Tag: psychiatric drugs

I was hoping for more accurate representation of youth mental health challenges. What I saw instead was a glossy patchwork of mixed messages.

Many patients end up on terribly harmful drug cocktails they might never escape from. Although it’s hard to believe, it’s getting worse.

Sami Timimi provides a discussion of the ways medication may be helpful for some, and advice and information on discontinuing psychiatric drugs.

Our new discussion series aims to explore what we do and don’t know about safe withdrawal from antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines and stimulants.

I believe there's no harm in giving meds a try—it worked for me. Just be aware that they can only do so much. The rest of the journey requires some navigation and self-direction.

Joanna Moncrieff reflects on what has and has not changed in the field of psychiatric drug treatment in the years between the first and newly published second edition of the Straight Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Drugs.

We interview Dr. Stuart Shipko, a psychiatrist and author who has a particular interest in the side effects and withdrawal effects of SSRI antidepressants and the need for informed consent when prescribing.

New strategies for tapering psychiatric drugs achieved by acknowledging withdrawal symptoms and valuing service-users’ first-hand knowledge.

 If I ever lose my mind again, I hope that psychiatrists in charge of my care will grant me but one wish. Please do not force me to take drugs that fill me full of fear.

We discuss the release of guidance which has been specifically written to support UK psychological therapists and their clients in having discussions about taking and withdrawing from psychiatric drugs. The guidance is a collaboration between counsellors, therapists, psychologists, peer support specialists and psychiatrists.

MIA's Peter Simons interviews David Cohen, PhD, on his path to researching mental health, coercive practices, and discontinuation from psychiatric drugs.

From The Sacramento Bee: "I don’t know what it’s like to be an immigrant kid, to travel alone to an unfamiliar country or be...

From NBC News: "Prescriptions have increased more than 60 percent in the last two decades and overdose deaths involving them have more than quadrupled...

From The Lund Report: "Access to the current disease-centered system of mental health care will almost certainly mean worse outcomes for many people than if...

From The Daily Wire: "...nowhere is this tendency to medicalize the human condition more apparent, or more dangerous, than with children. As most people know,...

From NBC News: "White is among the one in six Americans who take psychiatric medications. Many can interfere with the activity of the hypothalamus, a...

From PR Newswire: On May 16th, a $2 million verdict was issued in favor of Stanley and Marianne Truskie, whose son died from toxic levels...

From Business Insider: Talkspace, a text message-based therapy platform, is bringing on a team of psychiatrists to prescribe medications to patients. The app is also...

It's not about whether it's right or wrong, true or false that psychiatric drugs save lives. It's about telling the stories that aren't being told. That's why psychiatric drugs saved my life after they destroyed my health and nearly killed me. They gave me something I care about and am passionate about writing about. They gave me a pathway to bring healing to others.

In this blog post, Andy White highlights the role Xanax plays in silencing political dissent and keeping the public complacent. Instead of expressing anger...

From The New York Times: In a new book, Blue Dreams, psychologist and patient Lauren Slater critiques the drug-based model of psychiatric care, debunking the chemical...

From The Boston Globe: According to a new report from the Disability Law Center in Boston, two patients who died at Arbour Health System psychiatric...

From WND: Although a disturbing number of perpetrators of recent mass shootings and murders have been on psychiatric medication prior to committing their crimes, the media has...

I want to learn how to control my anger. But to get rid of it would be to get rid of a part of myself. It would also feel like swallowing down injustice. Such a drug probably doesn't exist, but what if there were an antidepressant that could make me stop disliking mental health professionals? The idea feels scary to me, like some kind of mind control pill.

The minute you sit down in the chair in a mental health professional's office, you’re no longer seen as a person. The mental health system is incapable of seeing past the solid wall of your current label. Their only cure is drugs. "First Do No Harm" are powerful words. It’s unfortunate they don’t apply to psychiatry.