Almost one-fifth of Americans now take psychotropic drugs to cope with everyday life

‘The results of the annual Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index are in, and the methods by which many Americans now cope with their daily lives in this brave new world are sobering. Roughly one in five individuals living in the U.S., based on a random survey of people living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, now take some type of mood-altering drug or medication daily just to make it through their miserable lives.

After conducting interviews with at least 450 residents of each U.S. state between January and December 2014, researchers found that about 20% of folks, on average, use pharmaceutical pills or other substances on a day-to-day basis to feel happy and stable. Each individual was asked, open-ended, whether or not he or she uses drugs that “affect your mood or help you relax,” and about one in five answered yes.’

Read more: Almost one-fifth of Americans now take psychotropic drugs to cope with everyday life