I have just come across an article published on The Telegraph website on Sunday entitled"Record Numbers on 'happy pills'"http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/nhs/10775085/Record-numbers-on-happy-pills.html
The article centres around the statistic that prescriptions of anti-depressants have risen 25% in the last 3 years. Unfortunately instead of being a good quality balanced look at the issues around the prescription and use of Anti-depressant medication The Telegraph's reporter has used this as an excuse to ridicule those taking these medications and make some awful generalisations. I have included a link to the article so that you can make up your own minds about the report but here in a nutshell are my thoughts.
1.The title of the article – referring to Anti-Depressants as "Happy pills" is a ridiculous, old-fashioned and frankly insulting terminology to be using. If there was a pill that made you 'happy' I reckon that most of the world's population would be popping them like Tic Tacs. Anti-Depressants are not "happy pills", they are designed to try and take the edge off of the hideous low mood that is depression so that the sufferer can attempt to lead a normal life. Labelling them 'Happy Pills' not only completely misleads the reader but belittles anyone taking the medication.
2. "Experts warned that many Britons were becoming hooked on the drugs and suggested that increasing numbers were turning to medication in the wake of the credit crunch to treat anxiety disorders." Whilst I agree that economic and sociological factors are a factor in the development of mental illnesses we need to be careful in not lumping Depression & Anxiety into the same category. Depression & anxiety can, at times, go hand in hand but are actually two very different conditions. Anxiety covers a wide range of illnesses such as OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), Social Anxiety etc which are completely different to depression. Suggesting that people may become "hooked" on tablets creates fear and the likelihood that people will refuse to take medication that may be the key to helping cure their condition. If I may use myself as an example, if I didn't take my tablets I would be a mess. My tablets control my mood and allow me to hold down a full time job, help me cope with socializing with friends and generally give me a better quality of life. Before I started on my tablets I was riddled with anxiety, didn't go out and was nearly crippled by uncontrollable moods.
3. "But some psychiatrists said too many doctors were "medicalising" everyday sadness, or handing out pills because there were long waiting times to see a counsellor." I would like to know exactly who these expert psychiatrists actually are. Any full trained GP can tell the difference between being a little sad and the persistent low mood that is an early indication of a depressive episode. When I was first prescribed anti-depressants I had to fill out an extensive questionnaire and discuss my symptoms before I was allowed anywhere near medication. Also anti-depressants often come with side-effects such as nausea, sleep disorder, weight loss/gain etc so no GP would prescribe a drug to a patient with these side effects without first being sure that this is what was required. I agree that the waiting times, and availability of counselling services on the NHS are appalling, I waited around 4 months to see a counsellor when I had my first depressive episode and was only offered a limited number of sessions, all my counselling after that was paid for privately by my parents, unfortunately most people are not lucky enough to be able to afford private services at the cost of nearly £40 an hour. However I found that the medication did take the edge off of my symptoms slightly, which may not seem much but to someone with depression every small relief helps.
4. The article consults Dr Joanna Moncrieff, an author on mental health drugs, and consultant psychiatrist at North East London NHS foundation trust for her views, for the most part I agree with the viewpoint she puts forward apart from her closing statement ""As a society, our dependence on antidepressants makes us less resilient and less resourceful in the face of the everyday challenges of modern living,""Claiming that someone with a mental illness is any less "resourceful" or able to cope with day to day life is a dangerous assertion to make, especially from a professional working for the NHS. In my opinion to continue with your day to day life, whether you work or not, with a mental illness is one of the strongest, most resilient things that a human being can do. I'm sure that Dr Moncrieff wouldn't tell an amputee who is struggling with their life-altering condition that they aren't being resilient enough, what difference is there when someone is affected by the levels of Serotonin in their brain. Both are debilitating physical conditions that affect one's ability to carry out day to day activities.
In the effort to give the impression of balanced journalism Sophie Corlett from the charity Mind has been asked for her comments (that interestingly totally contradict the tone and opinion of the article), however these are tucked away at the bottom of the article. She points out that the rise in prescriptions may be due to people feeling that they can come forward and get help for a condition that was previously brushed under the carpet and ridiculed. Unfortunately articles like this serve to strengthen the stigma around mental health conditions and threaten to discredit the fantastic work that charities such as Mind & Rethink do to enlighten people about conditions such as depression, bipolar, schizophrenia and PTSD. If we are to overcome stigma about mental illness we need the media's help by ensuring their articles are well-researched and stick to the facts, rather than using unhelpful labels and scaremongering tactics in order to create a catchy headline.
Love Jen
XxxX
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