My experience with these things is more like what the WSJ article says -- zilch. Nada. No change. No feelings came up that I hadn't had before, no new insights, no mania, no acid tripping-type stuff, etc.
I understand this varies based on one's own biochemistry, of course. But my belief is that if anything has too immediate a positive effect, it'll probably get more heavily controlled, or outlawed, like the drugs that DO produce immediate, exhilirating effects - opium, cocaine, etc. And a lot of this is due to residual Puritanical beliefs that if something makes you feel good, like sex, it's probably not good for you, or you should be punished in some way for experiencing it. As it is, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Prozac, Seroqual, etc., doctors almost freely give away, and I suspect it's because they know that it's excatly because they hardly do shit. On the other hand, stuff that is more likely to cause euphoria, like Adderall or Oxycontin, is more tightly regulated. And the more extreme and immediate the effect, the more liekly it's outright outlawed.
You could also say "i's because people get dependent on them," which is true. But most chronic major depressives are told they'll be dependent on medication long term anyway, the way diabetes folks are told they'll constantly manage their diabetes with medication. That's also dependency. Dependency is good in some cases, except when it's not, in other words.
-B.
Andy F wrote:
"For me it was like dropping acid...."
Chris Doss wrote:
"One side effect of some SSRIs is mania or hypomania. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Happy bricks. I remember the onset very vividly."