A new report says that a staggering number of Americans take antidepressants. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 13 percent of those 12 and over said they took an antidepressant in the past month.
This is a drastic increase in comparison to data from 1999-2002, when only 7.7 percent of Americans were on SSRIs (selective serotonin uptake inhibitors) such as Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft, among others.
These new numbers show a 65-percent increase in antidepressant use. And people are taking them longer term. Sixty-eight percent of those Americans taking antidepressants have been on them at least two years. Twenty-five percent say they have been on the drugs for 10 years or more.
It’s important to note that antidepressants can also be used to treat anxiety disorders.
Middle-aged and older Americans (ages 40+) were more likely to be taking antidepressants.
Increased stress in the fast-paced age of technology as well as longer work hours could explain part of the rise in antidepressant use.
Women are twice as likely as men to be on SSRIs, possibly because men want to be perceived as tough guys who can deal with mental adversity.
The new report is based on responses to a U.S. government health survey conducted between 2011 and 2014. More than 14,000 Americans, ages 12 and over, participated in the survey. Results were compared to those from prior surveys stretching back to 1999.
Big pharma has reaped hardcore benefits in this environment, and the revenue for antidepressants is projected to grow to nearly $17 billion by 2020.
I remember when I was first exploring psychiatric care after being diagnosed with depression after a panic attack while on a business trip. I was very reluctant to go on antidepressants. I didn’t want “artificial happiness.”
My thoughts on the subject of whether or not to take medication seesawed, but due to the severity of my condition, I was desperate to feel better and so opted to try antidepressant treatment. I later learned that my diagnosis of depression was incorrect — I would be diagnosed with bipolar a few months later — and even though the Prozac pulled me out of a depression, I just got higher and higher and more manic.
Antidepressants do indeed help moods, but only when given to people with the proper diagnosis of solely depression or anxiety.
While it is unfortunate that so many people need to be on antidepressants, it is comforting to know that the stigma of depression and mental health may in fact be declining.
