They are desperate for something that doesn't come in a pill. At best it provides a mild sense of emotional containment. I respect that it's only my anecdote, but I quit these meds personally and have talked to many many former users who all regret it and have made sacrifices to ween or cut themselves off. I have also not heard one doctor say anything like "weird, we definitely expected that to work", if you tell your doc these meds have lowered your QoL they won't even blink, it's expected and they have lots of other meds for you to try out in a system of pure ignorant trial and error.
I may be wrong but it was just what I assumed and never heard anyone argue against it.
The amount of people using antidpressants suggests that most people don't assume that they don't help.
You have to consider who you argue these things with. I mean you won't find anyone hyping these things here, for example.
They are desperate for something that doesn't come in a pill. At best it provides a mild sense of emotional containment. I respect that it's only my anecdote, but I quit these meds personally and have talked to many many former users who all regret it and have made sacrifices to ween or cut themselves off. I have also not heard one doctor say anything like "weird, we definitely expected that to work", if you tell your doc these meds have lowered your QoL they won't even blink, it's expected and they have lots of other meds for you to try out in a system of pure ignorant trial and error.