Antidepressants: what to know about their uses and side effects
Antidepressants are among the most prescribed medications in the United States. This is due, in part, to the fact that the number of people diagnosed with depression and anxiety is rising and prescriptions have increased sharply in some age groups during the pandemic.Despite the prevalence of these drugs, some patients have "significant misconceptions" about how the drugs work, said Dr. Andrew J. Gerber, a psychiatrist and president and medical director of Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut.About 80% of antidepressants are prescribed by primary care physicians who have not had extensive training in the management of mental illnesses.Dr. Paul Nestadt, an associate professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, said patients tell him, "'You know, doctor, I'...