The number of drugs prescribed to 13 to 19-year-olds rose by a quarter between 2016 and 2020, according to the latest NHS figures. It includes prescriptions until the end of 2020, after a year of national Covid lockdowns and school and university closures. More and more evidence is starting to come together to show that virus restrictions have had a big impact on young people’s mental health. The NHS data – obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request – also shows that antidepressant use has risen sharply among adults in their 20s. Mental health and children’s charities told MailOnline the data was a “worrying sign” of a mental health crisis in Britain. They warned that some young people may have been prescribed medication by GPs because they cannot get advice due to pandemic delays. Antidepressant prescriptions for teenagers have risen by a quarter in England in 2020 compared to 2016. The biggest increase was seen among 13- to 19-year-olds, where prescription rates rose by around a third Young adults, often leaving home for the first time and starting their careers, also saw antidepressant prescription rates rise by about 40 percent NHS data records prescriptions rather than individual patients, meaning someone could be recorded multiple times. A total of 1.03 million antidepressant prescriptions were made to people aged between 13 and 19 in 2020, the latest available data. This was a 26 percent increase compared to the number of prescriptions in 2016 (822,717).
What to do if you are a parent who needs help with their child
If your child is struggling and needs some help, you can feel really anxious and unsure of where to start. Remember that you and your child are not alone. There are services, professionals and organizations that can help you, and information on how to access them.
Trying to find the right help for your child and finding your way around different services can be really tiring at times. Remember to take care of yourself as you go – and remind yourself that you’re doing your best and it’s not always easy.
QUICK TIPS FOR ACCESSING HELP
Your local GP can discuss your child’s mental health concerns and could refer them to other services such as CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services).
You could access counseling through CAMHS and other NHS services.
Talking to professionals can sometimes feel scary and it can be difficult to find the right words to explain what’s going on or what help you think your child needs.
Parents in similar situations have found that the following tips can help.
- Write down your concerns Before you talk to a professional, write down your concerns and the times you’ve noticed particularly troubling behaviors or feelings. You can do this very simply by making a list on your phone. You can then take this with you to appointments to give the practitioner a clear sense of your child’s condition and to support any referral requests.
- Explore local services If you are on a waiting list for help, explore whether there are local services available that you may be able to access in the meantime. Your child may also be able to get more immediate online support from organizations such as The Mix and Kooth. You can find other online services and helplines at the bottom of this page.
- Try talking to other parents As you find your way around local services, try talking to other parents who have been through this, or talk to any friends or family who may be able to advise you on where to start. For example, if you know someone who works in mental health support, they may have a good idea of what is available locally.
- Follow up after the appointment
Where possible, liaise by email after appointments – for example with teachers or other staff at your child’s school – to confirm what has been agreed. Then check back a week or two later to find out what has happened. This is a good way to keep things moving.
Source: YoungMinds.
The biggest rise was among younger and older teenagers, with rates among 13-year-olds and 19-year-olds rising by about a third — 33 percent and 34 percent respectively. Antidepressant prescriptions have also increased by 39% in 20-year-olds over the same time period. A total of 7.1 million antidepressant prescriptions in this group were made in 2020, an increase of 2 million compared to 2016. Olly Parker, head of external affairs at mental health charity Young Minds, called the rise “worrying”. “These figures are yet another worrying sign of the crisis in mental health services for young people,” he said. “Record numbers are trying to access support and all too often are finding that options are limited.” There was an overall increase of 12 percent among all age groups between 2016 and 2020, the figures show. Earlier this year, it was revealed a record 420,000 people under 18 were either in or waiting to start mental health treatment in February, a 54% increase compared to the same period in 2020, before the pandemic. Mr Parker said the demands of mental health services may have left many GPs feeling they had no choice but to prescribe drugs to help young people in crisis. “Medication can play an important role in helping a young person manage their mental health, but it should never replace talking therapies such as counselling,” he said. “Long waiting times and high thresholds for treatment may mean GPs feel pressured to prescribe drugs, but it should not be used as a band-aid for poor access to other forms of support.” Laurence Guinness, chief executive of The Childhood Trust, a charity which represents children from poorer families, was also concerned by the data. “The increase in prescription drugs to treat adolescent mental health is a worrying trend, he said. “The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services system cannot cope with referrals and too many children are left with no alternative but to seek help from their GP, who is often limited to prescribing medication.” Stephen Buckley, chief information officer at Mind, said young people’s mental health had suffered greatly in the pandemic. “We know this generation has been particularly affected by the pandemic, having faced educational disruption, isolation and loneliness and now facing uncertainty about jobs and income,” he said. He also said more people taking anti-depressants could potentially be a positive, implying that people were seeking help for their mental health problems rather than suffering in silence. However, Mr Buckley added that the trend of increasing prescriptions to under-18s was worrying. “Antidepressants can be effective, but they can cause unpleasant side effects and are usually not recommended for people under 18 or for the initial treatment of mild depression,” he said. “This increase in antidepressant use reflects the worrying state of youth wellbeing across the country and the need to invest in early mental health support before problems become more expensive and difficult to treat.” He called on the government to invest more in children’s mental health services in England.
Social media use, university debt and the prospect of never being able to afford their own home have all been blamed for the rise in mental health problems among young people. Chris Martin, chief executive of The Mix, an under-25s charity, said: “We have seen a worrying rise in young people talking about their use of antidepressants. “Our own research with young people revealed that antidepressants were the second most used drug among 16-25 year olds and that one in 10 young people have also misused antidepressants in the past year.” Mr Martin also attributed the rise to overstretched mental health services. “Our concern is that this is closely linked to the lack of time offered to young people seeking mental health support from overburdened health services,” he said. “While antidepressants may be appropriate for some, they should not always be the first choice for treatment when a young person may benefit more from accessing talking therapies or advice on sleep, exercise and diet.” Charities have warned that some young people are being prescribed antidepressants by doctors because they cannot get other treatments such as treatment from overstretched health services There was a record rise in the number of children and young people referred as ‘open referral’ to NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in England, with 420,314 in February There are many different types of antidepressants available for prescription on the NHS, the most famous being Prozac with other examples being Zispin, Molipaxin and Cipramil. Although they are most famous for their use to treat depression, they can also be used to treat other mental health conditions such as anxiety, mutilating phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Antidepressants have a multitude of potential side effects, ranging from relatively minor ones such as headaches, diarrhea or nausea to the more serious serotonin syndrome, where the body produces too much of the mood-regulating chemical.
Serotonin syndrome, although uncommon, can lead to serious health problems such as seizures and irregular heartbeat Responding to the data, Professor Subodh Dave, dean of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said the NHS prescribing data needed to be interpreted carefully as antidepressants had wider clinical use. “These figures need to be interpreted carefully as antidepressants can be prescribed to young people for a range of health conditions, including physical ones,” he said. Some antidepressants have other applications outside of mental health, such as helping to relieve chronic pain conditions such as ongoing neck and back pain A guy…
