Paul Andrews, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour at McMaster University, is the lead author of a new study about anti-depressants in the journal Frontiers of Psychology.
He concludes that patients who have used anti-depressant medications can be nearly twice as susceptible to future episodes of major depression. Andrews and his colleagues studied dozens of previously published studies to compare outcomes for patients who used anti-depressants compared to those who used placebos.
Andrews says anti-depressants interfere with the brain’s natural self-regulation of serotonin and other neurotransmitters, and that the brain can overcorrect once medication is suspended, triggering new depression.