This article, printed in the Irish Independent almost three decades ago, is one of many that featured in newspapers during the early years of SSRI antidepressants. At this early stage the potential effects [both positive and negative] of these drugs were debated by public and specialists alike. The article outlines significant effort being made to ensure that prescribing of these [relatively new] drugs was appropriate: what we would now call realistic medicine.
When this article was written no-one had the benefit of the passing of a significant period of time. The main change that we have seen is the seemingly inexorable rise in numbers of people being prescribed these drugs, much of which appears to be driven by long-term use. Thirty years on, with a paucity of published evidence to inform long-term prescribing, we need to reinvigorate our collective determination to ensure appropriate prescribing.
