Tag: overmedication
Awakening: Shedding the “Mentally Ill” Identity and Reclaiming My Life
If I had not crumbled, brought to my knees beneath the weight of the misdiagnoses and sordid side-effects of the medications, I would not have had the opportunity to rise up and gain such a strong sense of selfâsomething for which many spend their whole life searching.
Psychiatry and the Stupidification of America
There are three steps to modern psychiatryâs successful business formula: 1. Get people to think that theyâre stupid even though theyâre smart. 2. Train them to actually think stupidly. 3. Directly stupidify them with chemicals.
Textbooks Provide Misleading Information on the Neurobiology of ADHD
When it comes to ADHD, some researchers suggest that medical textbooks provide inaccurate and misleading information.
Lack of Clear Guidelines Prevent Clinicians from Reducing Antipsychotics
A recently published study from noted critical psychiatry expert Joanna Moncrieff explored the barriers that prevent clinicians from helping service users in discontinuing or...
The Answers in the Attic: A Mother-Daughter Story of Overmedication and...
In 1959, my mother suffered what people referred to as a nervous breakdown after my sisterâs birth. I puzzled over why Mom never recovered, until I found Dadâs collection of medical records in my sisterâs attic. How could anyone give a nursing mother with three small children so many drugs in such a short period of time?
For-Profit Medicine Incentivizes Overmedicating Our Elderly
From NBC: According to human rights investigators, anti-psychotic drugs are often administered to nursing home residents to address behavioral issues. Our nation's lack of funding...
Floridaâs “Free Kill” Law â A Death Trap for the Stateâs...
Floridaâs Wrongful Death Act essentially denies residents and visitors alike the right to live once they enter a hospital. The law has been dubbed âFree Killâ because while it can cost money to correct mistakes, keep hospitals safely staffed and update equipment, it is free to kill.
People Are Dying Prematurely Due to Polypharmacy
Our son, Mark, is an example of the deadly effects of polypharmacy. He died at the young age of 46 and his death was caused by toxicity/cardiac failure from two of the five medications he was taking, at higher than recommended doses, as prescribed by his psychiatrist.
The Other Big Drug Problem: Older People Taking Too Many Pills
From The Washington Post: In addition to the opioid crisis, America has one other prescription drug epidemic â older Americans are taking far too many unnecessary...
How Would We Know If We Really Reformed the Mental Health...
It is true that there are many great programs and initiatives out there, but when a system leaves so many without recovery-oriented supports it's like swimming upstream. Here are 20 indicators that if fully implemented would represent a complete system reform.
Children Diagnosed with ADHD Younger are More Likely to get Multiple...
New research demonstrates that children diagnosed with ADHD at younger ages are more likely than those diagnosed later to receive multiple medications within five years of their diagnosis.
Researchers Confirm That Relative Age Impacts ADHD Diagnosis
The youngest children in a class are more likely to receive an ADHD diagnosis than their peers.
School Culture May Contribute to Overdiagnosis, Study Finds
Officials at a school that was more focused on ADHD diagnoses described childrenâs behavior in terms of individual illnesses, taking children out of the context of their social interactions, race, gender, and socioeconomic status.
Overtreatment is Common, Doctors Say
From The New York Times: In a recent study, researchers surveyed 2,106 physicians in various specialities regarding their beliefs about overtreatment. On average, the doctors...
If Psychiatrists Took Truth Serum, What Would They Say?
Psychiatrists donât use the same language that others do â the meaning of what they say isnât always so clear. I can translate âpsychiatrist speak,â since practicing within the field for over 30 years enabled me to gain easier insight into understanding what their words really mean. Here are 13 examples.
Researchers Question the âAdequacy and Legitimacyâ of ADHD Diagnosis
A new article, just published online in the journal Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, presents research suggesting that the diagnosis of ADHD is philosophically inadequate.
Researchers Argue that âADHDâ Doesnât Meet DSM Definition of a Disorder
New research questions whether the diagnosis of ADHD even meets the criteria for a disorder, as set out in the manuals used by the medical and psychiatric fields.
New Study Examines User Experience of Discontinuing Psychiatric Medications
Researchers find that support and self-care were helpful for users during discontinuation, but that mental health professionals were not very helpful.
Researchers Identify Patterns in Antidepressant and Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use
The researchers found that, of those who were initially prescribed both antidepressants and benzodiazepines, approximately 12% went on to engage in long-term benzodiazepine use.
Too Many Opioids After Cesarean Delivery
From The New York Times: A new study shows that doctors may be overprescribing opioid pain medication to women who have had cesarean sections.
Article âÂ
Dr. Andrew Weil Says We’re Taking Too Many Medicines
From The New York Times: According to Dr. Andrew Weil, who is best known for popularizing the concept of integrative medicine, the problem of overmedication...
Unanswered Questions in New Mental Health Screening Program for Children
An article presents new screening tools for pediatric depression and anxietyâbut fails to answer its own questions about efficacy.
Researchers Question the Utility of an ADHD Diagnosis
A new article examines the usefulness of the ADHD diagnosis and suggests alternatives
Researchers Reveal Misconceptions About ADHD
A new article explains common misconceptions about ADHD that are held by teachers and mental health professionals and may lead to overdiagnosis and overmedication in schools.
Researchers Find that Textbooks Include Biased Information About ADHD
A review of academic textbooks finds that they often leave out effect sizes and molecular genetics findings, both of which suggest minimal impact of genetics on ADHD. Instead, textbooks focus on overblown conclusions from behavioral studies.