Many think that the problem with the mental health services is lack of funding, but it would be vastly cheaper to introduce safe deprescribing and true informed consent than to shoulder the burden of thousands kept out of work and ill.

Patients with fleeting life problems are being turned into chronic patients, both mentally and physically.
This has not been publicised enough, and many withdrawal survivors I speak to took years to realise that their symptoms were caused by dependency on the drugs, not their "mental illness".

This influence is not limited to politicians. Pharmaceutical companies influence academics' papers and doctor's decisions. In particular, within Mental Health services, drugs that lead to strong dependency are being prescribed without any information on the many years it may take to taper off.

If instead of "early intervention" (by medicalising my problem and prescribing drugs) I had been given time and space, I would not be disabled from withdrawal over a decade later. Doctors and nurses should not be the first port of call for psychological issues.