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The growing consumption of antidepressants and anxiety medication among the middle class and elite has reached an alarming level, yet it remains largely under-discussed. While mental health awareness has improved globally, the sharp rise in psychotropic drug use within economically secure and socially privileged groups suggests that deeper, structural issues are at play—issues that medication alone cannot resolve.
One of humanity’s earliest and most persistent errors is the belief that satisfaction is attainable and permanent. Modern life reinforces this illusion relentlessly. We are taught, implicitly and explicitly, that fulfillment lies in family, friendships, romantic relationships, material success, spirituality, productivity, or self-improvement. Yet experience repeatedly proves otherwise. None of these, individually or collectively, provide lasting contentment. Satisfaction, by its nature, is fleeting.
The second error lies in how individuals respond to this reality. Rather than confronting the discomfort of impermanence, many attempt to conceal their existential insignificance behind symbols of importance—status, wealth, achievements, public recognition, ideological certainty, or social power. These constructs offer temporary reassurance but fail to address the underlying truth: human existence is fundamentally fragile, finite, and largely inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. No title, possession, or accomplishment permanently alters this condition.
The third mistake follows predictably. Faced with dissatisfaction and existential unease, individuals seek escape rather than acceptance. They replace one form of dissatisfaction with another form of stimulation—career obsession, consumerism, social media validation, substance use, or rigid belief systems. When these fail, as they inevitably do, pharmaceutical solutions become the final refuge. Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications, while essential and lifesaving for many clinical conditions, increasingly function as coping mechanisms for existential distress rather than medical necessity.
Modern society, particularly among competitive professional classes, is structured in a way that almost guarantees anxiety. Competition is relentless, comparison is constant, and failure—real or perceived—carries social and economic consequences. Fear becomes a permanent psychological state. From this fear emerge chronic anxiety, depression, burnout, and emotional numbness. Once established, these conditions rarely resolve on their own, often leading to long-term dependence on medication.
This is not an argument against mental health treatment or medical intervention. Rather, it is a critique of a culture that pathologizes the human condition itself. Discomfort, uncertainty, and even misery are not anomalies; they are intrinsic to existence. The refusal to accept this reality fuels endless attempts to escape it, many of which result in dependency—chemical, emotional, or ideological.
Perhaps the most radical proposition in modern society is not the pursuit of happiness, but the acceptance of its absence. Learning to sit with dissatisfaction, to tolerate anxiety without immediate sedation, and to acknowledge impermanence without despair may be psychologically healthier than endlessly chasing relief.
Yet given the hyper-competitive nature of contemporary life, it is unlikely that societies will reverse this trajectory anytime soon. As long as success remains narrowly defined, failure harshly punished, and worth measured externally, anxiety will persist—and so will the widespread reliance on antidepressants and psychotropic medication.
The rise in their use is not merely a medical issue. It is a cultural diagnosis.
