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RFK Jr. wants to send people addicted to antidepressants to government "wellness farms"
(www.motherjones.com)
this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2024
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It's very common to be misdiagnosed with depression and put on an SSRI when it's not going to help. (SSRIs will generally not help a mood disorder like bipolar, for instance). SSRIs are highly addictive in that discontinuing them often comes with pretty severe withdrawal. So it's not just a matter of "you can think your way out of depression" because a lot of people quit SSRIs for very good reasons - moving to a more appropriate treatment being one of them, and often it requires hospitalization because of how awful the withdrawal is, even with tapering the dose down.
I am not a fan of RFK Jr. Politically I'm a good distance to the left of liberal. But honestly, if implemented correctly this could help a whole bunch of people who are trapped on SSRIs prescribed by a doctor who didn't really know how to diagnose them, and could also help a lot of nonviolent offenders who just need help beating their addiction. I understand that 'if implemented correctly' is a big ask with this administration, but let's maybe not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Remember these days you ran interference for RFK Jr because you were too afraid to face up to the truth of what he was actually suggesting. It is a sour feeling and I say that with experience. People said the same thing about migrant camps and family seperation at the border. They said the same about Roe v Wade. They said the same thing about random deportations. Assuming you're being genuine I have to ask you to learn to expect the worst and merely hope for the best. This man aggressively doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about and when you defend him you sound the same way.
If you read this and saw me defending RFK, you misinterpreted me. I specifically said I'm not a fan.
This is what I am saying. Antidepressants are highly addictive and it doesn't get talked about. The commenter I replied to said that this article deeply misunderstands addiction, which I interpreted to mean that the commenter doesn't know how addictive SSRIs are. That's not surprising, a lot of people don't know how addictive they are. There are many valid reasons to stop taking an antidepressant, and it's very difficult. We should do something to help those people besides force them to check into a psych ward. That's what I said, and I meant it.
Nobody is abusing antidepressants. Nobody is getting high off of antidepressants. Nobody is funding cartels trafficking antidepressants. Nobody who's depressed should be punished for seeking treatment.
To me this is clearly getting people ready for concentration camps of some sort. That said I have taken antidepressants and I understand SSRI dependence as I have had withdrawal from SSRIs. I suffered with it for more than 10 years. The tricky thing here, is that the most convincing lies are always salted with truths or half truths to make them easier to swallow.
Nowhere did I even begin to insinuate that people who are depressed should be punished for seeking treatment, or that mental illness is curable. Where did you get that idea? Sometimes seeking treatment includes refining treatment, which involves moving from a medication that isn't effective, or is no longer effective, to a new one. Of course no one who is depressed should be punished for seeking treatment.
If someone needs to stop taking a particular medication for whatever reason, but severe withdrawals inhibit their ability to function for weeks or months - or worse, result in other MH symptoms which may cause harm or death, why is providing them with a venue in which they can safely manage their meds a controversial idea? Doesn't have to be a farm, it doesn't have to be this idea. This has zero to do with RFK. I'd never suggest it be involuntary, and it's certainly not a punishment.
SSRIs are not addictive and almost no antidepressants have addictive qualities. Many can cause withdrawal symptoms, which is very different from addiction, and a few select agents have been misused in contexts where access to drugs are low and quality of life are low, such as prison, but this kind of use needs to be considered in context, as these individuals are desperate for escape.
Please do not spread misinformation.
Yes, antidepressants are not considered addictive by the same big pharma companies who told us that Oxycodone was not totally fine.
Honestly asking, because I don't know. What is the difference between a physical dependence and addiction? Because there is certainly a physical dependence with SSRIs, whatever word you want to use.
If they aren't addictive, but cause the same withdrawal symptoms which result from addiction, in some cases severely, then what should we call them? Again, I'm not trying to be snarky. If I am using the word "addiction" incorrectly I'm willing to be educated. I'm just speaking from my own experience.
No, I'm talking about how researchers, who do not have conflicts of interest, have to say about these drugs.
Googling this will give you plenty of pages drawing the distinction between the two. For example, here's a webmd article on the difference. In short, it's meaningful to draw clear distinctions and definitions around where an urge is coming from. Withdrawing from a substance does not necessarily mean you desire the substance. Taking the substance to avoid withdrawal symptoms might happen because you wish to avoid the negative symptoms, and treating the symptoms could be enough to get someone off the substance causing problems. Addiction, on the other hand, is characterized by a strong desire to continue drug use despite the ways in which it is negatively affecting one's life. It is possible for addiction and physical dependence to have overlap (and for many drugs this is common) but they are mutually exclusive - one does not necessarily imply the other and the presence of one does not mean there is the presence of the other.
While withdrawal symptoms can vary with the nature of addiction, one does not need to be addicted to experience withdrawal symptoms. Many common, non-addictive chemicals have withdrawal symptoms. Nearly every drug has some kind of withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms are the direct biological consequences of a human changing their equilibrium with the addition of or removal of an exogenous substance or the regular use of said substance and the long-term biological changes it can have on one's body.
At a high level, I would highly suggest you educating yourself on drug dependence and recovery as well as the psychology of addiction. These are high level basic concepts which are taught to you in any human-centered biology and psychology coursework.
Interesting. I'd always used the terms interchangeably, because I did not realize that there was a difference. I'll look into it, and won't repeat the mistake. Thanks for taking the time to respond.
And thank you for engaging in good faith! Appreciate you 💜
As an aside I have a degree in neurobiology and work in health care and would be happy to discuss things with you if you ever have questions.