What do you think?
Rate this book
Antidepressed: A Breakthrough Examination of Epidemic Antidepressant Harm and Dependence
A COMPREHENSIVE WAKE-UP CALL FOR PATIENTS AND PROFESSIONALS
Antidepressed breaks down the growing issue of antidepressant use, harm and dependence—how we got to this point, what’s happening worldwide every single day, and most importantly, where we go from here.
Providing information that both patients and mental health professionals desperately need, Antidepressed exposes the holes in mental health systems and highlights the desperate need for reform.
Featuring compelling accounts from real people whose lives have been irrevocably harmed by prescription antidepressants, Antidepressed provides proof that there is no such thing as a magic pill—and that pretending otherwise risks the lives and well-being of those who need help the most.
Antidepressed breaks down the growing issue of antidepressant use, harm and dependence—how we got to this point, what’s happening worldwide every single day, and most importantly, where we go from here.
Providing information that both patients and mental health professionals desperately need, Antidepressed exposes the holes in mental health systems and highlights the desperate need for reform.
Featuring compelling accounts from real people whose lives have been irrevocably harmed by prescription antidepressants, Antidepressed provides proof that there is no such thing as a magic pill—and that pretending otherwise risks the lives and well-being of those who need help the most.
320 pages, Paperback
Published November 30, 2021
10 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 20, 2021
Beverley Thomson has written the book that we all so desperately need to share with anyone who is taking, thinking of taking, prescribing, and/or considering prescribing antidepressants. There is an ever-rising number of people who will fall into one or more of these categories, or who will be living, working or closely associated with people that do. Whilst the medical profession has a responsibility to “first do no harm”, we as patients also have a responsibility to learn about this medication we take, often with very little thought.
The book is deeply researched and fully referenced, presented in plain language in a practical format, with comfortably sized print and clear layout. It has five main parts, covering the medicalisation of our mental health; the power of the informed patient; safe antidepressant management and withdrawal; special concerns; and patient experiences. These are variously subdivided into easily searchable segments, enabling readers to dip into any parts they may consider of special relevance. The book also has a substantial resources section for further support, research and exploration.
Highly recommended!
The book is deeply researched and fully referenced, presented in plain language in a practical format, with comfortably sized print and clear layout. It has five main parts, covering the medicalisation of our mental health; the power of the informed patient; safe antidepressant management and withdrawal; special concerns; and patient experiences. These are variously subdivided into easily searchable segments, enabling readers to dip into any parts they may consider of special relevance. The book also has a substantial resources section for further support, research and exploration.
Highly recommended!
October 26, 2021
I wish I had of read this book before going to see my GP. This is essential reading for anyone who has ever been given a mental health diagnosis. If every prescriber knew the facts outlined in Antidepressed, then the world would genuinely be a better place.
Finally, in Antidepressed, people have a resource they can use to ensure they fully have the information they need to be able make decision on whether or not to take an antidepressant.
I'll be gifting many copies of Antidepressed to my friends and family in need. 10/10.
Finally, in Antidepressed, people have a resource they can use to ensure they fully have the information they need to be able make decision on whether or not to take an antidepressant.
I'll be gifting many copies of Antidepressed to my friends and family in need. 10/10.
November 8, 2021
The book is straight to the point, and easy to read. Could very well replace the DSM! Antidepressed: A Breakthrough Examination of Epidemic Antidepressant Harm and DependenceBeverley Thomson
January 10, 2022
This is a must-read book for anyone on anti-depressants, thinking about taking anti-depressants, or has a loved one taking or considering taking these medications. Beverly Thomson wrote an incredible book on par with books like Saving Normal by Dr. Allen Frances about the issues of overprescribing and overdiagnosing mental illness. What separates Thomson’s book from others is that this is a deep dive into the topic of antidepressants. I’ve fairly educated about antidepressants and the negative effects, but I learned a ton from this book. Thomson covers in great detail the foundation of the problem, the lack of informed consent, and she brings light to a lot of the research (and lack of research) around negative effects of taking these medications. Far too many people believe that Big Pharma has our best interest and these medications will fix us, but most people don’t know of the potential side effects or long-term downsides. I really hope this book gets a ton of attention because we really need to have more discussions around antidepressants as well as much more research.
