Depression Under the Sofa: Trauma, Post-Memory and Antidepressants in Northern Ireland
Prescription records in the United Kingdom were released recently by the Health and Social Care Board . Much has been made of the rates at which antidepressants are prescribed in Northern Ireland -- at two and a half times more than in England, it turns out that the Northern Irish are being medicated to address anxiety and depression more often than in almost any other region in the world. Journalists have been quick to make knee-jerk observations about use by patients who are too young to be directly affected by the Troubles. "The disparity is so huge that it warrants closer examination," said Steven McCaffrey of The Detail. The insinuation in both The Irish Times and t he BBC is that the Health Service in Northern Ireland is over-prescribing. Health care professionals in Northern Ireland have noted for several years that patients who come to see a professional about mental health concerns tend to expe...