Particle Data Platform
The Daily

R.F.K. Jr.’s Newest Mission: Getting Us Off Antidepressants

6/22/202632 min

In his latest public health crusade, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, is asking why millions of Americans have been taking psychiatric drugs for far longer than ever intended.

In the process, he’s highlighting an open secret in medicine: that doctors are better at starting drug treatments than at stopping them, and that patients who want to end their treatment are increasingly taking matters into their own hands.

Ellen Barry, a mental health reporter, takes us inside the growing movement to “deprescribe.”

Guest: Ellen Barry, a reporter covering mental health for The New York Times.

Background reading: Some psychiatrists fear that Mr. Kennedy’s call to rein in the use of depression medications will drive patients away from care.

Photo: Darren Staples/Reuters

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Clips

Michael's Lexapro Epiphany
Heroin vs. SSRIs Claim Debunked
Missing Long-Term SSRI Research
Doctors Regret Overprescribing SSRIs
Infantilizing Ourselves with Medicine?

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 10:00

    This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Spring always feels like a reset. Clearing things out, simplifying what you don't need. Apple Card is built with that same idea in mind. No annual fee, no late fees, and no foreign transaction fees. No fees, period. Get started and apply in the Wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval. Variable APRs for Apple Card range from seventeen point four nine percent to twenty-seven point seven four percent based on credit worthiness. Rates as of January first, twenty twenty six. Existing customers can view their variable APR in the Wallet app or at card.apple.com. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at applecard.com.

  2. Michael Barbaro· Host0:35

    [instrumental music playing] From The New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. In his latest public health crusade, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is asking why millions of Americans have been taking psychiatric drugs for far longer than ever intended.

  3. Speaker 3· Soundbite0:55

    I have been on Zoloft since I was eight years old.

  4. Speaker 4· Soundbite0:59

    I've continuously been on antidepressants twenty-seven years.

  5. Speaker 5· Soundbite1:01

    I've been on Luvox thirty years.

  6. Speaker 4· Soundbite1:04

    I've been on them longer than I've not been on them.

  7. Michael Barbaro· Host1:07

    In the process, he's highlighting an open secret in medicine, that doctors are much better at starting drug treatments than at stopping them.

  8. Speaker 3· Soundbite1:17

    I was told to take it daily, and I never questioned that.

  9. Speaker 5· Soundbite1:20

    I don't really think I even asked or thought about how long I would be on it.

  10. Ellen Barry· Guest1:25

    I did not know that I was [laughs] gonna be on them for the rest of my life.

  11. Michael Barbaro· Host1:28

    And that patients who

We value your privacy

We use cookies to understand how you use our platform and to improve your experience. Click "Accept All" to consent, or "Decline non-essential" to opt out of non-essential cookies. Read our Privacy Policy.