long-term effects of SSRIs separate from the immediate effects. The pills lose their efficacy and wear off. One gets emotionally numbed over. One gains weight. We put on a bunch of weight the summer after we went on SSRIs and didn't really lose it till a decade later. We always blamed ourself. But...hmmmm...And the sleep problems, yikes.
A year ago, when we were already on three pills, we remarked to the doctor that we were still irritable. The doctor reached into a drawer, took out a bottle, turned it upside down and poured pills into our lap, metaphorically. We held up our hands and said, 'Whoa'. Where three SSRIs failed, four is not the answer. We're down to SSRI, mostly just to knock us out at night.
So, if bad serotonin levels don't cause depression, and SSRIs don't work how does one fight depression? We're an expert on the subject. Our best advice is to keep busy. Get up in the morning and find a couple of trivial things to do. Make the bed, clean up, whatever. Just get started. We used to read a ton. We worked out. Endorphins are a powerful weapon against depression. Have a schedule. Keep busy.
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