With one in six American adults now taking an antidepressant, we wanted to ask some big questions: Are we overmedicating? Are we overdiagnosing? When is medication genuinely helpful—and when might what we’re feeling simply be an appropriate response to a difficult season of life?
We’re joined by our dear friend and incredibly talented psychiatrist, Dr. Brady Bradshaw, for a nuanced conversation about modern psychiatry, depression, anxiety, SSRIs, mental health diagnoses, and the role medication can play alongside therapy. We also get into ADHD, OCD, personality disorders, medication side effects, and the important distinctions between postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, and postpartum psychosis. If you’ve ever wondered whether medication might help you—or worried about what taking it means—this episode offers a thoughtful, humanistic perspective.
Episode Highlights
[0:03] - Are antidepressants being overprescribed? We open up the conversation around modern psychiatry, diagnoses, medication, and mental health.
[2:01] - Moving beyond the “chemical imbalance” explanation and looking at the many layers that can contribute to depression and anxiety.
[5:14] - Why a good psychiatric evaluation doesn’t automatically mean walking away with a prescription.
[6:37] - SSRIs for depression and anxiety: why they’re still considered a first-line treatment, how long they can take to work, and other medication options.
[8:47] - When life itself hurts: how do we distinguish normal emotional pain from symptoms that may benefit from medication?
[11:41] - Colette shares her own resistance to psychiatric medication during her divorce—and why a short course ultimately helped her cope, sleep, parent, and function.
[14:36] - Medication and therapy together: why reducing symptoms can sometimes make it possible to do deeper therapeutic work.
[17:18] - Challenging the idea that you have to be completely falling apart before medication is worth considering.
[19:00] - “You can still go touch grass and take Lexapro.” Dr. Bradshaw explains which mental health conditions may particularly benefit from medication.
[20:42] - OCD and ADHD: how symptoms can affect daily functioning and relationships—and when medication can be transformative.
[22:37] - Personality, temperament, anxiety, and medication: what medication can and can’t change.
[26:14] - Personality disorders versus mood and anxiety disorders, and why the timeline of symptoms matters in diagnosis.
[29:25] - The real value of a thoughtful mental health diagnosis: informing treatment rather than defining your identity.
[30:51] - “You’re not marrying the medication.” Can you eventually come off psychiatric medication?
[32:03] - Withdrawal symptoms, “brain zaps,” and why tapering medication carefully with medical guidance matters.
[33:09] - Postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis: what women and their loved ones need to know.
[35:12] - Recognizing postpartum psychosis, why it’s considered a medical emergency, and what symptoms can look like.
[38:24] - Intrusive thoughts versus psychosis: an important distinction in postpartum anxiety and mental health.
[40:32] - Why seeking treatment for postpartum depression and anxiety can also support the parent-child attachment bond.
[41:56] - Why therapy, medication, and healthy lifestyle choices don’t have to be either/or.
[43:18] - Where psychiatry can go wrong: polypharmacy, treating medication side effects with more medication, and the importance of reassessing treatment.
[45:24] - Why finding a provider who takes the time to understand the whole person can make all the difference.
Links & Resources
Dr. Brady Bradshaw, MD: www.bradybradshawmd.com
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