speaking of which, is it possible that SSRIs really "work" via their side-effects? That is, SSRIs typically reduce libido (so that one advertises on TV that it has "fewer sexual side-effects"). But one of the major sources of depression is not being able to express one's libido. So if one's libido is suppressed, then there are fewer reasons to be depressed! In this view, it's not really a side-effect, but one of the main ways that the SSRIs operate.
According to the WIKIPEDIA, SSRIs "are designed to allow the available neurotransmitter serotonin to be utilized more efficiently. A low level of utilization of serotonin is currently seen as one among several neurochemical symptoms of depression. Low levels of serotonin in turn can be caused by an anxiety disorder, because serotonin is needed to metabolize stress hormones. These medications evolve their effects at the serotonin transporter. They increase the extracellular level of the neurotransmitter serotonin by inhibiting its reuptake into the presynaptic cell."
could it be that by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin into the presynaptic cell, one's libido is also reduced?
[over quota. I'll be a good boy.]
-- Jim Devine / "the world still seems stuck in greed-lock, ruled by fossilized fools fueled by fossil fuels." -- Swami Beyondananda