Antidepressants are 30% Effective

Considering that antidepressants only work about 30% of the time, why are we still using them? In 2024, the evidence of their efficacy is still being challenged.

Depressing Statistics

I wrote in Death by Modern Medicine (2005, 2014) that:

1. The percentage of women taking antidepressants in America is higher than in any other country in the world.
2. Many of these antidepressants contain warnings that ‘suicidal thoughts’ are one of the side effects that should be expected. The suicide rate for Americans between the ages of 35 and 64 rose between 1999 and 2010. The number of Americans who are killed by suicide now exceeds the number of Americans who die as a result of car accidents every year.
3. In 2010, the average teen in the United States was taking 1.2 central nervous system drugs. Those are the kinds of drugs that treat conditions such as ADHD and depression.
4. Children in the United States are three times more likely to be prescribed antidepressants than children in Europe.
5. A shocking Government Accountability Office report discovered that approximately one-third of all foster children in the United States are on at least one psychiatric drug.

Overprescribed and Suicidal

A 2024 article published by Epoch Times titled “Overprescribed: Suicides Haunt the Dubious Approval of Antidepressants” provides very depressing news about antidepressants.

In this article, several case histories were highlighted. A woman who eventually committed suicide had painful withdrawal symptoms each time she tried to wean off her antidepressants, suffering migraine headaches, tremors, burning pain sensations in her nerves, and dark thoughts about demons and hell. Her partner said, “Her teeth were grinding down, and her toes were curled. That is what these antidepressants do.”

Let me interject a moment of sanity and remind you that the symptoms this poor woman suffered: migraines, tremors, nerve pain, teeth grinding, and toe spasms are ALL MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY SYMPTOMS.

The SSRI medication that this woman took was fluoxetine (Prozac), a fluoride drug. I’ve talked about this many times. Fluoride in a drug can be broken down in the gut by bacteria and roam free in the body. It seems to preferentially bind with magnesium and turn into a brittle compound that lands in tendons and joints. So, fluoride antidepressants cause magnesium deficiency, and many of the so-called side effects of antidepressants may be magnesium deficiency symptoms.

The Epoch Times article said that, according to the CDC, more than 1 in 8 Americans take antidepressants and often these very strong medications are used off-label to treat insomnia and anxiety.

Here’s another plea for sanity. Magnesium can be the best treatment for insomnia and is very beneficial for anxiety.

Ineffective but Profitable

The income from antidepressants in 2022 was $15.6 billion and is projected to reach $23.22 billion by 2030.

A researcher quoted in the Epoch Times article says that “…at least half the folks who are being treated with antidepressants aren’t benefiting from the active pharmacological effects of the drugs themselves but from a placebo effect.” That’s well known to drug companies, which is probably why they don’t test their drugs against placebos anymore because often placebos do much better than the drugs.

This is a lengthy article; you can read it on the Epoch Times website, but I would like you to read  quote from the article: “Although the suicides of people who use antidepressant drugs are often blamed on their depression, a rising chorus of family members and physicians say the drugs themselves can lead to suicide as well as violent behavior, agitation, and depression.” Think of all the school shootings where the vast majority of the perpetrators were on antidepressant medication.

What is being done to counter this abomination? Is Big Pharma seeking safe alternatives to antidepressants like magnesium, B vitamins, Vitamin D, and Omega 3 fatty acids? Nope. These are not profitable; they are not patented, and they would reduce drug intake. Instead, “The U. S. Food and Drug Administration has asked makers of popular antidepressants to add or strengthen suicide-related warnings on their labels as well as the possibility of worsening depression.”

Lord sufferin’ cats! How can a nearly invisible warning on a pill bottle label help patients? Is it only meant to exempt the drug company from liability? They will say, ‘Well, we had a warning label about the death and destruction that comes with taking our pills; it’s not our fault.’

What do I recommend? I already mentioned the list of magnesium, B vitamins, Vitamin D, and Omega 3 fatty acids as the best starting point. But don’t forget to maintain a sugar-free diet, avoid processed food, and check for yeast overgrowth, which can produce yeast toxins that harm the brain.

Carolyn Dean MD ND
The Doctor of the Future