Close Menu
Healthtost
  • News
  • Mental Health
  • Men’s Health
  • Women’s Health
  • Skin Care
  • Sexual Health
  • Pregnancy
  • Nutrition
  • Fitness
What's Hot

15 easy ways to get 20 grams of protein (Personal Trainer Guide)

June 29, 2025

Organ chip technology accurately predicts chemotherapy response to patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma

June 29, 2025

How Barefoot Workout can make you stronger, more athletic and stunning in injuries

June 29, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Disclaimer
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Healthtost
SUBSCRIBE
  • News

    Organ chip technology accurately predicts chemotherapy response to patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma

    June 29, 2025

    Expansion of genetic code to mammalian cells using pseuduridine -modified codons

    June 29, 2025

    Discover a Dimmer Genetic switch that controls fetal growth

    June 28, 2025

    Who Scientific Advisory Group for the origin of new pathogenic reports for Sars-Cov-2 Origins

    June 28, 2025

    Exploring nervous reactions to mental exhaustion in healthy adults

    June 27, 2025
  • Mental Health

    Which one is right for you? – Talkspace

    June 27, 2025

    Do alternative treatments for bipolar disorder work? Guide based on evidence (2025)

    June 26, 2025

    Data reveals both challenges and positive trends

    June 16, 2025

    How to choose the best yoga teacher training in Rishikesh

    June 14, 2025

    Stress is the most common mental health problem – here is how technology could help manage

    June 11, 2025
  • Men’s Health

    How Barefoot Workout can make you stronger, more athletic and stunning in injuries

    June 29, 2025

    How I turned the chatgpt to my personal nutrition coach and you can also

    June 29, 2025

    Total human care is here: Help men look and feel great now and forever

    June 28, 2025

    Why men ignore sleep apnea (and what they really cost them) – talking about men’s health

    June 28, 2025

    Lessons from a survivor for prostate cancer

    June 26, 2025
  • Women’s Health

    Books I have recently read – The Fitnessista

    June 29, 2025

    Does it support your aesthetic travel your body and mind? Guide

    June 28, 2025

    Eating for real immune support this winter

    June 27, 2025

    What does public health really mean

    June 27, 2025

    How long do you have to expand after MTF? A complete driver to expand – Vuvatech

    June 25, 2025
  • Skin Care

    Sunburn First Aid -7 common mistakes you will regret later

    June 29, 2025

    What is happening first? The step by step guide to build a routine of skin care

    June 28, 2025

    DIY Vitamin C Cucumber The Eye Serum

    June 27, 2025

    Tips for Summer skin care for your best skin

    June 26, 2025

    How a crisis of ingredients led to the best physical form of our deodorant stick

    June 24, 2025
  • Sexual Health

    Can Koles really get chlamydia?

    June 28, 2025

    Overward Visitor and Student Health Insurance in Australia for visa holders

    June 27, 2025

    Disassociation of the latest testosterone treatment lines

    June 27, 2025

    We always know that orgasms were good for you. Now there is proof.

    June 26, 2025

    Josh Duhamel gets testosterone replacement treatment at 52

    June 25, 2025
  • Pregnancy

    AI helps the couple capture after 19 years and 15 IVF attempts

    June 29, 2025

    7 signs your gut can be out of balance

    June 29, 2025

    Helping parents prepare for birth with calm and trust

    June 28, 2025

    Better screen limits for kids: Expert driver for parents

    June 28, 2025

    What is prenatal ability?

    June 27, 2025
  • Nutrition

    25 best vegan taco recipes that are healthy, easy and full of flavor

    June 29, 2025

    Episode 004: Trust your truth against all logic with Angela de la Agua

    June 28, 2025

    Benefits for the health of CoQ10 you should be aware

    June 27, 2025

    Creatine Completion in Menopause: What does science say?

    June 27, 2025

    GLP-1 Enhance the Smoothie recipes push for weight loss

    June 26, 2025
  • Fitness

    15 easy ways to get 20 grams of protein (Personal Trainer Guide)

    June 29, 2025

    Review of the Heat Index: an approach based on evidence

    June 28, 2025

    Bodybuilding Legend Charles Glass’ 5 Favorite Movements Hamstring

    June 27, 2025

    7 Best energy gels 2025, per runners and dieticians

    June 26, 2025

    Different types of training and fitness courses

    June 25, 2025
Healthtost
Home»Mental Health»Why are so many Australians taking antidepressants?
Mental Health

Why are so many Australians taking antidepressants?

healthtostBy healthtostFebruary 12, 2024No Comments5 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Reddit WhatsApp Email
Why Are So Many Australians Taking Antidepressants?
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest WhatsApp Email

About one in seven Australians take antidepressants; more than 3.5 million by us distributed them in 2021–22. This is one of the highest Prescription rates of antidepressants in the world.

The guidelines mainly recommend antidepressants for more severe depression and worry but not as a first-line treatment for less severe depression. Less often, antidepressants can be prescribed for conditions such as chronic pain and migraine.

However, prescription rates continue to rise. Between 2013 and 2021, the rate of antidepressant prescriptions in Australia is steadily increasing by 4.5% annually. So why are so many Australians taking antidepressants and why are prescriptions increasing?

Evidence shows they are overprescribed. So how did we get here?

Enter the ‘blockbusters’ antidepressants

In the 1990s, pharmaceutical companies strongly promoted new antidepressants selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), including Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), and Lexapro (escitalopram);

These drugs were thought to be less dangerous in overdose, and they seemed to be fewer side effects from the tricyclic antidepressants they replaced.

Drug companies aggressively marketed SSRIs and often exaggerated their benefits, including paying “key opinion leaders” – high level clinicians to promote them. This caused substantial development at the market.



