[HN Gopher] Antidepressant use is surging in Britain
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Antidepressant use is surging in Britain
Author : doener
Score : 16 points
Date : 2024-01-20 09:06 UTC (13 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.economist.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.economist.com)
| _rm wrote:
| In their defence, it is Britain.
|
| One could theorize that the British empire was less about power
| and glory, and more about desperately trying to escape that
| miserable gray rainy existence and that awful bland food.
| _fw wrote:
| "British food and British women made British sailors the finest
| in the world".
| foldr wrote:
| > awful bland food
|
| Too out of date to be funny. This hasn't been anywhere near
| true for at least a couple of decades.
| nickdothutton wrote:
| Antidepressants have been handed out like candy in the UK for
| decades. It was a news story in the 90s.
| johnday wrote:
| Then a very recent _increase_, even beyond that, is notable,
| no?
| nickdothutton wrote:
| I would say we passed the tipping point quite some time ago,
| where they were seen as a cheap salve for numerous problems,
| rather than actually tackling the growth in reasons for
| people needing them. "My life is getting me down
| Doctor"/"Here, take some of these".
| user_7832 wrote:
| Can't speak for everyone but anecdotally I have seen a very
| similar thing in India too. Often, it turned out to be
| something else (commonly it was undiagnosed ADHD which
| apparently can be in 5-10% of the population.)
| hammyhavoc wrote:
| Inversely, what people think is ADHD can turn out to be
| depression too, so it probably balances out.
| mjfl wrote:
| There's really not enough skepticism of psychiatry given that
| it's a barely scientific field. "Chemical imbalance" is a term
| that is still in common parlance even though it's scientifically
| bankrupt. Not British but looking on social media it seems many
| of their women have bought into this... ideology hook line and
| sinker. Americans too.
| jassyr wrote:
| Recently science has been pushing back on the "Imbalance"
| language. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2022/jul/analysis-
| depression-prob...
|
| Moreover, it seems to me there are far more people skeptical
| and ideologically opposed to antidepressants than those
| supporting it.
|
| SSRI's changed my life for the better and it's a real shame I
| listened to the naysayers for so long. There's no shame in
| seeking help and treatment. Something like 8% of American men
| take an ssri, and based on my own social group's struggles it
| should probably be well over 50% (I'm exaggerating only
| slightly).
| rabbits_2002 wrote:
| They don't work for everyone and have negative effects for
| lots of people including myself.
| hammyhavoc wrote:
| Can you quantify this "many"? What were your data points for
| identifying them? What social media platform(s)? Where can I
| read more about your research into these "women who have bought
| into this"?
|
| I'm extremely skeptical of your vague claim.
| mjfl wrote:
| You simply need eyes and ears to hop on one of the social
| media apps and hear the majority of women discuss their
| mental health and use of psychiatric drugs.
| hammyhavoc wrote:
| Again, quantify this "majority of women" for me. This
| sounds like the most sexist shite I have ever read on this
| website and like complete confirmation bias, if not
| fabricated nonsense.
| mjfl wrote:
| You sound unstable.
| barrysteve wrote:
| SSRI's are known to have side effects on your sex drive, libido
| and anorgasmia in some cases.
|
| The bar for informing patients on potential side effects is so
| low. The silver bullet attitude many doctors carry with ssri
| prescriptions is quite misleading.
|
| [0]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9934946/#:~:text=Among%20the
| ....
| marcellus23 wrote:
| Sexual dysfunction is literally the most well-known and
| discussed side effect of SSRIs. Every doctor I've spoken to
| has mentioned it, and so does the information sheet that
| accompanies the prescription bottle. And of course any google
| search will bring it up immediately. It's not exactly a dirty
| secret.
| bufio wrote:
| "Chemical imbalance" is not common parlance in psychiatry.
| Zetobal wrote:
| I mean I get your argument but as a bipolar patient I still
| hear it all the time ;)
| djsedaw wrote:
| I'm not surprised, have you seen our government?
| speedylight wrote:
| I'm not from England but I've heard a lot about how much of a
| shit show the Conservative Party is there.
| vdaea wrote:
| You mean the one that was chosen by the citizens because they
| considered it superior to the rest of options?
| JamesLefrere wrote:
| No, that must be some other country, perhaps where one of the
| last two leaders was actually elected.
| badgersnake wrote:
| Seems like most people have realised their error looking at
| the polling.
| Zetobal wrote:
| I mean it's like their fourth prime minister without a vote.
| CapstanRoller wrote:
| "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly
| sick society."
|
| - Jiddu Krishnamurti
| bufio wrote:
| Shit Life Syndrome is on the increase. It seems that a lot of
| people feel that they and their loved ones are quickly running
| out of track.
| theGnuMe wrote:
| My prescription is to Drink less or don't drink alcohol at all.
|
| Then meditation.
|
| Antidepressants do work but depression is your body telling you
| something is wrong so figuring that out is helpful.
|
| Britain has Shiite life syndrome as well. It probably exists here
| in the USA but we don't see it so much b/c of inequal access to
| health care.
| pedalpete wrote:
| https://archive.is/5sjF0
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