logo
welcome
NBC News

NBC News

Health

Health

RFK Jr. thrusts antidepressants into the spotlight — unnecessarily, advocates say

NBC News
Summary
Nutrition label

77% Informative

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday that he intends to address the possible overmedication of children and the risks of antidepressants.

The promise echoed an executive order that President Donald Trump issued last week establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission .

Kennedy has criticized what he sees as an overuse of SSRIs, suggesting that they can be addictive and carry dangerous side effects.

Experts generally agree that it’s important to figure out why adolescents and young adults are experiencing depression and anxiety.

Shortages of available or affordable therapists can also encourage people with milder symptoms to seek medication as a first -line treatment.

Kennedy falsely stated in his confirmation hearings that the warning referred to “homicidal behavior”.