That they're over-prescribed by approximately 60% because doctors just want to get you in and out so they can move on to the next patient so they're willing to hand them out like candy.

Absolutely none.

My friend jess however has found that over their course they have definitely made a noticable improvement.

In general, they are a temporary and oversimplified solution to a long term and complicated problem. Additionally, they usually hurt more than help, providing minor relief for certain issues while causing others.

I'm being pushed to try them but I'm scared that they are going to just make me a dependent zombie am I just overreacting? Oh and then there's shock therapy anyone try that?

I've seen them fucking my mom up, but that's it.

My Doctor prescribed me antidepressants two years ago. I thought that they would help and make me better instantly - but surprise, ,surprise, they didn't. At every appointment i had with my Doctor they would put the dosage up as i was only feeling 'better' for a few weeks until i came crashing back down again. After a while i got a letter through stating that the dosage i was on was too high and could cause fatal heart damage so i had to lower the dosage immediately. Why they sent me a letter saying this and didn't call me i will never know. Anyway - eventually i ended up taking an overdose of a variety of pills including my antidepressants. I ended up in a hospital for two days. After that i stopped taking them. I managed to get my life back on track without the help of some tablets.
In my opinion they don't fix the problem.. they just cover up the problem temporarily until it resurfaces again. I would suggest that people try and find the reason behind their depression through different methods such as councillors, psychiatrists, group therapy etc. rather than taking medication for it.

hello ,i didnt think they were very good,
i was seirously depressed, couldnt sleep, cried all day and night, felt worthless,
the anti- depressants motivated me but after taking them for 3 weeks they started changing the way i acted, i threw them in the bin..
i was becoming very paranoid ( i never had paranoia issues )
i was afraid of everything i couldnt cross roads,
i was afraid to talk to my best friends and lots more,
i had a strange experience

They are not good, my friend become worse after taking them, they will just make your life more complicated. My friend started going to the gym, playing squash weekly and joined a club, she is now better and got her life back.

A major issue is that they are over-prescribed. If the depression is caused by a chemical imbalance, then most antidepressants are a good idea but if the imbalance is a result of the depression then it normally makes things worse. This is exaggerated by the difficulty of proving the direction of causation, as a result it's prescribed on a trial-and-error basis, and as such is over-prescribed.

Depends on the situation, but most damage done is reversible so if someone feels its worth a shot then they might as well go for it.

I feel the same with them and without them. They do nothing for me. My psychiatrist is telling me that I would be even worse without them, but I don't believe in that. I mean, nobody can know that when I haven't stopped taking them yet.

Don't take anti depressants, they are not good for you or your friends/family. They are also useless. There are better ways to solve depression. It is hard but don't lose hope.