People on antidepressants could be given ‘comedy on prescription’ instead

Patients struggling with depression or other mental health issues could receive a hilarious new form of treatment.

A tech company has just received funding for a scheme which sends people to stand-up shows or comedy workshops as an alternative to antidepressants.

Craic Health hopes this will help people who are lonely, isolated and vulnerable get involved with their community – and that ‘comedy on prescription’ could reduce NHS costs.

Labour MP Dr Simon Opher, who has warned in parliament about the ‘pandemic of over-prescription’ and says ‘making people laugh can avoid the need for medication’, is one of the scheme’s backers.

The MP for Stroud helped pioneer social prescriptions in Gloucestershire, including using the arts, and believes there is an opportunity to further explore the benefits of comedy events.

NHS figures show 8.7million people in England took antidepressants in 2023/24, an increase of 2.1% compared to 2022/23.

Guidelines note antidepressants shouldn’t be offered as the first treatment for less severe depression, unless it’s the patient’s preference.

Dr Opher said: ‘One in five adults are on antidepressants and that’s partly because there’s no other treatment really often available.

‘If you go and see a GP with mild to moderate depression, if you get referred for psychology that’s often a four to six-month wait so you’re not going to do that as a GP, that’s not a supportive treatment.

‘So what else do you do? You reach for your prescription pad.

‘I’ve done a lot of this over the last 25 years in terms of social prescribing and it’s basically about not having pills and it’s also not psychology, it’s not like counselling per se but it’s something a little bit different and it’s quite creative as well.

‘I’ve particularly specialised in using the arts to make people better so that could be poetry, visual arts or sometimes even drama, and I’ve also used things like gardening, I’ve prescribed allotments to people and that sort of thing.

‘But this is the first time that we’ve tried comedy and that’s what’s exciting about this.

‘I’ve worked with a lot of art forms, and things like exercise, and comedy is closest to music I think because it gives you a shared experience that gives you a reaction.’

Lu Jackson, Craic Health’s founder, will speak in parliament next month to discuss the trials of its ‘comedy on prescription’ which are taking place in the Westminster area of London.

Describing the health benefits linked to comedy, she said: ‘It’s a cortisol decreaser, dopamine producer, potent releaser of serotonin, endorphins and good neuropeptides.

‘Going to one comedy workshop or going to one stand-up comedy event or having a comedian come in and teach kids how to improvise and giggle at themselves, it’s got an effect for 24 hours and surely that’s better than prescribing antidepressants.’

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