Back to Search
Start Over
Four research papers I wish my GP had read before prescribing antidepressants
- Source :
- Br J Gen Pract
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Royal College of General Practitioners, 2021.
-
Abstract
- In 1996, when I was prescribed an antidepressant, there was already published research that showed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), commonly known as antidepressants, caused withdrawal effects.1 However, at that time, the Defeat Depression campaign had successfully created a narrative adopted by most prescribers, in which anxiety or depression were described to the patient as caused by a ‘chemical imbalance in the brain’ and that SSRIs were safe, effective, and non-addictive. Why would a doctor feel the need to do a full literature review? Today the word is out that my experience of attempting repeatedly to stop taking the drug and experiencing increasingly severe withdrawal effects is by no means uncommon. We now know a drug can cause dependence without causing addiction. Dependence is simply the physiological consequence of taking a drug that causes the body (especially the brain and central nervous system) to change its structure and functioning in response to the ongoing presence of the drug — for example, an antidepressant. The Public Health England (PHE) report Dependence and withdrawal associated with some prescribed medicines. An evidence review , published in 2019,2 established that 25% of adults in England were taking a dependence-forming drug. This led to the Royal College of Psychiatrists publishing a new position statement on antidepressant withdrawal, identifying it as potentially ‘severe and long-lasting’ , and something that patients should be made aware of during informed consent for these medications.3 As a busy GP, should you wish to learn more through reading current research, which papers give you the best insight into …
- Subjects :
- medicine.medical_specialty
business.industry
030503 health policy & services
Addiction
media_common.quotation_subject
Public health
MEDLINE
Chemical imbalance
medicine.disease_cause
Life & Times
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Informed consent
medicine
Antidepressant
Anxiety
030212 general & internal medicine
medicine.symptom
0305 other medical science
Family Practice
Psychiatry
business
Depression (differential diagnoses)
media_common
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Br J Gen Pract
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....12d0bc28a252c33081f5fec2694aff08