Project Description

A nation hooked on tranquillizers and anti depressants?

Mila Popova

Why is there substantial per cent of adult Bulgarians reliant on pills to get by? When did this start? Is it abuse of the system by doctors – prescribing drugs far too easily as a cure-all?

Or is Bulgaria a society genuinely “in pain” from a prolonged and difficult transition from communism to capitalism- and in need of tranquillizers and anti depressants?

The story explains how easy it is to get prescription drugs in Bulgaria – how they are even advertised on billboards. It asks whether society is addressing the issue of antidepressant addiction, comparing and contrasting the situation in Eastern Europe with that in the West.

The story looks at the situations in neighboring countries, like Serbia, and in the UK where there is more of an accent on rehabilitation through centers for people on antidepressants.

Finally, the story tells the consequences of this failure to recognize the prevalence of antidepressants as a problem.

Article style: Analysis

Fellow Bio

Mila Popova

Mila Popova from Sofia, Bulgaria, works on the international news desk of the Dnevnik daily, writing news analysis and conducting interviews and investigations

Fellowship Article

Addiction to Pills Grips the Balkans

The use of tranquillizers and antidepressants appears to be on the rise in south-eastern Europe, as people struggle to recover from recent wars and cope with the stresses of modern consumerism.

Topic

Topic 2010: Taboo

Taboos change – rapidly. Homosexuality was once a taboo in Western Europe, as was “living in sin”, [i.e. outside marriage], abortion, childlessness, physical disabilities, atheism and suicide

Fellows

Diary

07 Oct 2010 / 12:33