“Yet another dog-eared anti-psych trope”

An influential British mental health professional recently stated this in relation to the potential risk of dependence and withdrawal from psychiatric drugs:

“To suggest that taking prescribed medication is somehow a ‘dependence’ shows an ignorance of how medication works and implies a moral weakness on the part of the patient. Yet another dog-eared anti-psych trope”

I have been physiologically dependent on a psychiatric drug for nearly 3 decades. The consequences of this have been harmful to both myself and my family. I know that my dependence on this drug has nothing to do with moral weakness. It is a physiological consequence of repeated use of the SSRI that I was prescribed for anxiety.  This has also been the experience of many, many other people. For a health professional to use such derogatory terms in relation to people who have been open about their experiences of medication does nothing to address the stigma that persists around issues related to mental health.