Is Big Pharma Profiting from Our Perception of Mental Health?

Our world is shrouded in a lot of mysteries. But the most mysterious is our brain. We have just figured out a small fragment of what it does, but we still haven't figured out how. So when it comes to the strangeness of our minds, it's still a very dark area.

The global pharmaceutical industry has played a pivotal role in defining mental health issues primarily through a medical lens, emphasizing disorders that can be managed or treated with medications. In this blog, I will attempt to draw your focus on the fact that the global pharmaceutical sector has built up the modern perception of mental health issues, just so that they can profit from our confusion. So is the global pharma profiting over mental health? Let's find out.

In early ages, mental health issues were often interpreted through spiritual or supernatural lenses. Many cultures viewed them as divine punishment or possession, while others saw them as marks of spiritual communication or exceptional gifts. Such perceptions led to a range of responses, from reverence and fear to brutal treatments

Ancient history is living proof of how individuals going through mental distress were tortured, in the name of medical experiments, and the cost- their lives.

1. The Lobotomy Experiments (1930s-1950s)

Year: Began in the late 1930s

Place: Various, but notably in the United States and Europe

Doctor: Dr. Walter Freeman was a prominent proponent in the U.S., known for his use of the ice pick lobotomy which he often performed without proper surgical environments or anesthesia. These procedures were intended to treat mental illness but often resulted in severe impairment or death.

2. The Willowbrook Hepatitis Experiments (1950s-1970s)

Year: 1956 to 1972

Place: Willowbrook State School, Staten Island, New York, USA

Doctor: Dr. Saul Krugman conducted hepatitis experiments on the residents, who were children with mental disabilities. The study involved deliberately infecting healthy residents with hepatitis in order to test the effects and potential treatments.

3. The MK-Ultra Project (1950s-1970s)

Year: 1953 to the early 1970s

Place: Various locations across the U.S. and Canada

Doctor: Sidney Gottlieb was a chemist and the program's head, but many doctors and scientists were involved.

Details: Sponsored by the CIA, MK-Ultra involved numerous experiments on humans to identify and develop drugs and procedures to be used in interrogations. These experiments often included administering hallucinogenic drugs to unwitting subjects, including mental health patients, to study their reactions.

Asylums were nothing less than a nightmare in those times. People were kept like animals and treated horribly. Here are some examples.

1. The Bedlam Asylum (Bethlem Royal Hospital)

Year: Notable throughout its history, but particularly infamous in the 18th and 19th centuries

Place: London, England

Details: Known historically as Bedlam, this asylum became notorious for its deplorable conditions and the brutal treatment of its inmates. Public and private patients were often subjected to physical restraint and isolation, and the asylum became a tourist attraction where visitors could observe the "mad" for entertainment.

2. Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum

Year: Established in the mid-19th century; incidents noted throughout its operation, especially in the early 20th century

Place: Weston, West Virginia, USA

Details: Overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions were rampant. Treatments included the use of restraints, the confinement of patients in cages, and lobotomies. The facility was designed to hold 250 patients but at its peak, housed more than 2,400, leading to severe neglect and abuse.

3. Trenton Psychiatric Hospital

Year: Notable incidents in the early 20th century

Place: Trenton, New Jersey, USA

Doctor: Dr. Henry Cotton

Details: Dr. Cotton held the belief that mental illnesses were the result of chronic infections. He conducted radical surgical procedures such as the removal of teeth, parts of the colon, and other organs without sufficient scientific justification, claiming these were the sources of infection causing mental disorders. Many patients died as a result of these surgeries.

4. Topeka State Hospital

Year: Reports of abuse emerged in the early 20th century

Place: Topeka, Kansas, USA

Details: Patients were often restrained with iron chains and handcuffs, and reports of neglect and abuse were widespread. Horrific tales include patients being confined in cages and others left in restraints so long that their skin grew over them.

History is rife with so many disturbing incidents that delving deep into them threatens to steal my sleep. The darkness in each historical account seems to grow deeper with every page. To lighten the mood, let me share something intriguing that I discovered.

