Did you know that antidepressants, also known as "little happy pills", are sold at a rate of more than 65 million boxes per year in France? An unthinkable number...And yet! The calculation is quickly done and it is very simple: In one week, France registers 1.250.000 prescriptions for antidepressants and it delivers as many boxes of this adapted medicine.
Indeed, the survey reported by "Le Point" on December 10, 2009 proves that an average of 6 million French people are on antidepressants prescribed by prescription. By now, in 2017, that number must have increased significantly.
High consumption of antidepressants: a frightening fact!
However, France is not the only country incriminated. Indeed, other areas in Europe are also affected but also Canada and the United States. The latter are also the biggest consumers of antidepressant pills. This heavy treatment has become the norm for many people in this world.
The daily routine for most people is to swallow a blue, pink or white pill every morning on an empty stomach. Let us then sadly understand that this routine intake of medication is the first thing the body records of the day. A very negative reflex for a lifetime.
How to explain this race to antidepressants?
The reasons are numerous and unfortunately no longer surprising. First of all, it is important to understand that an antidepressant is initially prescribed to treat a deep and real malaise, a serious suffering with important clinical signs such as anxiety, suicidal desires, behavioral disorders, etc.
Unfortunately, in this day and age, a sadness or a simple "slump" or even a mood swing are among the symptoms of depression. From then on, psychotropic drugs will be administered as simple candies to reassure the client but also to give him the impression that he will get better with drugs that will end up poisoning him.
Therefore, we should not be surprised to see some health professionals administering this type of remedy to teenagers in crisis (note here the classic teenage crisis) or to women who can no longer stand the emotional "comings and goings" for which hormones are primarily responsible. We are heading towards deep extremism that scares but reassures the most easily influenced.
Speaking of influence, it's all about marketing. In his book Les interactions médicamenteuses, Dr. Jean-Claude Rodet rightly states that "For the launch of their drug, the labs entrust communication agencies with the task of writing glowing articles that are then published in scientific journals. "
We will not be surprised to discover figures, experiments and statistics distorted to manipulate again and again both the consumer and the studies put in place.
What does this mean?
That it is simply a big lure in the world of pharmaceutical marketing. Numerous studies were established to justify these facts but they are kept silent, hidden and continue to dumb down the consumer who, in general, does not need them.
Let's remain coherent, real cases of severe depression are present, some people need medication to get out of it. But as explained earlier, this is unfortunately not the case for the majority of people on treatment.
Prescribing a box of psychotropic drugs to patients who do not need them can be a real health hazard. Indeed, the contraindications and side effects of this type of medication are very present and sometimes much more serious than the disorders themselves. These are of course often denied or minimized by the pharmaceutical industry itself.
Finally, a very important piece of advice would be to learn to listen to yourself, understand yourself and take care of yourself. Indeed, it is the first step towards well-being and psycho-emotional health. Taking antidepressants may solve your problems, or they may give the impression of a placebo effect. But taking control of your life and getting help from friends, a therapist, a wellness professional or your family is the first step before you get caught up in a spiral of drugs and lies.