February 25, 2022
Astounding.
Everyone should read this book.
Everyone should read this book.
February 18, 2022
Interesting read…
November 7, 2023
Why would you drive into someone's vehicle? You want them to die? You want them to be placed on muscle relaxers? We didn't pick your church for my mom's funeral?! Is it over the land? Over throwing my antidepressants away?
If you took a muscle relaxer and sat in a hottub or pool could you drown from falling asleep?
In the 90's people were test subjects to antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. With no one knowing the outcome, think how dangerous that is! This is a good book that shares people's stories and gives you references per websites and books you can look at.
The maker of zoloft (an antidepressant I was on) and of the covid19 vaccination that my mom took was struck by a tornado in July. I want people to read this book and know what can happen to you. Being aware and the tornado damage is all the revenge I need. Why you need to love yourself and your family! Take care of yourselves, my family was destroyed.
If you took a muscle relaxer and sat in a hottub or pool could you drown from falling asleep?
In the 90's people were test subjects to antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. With no one knowing the outcome, think how dangerous that is! This is a good book that shares people's stories and gives you references per websites and books you can look at.
The maker of zoloft (an antidepressant I was on) and of the covid19 vaccination that my mom took was struck by a tornado in July. I want people to read this book and know what can happen to you. Being aware and the tornado damage is all the revenge I need. Why you need to love yourself and your family! Take care of yourselves, my family was destroyed.
January 30, 2022
I received a complimentary copy.
A great in depth view on mental health and its effects on every day life. A great read for anyone interested in learning about the power of a healthy mind and how to free yourself of the need for antidepressants. This book also offers a helpful view on life before and after the need for meditation to treat your mental health and offers hope that we my one day not need antidepressants.
A great in depth view on mental health and its effects on every day life. A great read for anyone interested in learning about the power of a healthy mind and how to free yourself of the need for antidepressants. This book also offers a helpful view on life before and after the need for meditation to treat your mental health and offers hope that we my one day not need antidepressants.
February 5, 2023
An excellent book that is well written & researched. I think everyone should read this book, especially if you are thinking of starting antidepressants. I can understand that the GP can not tell you much in your 15min Apt but I think they should be more informed & objective in their recommendation
October 26, 2025
I purchased this book hoping to learn more about antidepressants. I would note first that around 3/4 of the content in this book is external: block quotes, large multi-page diagrams downloaded from the Internet, links to external resources, and lengthy patient testimonials dominate the text. The entire second half of the book — over one hundred and fifty pages — consists almost entirely of essays mailed in by patients. As someone who has not used SSRIs and was purely interested in the underlying science of these ubiquitous “miracle” drugs, I was hoping the author would take more time
to contextualize and reflect on the information she had so assiduously compiled. Still, she writes thoughtfully and with great empathy about a topic that is missing entirely from modern medical discourse, and I think this is commendable.
Overall, I learned a great deal from reading this book. I learned that antidepressants — drugs which purport to correct chemical imbalances in the brain — actually induce them, resulting in protracted withdrawals. I learned that the vast majority — over 85% — over depressive episodes are self-limiting and resolve on their own within one year. The author suggests that many individuals — especially the young and elderly — are victims of overprescription and “manufactured consent”, and that in many cases talk therapy and lifestyle changes should be the first line of defense. I also learned about the misleading terminology the pharmaceutical industry promotes to shift blame onto patients, including “discontinuation syndrome” and the alarming catch-all diagnosis of “somatic symptom disorder”. The number of generics which are formulated differently from the brand name product, and the number of brand name products which are prescribed off-label, is concerning. Our understanding of the mechanisms, side effects, and long term safety profiles of these psychoactive drugs is extremely poor, and borderline unacceptable.
