A Response From The Daily Telegraph

As some of you will have seen back at the end of April I blogged about an article in The Daily Telegraph entitled "Record Numbers On Happy Pills" (you can visit that blog herehttp://stitchesbeadsrocknroll.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/why-happy-pills-dont-exist-response-to.html?m=1). I was still so incensed by the article that a couple of days later I wrote to The Telegraph.

 

This is my letter –

 

24/04/2014

 

Official Complaint

 

Dear Sirs,

 

I would like to complain about your article of 20^th April 2014 by your health editor Laura Donnelly "Record numbers on happy pills". As a sufferer of mental illness I found your article both personally offensive and dangerously stigmatising to those with mental health problems.

 

Your article centres around the statistic that prescriptions of anti-depressants have risen 25% in the last 3 years. Unfortunately instead of being a good quality balanced look at the issues around the prescription and use of Anti-depressant medication your reporter has used this as an excuse to ridicule those taking these medications and make some awful generalisations.

 

The title of the article – referring to Anti-Depressants as "Happy pills" is a ridiculous, old-fashioned and frankly insulting terminology to be using. Anti-Depressants are not "happy pills", they are designed to try and take the edge off of the hideous low mood that is depression so that the sufferer can attempt to lead a normal life. Labelling them 'Happy Pills' not only completely misleads the reader but belittles anyone taking the medication.

 

Your article states "Experts warned that many Britons were becoming hooked on the drugs and suggested that increasing numbers were turning to medication in the wake of the credit crunch to treat anxiety disorders." Whilst I agree that economic and sociological factors are a factor in the development of mental illnesses we need to be careful in not lumping Depression & Anxiety into the same category. Depression & anxiety can, at times, go hand in hand but are actually two very different conditions. Anxiety covers a wide range of illnesses such as OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), Social Anxiety etc which are completely different to depression.

 

Suggesting that people may become "hooked" on tablets creates fear and the likelihood that people will refuse to take medication that may be the key to helping cure their condition. If I may use myself as an example, if I didn't take my medication I would have no quality of life or be unable to hold down the full time job that I have. Perhaps your writer would be more comfortable with millions of people out of work due to depression rather than using medication to help them create some semblance of a normal life?

 

Another statement that concerns me is"Some psychiatrists said too many doctors were "medicalising" everyday sadness, or handing out pills because there were long waiting times to see a counsellor."  Any full trained GP can tell the difference between being a little sad and the persistent low mood that is an early indication of a depressive episode. When I was first prescribed anti-depressants I had to fill out an extensive questionnaire and discuss my symptoms before my GP would consider prescribing me any medication. Anti-depressants often come with side-effects such as nausea, sleep disorder, weight loss/gain etc so no GP would prescribe a drug to a patient with these side effects without first being sure that this is what was required. Whilst I agree that the waiting times for talking therapies are appalling beginning a course of medication can begin to take the edge of symptoms. I feel that anyone with any experience of a depressive disorder will agree with me that any small improvement in mood and thoughts is of a large benefit.

 

The article consults Dr Joanna Moncrieff, an author on mental health drugs, and consultant psychiatrist at North East London NHS foundation trust for her views, for the most part I agree with the viewpoint she puts forward apart from her closing statement ""As a society, our dependence on antidepressants makes us less resilient and less resourceful in the face of the everyday challenges of modern living,"

 

Claiming that someone with a mental illness is any less "resourceful" or able to cope with day to day life is a dangerous assertion to make, especially from a professional working for the NHS. In my opinion to continue with your day to day life, whether you work or not, with a mental illness is one of the strongest, most resilient things that a human being can do. I'm sure that Dr Moncrieff wouldn't tell an amputee who is struggling with their life-altering condition that they aren't being resilient enough, what difference is there when someone is affected by the levels of Serotonin in their brain. Both are debilitating physical conditions that affect one's ability to carry out day to day activities.

 

In the effort to give the impression of balanced journalism Sophie Corlett from the charity Mind has been asked for her comments (that interestingly totally contradict the tone and opinion of the article), however these are tucked away at the bottom of the article. She points out that the rise in prescriptions may be due to people feeling that they can come forward and get help for a condition that was previously brushed under the carpet and ridiculed.

