PSYCHIATRIC INFORMATION

I’m glad to see more sensible advice being given in the media when it comes to taking antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs. Many people are so quick to turn to these powerful mind altering drugs like Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft. Because the pharmaceutical companies have spent billions of dollars on marketing to doctors and publicity campaigns to the public - it is a common misconception that these drugs are needed to “cure” anxiety and depression. Even many doctors are falsely convinced that there are “chemical imbalances” causing these problems. After all, you hear about it in the media all the time… right? The facts are: psychiatry and the big drug companies have yet to even produce scientific evidence proving that the chemical imbalances even exist! So exactly what are these drugs (and all their side effects) needed for?

A great commentary by Kathie Zatkin that I found today in the Berkeley Daily Planet has some great points. She covers the FDA, big drug companies and their deep pockets, the failure of doctors and psychiatrists to adequately inform their patients on the risks of psychiatric drugs and the growing mountain of evidence that not only are drugs like antidepressants extremely harmful, but they barely work any more effectively than a sugar pill. All of these great points. Some excerpts from her commentary:

It is alleged that her 37 year old neighbor and friend murdered this grandmother after being given psychiatric “treatment” for depression.

Apparently, the two were good friends prior to the attack and it was quite unexpected. This sounds very familiar to me… a person ends up being treated for depression by being prescribed an antidepressant and then commits horrible acts of violence on people who are their friends or relatives. The article doesn’t explicitly say which drug he was on, but my observation in these matters points to antidepressant side effects. Especially in the light of the mountain of evidence being published about these drugs causing suicidal thoughts and violence.

While browsing the news today, I learned of a new side effect from psychiatric drugs like antidepressants (Prozac, Zoloft & Paxil), Zyprexa, Risperdal and other drugs prescribed for psychiatric reasons. That side effect is weight gain. Apparently, in some cases, drastic weight gain (to the tune of over 100 pounds). Yesterday, the New York Times has pointed this out in an article about some drugs causing weight gain.

While this is a minor side effect when compared to death, suicide and psychosis - I nonetheless thought I should point this out.

I recently came across this article stating that people were experiencing such powerful drug side effects from antidepressants (like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and others) that hundreds of thousands of Americans were being locked up in psychiatric institutions every year as a direct result of psychosis caused by the drugs themselves. So these drugs actually caused insanity instead of curing depression!

I was a little skeptical at first. So I did a some research of my own. Turns out, they were right: Psychiatric drug side effects are causing people to go insane. In fact, they are being effected so much that they are being sent to mental institutions for treatment.

I recently found this very informative article about a recent protest of the FDA’s handling of psychiatric drugs. The protest is over how the FDA seems to actually be working in the best interest of the drug companies instead of the public. I would say that I have to agree with them.

The amazing thing about this article is that it quotes over 20 real-life examples of families who’s lives have been torn apart by the suicide and violence that occurs after the use of antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs like Ritalin. Over and over the story is the same - someone starts taking these drugs and then commits horrible acts of violence on themselves, their families and often their own children.

It recently has been reported by ABC News and HealthDay News that there is a growing problem of children being placed on multiple psychiatric drugs at the same time.

It sure sounds to me like the psychiatrist (or doctor) feeds the poor child a drug that causes horrible side effects and then pushes a second drug on them to “treat” the side effects. I’ve seen this awful practice at work first hand.

I recently found a web page on the American Psychiatric Association website that discusses the mental “disease” of nicotine dependency. Long ago, having been a smoker - I took a little offense at this. How dare they label me with a psychiatric disorder! (At least I’m now a recovering Nicotine dependence sufferer).

Then upon reading further, I realized that the APA recommends that I should have taken a mind altering psychiatric medication (like Bupropion, Zyban or Wellbutrin) and counseling to cure my “disorder”. Huh, that’s amazing! I must have been a true scientific miracle, because I kicked the habit the good old fashioned way: Will power. I also had some help with making sure I had proper nutrition and took vitamins while I stopped, but none the less I somehow cured myself of this biological disease.

Tom Cruise has brought to light one of the most dangerous problems we face today: An epidemic of mind altering drug use

This epidemic is not the street drugs you would normally associate with such a problem. It is the wide array of psychotropic drugs that have been proven to increase suicide risks and potentially cause extreme violence in the users of these drugs.

In this article on Fox News the author goes over how many experts agree with the view that psychiatric drugs like Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft are dangerous. In this article the experts, Many of them credentialed psychiatrists, say things like: “clinical evidence does not justify the use of antidepressants” and “The bottom line is that we really don’t have any good evidence that these drugs work,”

I just ran across this article written by Dr. Peter Breggin a renowned psychiatrist who often speaks out against the dangers of psychiatric drugging and electroshock.

In it Dr. Breggin says:

“Well, Tom, you said on TV things I’ve been saying in the media and in my books and scientific articles for three decades—but boy did you generate a lot more attention to the issues. Thanks!”

I’m glad to see that those in society who are educated and informed on these issues actually acknowledging Tom for taking the heat from the uninformed and biased media who want to go put their head in the sand while psychiatry continues drugging our children, mothers, grandparents and anyone else they can get their hands on.