The Reckoning in Psychiatry Over Protracted Antidepressant Withdrawal

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Medically-induced harmā€”affecting tens of millions of people worldwideā€”has taken the field decades to take seriously.
Ad for Paxil/Seroxat

How Academic Psychiatry Minimized SSRI Withdrawal

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If academic psychiatry is evidence-based, why did it take two decades to recognize SSRI withdrawal as widespread and chronic among patients?

Hearing Veteran Narratives is Key to Suicide Prevention

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Current suicide assessment practices of the VA are reductive and do not allow for the individualā€™s narrative to be heard.
Zyprexa Papers

Big Pharma Meets Big Diagnosis, Big Courts, and Big Psychiatric Hospitals

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Gottsteinā€™s book is The Pentagon Papers of the traditional mental health system, because he exposes a mind-blowing number and variety of cold-blooded, calculating actions on the part of Eli Lilly in trying to hide what it knew to be the devastating effects of its hugely profitable Zyprexa.

Wendy Dolin ā€“ Making Akathisia a Household Word

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An interview with Wendy Dolin who talks about the work of MISSD, the Medication-Induced Suicide Prevention and Education Foundation in Memory of Stewart Dolin, a non-profit founded to raise awareness of the tragic consequences of drug-induced akathisia.
Zol Dolinsky death with dignity

Zel Dolinsky: I Have a Right to ā€œDeath With Dignityā€

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Researcher Zel Dolinsky once taught at medical school and worked as a medical writer in the pharmaceutical industry. In his last emails, he told of how the adverse effects of psychiatric drugs led him to choose to end his life.

In Memory of Julie Greene

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With deep regret, Mad in America announces another loss in our contributor community. Julie C. Greene, writer and antipsychiatry advocate, lost her battle with kidney disease on November 29 at her home in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.Ā Julie had been an MIA blogger since 2014, including several pieces on the dangers of lithium.

Researchers Address Dangers of Polypharmacy and Inappropriate Medication Use

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A new special issue brings together articles exploring the harmful effects of simultaneous multiple medication use.

People Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder at Increased Risk for Parkinson’s

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Increased Parkinson's risk could be related to lithium, antipsychotic, and antiepileptic drug use.

UN Expert Calls for Major Shift in Suicide Prevention Efforts on World Mental Health...

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On World Mental Health Day, UN expert Dainius PÅ«ras calls for a shift away from medical solutions toward a rights-based approach to make life ā€œmore liveable.ā€ He calls for states to address societal determinants of mental health, promoting autonomy and resilience.

Non-Gender Affirmative Treatment Detrimental to Mental Health

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Gender identity conversion efforts impact psychological distress and lifetime suicidality in transgender people.
trapped in mental health services

Mental Health Services Turned My Daughter’s Crisis into a Way of Life

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My world turned upside down when my daughter nearly died from a serious suicide attempt. After several years as her caretaker I began to wonder: What can we do to change the way our mental health services are organized so they won't turn a crisis into a way of life for already distressed and vulnerable people?
the exposed belly of a pregnant woman

Study: Antidepressants Linked to Higher Gestational Diabetes Risk

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From CNN: ā€œTaking antidepressants while pregnant may be associated with an increased risk of gestational diabetes, a new study suggests. It turned out that the...

Clinical Trials Show Antidepressants ā€œNot Beneficial in the Long Termā€

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Clinical trials also consistently fail to measure and report long-term harmful effects.

Researchers: ā€œAntidepressants Should Not be Used for Adults with Major Depressive Disorderā€

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A new review, published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, concludes that antidepressants should not be used as the risks outweigh evidence for benefits.
mania

Antidepressant-Induced Mania: When My Mind Became a Literal Hell

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The amount of anxiety I felt on these medications ā€” and for a couple of years after ā€” was unfathomable. I felt as though I was trapped in an air-tight vat, constantly gasping for breath. And my thoughts were guided by my state of constant worry and panic.
iatrogenic harm symptoms

For the Record

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Here and now, I am Ativan-free and slowly tapering off Wellbutrin after 25+ years. Unable to work due to the severity of iatrogenic injury, I sometimes think of myself as a healing journeywoman. When the terrain is especially rough, I reflect on the words: "The best revenge is living a happy, healthy life." When circumstances and symptoms permit, Iā€™m doing just that.

Two Years Tapering an Antidepressant ā€“ A Life-Changing Experience That I Didnā€™t Want

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My heart goes out to anyone experiencing withdrawal, but especially those who are so ill they canā€™t work and are struggling to navigate a heartless and cynical ā€˜benefitsā€™ system. Their only crime is to have experienced difficulty from a prescribed treatment, yet they are treated as medical pariahs.

Children Taking ADHD Drugs More Likely to Take Antidepressants as Teens

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Adhering to a commonly prescribed medication for ADHD in children is associated with higher chances of being prescribed antidepressants in adolescence.

Exposure to Antidepressants in the Womb Linked to Autism

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Researchers, publishing in Toxicology Research, review the evidence that antidepressant exposure in the womb is linked to autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in humans.

Exposure to Antidepressants in the Womb Linked to Autistic Behavior in Mice

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Researchers experimenting on mice found that exposure to fluoxetine (Prozac) in utero resulted in behaviors considered in animal studies to be analogous to autism in humans.
lithium salts

Lithium: A Survivorā€™s Guide for Parents

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When I was a young adult, I was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and placed on lithium. I am 61 years old now, living on the edge of end-stage kidney disease. If I could undo everything, by all means, I would not have taken this drug. It is not safe for anyone at any age.

“Dad, You Were Right”: I Got Better When I Stopped Treatment

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Through all the years that I was a mental patient, my parents were excellent advocates who constantly questioned what the docs were doing, even though my own faith in psychiatry was unwavering.... Amazingly, what cured me was not some type of ā€œtreatment,ā€ but getting away from drugs and therapy.
Marci Webber

Update on Marci Webber: Will the Nightmare Ever End?

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According to the law, when an NGRI patient is no longer mentally ill and dangerous, they are supposed to be released. MarciĀ petitioned for discharge and has a hearing scheduled for May 7-9, 2019. It is critical that we convince the judge thatĀ MarciĀ should be discharged. She is finding it increasingly difficult to tolerate life under the present circumstances.

Withdrawal Symptoms Routinely Confound Findings of Psychiatric Drug Studies

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Researchers examine how rapid discontinuation can mimic the relapse of mental health symptoms and confound psychiatric drug studies.