Research in recent years has revealed that our children are getting more stressed and anxious at a younger age, but the latest statistics uncovered in the UK have shocked the nation.
It has emerged that a one-year-old boy was prescribed with antidepressants by the NHS.
The alarming revelation was reported by the Evening Telegraph after it obtained statistics on the number of under-18s being treated with antidepressants by NHS Tayside.
While the one-year-old’s case arose in 2014, the media outlet found that a seven-year-old girl was among at least 450 kids prescribed with antidepressants within the first six months of this year.
With the Telegraph’s report causing alarm nationwide, an NHS representative has spoken out to assure that these medications aren’t used to treat depression exclusively.
“Antidepressants are a type of medication used to treat clinical depression, or prevent it from recurring. However, they can also be used to treat a wide range of medical conditions, such as chronic pain and anxiety disorders,” the rep said.
The research also revealed that the most common age group to receive antidepressant prescriptions is the 14- to 17-year-old category.
What are your thoughts on this latest mental health revelation?