 

Unfortunately articles like this serve to strengthen the stigma around mental health conditions and threaten to discredit the fantastic work that charities such as Mind & Rethink do to enlighten people about conditions such as depression, bipolar, schizophrenia and PTSD. If we are to overcome stigma about mental illness we need the media's help by ensuring their articles are well-researched and stick to the facts, rather than using unhelpful labels and scaremongering tactics in order to create a catchy headline.

 

I would be interested to receive your comments on the points I have raised in my letter.

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

 

This morning I have had an e-mail from Jess McAree in response to my letter and also a copy of the e-mail trail between her and Laura Donnelly (the author of the original piece) –

 

From: Jess McAree <jess.mcaree@telegraph.co.uk> Sent: Tuesday, 6 May 2014 10:03 To: jenraefrances@gmail.com Subject: Re: scan

 

Dear Jennifer 

Many thanks for your letter of 24th April about our article of April 20th. My apologies that it has taken us to long to get round to replying.

I was sympathetic to the points you raise; nobody wants to give the impression, intentionally or otherwise, than people with mental illness are any less resourceful or able to cope with life. I understand that being personally affected by these issues, you are inevitably sensitive to any such suggestion.

This, however, was not the point of the piece, which was simply to make clear that many professionals believe that we are, as a society, over-medicated. According to the NHS' own guidance, patients prescribed anti-depressants are supposed to be offered them in conjunction with other treatment - for example, psychological therapies. That this is largely not happening is no more than a statement of fact, and an obvious cause for concern. 
In the interest of balance in what is a complex topic, the writer was careful to quote Sophie Corlett, from Mind.

The reference to 'Happy pills' is of course not medically mandated terminology, and I understand that it can be upsetting for some in the context of a discussion about serious mental illness. In headlines, however, newspapers must inevitably resort to succinct and simple idiom to quickly summarise an article's likely content for the reader.

I'm sorry you disagreed with the article, but I am grateful to you for taking the time to write.

Yours sincerely

Jess McAree

 

 

On 6 May 2014 09:21, Laura Donnelly <laura.donnelly@telegraph.co.uk> wrote:

Hi Jess,

I think only to say that I think it's a balanced piece looking at an
issue of public concern, containing a range of views from different
experts, several of whom expressed concern about current trends in
prescribing.

Headlines are always going to be more succinct than the piece is, to
draw the reader in, and I think it was a fair way to do so. No
intention to belittle or stigmatise anyone - one of the points the
piece makes is that according to NHS guidance, those prescribed
anti-depressants are supposed to be offered them in conjunction with
other treatment, such as psychological therapies. This often isn't
happening, which I felt was an important issue highlighted in the
piece.

Best,
Laura

Laura Donnelly
Health Editor
The Telegraph
0207 931 3562
07890 840996

> On 6 May 2014, at 08:53, Jess McAree <jess.mcaree@telegraph.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Laura hi
>
> You don't know me; I'm the new Head of Editorial Compliance. It's my job to
> deal with complaints and take abuse from strangers.
>
> We got this through the other day (see attachment). It's a fairly standard
> 'this is my opinion and I don't like yours' complaint, but before I reply
> telling her so I wondered if you had any comments?
>
> Many thanks

 

 

 

I have to admit I was initially taken aback by the direct response to me from Ms McAree, that seemed to suggest that being mentally ill makes me over-sensitive. I think the e-mail also misses most of the points I raised, I actually agree with the article in that anti-depressants should be used in conjunction with talking therapies (in fact I state this in my letter). However they have not responded to any of my points regarding the suggestion that people are "hooked on tablets", "everyday sadness being medicalised" or my point that they are mixing up totally different mental illnesses. Their excuse for the use of "Happy Pills" in the title is also pretty weak, having studied journalistic techniques at college during 2 years of Media Studies I am well aware that a snappy title serves to draw the reader in. This still does not excuse the use of an offensive and completely incorrect term. 

 

I was most upset by the e-mail from Jess McAree to Laura Donnelly where Ms McAree introduces herself as "It's my job to deal with complaints and take abuse from strangers". When writing the letter I re-drafted it countless times in order to ensure it was calm, collected and most importantly in no way could be construed as abusive. To suggest that I was sending any kind of abuse is, quite frankly, ridiculous.

 

I'd love to know what you all think? Am I over-reacting due to having a mental health problem? Or do I have a genuine reason to be furious?

 

Love Jen

XxxX