Talking Controversy

Long-Term Users of Antidepressants and the Diagnosis of Depression

Bibliographic Data

ID12733237
AuthorsKristjan J Sigurdson (University of Saskatchewan, corresponding author), Linda M Mcmullen (0000-0002-7948-4778, University of Saskatchewan)
Year2013
Volume10
Issue4
Pages428-444
Publication date2013-06-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueQualitative Research in Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1478-0887 • E-ISSN: 1478-0895
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14780887.2011.647260
OpenAlexW1605793579
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited27

Depression is a condition that is routinely diagnosed; however, controversies about the diagnosis remain. Some argue that depression goes undiagnosed, while others argue that the diagnosis is applied too readily and broadly. The focus of this article is how those with a diagnosis of depression respond to such controversy. We interviewed 11 long-term users of antidepressants, queried them about their diagnosis and medication history, and presented them with arguments about the diagnosis of depression. Informed by the methodology of discursive psychology, we attended to the rhetorical strategies participants used to argue for and/or against the over- and under-diagnosis of depression. We show how they employed strategies such as invoking biomedical knowledge and implicating patients as responsible for health care to defend their own diagnostic status and to legitimize depression as a routinely diagnosed condition. This article adds the voice of long-term antidepressant users to the debate over the diagnosis of depression

Antidepressant · Antidepressant medication · Anxiety · Depression (economics · Psychiatry · Psychotherapist · Rhetorical question · Term (time · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Mental Health and Psychiatry · Psychology · Schizophrenia research and treatment

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