In spite of its flaws, I can’t give this book anything less than four stars for tackling a highly politicized, poorly understood, and deeply divisive topic with grace, empathy, and humility. Even if, like me, you do not use SSRIs or suffer from mental health issues, this book is well worth a read. Tens of millions of Americans are dependent on medicine which alters their very brains, and no one is sure how exactly they work.
to contextualize and reflect on the information she had so assiduously compiled. Still, she writes thoughtfully and with great empathy about a topic that is missing entirely from modern medical discourse, and I think this is commendable.
Overall, I learned a great deal from reading this book. I learned that antidepressants — drugs which purport to correct chemical imbalances in the brain — actually induce them, resulting in protracted withdrawals. I learned that the vast majority — over 85% — over depressive episodes are self-limiting and resolve on their own within one year. The author suggests that many individuals — especially the young and elderly — are victims of overprescription and “manufactured consent”, and that in many cases talk therapy and lifestyle changes should be the first line of defense. I also learned about the misleading terminology the pharmaceutical industry promotes to shift blame onto patients, including “discontinuation syndrome” and the alarming catch-all diagnosis of “somatic symptom disorder”. The number of generics which are formulated differently from the brand name product, and the number of brand name products which are prescribed off-label, is concerning. Our understanding of the mechanisms, side effects, and long term safety profiles of these psychoactive drugs is extremely poor, and borderline unacceptable.
In spite of its flaws, I can’t give this book anything less than four stars for tackling a highly politicized, poorly understood, and deeply divisive topic with grace, empathy, and humility. Even if, like me, you do not use SSRIs or suffer from mental health issues, this book is well worth a read. Tens of millions of Americans are dependent on medicine which alters their very brains, and no one is sure how exactly they work.
December 29, 2024
I thought I'd best elaborate on my one star review lest it be interpreted as truculent opposition to the ideology of this book. It definitely isn't. We absolutely do need more publications exposing the medicalisation and pathologisation of normal emotions, and the extent to which SSRIs and the like are prescribed based on a now debunked "chemical imbalance theory". The reasons I could only give this one star are as follows:
* It isn't particularly well-written; the language is too wooly and subjective for its academic premise.
* It doesn't go far enough in its denouncement of SSRIs
* While it does acknowledge that emotions are natural human reactions, it does not go so far as to point out that those reactions are often trauma responses to events perpetrated by others. This is unhelpful because it fails to hold perpetrators accountable. The narrative in which the choices made by perpetrators to abuse others goes largely unmentioned, while the victims' responses are pathologised with labels like "clinical depression", "generalised anxiety disorder" and whichever "personality disorder" one cares to mention, is one in desperate need of correction.
The overarching idea behind this book is a good one, it just hasn't been well executed.
* It isn't particularly well-written; the language is too wooly and subjective for its academic premise.
* It doesn't go far enough in its denouncement of SSRIs
* While it does acknowledge that emotions are natural human reactions, it does not go so far as to point out that those reactions are often trauma responses to events perpetrated by others. This is unhelpful because it fails to hold perpetrators accountable. The narrative in which the choices made by perpetrators to abuse others goes largely unmentioned, while the victims' responses are pathologised with labels like "clinical depression", "generalised anxiety disorder" and whichever "personality disorder" one cares to mention, is one in desperate need of correction.
The overarching idea behind this book is a good one, it just hasn't been well executed.
September 2, 2023
A useful, well-written, brief advocacy for the reduction of anti-depressant use. This is a patient-focused book and sets out to empower and inform those on the receiving end of antidepressant medication. It is suitably written for a non-medical audience.
March 19, 2024
A phenomenal read, highlighting many issues patients face and the lack of knowledge, compassion and understanding practitioners forget when prescribing antidepressants. The book gives an in-depth look at different medications and a further look into patient lives experiences.
December 21, 2022
Another book bashing the whole psychiatric industry. Good stuff, but in heavy need of editing.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews