Antidepressants can be helpful but they can’t fix chronic stress caused by social problems like debt, poverty, racism or domestic violence
Governments are failing to address the toxic social conditions that cause chronic stress and cannot be medicated away, Dr Matt Fisher says.Governments are failing to address the toxic social conditions that cause chronic stress and cannot be medicated away, Dr Matt Fisher says.Too many people are being prescribed antidepressants to deal with stressful life events or social problems, according to a growing chorus of doctors and researchers.
It is the kind of stress that cannot be medicated away, he says, and that governments are failing to address. Some of this harm was evident when Guardian Australia invited readers to share their experiences of being prescribed antidepressant medications, receiving almost 800 responses. The president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Dr Elizabeth Moore, says while depression often coexists with life stressors, “it’s crucial to distinguish between social challenges and clinical conditions”.
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