Katherin Atkinson is one of millions of Britons with depression who have been prescribed antidepressant drugs. But three drugs she was given to manage her condition made the situation worse, not better.

She was initially signed off work and given pills by her doctor after draining and stressful jobs. “I had been working 13 hours a day and was feeling really drained and burnt out,” she said. “I had not realised how bad my situation had become but it felt like he threw Prozac at me, saying that there was no counselling available.”

Ms Atkinson, 32, found that the drugs made her extremely agitated and fearful that she might become dependent on them. “I decided to come off the pills and get myself a new job quickly.” But she found herself in another high-pressure environment. Two years later she left London, returning to her childhood home in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.

“At this point the depression was hellish. I was beginning to feel really suicidal. I went to the doctor and told him I had a bad reaction to Prozac so he prescribed first one drug and then another, venlafaxine but I still felt uncomfortable taking them. I did not see it as a chemical imbalance in my brain, and I decided to try to manage my own recovery.”

She now takes regular exercise, and works as a volunteer with others who have mental health problems. “Escaping to the open air helps me put negative feelings in perspective. It can be very hard to get yourself out at times . . . but for me, going for a walk each day around nature is the best medication I could take.”

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