Prescriptions make us trust doctors more - but the quick fix culture is bad for mental health

Sometimes a pill can't fix us – we need long term treatment for our physical and mental health needs

90 per cent of GPs reported being pressured into prescribing antibiotics to patients (PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)

According to research published by King’s College London, GPs who prescribe fewer antibiotics receive lower satisfaction ratings in patient surveys. 90 per cent of GPs surveyed by Nesta last year reported being pressured into prescribing antibiotics to patients. In the long term, this has meant that the inappropriate prescription of antibiotics is contributing to bacteria becoming increasingly resistant to common medicines.

People are treating an appointment with their doctor like any other sort of transaction – because you have queued up and waited your turn you have to take something away from the appointment – an instant quick fix. People feel reassured by GP prescriptions and by accommodating their demands, doctors have created a situation where people think that, irrespective of the true nature of their health issue, the solution lies in the prescription of a few pills.

In the field of mental health, the favouring of clinical treatments means that the amount of antidepressants dispensed in England rose 8.6 per cent year-on-year between 2008 and 2012. At the same time, funding for mental health services has fallen by more than 8 per cent since 2010 according to mental health charity Mind.

In practice, this means that patients with mental health needs are able to access drugs but not therapy or talking treatments. Antidepressants do mitigate mental health conditions, but they cannot be prescribed as a stand-alone solution to patient’s health needs. This trend has led to tragic outcomes; last year it was found that one in six patients had attempted suicide while on a waiting list for psychological treatment.

Direct comparisons shouldn’t be drawn between the prescription of antibiotics and antidepressants, but the warnings about the former do help us think about how we look at ‘treatment’ across the board. In short: there are no quick fixes in health.

Doctors give our illnesses a sense of legitimacy. Walking away from the GP surgery with something in our hands does go some way to make our suffering feel authentic. This is especially true for mental health, where the lack of visible symptoms has led many to doubt the very existence of mental health issues and societal stigma makes it difficult for people to talk to their loved ones and colleagues about their experiences. Sometimes, we need to be reassured that what we are going through is real and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

It's okay to take something to get you through the day and to feel reassured; whatever enables you to live a functional life and not spiral into a crisis. However, this isn’t the same as finding a long term solution to an underlying problem.

Often there is no easy solution, but if society is increasingly expectant of a simple cure to our ills and becoming frustrated when this is not forthcoming, it is time to face the facts and accept that sometimes a pill can’t ‘fix’ us.