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#PostYourPill has been making the rounds on social media this month. What is this viral trend and how is it seeking to change the way we view antidepressants?
In 2021, some may say that the mental health conversation is a double-edged sword.
This is because while arguably more work has been done during the last twelve months to eliminate stigma than in recent decades, never before have so many of us been struggling.
From the pandemic-induced tsunami of psychological problems and loneliness as a result of our social media usage, to debilitating anxiety brought on by the worsening conditions of our climate and a general sense of frustration with the ways of the world, it’s unsurprising that the issue continues to snowball.
So why, with close to one billion of us reported to be living with these conditions, does one person die every 40 seconds by suicide?
Perhaps because regardless of how important we now deem providing each other with a safe space to discuss what we’re going through, a great deal more work needs to be done to destigmatise seeking help.
I say this in light of a newly published poll conducted by Dr Alex George which shows that 75% of participants have faced judgement or discrimination simply for taking the medication that benefits their wellbeing.
‘How many people are not getting the treatments they need AND deserve because of this very stigma?’, he wrote in an Instagram post. ‘This HAS to change.’
Speaking from my own experience, this is not only dangerous in its ability to deter us from taking antidepressants altogether but may prevent us from finding alternatives that are better suited to us personally, such as therapy (or, in the future, psychedelic-assisted therapy, but as we wait for this to come to fruition let’s stick to the options available to us).
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