One in seven people in England were prescribed antidepressants last year, worrying figures show.
It comes amid a sharp rise in mental health problems such as depression and anxiety since the pandemic.
A record 9.1million patients were given the drugs by their doctor in the last 12 months, an increase of more than 15 per cent in five years.
There is a stark regional divide with antidepressant use highest in North Cumbria and South Yorkshire, and almost double the rates seen in affluent parts of London.
People in England’s most deprived communities received around a third more prescriptions than those in the least disadvantaged
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