Nearly 7 percent of U.S adults suffered from a depressive episode in the past year¹ while, worldwide, 350 million people suffer from depression, making it a leading cause of disability.² Despite this, only about one-third of Americans with depression get treated,³ which puts the remaining two-thirds left untreated at increased risk of suicide and with a lower quality of life.

People struggling with untreated depression are also twice as likely to die as those without depression and have worse outcomes for other health conditions.⁴ But while it’s clear that treating depression is important, the first recommended treatment is usually a combination of antidepressant drugs and psychotherapy.

There’s good reason to think twice before taking antidepressants, however, as they may increase the risk of other health problems and their effectiveness is questionable. This is where alternative treatments for depression can be veritable lifesavers, helping people with depression to regain their physical and mental health using safe, drug-free approaches.

Antidepressants Linked to Diabetes, Heart Attack and Dementia

If you’re considering antidepressants, it’s important to know what you’re getting into before deciding on them as a treatment, especially since they’re often prescribed for long periods with no end date in sight. For instance, antidepressant users have an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes,⁵ even after adjusting for other risk factors, like body mass index (BMI).⁶ Antidepressant use has also been linked to thicker arteries, which could contribute to the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The results of a study of 513 twin veterans, presented at the American College of Cardiology meeting in New Orleans in 2011, found that antidepressant use resulted in greater carotid intima-media thickness (the lining of the main arteries in your neck that feed blood to your brain).⁷ This was true both for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and antidepressants that affect other brain chemicals.

Further, the use of antidepressants is also associated with an increased risk of heart attack, specifically for users of tricyclic antidepressants, who have a 36 percent increased risk of heart attack.⁸ Meanwhile, the drugs are also linked to dementia, with researchers noting “treatment with SSRIs, MAOIs, heterocyclic antidepressants, and other antidepressants was associated with an increased risk of dementia,” and as the dose increased, so too did the risk.⁹

The drugs are also known to deplete various nutrients from your body, including coenzyme Q10 and vitamin B12 — in the case of tricyclic antidepressants — which are needed for proper mitochondrial function. SSRIs may deplete iodine and folate.¹⁰ Perhaps more importantly, studies have repeatedly shown antidepressants work no better than placebo for mild to moderate depression,¹¹ so you’re taking serious risks for a very small chance of benefit. Importantly, there are other options available.

Magic Mushrooms Show Promise for Treating ‘Untreatable’ Depression

The psychedelic drug psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms, continues to show promise for treating depression. In a small study of 19 patients with treatment-resistant depression, all of them experienced improvements in symptoms one week after receiving a single dose of psilocybin, and half of them were no longer depressed five weeks post-treatment.¹²

Brain scans showed actual brain changes occurred in areas involved in depression, including less activity in the amygdala, which is involved in processing emotions, and more stable activity in the default-mode network (links between activity in the network and depression have been found).¹³ The researchers suggested the participants’ brains may have been “reset” in a sense, helping them to overcome depression. As noted in Scientific Reports:¹⁴

“Psilocybin has an ancient and more recent history of medicinal-use. Administered in a supportive environment, with preparatory and integrative psychological care, it is used to facilitate emotional breakthrough and renewed perspective. Accumulating evidence suggests that psilocybin with accompanying psychological support can be used safely to treat a range of psychiatric conditions.”

Other research has shown a single dose of psilocybin resulted in six-month-long anxiety and/or depression relief in 80 percent of cancer patients, with some reporting relief from anxiety four years later.¹⁵

Unfortunately, psilocybin is a Schedule 1 drug, like marijuana, so trials cost about 10 times that of other legal drugs, and in order to take the research to the level where it could potentially be turned into a psychiatric treatment, phase 3 clinical trials are needed with thousands of participants. For that to occur, psilocybin would need to be rescheduled.

London-based psychiatrist James Rucker penned a commentary in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), arguing for the reclassification of LSD and magic mushrooms — which he notes are far less addictive and harmful than heroin and cocaine — in order to make it easier to conduct much needed medical research on them.¹⁶

Self-treatment is not advised, however, because not only could it land you in legal trouble, it’s possible to have a negative experience, which is why careful oversight and guidance from professionals is so important when using psilocybin.