{"id":81279,"date":"2025-04-14T08:08:30","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T14:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=81279"},"modified":"2025-04-14T10:29:47","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T16:29:47","slug":"the-facts-and-misconceptions-about-antidepressant-medications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/the-facts-and-misconceptions-about-antidepressant-medications\/","title":{"rendered":"The facts \u2013 and misconceptions \u2013 about antidepressant medications \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Getting
Getting regular exercise and spending time with friends and loved ones can help all of us elevate our moods. Antidepressants also are vital for some people. Learn the facts about antidepressants. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is there a mental health crisis in the United States? If you\u2019re an individual suffering from depression, bipolar disorder or other conditions, the answer is likely to be \u201cyes.\u201d For the nation as a whole, the answer is the same. The numbers don\u2019t lie.<\/p>\n

According to a 2023 report<\/a> by Mental Health America<\/a>, a respected nonprofit advocacy group founded more than a century ago, 21% of adults (50 million) had experienced a mental illness in the past year. The picture wasn\u2019t much better for young people; 16% of them (2.7 million) had experienced at least one major depressive disorder in the past year.<\/p>\n

The report exposes the main reasons for these bleak numbers. Millions of people needing mental health services can\u2019t get them, either because they lack insurance, do not have access to providers or can\u2019t afford the cost. Another contributing factor: only a tiny fraction of the 15% of adults who had a substance use disorder in the past year received treatment.<\/p>\n

There is no easy fix for a complicated problem that also includes ongoing stigma<\/a> surrounding mental health. Yet there are effective treatments<\/a>. They include antidepressant medications.<\/p>\n

For example, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, are one important treatment for one of the most common mental health conditions, major depressive disorder<\/a>. However, these medications took an uncomfortable turn in the media spotlight recently when some health officials leveled harsh criticism at antidepressants, claiming it’s tough to get off of SSRIs once you start using them.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Andrew Novick says antidepressant medications regularly come in for public criticism. Photo by the University of Colorado.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s not unusual to hear \u201calarms about antidepressants and overprescribing,\u201d said Dr. Andrew Novick<\/a>, assistant professor of Psychiatry<\/a> at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He said questions about antidepressants surface regularly in the media and among the public.<\/p>\n

To address questions about antidepressants and highlight the facts about SSRIs and other mental health treatments for major depressive disorder, we spoke with Novick and his colleague, Dr. Scott Thompson<\/a>, a PhD professor of psychiatry.<\/p>\n

What is major depressive disorder (MDD) and what distinguishes it from the general term ‘depression’?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cThe term \u2018depression\u2019 is one that we commonly use to describe a mood we have of feeling low, and down and sad,\u201d Novick said. \u201cThat\u2019s something that everyone experiences.\u201d It\u2019s very different from major depressive disorder (MDD), which is a psychiatric illness, as opposed to a mood that people have, he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cMDD can be differentiated from \u2018depression\u2019 by its severity as well as the scope of symptoms that a person experiences,\u201d Novick said.<\/p>\n

What are the symptoms of MDD?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Novick said a \u201cconstellation of symptoms\u201d that last most of the day, every day, for at least two weeks define MDD. They include:<\/p>\n