How to make better use of antidepressants

A five-minute chat with her doctor is how Adele Framer’s 11-year ordeal began. She complained about work-related stress. For that, she was prescribed paroxetine, a common antidepressant. There was no conversation about alternatives, such as psychotherapy, nor a discussion of the drug’s side-effects or when to stop taking it. “I had a very typical patient experience and a very typical patient attitude at the time,” says Ms Framer. “I was a believer that it would be a great idea to just solve my problem with an antidepressant.”

Her libido vanished when she started on the drug. Then, after a few years of taking the medication, she became extremely apathetic and lethargic, a common effect of the antidepressant that deepened over time. So, now no longer in the stressful job she had once held down, she saw little reason to persevere. But trying to stop was a disaster. She became hyperactive and agitated. She had “brain zaps”: electric-shock-like sensations. Her sexual dysfunction became worse (“completely no feeling down there”). And these were just some of her withdrawal symptoms.