Read more: We need new rules to define who is sick. Step 1: remove vested interests


SSRIs made billions of dollars for their manufacturers when they were patented. While they are now relatively cheap, they still prove themselves profitable due to high prescription levels.

Why are antidepressants prescribed?

The majority (85%) of antidepressants are prescribed to general practice. Some are prescribed for more severe depression and anxiety. But unlike clinical guidelines, GPs too set as first-line treatment for less severe depression.

Doctors also prescribe antidepressants for patients who experience distress but do not have a psychiatric diagnosis. A friend dealing with her husband’s terminal illness, for example, was encouraged to take antidepressants by her longtime physician, even though her caregiving capacity had not diminished. Another, who cried when she was told she had breast cancer, was immediately prescribed anti-depressants.

Sometimes patients who do not have a psychiatric diagnosis are given antidepressants.
Stephen Barnes/Shutterstock

There are several reasons why someone might take antidepressants when they don’t need them. A busy physician may be looking for a convenient solution to a complex and sometimes intractable problem. Other times, patients ask for a prescription. They may be encouraged by one good acquaintance experience or looking for other ways improve their mental health.

Most patients believe that antidepressants restore a chemical imbalance that underpins depression. This is it’s not true. Antidepressants are emotional (and sexual) numbing agents – sometimes calming, sometimes energizing. These effects suit some people, for example, if their emotions are too raw or they lack energy.



Read more: The chemical imbalance theory of depression is dead, but that doesn’t mean antidepressants don’t work


For others, they come with me troubling side effects such as insomnia, restlessness, nausea, weight gain. About half of users have impaired sexual function and for some this sexual dysfunction persists after stopping antidepressants.

How long do people take antidepressants?

Most experts and Guidelines recommend specific antidepressant prescription regimens, ranging from months to two years.

However, most antidepressants are consumed by two categories of people. About half of patients who start antidepressants don’t like them either stop within weeks. Of those who take them for months, many continue to use them indefinitely, often for many years. Long term use (beyond 12 months) accounts for much of the increase in antidepressant prescribing.

Some people try to stop taking antidepressants but are prevented from doing so withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms – including “strokes”, dizziness, restlessness, vertigo and vomiting – can cause significant discomfort, reduced work function and relationship breakdown.

In 14 studies that looked at antidepressant withdrawal, about 50% of users experienced withdrawal symptoms when you come off antidepressants, which can be mistaken for a recurrence of the original problem. We conduct a overview to better understand the Australian experience of antidepressant withdrawal.

Antidepressants should not be stopped abruptly but gradually reduced, with smaller and smaller doses. Its recent Australian release Maudsley imprint instructions provides guidance on the complex regimens required to taper antidepressants.



Read more: Antidepressants can cause withdrawal symptoms – here’s what you need to know


We need to adjust how we view mental distress

The over-prescription of antidepressants is a symptom of our lack of attention to social determinants of mental health. It’s depressing to be poor (especially when your neighbors seem rich), unemployed or in a terrible workplace, poorly housed or fearful of domestic violence. It is a mistake to locate the problem in the individual when it belongs to society.

Overprescribing is also a symptom of the medicalization of discomfort. Most depression and anxiety diagnoses are descriptions masquerading as explanations. For each distressed person who fits the pattern of anxiety or depression, the meaning of their presentation is different. There may be a medical explanation, but more often than not, meaning can be found in the person’s struggle with difficult emotions, relationships, and other life circumstances, such as terrible disappointments or grief.

Physicians’ overprescribing reflects the pressures they face from workloads, unrealistic expectations of their ability, and misinformation from pharmaceutical companies and key opinion leaders. They need better support, resources and evidence about the limited ones benefits of antidepressants.

GPs should also ensure that they discuss with their patients the potential side effects of antidepressants and when and how to stop them safely.

But the fundamental problem is social and can only be properly addressed by effectively addressing inequality and changing community attitudes towards distress.

antidepressants Australians
bhanuprakash.cg
healthtost
  • Website

Related Posts

Which one is right for you? – Talkspace

June 27, 2025

Do alternative treatments for bipolar disorder work? Guide based on evidence (2025)

June 26, 2025

Data reveals both challenges and positive trends

June 16, 2025

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Don't Miss
Fitness

15 easy ways to get 20 grams of protein (Personal Trainer Guide)

By healthtostJune 29, 20250

The acquisition of several proteins in your diet is vital to muscle repair, satiety and…

Organ chip technology accurately predicts chemotherapy response to patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma

June 29, 2025

How Barefoot Workout can make you stronger, more athletic and stunning in injuries

June 29, 2025

Books I have recently read – The Fitnessista

June 29, 2025
Stay In Touch
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Vimeo
TAGS
Baby benefits body brain cancer care Day Diet disease exercise finds Fitness food Guide health healthy heart Life Loss Men mental Natural Nutrition Patients Pregnancy protein research reveals Review risk routine sex sexual Skin study Therapy Tips Top Training Treatment Understanding ways weight women Workout
About Us
About Us

Welcome to HealthTost, your trusted source for breaking health news, expert insights, and wellness inspiration. At HealthTost, we are committed to delivering accurate, timely, and empowering information to help you make informed decisions about your health and well-being.

Latest Articles

15 easy ways to get 20 grams of protein (Personal Trainer Guide)

June 29, 2025

Organ chip technology accurately predicts chemotherapy response to patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma

June 29, 2025

How Barefoot Workout can make you stronger, more athletic and stunning in injuries

June 29, 2025
New Comments
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Disclaimer
    © 2025 HealthTost. All Rights Reserved.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.