Episode 168: SSRIs, ADHD, and Medical Trends with Julia Mason, MD

After several conversations about antidepressants, the Dorx welcome back pediatrician Dr. Julia Mason, who prescribes Selective Seretonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) to young people. Do we even know what these drugs do to developing brains? How do antidepressants compare with “gender-affirming care”? Does Barlean’s Fish Oil really taste like lemon custard? We also talk about myelnation, the distress of youth, the parasympathetic nervous system, neurotransmitters, immunosuppression, social costs and benefits of treatments, wildly swinging trends in medicine, unintended consequences, public schools, and the over-diagnoses of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Medical institutions have a lot to answer for, but at least we have Nampons for nosebleeds.

Links:

Nampons: https://nampons.com/

SEGM: https://segm.org/about_us

Feminist blogger with Crohn’s Disease: https://cannabisrefugeeesq.wordpress.com/2018/03/27/cannabis-refugee-esq/

Nina on Prozac: https://blog.ninapaley.com/2025/02/08/back-on-zac/

myelination: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myelination

Barlean’s Fish Oil https://www.barleans.com/collections/fish-oils/products/seriously-delicious-omega-3-fish-oil-lemon-creme

Listening to Prozac: https://www.peterdkramer.com/new-page

The Noonday Demon: https://andrewsolomon.com/books/the-noonday-demon/

Xeno’s Paradox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeno%27s_paradoxes#Dichotomy_paradox

Julia Mason on the Chain of Trust in Medicine:

Hunter in a Farmer’s World by Thom Hartmann: https://www.hunterinafarmersworld.com/

NYT: Have We Been Thinking About ADHD All Wrong? https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/magazine/adhd-medication-treatment-research.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20250413&instance_id=152482&nl=the-morning®i_id=58030095&segment_id=195907&user_id=a173f8835e89df3e22af711782032be9

Jamie Reed also recommends Nampons: https://x.com/JamieWhistle

Our 2023 Julia Mason interview: https://www.heterodorx.com/podcast/episode-105-pediatric-disenchantment-with-julia-mason-md/