New Research Finds 70% Of People On Antidepressants Don’t Actually Have Depression
If you look at the sales for drugs like Zoloft, Lexapro, and Prozac, you start to see a significant rise in the number of people using antidepressant drugs over the years.
A new study shows that about 69% of people who use antidepressants don’t meet the criteria for clinical depression, but are likely simply experiencing sadness from various hardships.
Additionally, about 38% of people using antidepressant or antipsychotic drugs didn’t meet the criteria for any psychiatric disorders, including panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, social phobia, anxiety, and other disorders.
The study, published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, notes:
“Many individuals who are prescribed and use antidepressant medications may not have met criteria for mental disorders. Our data indicate that antidepressants are commonly used in the absence of clear evidence-based indications.”
In 1998, some 11.2 million Americans used these drugs. by 2010, it had more than doubled to 23.3 million. Overall, the increase in antidepressant sales is up by an astounding 400%, and many people are now becoming addicted to the pills.
Perhaps the most disheartening is that about 70% of the members of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder report having financial relationships with pharmaceutical companies responsible for manufacturing the drugs they’re prescribing.
