The “pharmaceuticalisation” of life

Commenting on “the record number of antidepressants prescribed last year,” Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said that “research has shown [antidepressants] can be very effective when used appropriately.”1 This opinion about whether the number of prescriptions is appropriate is one sided. Firstly, evidence shows that only one in nine people benefit from antidepressants: the remaining eight are unnecessarily put at risk of adverse drug effects.2 Secondly, the effect size for …