Why do these medicines continue to be used?

Distressingly, because patients do not report their symptoms, says Dr Peter Breggin, an American psychiatrist who is campaigning for a pill-free approach to psychiatry. Forced to rely on the edited literature issued by drug manufacturers, many psychiatrists simply do not know how debilitating they can be — and therapists or counsellors who are aware of the side effects feel reluctant to speak out against prescriptions by qualified doctors who refer the cases to them.

Worse, shrinks are not the only ones who prescribe. A recent study in Britain reported that about 80 per cent of the prescriptions for anti-depressants and sleeping pills came from ordinary GPs rather than psychiatrists, which makes them the most widely used drugs in the world. No wonder it’s party time for manufacturers who have been repeatedly accused of skewing research to suit their products.

Still, like it or not, antidepressants and tranquillisers have saved thousands from suicide and given millions of neurotic patients the chance to live “happily”. Which brings us to the moot question: is our modern definition of happiness unrealistic?

Emotional suffering is inevitable in life, points out Breggin, but in today’s pro-drug environment, emotional disorders have been reduced to a biochemical malfunction. There’s a ‘designer drug’ for every mental glitch, from midlife blues to timidity, because for doctors and patients alike, it’s easier to pop a pill than deal with psychological baggage. But ultimately, medication doesn’t resolve disturbed feelings; it only helps to anaesthetise the pain.

... contd.