I heard ssri's didnt come until the late 80s-early 90s. so what was the first line of treatment for anxiety and depression before these came out?

Therapy: In the U.S. Psychoanalysis dominated therapy & thinking from the 40s -60s we had a few antidepressants in the 60s but didn't know how to use them & analysts implied they were mood elevators & tranquilizers were chemical straight jackets that didn't get at the root of the problem--lithium changed this thinking--In the 70s minor tranquilizers, imiptrine were used & then MAOIs which were effective bu

Not too effective: tricyclic antidepressants, electroshock therapy, and therapy. Psychotherapy is the only still used on a regular basis.

Tricyclics effective: newer drugs, such as SSRIs are not more effective than older antidepressants such as tricyclic antidepressants. SSRIs have safety advantage and are now used first.