ļ»æTardive Dyskinesia in the Atypicals Era: Is The Risk Any Less Today Than Before?

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A few weeks ago, while I was at a birthday celebration, a friend who works in a mental health setting remarked that she was...

Antidepressants, Pregnancy, and Autism: Really Time to Worry

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On Monday April 14th, an important new study from Harrington et al was published in the journal Pediatrics (the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.)Ā  The study was designed to examine prenatal use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and other developmental delays (DDs).Ā  Nine hundred sixty-six mother child pairs were studied and the researchers found that in boys, the association between maternal SSRI use in the first trimester and autism was very strong (OR 3.22).Ā  The association between third-trimester maternal SSRI use and developmental delay was even stronger, with an odds ratio of 4.98.

We Have Seen the Evidence Base, and it is Us

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Anyone who has used benzodiazepines and sleeping pills knows how difficult it is to get off them (worse than heroin!) and how much time it takes to recover. Although there is a lot more helpful information on the web these days, a lot of it is based on anecdotal accounts, personal stories and theories rather than ā€œrealā€ evidence.

David Cohen on Madness Radio: The Meaning of Medications

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David Cohen's work begins to address a paradox: medication effects are not simply chemical impacts on a biological brain, but rather the complex interactions of social factors, expectation, placebo, "nocebo," and learning. As a harm reduction approach to withdrawal emphasizes, empowerment may be the most important consideration for supporting people's wellness.

Our Powerful Mind, and Hope

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One of the main arguments for continuing drug treatment for depression, psychosis and bipolar disorder is that you will get worse from stopping the drugs, especially if they are stopped abruptly. These are findings from mainstream psychiatry. However, if we combine this information with the methodology of the randomized controlled trial, we may see that these drug trials do not show efficacy of drugs, and may not be usable to show safety. The positive side to this is that the trials may actually demonstrate the healing power of our own minds.

ļ»æDo Antidepressants Worsen the Long-term Course of Depression? Giovanni Fava Pushes the Debate Forward.

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In 1994, Italy's Giovanna Fava, editor-in-chief of the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, wrote for the first time of his concern that "long-term use of...