Recession 'drives thousands to use anti-depressant pills'

Source: Daily Mail

The recession is being blamed for a steep rise in the number of people taking anti-depressants.

Doctors in London alone handed out nearly 3.27m prescriptions last year - a rise of 188,252 in 12 months.

Figures also show that the NHS drugs bill for treating mental health problems such as depression and anxiety is £24.3m since the beginning of last year. This is despite a reduction in the cost of anti-depressants.

One mental health charity said it was not surprised about the rise given the stresses caused by the recession. But it emphasised that pills were not the only answer.
Victoria Walsh, campaigns manager of Rethink, said: 'This shows there is a need for additional psychological therapies as anti-depressants alone are not the most effective way to deal with depression.'

The figures from the NHS Information Centre cover the 31 London primary care trusts, and refer to a wide range of anti-depressants including Prozac and Seroxat.

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