A new NHS report has revealed the highest ever levels of antidepressant(抗抑郁药) use recorded in England, with roughly one in seven people prescribed an antidepressant item in 2025-26. This has resulted in a swathe of(大量的、一大片) media coverage expressing alarm over the increase, with questions about what could, or should, be done to reverse(扭转、逆转) the trend.
英国国家医疗服务体系（NHS）的一份新报告显示，英格兰的抗抑郁药使用量创下历史最高纪录，2025-26年度约有七分之一的人被开具过抗抑郁药。这引发了大量媒体报道，纷纷对用药量上升表示担忧，并追问可以或应当采取什么措施来扭转这一趋势。
Such a high level of antidepressant use should, of course, prompt(引起、促使) concern and reflection. But the popular claim that has taken hold is that antidepressant use is too high because of “overprescribing(过度开药)”, as Dr John Read, a professor of clinical psychology, says in the Daily Mail. This is the idea that patients are being prescribed antidepressants when they shouldn’t be, or when better, safer alternatives are available.(这种观点认为，患者在不该用药、或本有更好更安全选择的情况下，仍被开了抗抑郁药。)
如此高的抗抑郁药使用量，当然应当引起关注和反思。但如今流行起来的一种说法是，用药量之所以过高，是因为'过度开药'——临床心理学教授约翰·里德博士在《每日邮报》上就是这么说的。这种观点认为，患者在不该用药、或本有更好更安全选择的情况下，仍被开了抗抑郁药。
This idea is worth challenging – but first it’s important to consider how we got here. The increase in antidepressant use is strongly correlated(相关的) with a rise in diagnoses in common disorders including depression and anxiety. Much of this is the afterlife of the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns: according to ONS data, across Britain, the rate of depressive symptoms in adults doubled during the crisis to almost one in five.(这在很大程度上是新冠疫情的余波及其相关封锁措施造成的：根据英国国家统计局的数据，疫情期间全英成年人出现抑郁症状的比例翻了一倍，接近五分之一。) As of April 2025, the figures remain almost as high. This surge(激增、飙升) has particularly affected young people in England, with one in four having a mental health condition, according to NHS data.
这种观点值得质疑——但首先，有必要弄清我们是如何走到这一步的。抗抑郁药使用量的增加，与抑郁症、焦虑症等常见疾病诊断率的上升密切相关。这在很大程度上是新冠疫情的余波及其相关封锁措施造成的：根据英国国家统计局（ONS）的数据，疫情期间全英成年人出现抑郁症状的比例翻了一倍，接近五分之一。截至2025年4月，这一数字仍几乎居高不下。这波激增尤其影响了英格兰的年轻人，NHS数据显示，每四人中就有一人患有心理健康问题。