This is a terrible story of a woman without major depressive disorder being over medicated. It's the story of a failure of medicine. Three episodes in 24 years and she wasn't taken off of the drugs? These drugs aren't cures. They're crutches. I have three major depressive episodes where I struggle to move in a good year and I want to be on a minimum of drugs. I have major bipolar depression. This shit isn't for rational sadness caused by assholes making you feel bad for being overweight. You shouldn't be made to feel numb by your medicine. This woman is an idiot for not seeking a second opinion 20 years ago. And it makes psychiatry look bad that her shit doctors had shit practices to the point where she has to speak out against them based on a problem that doesn't seem to be a major mental illness. It's mainly a failure of her doctors despite her stupidity which is understandable since she was following doctors' orders. (Still lady...) She should have been taken off the drugs when her symptoms subsided as they were tied to life events. Major psychotic depression might require this treatment. Her description is of a dumpster fire of treatment.
Holy shit. I'm really glad my Dr and therapist both held the opinion that my antidepressants were to be a short-term thing. I was on them for a year, end of 2014, to the end of 2015; got the symptoms Cathy describes (dry mouth, deepening depression and sexual dysfunction were the most noticeable ones) along with these head "zaps" when I was coming off them. I know it sounds hyperbolic but I swear the world became more colourful after coming off them properly. Everything seemed to "pop" with colour. Meditation helped me a shitload too - when I have inevitable attacks I can ride them out in a much healthier fashion than ever before.It took one and a half years to get a doctor appointment.
My doctor told me after the second time that I would have to take them for the rest of my life. I believed him.