Not average as in someone that is doctor shopping to get high, but it is someone that self-selected themselves for it. How much of the effect is placebo? Skimming the paper it is not mentioned except in the title of one reference.
After trying at least 7 antidepressants over the years; I sometimes wonder exactly how much over Placebo do they work.
My doctor finally came clean one day. Antidepressants at their best might give you a bit more energy.
I noticed he started prescribing bupenorpine off label for treatment resistant depression. I understand why. I think he got tired of seeing patients not responding to traditional antidepresssants.
Most psychiatrists will not deviate from the old standbys though, even the progressive doctors.
(I can offer this. With time you will start to feel better. Everyone's biology is different. My depression when it hits sometimes takes a few weeks/months to lighten up, but it always lightened up, and wasen't tied to situational circumstances.)
The vast majority of them these days are SSRI, which effectively raises the level of serotonin that your body (not just brain) functions under. If anything, they will tend to make you more tired and blunt mood swings.
Bupropion, on the other hand, is a wonder drug for me that seems to effectively remove the bottom of my depression without really causing any other side-effects (except maybe a subtle positive effect on ADHD symptoms).
except for that whole class of drugs called benzodiazepines