Patients Warned Over Severe Side-Effects When Coming Off Antidepressants

NEWS

A major scientific review has concluded that patients face severe side-effects when trying to stop taking antidepressant drugs.

COMMENT

The finding of this scientific review is not really ‘news’, of course, as it has been well-known for many years now. The fact that antidepressants are highly addictive not only makes it very difficult for patients to stop taking them, it also ensures continued multibillion-dollar profits for the pharma industry.

But what the pharma industry really doesn’t want patients to know about antidepressants is that safe approaches to controlling depression naturally, without drugs, have already been discovered.

A meta-analysis published in 2016 looked at 13 studies involving 1,233 participants and found that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce symptoms of even major depressive disorder.

Other research has found evidence linking a deficiency of B vitamins with depression. A scientific review published in 2017 noted that low levels of B vitamins are common in depression and that supplementation with these nutrients has been shown to improve depression outcomes.

Similarly, a clinical trial published in 2017 showed that magnesium supplements are effective in the treatment of mild-to-moderate depression. Finding that daily supplementation with magnesium leads to a significant decrease in depression and anxiety symptoms, and that it works quickly and is well tolerated, the study concluded that magnesium may be a safe over-the-counter alternative to antidepressant drugs.

New research also suggests eating a vitamin-rich Mediterranean-style diet containing fruit, vegetables, nuts, and fish may help prevent depression.

With close to 10 percent of the world’s population now said to be affected by depression and/or anxiety, it is clearly time to explore new therapeutic directions that do not involve putting ever higher numbers of patients on highly addictive antidepressant drugs.