Does tap water have an anti-depressant effect?

Well, of course it doesn’t! But tests have confirmed that in the UK tap water does contain levels of the drug Prozac (Fluoxetine) . It appears that sewage and water-treatment systems are not good enough to remove the drug before waste water makes it back into our taps.

Although it is thought that the levels of the drug in the water are harmless (and nowhere near a therapeutic dose) it does make you wonder whatever drugs might make it into the water supply. If nothing more it suggests that the drug is woefully over-prescribed in the UK, where records show prescriptions have risen sharply since the early 1990s.

The full story as reported by the BBC can be found here.

We say that it is time to take the causes of anxiety and depression seriously. Let’s start using therapy and stop just treating the symptoms.

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