The use of anti-depressant medications nearly doubled in the 10-year period between 1996 and 2005. Nothing has changed fundamentally in the psyche of Americans to justify the dramatic rise. What, then, do the numbers mean, and what do they tell us about the medical market for these medications?

The data tell us that 27 million Americans are currently on antidepressants, which have become the most widely prescribed class of drugs in the U.S. Currently, 10 percent of the population over the age of 6 is taking some kind of psychotropic drug. Could "medicated" become the new normal?