Written by Caitlin Adams (she/her)
When first being presented with the list of contraceptive options, the prospects seem great, what with so many to choose from. However, in reality, whichever option you go for, there seems to be some sort of sacrifice, and too often, when it comes to the contraceptive pill, that sacrifice is good mental health.
It increases your likelihood of being prescribed antidepressants by 23%, and this rate almost doubles for teens.
It was summer last year when I decided that I wanted to start a long-term contraceptive and, after meeting with my doctor, I settled on the pill. I was slightly apprehensive, expecting breakouts and bloating but I shrugged it off, simply accepting that I’d just have to deal with it. However, before long my mental health had taken a nosedive and my mood swings were making my head spin. Anxiety would show up out of nowhere and I would sit feeling nervous and sick to my stomach, as if I was about to sit my driving test again. The anxiety was accompanied by depression, which made me feel hollow and, to put it simply, defeated. Despite this, I carried on taking the pill for months, hoping that my brain would get used to the change in hormones and that these feelings would pass. But, as the weeks went by, each day continued to feel like a struggle. During these few months I had trips away, gigs, nights out – just like any other summer – but everything for me felt complicated and nerve-wracking. I remember being away on a week-long trip to the West Coast with my boyfriend, and one night having to eventually ask him to drive us back to the house because I couldn’t shift the feeling of dread or the weight on my chest. Anyone who has ever struggled with their mental health knows how difficult it is to convey how it feels, how dark and lonely it is. But, what I didn’t realise was that I wasn’t alone.
Curious, I took to twitter and with a few quick searches I found many others who had the exact same problem as me; the pill was making them miserable. All of us were paying the price for simply not wanting to get pregnant. A study in Denmark found that taking a contraceptive pill does actually increase your chances of depression. As well as this, it increases your likelihood of being prescribed antidepressants by 23%, and this rate almost doubles for teens. There are few studies like this, however data and dialogue surrounding the pill’s effect on mental health is starting to make its way into the fold. But these impacts are simply not talked about enough.
So, all that being said, I eventually came off the pill and, looking back, I kick myself for not doing it sooner. Obviously, for many, the pill works great with little to no side effects but others that aren’t so lucky need to know that there are other options out there. Don’t settle for a contraceptive that puts you in a bad place, because – shock announcement – it’s not actually supposed to do that! What with contraception and mental health often going hand in hand, there needs to be change and there needs to be clarity. It should no longer be a shameful and taboo subject. Maybe then there can be more conversations and research about how it affects our minds, not just our bodies and maybe then, we can make more informed choices on what contraception is right for us, without putting our mental health on the line.
Data taken from https://khn.org/news/large-danish-study-links-contraceptive-use-to-risk-of-depression/
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