When I became a General Practitioner in 1977, there were limited options for treating anxiety and depression.

In addition, the nearest Psychiatric Hospital, Severalls, was in Colchester, a distance away. There were huge gaps in the treatment of this group of patients.

Once anxiety or depression was diagnosed, the next step was a prescription of tranquillisers or anti-depressants and these drugs had side effects and other problems.

Barbiturates were still used for anxiety and Valium (diazepam) and Librium (chlordiazepoxide) were the most frequently used drugs. Stress was not a word in common use.

The anti-depressants were tri-cyclics and MAOI group of drugs. They all had terrible side effects. Drugs in this group are amitriptylline and prothiaden.

In time it became clear that tranquillisers and sleeping pills were addictive and some patients were actually taking these drugs just to feed their addiction. With the reduction of tranquilliser use, other forms of treatment were introduced and this created a better understanding and care.

GPs had access to treatment such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Counselling and Psychotherapy.

In addition, the newer anti-depressants, the Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors, SSRI, changed the way we prescribed for depression. These drugs such as Prozac reduced side effects and most importantly significantly lowered the number of deaths from anti-depressant misuse.

Today Prozac, Seroxat and other SSRIs are the first line in the treatment of depression. They are so safe, some feel that they are badly abused and prescribed for minor problems when sound advice was all that was necessary.

These drugs are very good and have made a significant difference to a large amount of people. So many people are now able to live a life of better quality as a result of these drugs.

Treatment for mental health today is very good. Patients now get the quality of care they need and with the introduction of some really effective drugs, they are able to get targeted treatment to get them back on their feet as soon as possible.

Today stress is a word in common use. Your doctor is more likely to say you are stressed rather that suffering anxiety. I intend to spend a lot of time in this blog discussing stress and how it is the underlying cause for as much as 90% of illnesses today. It is simply shocking how stress alters the chemicals circulating in your body.

This blog will show you various ways to reduce stress and minimise the risk of other illnesses. During my time a GP, I trained and practised Hypnotherapy and Acupuncture. I will explain how Hypnotherapy works and how it can alter perception and reduce stress. Subscribe to this blog to get post as it happens.

Stress in every where. Stress can also be as a result of a perception. If you think the resources you can muster to cope does not meet up to the challenge in front of you, you are already on the first step to stress.

Dr. Phil Hariram