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Medication can be necessary in extreme cases, to stabilize a patient whose thought processes are too disorganized to undergo therapy. This is the professional opinion that I've received from multiple therapists. More professional opinions at [2] and [3].

It's hard to believe that all the thousands of people that are prescribed antidepressants are going through severe (i.e. crippling) depression. I'm glad that you experienced only mild/no side-effects, but that it appears this is not the case with the majority of patients [1].

Someone struggling with depression/anxiety/whatever should seek treatment for the causes of their suffering, of course.

However, the common mantra is that a pill will solve your ill, the fact that antidepressants are prescribed like candy (second only to antibiotics) should hint on this. The problem is that, at best, the pill will help you with symptoms and will not solve the underlying causes (often related to trauma handling or with how one deals with the hardships of life).

[1] https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/are-antidep... [2] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-antidepressant... [3] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/many-antidepressa...