Platform 51

mental health campaign

antidepressants

Sign our petition calling on the Department of Health to commission a review into the use of antidepressants

Research* by Platform 51 reveals the truthbehind the use of antidepressants by girls andwomen in England and Wales. It reveals that a huge number of women use antidepressants for long periods without being reviewed or offered any alternatives to drugs. It shows:

• a third (33%) of women have taken antidepressants at some point in their lives
• nearly half (48%) of women currently on antidepressants have been on them for five years or more
• one in four (24%) women currently on antidepressants have been on them for 10 years or more
• one in four (24%) women currently on antidepressants have waited a year or more for a review.

National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines advise that antidepressants should not be used routinely as the only option offered to people for depression. For moderate or severe depression a combination of medication and high-intensity psychological intervention is recommended. Therefore the number of women who have taken antidepressants and the number who were not offered alternative or additional support poses worrying questions about the appropriateness of prescriptions. The lack of choices means:

57% of women who have taken antidepressants weren't offered any alternatives to drugs at time of prescription.

Not only that, many women are hiding the problem. Nearly one in five (18%) women kept it a secret from their family and 10% even kept it a secret from their partner.

Platform 51's director of policy, campaigns and communications Rebecca Gill, said: "These shocking figures reveal an escalating crisis in women's use of antidepressants. We know from working with women and girls in our centres that antidepressants have a role to play but they are too readily prescribed as the first and only remedy.

"Our research suggests that there is still a huge stigma attached to poor mental health. With some many women not telling their families, it is clear that women fear they will be judged on the state of their mental health.

"The current NICE guidelines are apparently not being followed: women want more checks to make sure the medication use is right for them and they want more choice when it comes to receiving treatment. We call on the Government to launch a review into the use of antidepressants. "

• Sign our petition calling on the Department of Health to commission a review into the use of antidepressants
• Download our briefing: Checks and choices: women and antidepressants.
• Read Nellie's story: Nellie was suicidal but rejected antidepressants in favour of counselling and Platform 51.

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*To get a representative picture of the mental health experiences of girls and women, Platform 51 commissioned Opinium Research LLP to carry out a nationally representative, quota-controlled survey of more than 2,000 adults aged 18+ in England and Wales in June 2011. 

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