But the Scottish Government pointed to falling stigma, saying Scots felt “more able to come forward and talk about their mental health”.
New figures from Public Health Scotland show 8,633,865 antidepressant items were dispensed in 2025/26, the equivalent of more than 23,000 a day.
That is up 9.4% from 7,892,072 in 2021/22, or 741,793 more items, and the number has risen by between 2% and 3% every year since. Going back to 2020/21, the rise is 14.9%.
It rose 5.0% in 2021/22, and by between 2% and 3% in each year since.
Sertaline is behind almost half of the increase (Image: Frederick Medina on Unsplash)
Sertraline is behind almost half of the increase. Dispensing of the drug rose from 1.80 million items in 2021/22 to 2.16 million, accounting for 48% of the overall rise.
It now makes up a quarter of all antidepressant items. Some less common drugs have grown faster. Duloxetine is up 41% since 2021/22 and nortriptyline 65%, though from a lower base.
Alex Cumming, Executive Director of Delivery and Service Development at mental health charity SAMH, said the figures need to be read with care.
He said: “Antidepressants can be prescribed for a range of different reasons other than depression, so the data needs to be understood in that context. Some people may also be in receipt of multiple prescriptions.
“Depression can take many forms and be more or less severe, so a range of treatments should always be considered. Medication has its place but should be part of a broader consideration of what’s right for the person. We would also advocate for non-clinical routes such as social prescribing, supporting access to nature, physical activity and opportunities for social connection.”
Mr Cumming said there was no doubt that society was “much better at talking and being more open about some aspects of mental health in recent times”, but he warned there was “often still a high degree of stigma attached to more severe mental illness, and that can certainly include depression”.
He declined to put the rise down to any single cause, but said there were gaps in the support available to those suffering from depression.
“It’s unhelpful to make sweeping generalisations about specific causes, because our mental health is impacted by such a wide range of factors and circumstances,” he said.
“But the current mental health support system is not meeting the needs of people in Scotland. National waiting time targets for NHS Psychological Therapies have never been met and over a third of children and young people referred to Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) are rejected.”
Mr Cumming said more community-based support was needed “to help stop smaller problems becoming bigger ones, and to take some of the strain off the NHS”.
“Mental health needs to be prioritised, particularly in the context of the ongoing health and social care reform. It will take increased national and local investment to ensure a genuine shift in balance of care to the community and early interventions,” he added.
The figures, which count items dispensed rather than patients, also show that the gross ingredient cost of antidepressants — the price before pharmacy discounts — fell from £38.8 million in 2021/22 to £35.8m in 2025/26.
The cost per item dropped from £4.91 to £4.14. For sertraline it fell from £12.32 in 2020/21 to £3.12 even as items rose by 31%.
Public Health Scotland said costs can be affected by several factors and it was unable to comment on the change.
In their 2007 manifesto, the SNP promised to “reduce over-prescribing of antidepressants”.
After the election, Ms Sturgeon, then Health Secretary, set out the new government’s three-year health plan in the Scottish Parliament. It included targets for NHS boards to cut the annual increase in antidepressant prescribing to zero by 2009-10, and by 10% in the years that followed.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs said: “It’s very worrying to see tens of thousands more Scots requiring medication for depression and anxiety.
“The constant increase is unsustainable, and serious work needs to be done to find a solution.
“Medication of course has a part to play in the treatment of depression, but for far too long experts have called for different solutions and nothing seems to be happening.
“The SNP promised to reduce this rise before coming to government in 2007 — it must be their oldest, most enduring and shamefully repeated policy failure.”
Miles Briggs hit out at the “shameful” failure
The Tory MSP added: “It is clear we need to see urgent improvements to help people access psychotherapy, support for positive lifestyle changes and the delivery of social prescribing as alternatives to simply giving out antidepressants.”
Responding, Maree Todd, the Scottish Government’s Public Health Minister said: “It is important not to stigmatise the use of antidepressants or other mental health medicines.
“People feel more able to come forward and talk about their mental health, which is a welcome sign that stigma is decreasing.
“All medicines are prescribed based on a person’s clinical need.”
Ms Todd said all medicines were prescribed based on a person’s clinical need (Image: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)
The minister added: “Decisions about the appropriateness of antidepressants are made by clinicians in discussion with the individual about what matters to them and with reference to their medical history.”