To say trying to stay current with politics is difficult nowadays would be an understatement. It often seems like we’re drowning in constant updates that make it impossible to stay afloat (this is also the goal of the current administration, but that’s a conversation for another day). Currently, my attention has been directed towards the future of the Department of Education, Section 504, and queer rights. But I learned recently of the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr, which has the goal of evaluating the threat medications like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and mood stabilizers pose to Americans, specifically adolescents. Kennedy has a notable history of spreading medical information, including the horrific claims that antidepressants lead to school shootings and that taking these medications is equivalent to being addicted to heroin. Having learned all of this, needless to say I was outraged on so many levels. These statements could not be further from the truth and perpetrate countless negative beliefs regarding mental health and addiction. To bring in my personal experiences, I have been on an SSRI since I was 15 and have witnessed addiction firsthand. Claiming that these life saving medications cause violence and addiction is so incredibly harmful and further stigmatizes mental health and addiction.
There is no evidence supporting Kennedy’s claims that antidepressants are dangerous to take or lead to school shootings. In actuality, these medications can save lives. My anxiety was debilitating before I started taking medication, and I think it would have been much harder for me to get to where I am today without them. His claims carry heavy stigmas surrounding mental health, including that those who experience mental health issues are more likely to be violent. There is nothing suggesting that antidepressants or mental illness lead to acts of violence including school shootings. Perpetuating negative beliefs about people with mental illnesses makes it incredibly difficult to dismantle the stigma already surrounding mental health. There cannot be any progress in changing how we view and respond to mental health if we keep spreading these awful viewpoints and electing government officials who do not have our best interests in mind, and who consistently spread misinformation.
Similarly, equating taking an antidepressant with something as serious as heroin addiction is unacceptable. Addiction is something that hits home for me, and while I’m not surprised Kennedy would say something like this given what we’ve already established, it still took me a second to process the weight of his comments. I’ll save the conversation regarding addiction for another day, but these comments have serious implications for how we view addiction. There is nothing supporting Kennedy’s claims that antidepressants are addictive. Let’s use some logic here: if these medications were as dangerous as Kennedy says they are, then they would never receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and medical care providers wouldn’t be able to prescribe them to patients. Additionally, the article “RFK Jr.’s misinformation on antidepressants matters. Here’s what to know,” quotes Sean Leonard, a psychiatric nurse working in addiction, as saying: “‘Serotonin receptor sites versus the opiate receptor sites is night and day,’…‘It’s so hard to come off an opiate. Your brain craves it, your body craves it; serotonin, not so much.’” So, science reveals that antidepressants do not work the same as opiates such as heroin. There is literal scientific evidence disproving Kennedy’s claims, making his spreading of misinformation even more serious. It is scary that someone so uneducated on healthcare and the science behind it now holds a government position where he can make major decisions about such matters.
All of this is to say, it isn’t the medications that are dangerous, it’s the lack of empathy and understanding when discussing topics like mental health and addiction that is.