From Psychology Today: “You might assume that such a widely used treatment has been proven beyond doubt to be effective, just as widely used painkillers like paracetamol or aspirin have been shown beyond doubt to be beneficial. You might also assume that such a widely used treatment has minimal side effects and risks, or at least that these are significantly outweighed by its positive effects.
Unfortunately, neither of these assumptions is true. The evidence for the benefits of antidepressants is ambiguous, whereas there is increasing evidence that their risks (especially their addictive potential) have been underestimated.”