According to a new study, about half of those who take antidepressants have tried at least two drugs without success. About a third have tried four drugs without success. The study illuminates the frustrating experience of these people, who are euphemistically labeled “treatment resistant” because multiple antidepressant drugs have failed to work for them.
“Qualitative findings revealed severe emotional distress and frustration with existing treatments, as well as organisational and illness-related barriers to effective care,” the researchers write.
The study was led by Kiranpreet Gill and Danielle Hett at the University of Birmingham, and published in The British Journal of Psychiatry.
According to the CDC, 13.8% of American adults had an antidepressant prescription in 2018 (18.6% of women; 8.7% of men; 24.3% of older women). This has likely only increased since the treatment boom during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This means that tens of millions of Americans every year are experiencing the side effects of antidepressant drugs without improvement, trying multiple drugs, and becoming labeled as “treatment resistant” when the drugs don’t work.
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Hmmmm…. So 85% of “untreated” depressed people recover spontaneously. But half of those “treated” with antidepressants DON’T recover. How about we stop using the term “treatment resistant depressant” and start using the term “ineffective drug treatment?” Seems the average depressed person is far better off staying far away from “antidepressants!”
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