(WSJ) – Influencers tout the drugs, but many unsuspecting followers find the side effects take the fun out of life

Many people have been helped by antidepressants, the most common of which are so-called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, including sertraline, also known as Zoloft, and escitalopram—brand name Lexapro. They have been on the market so long that grandparents, parents and children in the same family now take them. 

Yet the rosy picture painted by cheerleading TikTok and Instagram influencers glosses over potential adverse effects. Some suffered side effects that diminished rather than enriched their lives but kept quiet about it on social media.

Antidepressants are portrayed by influencers and in online ads as lifestyle medications, said Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring, a psychiatrist and former FDA official who runs an online clinic to help patients taper off psychiatric medications and minimize withdrawal symptoms. “People know their favorite celebrity who’s taking them.”

Yet mental health, he said, is about more than taking a pill. (Read More)