Friends are very tricky. I'm very cautious about friends actually, because of what happened to me. People I was so sure had my back, they didn't. In fact, quite the oposite. On facebook my only "friends" are family members, and even then they are not fully trustworthy. I was one of those lucky people who ended up as the blacksheep of the family, as they say.

So I agree there is a lot of lies in the media. I agree that there are pharmaceutical companies trying to build customers and not patients. Cholesterol medication is one of these. Yes, cholesterol medication is needed in certain circumstances, but many many times that medication can be avoided by learning proper diet and exercise and sticking to it. I bet there are a lot more people who, with proper education and a proper support system (like seeing a dietitian regularly,) would be able to avoid those meds. But an insurance company will pay for a cholesterol and blood pressure med every time, they will deny a patient to see a dietitian. Which one do you think the patient wants? The one that is covered. So it's not really just a pharmaceutical issue, at least not here in the states. But that's an example.

As for mental health meds, I think it is case-by-case in the end. Risk vs. Reward, who is helped vs. who is not or things like that.