2024 the best antidepressant review

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Irving Kirsch has the world doubting the efficacy of antidepressants. Do they work, or are they no better than placebos? Like his colleagues, Kirsch spent years referring patients to psychiatrists to have their depression treated with drugs. Eventually, however, he decided to investigate for himself just how effective the drugs actually were.

With 15 years of research, Kirsch demonstrates that what everyone “knew” about antidepressants is wrong; what the medical community considered a cornerstone of psychiatric treatment is little more than a faulty consensus. But The Emperor’s New Drugs does more than just criticize: it offers a path society can follow to stop popping pills and start proper treatment.

About the author: Irving Kirsch, PhD, a native of New York City, is a professor of psychology at the University of Hull, United Kingdom, as well as professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut. He lives in Hull, England.

Reviewer: Ed McGuigan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great Book That Needed To Be Written ( SSRI Users - Read this book )
Review: I am a lifelong sufferer of depression. Unfortunately I chose not to deal with this until I got into my 40s. I stumbled on this book on a weekend meditation retreat - lucky me.This is a detailed and brilliant exposition of a global multi-billion dollar confidence trick. Anybody taking SSRIs needs to read this book and then come up with a plan to wean themselves off the drug. Assume that you will relapse at some point and have a plan, just not one that involves a harmful placebo like an SSRI.Apart from debunking the myth of the SSRI miracle, the author also fully explores the truly miraculous placebo effect. It occurred to me a few years ago that everybody seemed to be looking past the most powerful cure-all known to man when in fact we should be researching the placebo effect in order to better understand how to leverage it. Interestingly, Dr Kirsch talks about the ethics of misleading the patient by not disclosing when an inert placebo is being administered. I would gladly sign a disclaimer to allow any and all physicians to feed me sugar pills with a large dose of bull if that is what they think will do the trick.I remember first doctor to give me "chemical imbalance in the brain" speech. I thought it was bulls*** then and I have continued to think it was bulls***. They can't measure your serotonin levels and even if they could would the lower level be a symptom or a cause. The theory is about a valid as saying - "You are depressed. This is due to your sad facial expression. We are going to perform a surgical procedure to put a permanent smile on your face and you will then feel much better."That said, I fell into the trap of believing that the Lexapro I was prescribed actually worked. As Dr. Kirsch posits, starting on the drug actually made me feel so much worse than I already did that it was just about unbearable. My depression deepened to where I could barely move and I would sweat uncontrollably. I imagine that as I became adapted to the drug, the worst mood and physical effects lessened and ironically this may have made me believe that the drug was working and given me the lift I needed to start my way from the depths back up to the surface. Of course, I came to believe in my dependence on the drug for mood stability and I have struggled to come off the drug. I am currently about 20 pounds overweight and have all of the much discussed sexual issues. I will be coming off for good this time. The worst I have ever felt is when I began to take the drug and I am going to need to recognize that the drug effect is an illusion and use psychotherapy and other techniques to treat the condition.

Reviewer: James Drake
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Beneficial book for counselors and counselees
Review: "As American as mom, apple pie and baseball." At best, that statement seems dated. Regardless of one's opinion concerning the inherently American nature of that list, a new list could be constructed that is more reflective of today's American culture. The new, more culturally accurate statement might be, "As American as chemical imbalance, depression, and Prozac." A brief survey of television commercials is all that is necessary to reinforce that notion. Dr. Irving Kirsch attacks this prevalent cultural norm head on in his book, The Emperor's New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth.Dr. Kirsch, a tenured psychology professor, details his research into the comparative effectiveness of antidepressant medication. While conducting no clinical trials themselves, Kirsch and his research partners used meta-analysis--comparing and analyzing the statistical and clinical results of all available existing clinical trials--to support their presuppositions. The results of their meta-analysis are convincing and this well-written book makes their case very well.The author begins by explaining the "placebo effect" and systematically demonstrating the fact that antidepressant drugs are no more effective in treating depression than placebos. After Kirsch clearly makes his case, he points out many of the arguments of his critics and refutes them. He does so using non-technical language that can be easily understood by the average layman. One does not need a degree in psychology or counseling to appreciate this book. Anyone with an interest in counseling, whether as counselor or counselee, will benefit from Kirsch's analysis. Understand that this book does not present an impassionate, unbiased analysis. The author makes his case well, and I happen to agree with many of his findings. But understand that his goal is to prove the case for the superiority of cognitive-behavioral treatment over medication. As a proponent of Nouthetic Counseling, I agree with much of what the book says. Regardless of the reader's presuppositions, the book is beneficial.