Evidence suggests that many tribal and indigenous cultures do not view mental health conditions as disorders; instead, they see them as unique abilities or gifts. For instance, in Siberian and Mongolian cultures, what might be classified in the West as psychotic episodes are often interpreted as signs of a special spiritual calling. Individuals experiencing such episodes may become shamans, revered as healers and mediators between the spiritual and physical worlds. This perspective is not unique to them; similar belief systems exist among various indigenous groups, including Native American tribes, West African communities, Balinese culture, and the Maori people. These cultures embrace a more integrated and holistic view of mental experiences, recognizing them as potentially valuable and meaningful contributions to their communities.

This revelation led me to reconsider my assumptions about these communities. Far from being uneducated, they possess profound wisdom about maintaining balance between nature and humanity. This raises an important question: What shaped the modern perception of mental health conditions? The answer points towards the global pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. When you think about it, these sectors stand to gain the most from stigmatizing these conditions, profiting significantly by promoting a medicalized view of mental health.

Down below is a graphical representation showing, the sales of antidepressants during and post COVID-19.  (All figures are in U.S. dollars and represent approximate values in billions)

• The sheer market size, valued at billions of dollars annually, indicates a high level of spending on antidepressants globally. For example, even after a sharp decline in 2021, the market was still worth nearly $16 billion.

• The recovery and growth of the market from 2022 to 2023, despite previous declines, suggest ongoing demand and the industry's resilience. This continued demand indicates that pharmaceutical companies are maintaining or increasing their revenue streams from these drugs.

• The investment in developing and marketing antidepressants is driven by potential profits. The consistent high value of the market highlights that pharmaceutical companies see mental health medications as lucrative products.

Global pharmaceutical companies has spent years advertising their mental health drugs. Don’t believe me? Here are some notable campaigns and strategies that prominent pharmaceutical companies have used to market mental health drugs:

Pfizer’s “Zoloft Is” Campaign:

Drug: Zoloft (sertraline)

Details: Pfizer launched an extensive campaign featuring direct-to-consumer advertisements that highlighted the drug's effectiveness in treating depression. The ads often featured animations and were aimed at destigmatizing depression by promoting it as a common and treatable condition using Zoloft.

Eli Lilly’s Prozac Marketing:

Drug: Prozac (fluoxetine)

Details: Prozac was one of the first blockbuster antidepressants marketed heavily in the 1990s. Eli Lilly's campaigns successfully branded Prozac as a solution for depression, using the tagline "Prozac: A Breakthrough Drug for Depression," which helped shift public perception towards acceptance of antidepressants.

AstraZeneca’s Seroquel Campaigns:

Drug: Seroquel (quetiapine)

Details: AstraZeneca aggressively marketed Seroquel for its versatility in treating bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The campaigns were comprehensive, involving advertisements, information packets for doctors, and sponsored medical education programs emphasizing Seroquel's benefits for a broad spectrum of symptoms.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Paxil:

Drug: Paxil (paroxetine)

Details: GSK's marketing of Paxil included extensive promotional activities targeting doctors and the public, portraying Paxil as effective for a wide range of disorders from depression to social anxiety. Their campaigns were pivotal in making Paxil one of the most prescribed antidepressants.

Abilify’s Add-On Treatment Campaign:

Drug: Abilify (aripiprazole)

Company: Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka

Details: The marketing for Abilify as an add-on treatment for depression was highly significant. Commercials and advertisements emphasized its use alongside existing antidepressants when patients did not experience full relief from their symptoms, expanding its market use significantly.

These campaigns often faced scrutiny and criticism for overstating benefits, downplaying risks, and contributing to the broader medicalization of everyday emotional experiences. They illustrate the powerful role pharmaceutical companies play in shaping treatment landscapes and public perceptions about mental health.

By heavily marketing psychiatric medications, the industry has not only boosted its profits but also inadvertently affected public perceptions, often overshadowing non-medical approaches like psychotherapy and community support. Consequently, while medications are vital for many, the industry's influence has sparked debates about the over-medicalization of human emotions and the potential underappreciation of the psychological, social, and cultural dimensions of mental health.

It's deeply troubling to think that even after prolonged use of these medications, so many still struggle without real improvement. These drugs, meant to soothe, often only mute our inner turmoil, clouding thoughts instead of clearing paths to wellness.

While therapy and other treatments should always be considered, it’s crucial to pause and reflect: Are we treating a condition, or dimming a hidden strength? This isn't just about managing symptoms—it's about understanding and valuing the unique minds we possess. Could it be that what we've been taught to suppress is actually a misunderstood power?