In today's New York Times, Dr. Doris Iarovici, a psychiatrist from Duke University, narrates cases of young college students who are exposed to long-term pharmaceutical treatments for depression, sometimes spanning their entire college trajectory. Her discussion of the relationship between life transitions and long-term use of mental health pharmaceutical treatments illustrates and contributes to the larger question of over-medicalization of mental health conditions and their intersection with personal trajectories and experiences. In addition, Dr. Iarovici also raises important questions about the role of comorbid disorders and behaviors (drug/alcohol addiction, undiagnosed eating disorders, among others), and the need for a better understanding of how psychiatric medicines might affect brain development and mental health, extending into young adulthood and possibly beyond.
The growing phenomenon of over-medicalization and pharmaceuticalization of health is not restricted to mental health problems, in that it affects multiple other clinical conditions as well. Young individuals going through significant life transitions, however, are especially vulnerable to this phenomenon, and they may face greater risks from undiscriminated and long-term pharmaceutical use.
To read the NYT story, follow the link here.
