Newborn Babies Go Through Antidepressant Withdrawal

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A new study finds that newborn babies experience antidepressant withdrawal after birth if their mothers take SSRIs when pregnant.

Generation Sedated: Why Record Numbers of Our Children Are on Antidepressants

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From The Telegraph: "Looking back now, I wanted someone to listen to me," said Sam Taylor, 19. "It was guidance I needed, not a prescription."

Interview: Moving Toward a Human Rights Approach to Student Mental Health

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Psychologist Jim Probert of the University of Florida's student counseling center explains why "Our goal is not to take the steering wheel out of the person's hands."
Woman trapped in a glass

The Sins of Conservatorship: Why Britney Spears Compared It to Slavery

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For the last three years of my mother’s life, she was under absolute control of her conservator. If we dared to object to the neglect or abuse, retaliation was certain.

The Benefits and Harms of Antidepressants for Youth Depression and Anxiety

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From The Mental Elf: Given their demonstrated harms and the fact there exist a number of alternatives, we should be asking whether antidepressants should be used at all in young people.

Lead Exposure in Childhood Impacts Personality and Mental Health

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A study of over 1.5 million people in Europe and the US links the development of less adaptive personalities with childhood lead exposure.

Garbage in, Garbage out: The Newest Cochrane Meta-Analysis of Depression Pills in Children

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In May 2021, Cochrane published a network meta-analysis of depression pills for children. The abstract is misleading and reads like drug company marketing.

Why I Fight for Trauma-Informed Systems

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I am not sure what was worse: being abused growing up while my community documented—then ignored—my torment, or being attacked for going public with my story.

So Long, Pill Mill: A Letter to My Former Patients and Their Families

I love being a psych nurse practitioner, and I never want to feel that my only role is pushing pills. The private practice I started is my effort to move away from this dysfunctional system.

Suicidality: When Your Feelings Are Too Dangerous

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After finding a cop at my door, I learned it wasn’t safe to talk about my feelings of wanting to die. As a result, I spent the better part of the next decade not telling anyone when I was suicidal.

Singer Camila Cabello & CA Surgeon General Discuss ‘Public Health Crisis’ of Childhood Trauma

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From Billboard: Cabello's conversation with Dr. Nadine Burke Harris is part of a national campaign to raise awareness about the negative effects of traumatic childhood experiences.

Cindi Fisher on Hunger Strike: Free My Sidd

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Cindi Fisher has gone on a hunger strike to demand that her adult child, Siddharta, be freed from Western State Hospital after being suddenly removed from the discharge list without explanation.

JRC Wins Court Battle to Use Electric Shock on Disabled Students

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From NBC News: Disability rights activists, former residents and the state of Massachusetts have for decades pushed to stop the use of the shock device or shut down the school altogether.

“Getting to the Root Causes of Suffering”: An Interview with Patricia Rush, M.D.

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Dr. Rush talks about the THEN Center and the links between childhood trauma, inequality, human development, and chronic illness.

When Homosexuality Was a “Disease”: My Story of Abuse

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The horrors I was forced to undergo to “treat” my homosexuality are now unthinkable, but continue to raise questions about psychiatry’s ethics.

Making Mental Health an Ongoing Priority:  A Patch Adams Approach

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My brother’s sudden death and Mental Health Awareness Month spurred me to spend May making small, very personal efforts to both honor his memory and move the mental health conversation forward.

The Worst Thing: How My Mother’s Death Pushed Me to Overcome OCD

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The goal of creating a legacy for my mother required that I go beyond managing my symptoms to confronting my OCD at its roots. I had to fundamentally change my understanding of anxiety.

Boy, Interrupted: A Story of Akathisia

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I watched my son’s life change almost overnight. He developed akathisia from antidepressants, taken as prescribed for just a few weeks for garden-variety anxiety.

In Memory of Sandra Escher, Pioneer on Voice-Hearing

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Sandra Escher, who helped create a foundation for the Hearing Voices movement, recently passed away. She was the first researcher in the field of children who hear voices.

No, the FDA’s Black Box Warning Did not Increase Suicides

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Researchers again debunk the claim that the FDA black box warnings on antidepressants led to more suicides.

My Mother Wound: Rethinking “Fear of Abandonment”

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Therapists are quick to refer to this pain I feel as a “fear of abandonment,” as if it is a figment of my mind and something not worth the time to attend to.

Welcome to Mad in America’s Family Resources Section!

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This week, you’ll notice a new name and a new look on this page. The Parent Resources section of Mad in America’s website is now officially the Family Resources section.

Anticholinergic Medications Linked to Cognitive Impairment in Schizophrenia

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Researchers have found further evidence that the anticholinergic effect of psychiatric drugs can lead to cognitive impairments.

Foster Kids Sent Out of State to Mental Health Facilities Faced Abuse, Neglect

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From ProPublica: An investigation found repeated breakdowns in oversight as states failed to protect young people in need of specialized care.

Study Confirms Overdiagnosis of ADHD in Children and Teens

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Medical researchers present evidence that ADHD is overdiagnosed in children and teens, which can lead to significant harm.