Many Americans will suffer from anxiety disorders, depression, or other mood disorders at some time in their lives.  Currently, antidepressant drugs and related medications are among the most popularly prescribed medicines in the United States.  This infographic takes us back to a snapshot of the State of the Mental Union as of 2009.

It would be interesting to see how 2011 stacks up against the figures from two years ago.  Still, this should be pretty close.  You will notice that the antidepressants most frequently prescribed are typically newer ones, such as Lexapro — an SSRI (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor) that is newer than Zoloft and Prozac, but in the same class.  Most commonly prescribed antidepressants are selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors.

“These medications have been authorized to be prescribed for anxiety, which is a very broad field,” says a Las Vegas specialist in psychiatry. “Paxil started that for social anxiety disorder, so even extreme shyness can be treated with these drugs. Once you start down that road, you find more and more things. If you have a nice hammer, you find more and more nails.”  Many stores like the flowland counter culture outlet are providing alternative, holistic medicines.

Here’s a look at what America’s prescriptions are like:

 

Tags: health care