I'm an example of the trend toward over-prescription of psychotropic drugs. Hear me out:
For a number of years I have had a nuisancy skin condition, for which I have seen both a private practice dermatologist (now retired) and dermatologists at the VA hospital. They have a name for my condition, but they don't know how to treat it. At one point, one of the dermatology residents at the VA asked me if it itched. I replied that it did not. "Okay," he said, I'll give you a prescription for the itching." (Honest -- I am not making this up, that's an exact quote.)
He prescribed Doxepin. When I got home, I looked it up. Doxepin (not to be confused with Doxycycline, which I initially did) is a psychotropic drug that's FDA-approved for treating depression. Using it to treat itching (which I did not have) wasn't illegal, but it's considered an "off-label" use.
So the VA, which is usually very conservative in what it prescribes, was willing to give me a psychotropic medication intended to treat depression -- for a dermatological itch that I didn't have. But it gets better. When I looked it up after returning home, I learned that one of the side effects of Doxepin is suicidal ideation. Yeppers -- the VA, which has a huge problem with suicides, gave a combat veteran a psychotropic drug with a known side affect of suicidal ideation with no mention of that to me. I only found out about the side effect when I read up on what Doxepin is and does. And the accompanying literature specifically says that the suicidal side effect is supposed to be discussed with the patient.
So I tossed the Doxepin, and I asked my primary doctor at the VA to put a note in my records that I should not be given any psychotropic drugs without express consent. A few years later, a different dermatology resident prescribed a medication to address some lesions on my leg. What was it? Doxepin, of course. And, again, no mention of the potential suicidal side effects.
In my layperson's opinion, psychotropic drugs are woefully over-prescribed, the patients aren't properly cautioned about side effects, and the patients aren't adequately monitored when using psychotropic drugs.