Reviewer: cinemanna
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I was curious to complete my reading on depression related books as I have often come across friends who are feeling low or very low at times and look distressed. This is a book written with a very rational scientific approach. It makes it clear why pharmaceutical based approaches are not right. What one needs is counselling and not to look at it as a "medical problem". It states the case with very thorough research, if you want to read such a thorough research based account and not go by mere opinion, or intuition, that it is indeed not a "chemical" thing but one that needs mediation by people, a very human crisis. The other excellent book is "Feeling Good" by David Burns.

Reviewer: RAS
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: J'ai rarement lu un livre aussi bien construit, basé sur la synthèse des recherches publiées et surtout non publiées sur les antidépresseurs. Irving Kirsch rassemble les preuves qui montrent que les antidépresseurs sont des placebos, les effets secondaires négatifs en plus. Une analyse très serrée sur le placebo est ensuite présentée, dont l'auteur est un spécialiste mondial. Il montre aussi que des alternatives viables existent, comme l'exercice physique et la psychothérapie. Cette dernière a aussi l'avantage d'être plus efficace à long terme. A lire absolument.

Reviewer: Julie De Merchant
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: In addition to exposing the myth of antidepressants, he explores the ramification of placebo, and goes into a descriptive narrative of its effects and how to properly measure its effects. I found the book very instructive and well paced. It is an excellent companion to Robert Whitaker's book "Anatomy of an Epidemic", which taken together, shake the foundations of modern psychiatric "treatment" - "a boat in need of sinking". This book makes me proud that he had the courage to face an multi-billion industry, whose premice is based on deceit.

Reviewer: Kakadu
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Irving Kirsch's Sichtweisen auf die Verordnungpraxis von Antidepressiva sind für niedergelassene Ärzte von grosser Relevanz. Eine Reihe von Metastudien bestätigen Kirsch's Thesen. Die Richtlinien für die Behandlung der Depression mit einem niedrigen Schweregrad - wie sie häufig in der ärztlichen Allgemeinpraxis vorkommt - empfehlen nicht-pharmakologische Therapieformen als ersten Schritt. Warum das sinnvoll ist, darüber gibt dieses Buch umfangreich und fundiert Auskunft.

Reviewer: Donald J. Robertson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Irving Kirsch is a well-known authority on hypnotic suggestion and the psychology of the placebo effect. He has published dozens of peer-reviewed articles in mainstream scientific research journals and is the author of several well-received books, and a contributor to chapters in many co-authored volumes. He is currently professor of psychology at the University of Hull. Kirsch's basic goal in this book seems to have been to take the complexity of scientific and statistical debate and present it in plain English in an accessible "popular science" style, so that as many people as possible are able to process the information. In all honesty, I think he has done an absolutely admirable job. He's a genuine expert in this area and yet this book could be read in an afternoon. If some parts are a little tricky, I think that's just the subject matter, I really can't imagine someone doing a better job of explaining the concepts to the layman. The evidence Kirsch presents is undeniably compelling, and has been subjected to critical scrutiny in peer-reviewed scientific journals. He's basically blowing the whistle on an "open secret", or as one commentator put it the pharmaceutical industry's "dirty little secret". If you take antidepressants (of any kind, Kirsch's analysis of the data shows there's not much difference in their effects) or you prescribe these drugs, or you're a researcher, psychological therapist, or just an interested member of the public, I strongly recommend reading this book. It manages to strike the perfect balance between readability and serious scientific debate.Donald Robertson, author of,The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Stoic Philosophy as Rational and Cognitive PsychotherapyThe Discovery of Hypnosis: The Complete Writings of James Braid the Father of HypnotherapyThe Practice of Cognitive-Behavioural Hypnotherapy