In my family, we have a variety of problems: ADD, Bipolar syndrome, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, and clinical depression.
Using meds not merely a form of escapism for all people.
It's too easy to lump the problems of a person who is unhappy because they are living a lifestyle guaranteed to make them unhappy with people who need meds to function properly.
I have a son who is ADD and has SAD and tried to kill himself last year. My brother without his meds will sit and comb his hair all day fugued out staring at the mirror when the stress gets bad. My niece has both ADD and Bipolar syndrome. My husband has clinical depression and is an adult with ADD.
It's not all in their heads. It's in their bodies. They aren't escaping. They are trying very, very hard to cope well.
There are people out there who want the doctor to give them a magic pill to make their unhappiness go away. Pills don't do that.
But for those who are out there with "mental" problems that are physical illnesses (i.e., aren't of their own creating by lifestyle choices, or short term situational things), medicine is there. A friend of mine started going psychotic because she has developed a massive vitamin b-12 deficiency. My sister-in-law will spend the rest of her days getting medicine to treat her bi-polar condition. There is not much difference, except the meds used. It's still the body causing mental effects.
Don't forget there are real needs, and not everybody is escaping.