It's a good article with tons of scientific references, though I didn't read it in detail. I basically agree with you, and it's one of the two main reasons I don't use those medications. The other one is the short-term effects. In dire cases, perhaps they are useful; some people are content with them. However, if you can change your brain chemistry with exercise, good food, and destress techniques, and if you can manage your life without them, you are far better off, I strongly believe.

They cause neurologic changes that are very long-term or permanent. I think it is fair to call that brain damage, though it can be an inflammatory term that some people will flatly reject.