La mercantilización de los estados de ánimo. El consumo de antidepresivos y las nuevas biopolíticas de las aflicciones

Abstract

During the last years the consumption of antidepressants has increased exponentially in the societes of higher capitalism, specially the antidepressants known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and Selective Noraderenaline Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs). Biomedical sciences usually identify this phenomenon with the growing of depression and anxiety diagnosis in these societies. Nevertheless, a social analysis evidences the dependence of this rising consumption with some bio-politics of late capitalism, such as the persuasion strategies of pharmaceutical industry, the reification of human adversities introduced by biomedical paradigms, and the new cultural images of modernity embodied by consumers. This paper is an analysis of medicalization, commodification and fetishism of our time misfortunes.