are antidepressants just a scam or just more detrimental to your health and are they better off to be avoided?
for example Zoloft, Wellbutrin etc.
Disclaimer for the evil eyes watching this: That is not medical advice.
It is best to not do any of these unless the situation is actually do or die for you, ie, you cannot function in anyway, shape or form. Even then, your true focus should be meditation, therapy and true rehabilitation of the soul. Drugs of this nature are not like cold and flu medication, they can cause serious alterations to you over time and can have side effects for which one must be informed in prior. As with all drugs there are upsides and downsides, that one must know before they are doing this.
Depression, stress, fatigue, fear, trauma, all of these have to do with deeper psychological causes that must be addressed on their roots, with the human being developing out of the problems that are the root causes of these states. Meditation works these at the core. This is where the roots of the problems are, inside the soul, mind and spirit.
These can revolve around your social standing, your job, your life, your diet, past traumatic experiences, or other problems a person is actively facing. Nowadays people get "treated" even for having non widely accepted ideas and many are given powerful drugs which do not really address the underlying issues.
We should stand strongly against admitting uselessly anyone in these facilities for literally nothing as the Western "Medicine" preaches today. Numerous diseases that now one will get encouraged to get serious and heavy medication, were actually seen as preliminary problems one can defeat by proper focus, practice, or a good mindset, years ago. Nowadays the list of mental disorders and the ease of administering drugs is constantly increasing. A little stress does not mean you are a schizoid personality, yet both of these things tend as days go to be treated in a very indiscriminate manner.
Humanity must be helped in more fundamental ways. Sometimes you don't need Zoloft you need to actually talk to another human being and feel supported. None of these drugs come without drawbacks or downsides, whether they are used for medical purposes or with a so called recreational mindset.
Sometimes you are depressed because you are overweight or you don't go to the gym, having your confidence in shambles. Modern psychiatrists in overwhelming amounts do not emphasize holistic healing methods, they rush you to take the drugs which in some cases can only repress symptoms, while the real problems remain unaddressed.
There can exist other functional reasons which proper professionals should help people evaluate. There are also certain cases of severe mental disorders that only have the solution of drugs to be handled, but these are some very important cases and one even there should do the long-term work of actually loving themselves and discovering the causes of illnesses, not just slapping together drugs to cover the symptoms.
The true word for Psychology and Psycho-Therapy do come from the Ancient Greek word Psyche (Soul) and Therapy (to heal) or Psychiatry which includes the healing of (Iatros) or Doctor.
If the plan is not to heal you and help you regain actual control of your existence, you are likely not dealing with doctors or therapists in the real sense of the word.
True professionals in these fields are still pressed by the powers that be to both over-prescribe and also not guide patients to full holistic healing. One's best interest is not rush you to solve only the surface issues of these subjects but have to put the patients to look within to solve these issues. After a point in the West the use of these potent drugs are only used to sweep dangerous things under the rug, which can cause serious issues.
If one has to use these, they have to be on a plan to eventually regain control of their life and start gradually addressing the real causes, with the idea of having to move on eventually. There are 10% of very pressing cases where these things must be used to actually hold you together, where very powerful psycho issues must be utilized.
The JoS has strong warnings that these procedures must be done in accordance to what is the best thing for one's self and to not rush, cut cold turkey, or engage in other disharmonious methods that don't involve internal healing or disobedience to professionals is real, life threatening issues exist. But if these don't exist and one is just seeking for a quick way out, it's best to engage in holistic methods of healing.
Every patient has rights to choose best healing of themselves except of cases where professionals just have to force the situation such as situations that can lead to death or serious instability. Side effects of anti-depressants are many but generally they are not communicated, one can find many of these from others or online, or simply reading the papers in the drugs themselves. Making informed decisions is very important, same as finding actual therapists who care. Many don't care. If you are written off these things instantly without nobody asking you what is even going on, that is not a sign of a good professional in the field, they are dismissive of the internal causes.
Be very sensible, self loving, and seek out the most humane professionals, that would be the best way to approach this. You want to heal, not to depend on things that if cut, there can be many risks. The good plan for that normal psychiatrists and normal psychotherapists will say is that even these prescriptions are to be used as a part of solving these issues, not for escapism.
Responsibility from one's side as a patient and some bravery to encounter some issues, or patience from your behalf is also required. The soul and the mind heal when you decide this, not because you just take something.
Even more so, use of illegal drugs for these things is strongly prohibited not because we want to prohibit you, but for your own sake and so you can discover your true potential and internal power. Taking quick cheating routes to this will not help you anywhere. Hallucination is not to be equated with actual spiritual experience. Spiritual experience is received on the basis of sanity, practice, character development, and life progression that gets born from becoming a stronger being overall. The JoS's official stance is strongly anti-illegal drugs where these "drugs" are concerned.
I am not saying the above as medical advice as I am not an accredited modern psychiatrist. (Thank the Gods I am not). My comments should not be taken as replacement for medical advice.
-High Priest Hooded Cobra 666