The Pill, Emily Zakoor

The Pill

Emily Zakoor

“The pill” can have so many different meanings, some positive, others extremely negative, all depending on the specific circumstance the term is presented in. The psychological effects of birth control are still widely variable and unknown, making it a frightening and even dangerous drug for patients on “the pill”, especially if they are under the age of 19. Over centuries, thousands of drugs have been developed, but only one has earned the title of just “the pill” due to its immense influence on society since its introduction in May 1950 (Liao & Dollin, 2012). The origin story of “the pill”, is quite a happy story. The story starts with providing women with the freedom and reproductive autonomy they always deserved (Rothman, 2017). The pill encouraged the rise of women in the workforce and allowed women to pursue their careers, uninterrupted, until they decided, when and if, they wanted to start a family (Rothman, 2017). As a Gen Z, the benefits and effects of “the pill” were widely known and discussed in my secondary school. Many students in my school were on the pill, but for a number of reasons. Whether it was to control acne and breakouts, to regulate your period and know when your period was actually going to start and end, to prevent pregnancy in case you made a mistake, or for other health-related reasons, birth control was seen positively as a helpful medication to my peers and I. Rapid mood changes, depression, feelings of hopelessness, loneliness, and anxiety. These are just some of the negative side effects reported by patients on the pill. On the podcast SHE with Jordan Dee Dooley, Dr. Jolene Brighten discusses the struggles women experiencing negative side effects from the pill go through just to be heard by their physicians. Dr. Brighten says “Be a troublemaker and advocate for your body, I don't care if your doctor calls you a troublemaker, it's your life” (Brighten, 2021). There is a social stigma surrounding depression and the pill, and whether or not the medication is truly connected to depression and negative mood changes.

Much controversy ensued following the release of a study conducted on 1 million women in Denmark in 2017, which showed that the use of oral contraceptives increased a woman’s rate of taking antidepressants by 23% (Skovlund et al., 2016). That is highly significant, considering

many doctors’ unwillingness to prescribe alternatives to their patients when they come to them with complaints of depression on the pill. In Canada, 15-19 is the highest-using age group for oral contraceptives (Government of Canada, 2015). According to Statistics Canada, a study conducted between 2007-11 found that a staggering 30% of 15 to 19-year-olds use some form of oral contraceptive (Government of Canada, 2015). This reinforces the known fact that “the pill” is so commonly used by our adolescent population, so much so that we need to be aware of the negative, and in some cases, dangerous effects that can result from the use of this medication. What may start out as a preventative and responsible choice may lead to potentially severe mood and thought changes that a young adolescent may not even be aware of themself. Some Helpful Resources: Can Hormonal Birth Control Trigger Depression? | Harvard Health Publishing: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-hormonal-birth-control-trigger-depression-2016101725 17

How Birth Control Made Me Four Different People | NYT Op-Docs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW0brheXOPo

References Brighten, Dr. J. (2021). SHE: The Truth About Birth Control and Your Hormones (Ft. Dr. Jolene Brighten) (J. Lee Dooley, Interviewer) [Interview]. In Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/truth-about-birth-control-your-hormones-ft-dr-jolen e/id1439101884?i=1000518013055

Government of Canada, S. C. (2015, October 21). Oral contraceptive use among women aged 15 to 49: Results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey. Www150.Statcan.gc.ca. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2015010/article/14222-eng.htm Liao, P. V., & Dollin, J. (2012). Half a century of the oral contraceptive pill. Canadian Family Physician, 58(12), e757–e760. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3520685/#:~:text=Introduced%20in%20 May%201950%2C%20the Rothman, L. (2017, April 3). 50 Years Ago This Week: How Birth Control Changed Everything. Time; Time. https://time.com/4713875/1967-birth-control-pill/ Skovlund, C. W., Mørch, L. S., Kessing, L. V., & Lidegaard, Ø. (2016). Association of Hormonal Contraception With Depression. JAMA Psychiatry, 73(11), 1154. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.2387