Keith McLaughlin
The Argosy.ca
November 26, 2009

Since the emergence of antidepressant drugs in the early 1980s, more and more cases of depression are being reported. According to Dr. Brad Hagen, a clinical psychologist and faculty member at the University of Lethbridge, the reason for the skyrocketing rates of depression are a matter of heated debate.
“Depending on how you look at it, depression either started becoming more common or recognized, or it became marketed,” says Hagen.
In the 1950s, reported cases of depression were practically unheard of, but now the World Health Organization warns it could become the second leading cause of disability in the world by 2020.
Most persons with depression are treated by antidepressants, even though counseling – which can be significantly more expensive and time-consuming – has demonstrated equal effectiveness in offsetting feelings of depression. In the U.S, 87 per cent of physician visits for depression result in antidepressants being prescribed.
In 2007, sales of antidepressants topped $11.9 billion in the U.S.
Some in the medical community wonder if the spike in diagnosed depression cases over the last twenty years is exaggerated.
“Some question whether it’s an overinflated number because essentially there’s people that benefit from so many people being diagnosed,” says Hagen.

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