Tag: psychiatric drugs

Nora: Extreme and Sudden Adverse Antidepressant Reactions

1
Nora tells us about the sudden and extreme adverse reactions that occurred immediately upon starting her antidepressant. She also tells us about the attitude of her doctors and how her life has changed since that short course of treatment.

Deadly Drugs Misused in U.S. Nursing Facilities

0
From AARP: The family of Bobby Glenn Tweed recently settled a lawsuit with a nursing home over his wrongful death. Tweed was prescribed psychotropic drugs without...

Dede: How the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Helped Antidepressant and Benzodiazepine...

0
We interview Dede who turned her withdrawal experiences into a force for good and now uses the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to assist those in withdrawal from antidepressants or benzodiazepines.

Daryl: Prescribed Antidepressant Drugs At 9 Years Old

0
Daryl, who was only 9 years old when he was taken into mental health services and medicated, talks about being made to take both antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs and he describes the lies told to him to justify treatment.

Patients More Likely to Refuse Drug-Only Treatment, Study Finds

3
The American Psychological Association (APA) recently published a study finding that patients assigned to drug-only treatments were more likely to refuse treatment, and more likely to drop out before treatment completion, than patients assigned to psychotherapy only.

What Happens to Your Brain When you Take Xanax

1
In this video from Business Insider, psychopharmacologist and psychiatrist Dr. Samoon Ahmad explains the impact of Xanax on the brain and discusses some of...

Major National Newspaper Looking for Drug Withdrawal Stories

0
From the Council for Evidence-Based Psychiatry: A major national newspaper is looking for people in the UK willing to share recent stories of negative effects...

Giovanna: Withdrawing from SSRI Antidepressants After 23 Years

0
We talk to Giovanna from Australia who was prescribed an antidepressant aged 17 and tried many times to withdraw over the next 23 years. She shares her experiences with us including the advice and support that she received and her hopes for the future.

Claire: Antidepressant Withdrawal, Tapering and SSRI Discontinuation Syndrome

1
Claire shares her powerful story of being prescribed antidepressants at the age of 16 and her experiences of trying to withdraw., describing how she tapered gradually over 2 years, but went on to experience SSRI discontinuation syndrome

The Harm Reduction Guide to Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs

0
Based on more than 10 years work in the peer support movement,The Icarus Project and Freedom Center’s 52-page guide is used internationally by individuals, families, professionals, and organizations to support reducing and coming off psychiatric drugs.

Benzodiazepines Continue to be Prescribed Without Psychotherapy to Older Adults

11
Researchers call for shift toward proven alternatives like psychotherapy in face of continued evidence of safety risks of benzodiazepines.

CEP Members Publish New Book: ‘The Sedated Society’

1
The Council for Evidence-Based Psychiatry announces the release of a new book called 'The Sedated Society: The Causes and Harms of our Psychiatric Prescribing Epidemic.'...

Abilify Drives Users to Binge on Risky Behaviors

0
From Daily Mail: The anti-psychotic drug Abilify is at the center of hundreds of lawsuits accusing the drug of dangerous side effects including compulsive gambling,...

Generalists and Partialists

8
An issue that often crops up is the question of whether treatment would be safer if given by specialists (partialists) rather than general practitioners (generalists). This could not be more wrong. In most areas of medicine, nobody looks or listens anymore, least of all in psychiatry.

Psychiatrists Must Face Possibility That Medications Harm

0
From Scientific American: Recent studies confirm the thesis of Robert Whitaker's Anatomy of an Epidemic - although prescriptions for psychiatric drugs continue to increase, mental health...

“A River of Lost Souls Runs Through Western Colorado”

1
The Washington Post investigates the epidemic of suicide and the overuse of psychiatric drugs that is sweeping through towns in Colorado.

Taking Placebos Knowingly Helps in the Reduction of Chronic Back Pain

4
A new study finds that individuals being treated with open-label placebos showed significant reductions in pain and disability, even when compared to individuals receiving treatment as usual.

Antidepressant Use Linked to Dementia

9
A new study finds that elderly individuals using antidepressants are at significantly higher risk for dementia compared to depressed individuals who did not take the drugs.

Hypnotic Medications Linked to Suicide Risk

2
A recent review found that hypnotic medications are associated with risks of suicide and suicidal ideation.

What Can We Learn About Antidepressants from Alcohol?

11
Particularly since ketamine has been referred to as the “miracle cure” for depression, and as researchers continue to search for the next biochemical panacea, it is important to remember that even if a substance has antidepressant effects, it still may not be an appropriate treatment for depression.

Use of Antidepressants Linked to Diabetes

2
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (such as Prozac and Zoloft) are the most commonly prescribed medication for depression. SSRIs have long been associated with an...

Clinical Trials Underreport Harms of Antidepressant Medications

5
A group of researchers recently found serious bias in the reporting of harm due to adverse events in antidepressant medication clinical trials. They report...

iPad Use Before Surgery as Effective as Sedatives for Children

4
A group of French doctors presented a new study in the area of pediatric anesthesiology at this year’s World Congress of Anaesthesiologists in Hong...

“War, on Drugs”

0
Historian Peter Frankopan delves into the use of drugs to fuel combat “from berserkers to jihadis.” “Of the US pilots who took part in...

“The Overdiagnosis of ADHD”

68
The general theme, that various "mental illnesses" are being "overdiagnosed" is gaining popularity in recent years among some psychiatrists, presumably in an effort to distance themselves from the trend of psychiatric-drugs-on-demand-for-every-conceivable-human-problem that has become an escalating and undeniable feature of American psychiatric practice. But the implicit assumptions – that there is a correct level of such labeling, and that the label has some valid ontological significance – are emphatically false.