Stopping SSRI Antidepressants Can Cause Long, Intense Withdrawal Problems
In the first systematic review of withdrawal problems that patients experience when trying to get off SSRI antidepressant medications, researchers found that withdrawing from SSRIs was comparable to trying to quit addictive benzodiazepines.
How to Avoid Severe SSRI Withdrawal Symptoms?
After long-term use, most people are going to have serious symptoms when stopping SSRIs. Many people are going to have transient, mild to moderate difficulty and some are going to end up falling down the akathisia rabbit hole. That is a long, difficult drop.
Michelle Carter: Did She Text Her Boyfriend to Death?
Today a Massachusetts judge sentenced Michelle Carter for the crime of manslaughter in the suicide death of her boyfriend. I was the only psychiatric and medication expert on either side in this trial, and I testified on behalf of Michelle. Other than perhaps her lawyers, I probably know more about the true story than anyone else.
Neurofeedback is Not For Everyone: The Dangers of Neurology
One thing I noticed, from the moment that I stepped out of my psychiatristâs office, was how strangely blank and yet clear my mind was. I felt surprisingly calm and relaxed, and I decided to go back for another treatment the next week. What I couldnât have known then was that after that next âtreatment,â life would be completely destroyed for me.
Comments by Shock Survivors and Their Loved Ones
The #FDAStopTheShockDevice petition has received over 2,200 signatures and 800+ comments. A more thorough analysis of those comments is forthcoming, however, we wanted to offer a glimpse of what people shared. The sixth, seventh, and eighth most common words used in the comments submitted through the petition were "damage," "barbaric" and "torture." We must continue the fight to make sure that the FDA hears the people who will be adversely affected by the proposed rule if it becomes an order. There is still a small window of time for you to sign the petition and leave a comment to the FDA.
Benzo Withdrawal: Why Don’t Doctors Know?
Many have asked: âWhy doesnât my doctor/provider know what is happening to me?â Benzodiazepine tolerance and withdrawal are not new. So, why isnât it simple to diagnose and treat? As both a health care provider and a withdrawal sufferer, Iâd like to offer an inside and outside perspective on this question.
Researcher Acknowledges His Mistakes in Understanding Schizophrenia
Sir Robin Murray, a professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience in London, states that he ignored social factors that contribute to âschizophreniaâ for too long. He also reports that he neglected the negative effects antipsychotic medication has on the brain.
Psychiatrist Says: More Psychiatry Means More Shootings
Psychiatry not only increases the risk of violence by giving violence-inducing drugs, it lulls patients, families, professionals, schools and the public into an unrealistic and even disastrous sense of security. It's an irony of tragic proportions: Cruz was left unsupervised and free to buy a gun because he was faithfully taking psychiatric drugs that can cause violence.
Study Finds ADHD Drugs Alter Developing Brain
A new study, published in the JAMA Psychiatry, investigates the effect of stimulant âADHDâ drugs on the brains of children and young adults. The...
Antidepressant-Induced Mania: When My Mind Became a Literal Hell
The amount of anxiety I felt on these medications â and for a couple of years after â 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.
Rigorous Study Finds Antidepressants Worsen Long-Term Outcomes
A new study conducted by Jeffrey Vittengl at Truman University has found that taking antidepressant medications resulted in more severe depression symptoms after nine years.
Part II: Michelle Starts Prozac and Sees the Devil
By 2011, anyone who read the scientific literature would have known that children cannot tolerate SSRIs and should not be given them. Neither Conrad nor Michelle seemed to have been warned about the common adverse effects (such as nightmares and compulsive suicidality) of the SSRI antidepressants they were on.
Makers of Risperdal Sued for Breast Development in Boys
Thousands of boys and young men are lined up in courthouses around the country to sue J&J for gynecomastia caused by taking Risperdal as young children. The condition is irreversible except by surgical removal. Collectively, they have become known as the Risperdal Boys.
What Should We Really Call Psychiatric Drugs?
There is no rational way to argue against putting psychiatric chemicals into the category of neurotoxins. All psychiatric substances alter âthe structure or functions of the nervous system,â disrupt âthe normal function of nerve cellsâ and act âspecifically on nervous tissue.â It is time to clean up the misleading mess of words in psychiatry.
ADHD Diagnosis Based on âIllogical Rhetoric,â Analysis Claims
In a philosophically rigorous article, Spanish researcher Marino PĂ©rez-Ălvarez examines the logic of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The Astonishing Zyprexa Cover-Up
Back in 2006, when my son Franklin was in his late twenties and living in a group home in the Boston area, he refused to take Clozaril any more because of the required bi-weekly blood draws. His doctor prescribed Zyprexa as a substitute, and Frank suddenly began to gain weight ... a lot of weight. Later, I would learn that UCLA psychiatrist Dr. William Wirshing had said of Zyprexa prior to its 1996 approval by the FDA: âIt is just un-stinkinâ-believable. It is the best drug for gaining weight Iâve ever seen.â The doctor indicated that taking ten milligrams of the medication was equivalent to ingesting 1,500 extra calories per day. My outrage knew no bounds.
How Big Pharma and the Medical Doctors Killed my Father
When the nurses tried to give him other medications, my father refused. They accused him of being âcombativeâ and âuncooperative,â and they injected him with the highly toxic, incredibly dangerous, mind-bending antipsychotic HALDOL.
Adverse Effects: The Perils of Deep Brain Stimulation for Depression
Hundreds of people have been given remote control deep brain stimulation implants for psychiatric disorders such as depression, OCD and Touretteâs. Yet DBS specialists still have no clue about its mechanisms of action and research suggests its hefty health and safety risks far outweigh benefits.
Rising Rates of Suicide: When Do We Acknowledge That Something Isn’t Working?!
Scapegoating a purported unseen "illness" may provide temporary comfort from acknowledging the horrors and injustice of the world, but it is a delusion â and one with fatal consequences for many. When 45,000 people a year would rather die than live in this world any longer, it might behoove us all to consider what is happening in the world to cause this.
The Three Most Important Facts About Psychiatric Drugs
Psychologist and educator Michael Corrigan was a guest on my radio show and brought up some questions about how to communicate with people about psychiatric drugs. Specifically, he asked, âWhat are the three most important things for anyone to know about psychiatric drugs?â Here is my answer.
Whatâs the Harm in Taking an Antidepressant?
We know that all drugs have side effects. Thatâs just part of the deal right? But is it really possible that an antidepressant can cause a sane person to act like a cold-blooded criminal?
New Data on the Adverse Effects of Meditation and Mindfulness
Study reports on the less-examined findings of difficult and painful meditation-related experiences.
Exploring Psychiatry’s “Black Hole”: The International Institute on Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal
When Carina HÄkansson sent out an invitation for a symposium on "Pharmaceuticals: Risks and Alternatives," some of the world's top scientists, along with experts-by-experience, came from 13 countries to explore better ways to respond to people in crisis.
New Study Concludes that Antidepressants are “Largely Ineffective and Potentially Harmfulâ
A new study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry concludes that âantidepressants are largely ineffective and potentially harmful.â
8 Years of Mental Health Research Distilled to 4 Infographics
Pictures are worth a thousand words. So Iâve chosen pictures to distill the mountain of mental health research Iâve examined over the last eight years. Three infographics summarize research on psychiatric drugs, and one asserts why I think Integrative Mental Health is the best path available for mental health recovery.