At a May 4 Make America Healthy Again summit, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. outlined plans to “curb psychiatric overprescribing” by discouraging insurance coverage of antidepressants and encouraging patients to discontinue certain psychiatric medications, particularly SSRIs. In response, online posts highlighted Kennedy’s past false claims about SSRIs, including comparing them to heroin and falsely linking them to mass shootings. Some expressed concerns about the government banning or heavily restricting antidepressants and shared how taking SSRIs improved their lives. Others echoed Kennedy’s unsupported claim that people are overmedicated, promoted diet and exercise as an alternative to medication, and repeated myths about the safety and effectiveness of SSRIs.
Recommendation
Myths about SSRIs may discourage people from seeking mental health treatment and increase stigma around people taking these medications. Communicators may combat these misconceptions by explaining that decades of evidence show that SSRIs are safe and reduce symptoms of depression, especially in people experiencing moderate or severe depression. Messaging may emphasize that untreated depression is a risk factor for suicide. Prebunking messaging may explain the types of medications that treat mental health conditions, outline what patients can expect when beginning treatment, and highlight the evidence of the treatments’ safety and effectiveness when taken under the supervision of a health care provider. Messaging may also explain that while lifestyle changes such as exercise, diet, sleep, and stress management have been shown to support mental health, they may not be sufficient to improve depression symptoms for everyone.
Fact-checking sources: UC Health, Mayo Clinic
Communication resources: Find talking points and tools to help you communicate about mental health
