I experienced a lot of stuff I didn't really notice how bad they were until I was off of them. Anhedonia, apathy, lack of volition, and sexual side effects. I also have trouble remembering parts of my life when I was on SSRIs.

I don't regret trying or even taking them for extended periods. They make the bad thoughts go away and raised the floor for my mood. But they also put a pretty low ceiling on it, too. I was probably on them for too long but clearly medicine doesn't have a perfect framework for handling every corner of this space, so I don't really blame anyone. There's a goldilocks zone for drug, dosage, and treatment length and I don't think I was always in it.

I've talked to many people who have bad things to say about SSRIs. On the other hand, my girlfriend is on one right now and seems very satisfied.

So, this is not supported by the data when people are asked.

Sexual effects alone hit about 50–70% people. Then you could face nausea, insomnia, profuse sweating when you’re still, emotional blunting, and weight gain.

I don’t want to discourage anyone, they can save lives. It is a net benefit for some people, but even then most people will experience side effects and wish they didn’t have to take them.

You think the vast majority of people do not experience side effects from anti-depressants? Wild.

> Despite considerable improvements in side-effect profiles, antidepressants continue to be associated with a significant burden of side effects that affect, treatment adherence and quality of life. Hu et al1 studied 401 patients with depression who had recently been prescribed an SSRI, and found that, after 75 to 105 days of treatment, 86% of patients reported at least, one side effect, and 55% experienced one or more bothersome side effects.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3181894/

Not OP, but my primary side effect being on Sertraline from 2002-2012 was lack of control over my anger or violent outbursts. I was primarily ok if things were good, but if something upset me, it would go from 0 to 10 in an instant. I did not even notice this as unusual until I got off the drug and it was a night and day difference how much more mellow I became. I have not been on any SSRI since then.

I was on a very low dose of Bupropion for about 5 years and did mostly well; it only made my existing brain fog slightly worse. I usually recommend that one over SSRIs due to my experiences.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the damn brain zaps on SSRIs. Even if I missed a dose by 18 hours, I would get the zaps.

That's not true. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2719451/ places the figure experiencing side effects at 40%, with 25% reporting those effects as serious. It's also telling that only just under half of those experiencing side effects ever reported those side effects to their providers - likely contributing to doctors getting a skewed perception of the real adverse effects risk.

What's missing is also follow up - for some those effects don't resolve after stopping the drug.

This is the same myth that women get told about hormonal birth control, it's not an "if" with side-effects of SSRIs, it's a "how much" and "when"