In just a mere decade, the number of prescriptions for antidepressants in England almost doubled; From 36 million in 2008 to 70.9 million in 2018. It’s mind-boggling.

So, why are the numbers increasing?

In this episode of the Mental Health Revolution Podcast, Kate lays out the various reasons why this have gone up significantly and why you should be alarmed by this statistic. Discover how the Brexit, recession, and even the mental awareness movements have parts to play in this. Kate is convinced that we are still far from everyone (including the health sector) having a REAL conversation about mental health. Listen in to know more.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• According to NHS Digital, in 2018, 70.9 million prescriptions for antidepressants were given out. It has increased significantly from the 2017’s record of 67.5 million. And to put more perspective into this horror, 10 years before that, in 2008, the number was just 36 million.
• #1 Reason: More people take antidepressants for a more extended period.
  • If people use antidepressants for more than 6 months, it becomes a habit – a habit that can worsen your depression.
  • People believe that once they stop, there will be a withdrawal phase that will cause much more distress than the actual depression. This isn’t true.
• #2 Reason: Brexit.
  • Brexit causes an unstable and unpredictable environment, whether it be economical or social. When we think of our future given this circumstance, it creates anxiety.
• #3 Reason: Increased awareness of mental health.
  • There has been a massive movement for the past years about removing the stigma around mental health. This has brought a remarkable level of awareness to most people and also encouraged people to take good care of their mental health.
  • But most who choose to seek for professional help is only given a few minutes to less an hour to be given a diagnosis. And, instead of that clinicians advise them to undergo a series of examinations so they could give them a good recommendation for therapy or a diet or a counsel, they opt for giving patients medications first-hand.

BEST MOMENTS

• “It’s not that more people are taking them... Don’t forget that these are prescriptions, not the actual number of people taking them.”
• “Whether you are for or against antidepressants., I think antidepressants shouldn’t be the way of life.”
• “We all want people to do something and make a positive action about looking after their mental wellness.”
• “You cannot cure depression just by giving a pill.”
• “In my opinion, all that this 70.9 million figure illustrates to me is that we’re still a million miles away from where we need to be in changing the conversation around mental and emotional health.”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• NHS
• NHS Digital

ABOUT THE HOST

Kate Ashley-Norman is creator of Positive Mind Management, the host of The Mental Health Revolution podcast, and a passionate speaker and trainer about our emotional wellbeing. She is seeking to change the nature and tone of the conversation around mental health for business owners, their workplaces and ultimately in their personal lives.

Kate has spent the last 25+ years running her own businesses, initially working running a six figure PR consultancy agency, then building a multi-million pound international property portfolio. Latterly she has dedicated her time to studying emotional mastery and positive psychology, while bringing up four children, and has used her experience and knowledge to create the Positive Mind Management programme specifically for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

The knowledge Kate has collated will help you to not only better understand your emotions, it will help you both improve it, and supercharge it during those more challenging times when emotional wellbeing can be compromised. Fear, procrastination, overwhelm, powerlessness, self worth – empire building is a hugely challenging process in its own right. The more power you hold within your own emotions, the more you can harness the power of those emotions, good and bad, to the benefit of your business and life in general.

Hugely practical and applicable, this revolutionary approach to mental health is putting the power back into the hands of each and every individual.

CONTACT METHOD

• You can support The Mental Health Revolution, and contribute to the conversation in the following closed Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/238516643507943/

  You can search Kate Ashley-Norman on any of these platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

  You can also support the movement through our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=12852819

  Kate can be contacted anytime via her email: [email protected]

This show was brought to you by Progressive Media