I honestly believe that a small amount of people are better off being medicated, keyword being very small (<0.1%). Those that would be a danger to themselves or others in a real way. So I concede some ground.
But I refuse to believe that a society with a significant % of people on anti-depressants is a way to live. Look at my country's statistics: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1020727/antidepressants-...
Most of my friends on them are just bummed out about their life but not enough to change their situation. Perhaps CBT is the answer, my big issue is that the majority of therapists over-prescribes, and that makes me lose trust in the whole thing.
It's like trying to see the good parts of cryptocurrencies, you need to ignore a lot of shit and in the end you wonder if its worth it.
Let me shed some light: there are psychotherapists, that are not doctor, and can't prescribe anything. Then there's psychiatrists, which are medical doctors, and might approach your depression with the pill du jour. SSRIs just cure the symptom, not the actual bloody problem one has.
You don't need a pill, nor a doctor unless it's an actual curable condition (bipolar, ADHD, etc.). You need someone to talk to.
Source: 3 years of talk therapy.
2) Although I get the idea that people need friends and family, it's easy to forget that people with severe issues do not look like they have them. And taking care of eating disorder/personality disorder/*PTSD/whatever else treated through therapy, not medication patient is a lot of work to which most people are not equipped, and which drains a lot, to the point of resentment (if they can't run away) or just ghosting. Also, it's not that people do not hear "harsh truths" - it's more about not being able to comprehend them, due to broken thought patterns.