âVirtual Autismâ May Explain Explosive Rise in ASD Diagnoses
New clinical case studies have found that many young children who spend too much screen timeâon TVâs, video games, tablets and computersâhave symptoms labeled as âautism.â When parents take away the screens for a few months the childâs symptoms disappear.
I Had No Idea That Gabapentin Could Do This…
I am now a few months off of Gabapentin, and my withdrawal problems have not passed. I still deal daily with internal tremors throughout my head and back.
Too Good to Be True: How TMS Damaged My Brain
TMS not only has not improved my mental health, but also has robbed me of some of the most important things in life. There has been little to no research on or awareness around the negative side effects that TMS can inflict. This must change.
Gabapentin Horror
After suffering PTSD in the late 1980s, I reluctantly accepted antidepressants. In time, I had resolved the trauma, but when I tried to stop the antidepressants (Prozac, and later Zoloft), I assumed my desperate feelings and âreturnâ of depression were an indication I had an imbalance and needed those drugs. I didnât understand I was experiencing withdrawal. (I was never told that for most people, psychiatric medications need to be tapered.)
Catherineâs Story: A Child Lost to PsychiatryÂ
A year ago today, our youngest child died, thanks to the adversarial actions and toxic treatments foisted on her by medical-model psychiatry. By telling her story, we hope to promote systemic change.
Lyme is ‘All in Your Head’ â A Wake-up Call to Mental Health Professionals
Sufferers are desperate for mental health professionals to understand Lyme so that they will know to consider it as a potential differential diagnosis before plying a patient with psychotropic meds that may make matters worse.
Trauma Survivors Speak Out Against Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Despite the majority of the individuals being sent to DBT having histories of severe childhood trauma, little about DBT treatment is âtrauma-informed.â
From Wonder Drug to Catastrophe: My Seroquel Story
What my doctor had told me would be a two-week withdrawal from Seroquel turned into a 14-month nightmare with lasting repercussions: the movement disorder tardive dyskinesia.
Mental Disorder Has Roots in Trauma and Inequality, Not Biology
The scientific evidence is of social/psychological, not biological, causation: negative environmental conditions, not disease.
The Effects of Practicing Psychotherapy on Therapistsâ Personal Lives
A new study, published in Psychotherapy Research, explores how having a career in psychotherapy affects therapistsâ personal lives.
Randomized Controlled Trial Confirms That Antipsychotics Damage the Brain
A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry connects antipsychotics with damage to the brain in multiple areas.
The New DSM Is Coming and That Isnât Good News
Binge Eating Disorder is one of many invalid diagnoses weâll continue to receive as a result of the APAâs failure to correct the mistakes of past versions of the DSM.
Searching for the âPsychiatric Yetiâ: Schizophrenia Is Not Genetic
After decades of study, billions of dollars spent, and thousands of studies conducted, the failure to identify any genes for schizophrenia should definitively put to rest the notion that schizophrenia is a genetic disorder, according to E. Fuller Torrey.
How I Healed My âBipolar Disorderâ
I was desperate to get off the medication. I wanted to be in control of myself again; independent and capable. The label of Bipolar Disorder made me feel like I was seen as a crazy person who did not fit into society. I wanted my dignity back!
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.
The Unsung Psychiatric Impact of Strep Throat
A sea change is needed in the evaluation of children with perceived psychological disturbances. Parents are told that their child has a fictitious biochemical imbalance in the brain while real medical disorders are overlooked. In our family's case, it was Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep (PANDAS).
Beyond Benzos: Jordan B. Petersonâs Trip to Hell and Back
I am thankful "Beyond Order" exists; if only because it serves as a cautionary tale for anyone looking to modify their mood using psychiatryâs plethora of pills.
How and Why Neurotypicals Misunderstand and Mistreat Autistic People
Commonly used autism interventions, such as ABA, have been found to be both ineffective and abusive, inflicting trauma on those subjected to them.
David Foster Wallace: Suicide and the Death of Agency
Today is the 10th anniversary of David Foster Wallaceâs suicide. While itâs not fair to build an entire theory on an incredibly complicated issue like suicide around one person, Wallaceâs death should challenge the common narratives around suicide â that âmental illnessâ causes it and that âwe canât ever know why people do it.â Both of these are self-serving platitudes that are simply not true.
DOOCE: A Case Study on the Failure of Psychiatry
Heather Armstrongâs life was taken by psychiatry, and our unwillingness to scrutinize their methods of madness.
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.
Recovering Emotions After 24 Years on Antidepressants
My therapist and I jointly made the decision to wean me off of the drugs. In the beginning, it was a very scary process for me. Since I had twice gone off medications on my own, I knew how bad it could get. The good news is, I am alive. I feel alive, and I now have emotions, both good and bad. I am very grateful to have all of them.
The Agonizing Nightmare of Drug-Induced Akathisia
Take every horrific feeling youâve ever had in your life, all at once. Now, times them by 200, right in your gut. That is how akathisia pain feels. When I tell doctors I have drug-induced akathisia, and that it's incredibly painful, they do not believe me. They say my pain is a mental health issue, and they have all methodically undermined my credibility in my permanent record.
Anatomy of a Suicide: Stress and the Human Condition
The Defense Cascade is a survival framework that evolutionary researchers are exploring as an explanation for extreme states that many people experience. It can help explain why chronic stress can make us feel like ending our life is the only reasonable way out.
