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Withdrawal Awareness: A Message to Those in Medication Withdrawal - Mad In America https://www.madinamerica.com/mia-manual/medication-withdrawal-awareness-message-psychiatric-drug-withdrawal/

It is so gratifying to see psychiatry held accountable. Thank you Ang, Horowitz, and Moncrieff for not letting psychiatry off the hook! * Is the chemical imbalance an ‘urban legend’? An exploration of the status of the serotonin theory of depression in the scientific literature by Benjamin Ang, Mark Horowitz, Joanna Moncrieff Received 23 November 2021, Revised 26 March 2022, Accepted 9 April 2022, Available online 18 April 2022, Version of Record 25 April 2022. Link to full article, available for free: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266656032200038X?via%3Dihub#bib14 * Abstract The theory that depression is caused by a serotonin abnormality or other chemical imbalance has become widely accepted by the public and is one prominent justification for the use of antidepressants. However, it has been increasingly questioned and there is little evidence it has empirical support. In response, leading psychiatrists suggested it was an ‘urban legend’ that was never taken seriously by the psychiatric profession. To interrogate these claims, we examined the coverage of the serotonin theory of depression in a sample of highly cited and influential academic literature from 1990, when the theory started to be popularized, to 2010 when these responses were articulated. We analysed 30 highly cited reviews of the aetiology of depression in general, 30 highly cited papers on depression and serotonin specifically and a sample of influential textbooks. The majority of the aetiology reviews supported the hypothesis, including some that were entirely devoted to describing research on the serotonin system, and those that reviewed the aetiology of depression more broadly. Research papers on the serotonin system in depression were highly cited and most of them strongly supported the serotonin theory. All textbooks supported the theory, at least in some sections, and devoted substantial coverage to it, although some also acknowledged it remained provisional. The findings suggest that the serotonin theory was endorsed by the professional and academic community. The theory is compared to an exhausted Kuhnian paradigm with professional equivocation about it acting as a means of defending it against encroaching criticism. The analysis suggests that, despite protestations to the contrary, the profession bears some responsibility for the propagation of a theory that has little empirical support and the mass antidepressant prescribing it has inspired. *

Interesting article written by Deborah Orr on her first introduction to Citalopram. She appears to have a possible adverse reaction to her initial dose of Citalopram. Refuted by many in the comments box who have had positive experiences with ssri's and who have really bought into the pervasive pharma position . Of interest, is the ensuing dialogue it prompts, in a discussion in the comments, by a poster claiming to be a doctor, calling himself "scubadoc'. Scubadoc is interesting, he seems to oscillate his position. I got as far as his comments in relation to 'SubjectiveSubject's experience of withdrawal, in which he appears discounts and questions the validity of the poster's experience based on his mental health. This appears at the end of some of the comments I've cut and pasted. These are edited from the comment boards, so reading them gives you more context. Still, I find it fascinating to observe the way it plays out as a sort of mirroring of what many experience playing out in their own visits to GPs and psychiatrists. ARTICLE https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/08/antidepressant-effects-psychotherapy-mental-health-crisis-nhs COMMENTS FROM THE ARTICLE scubadoc BraceYourself 8 Jul 2017 10:28 8081 It's all a bit strange: I, for instance, prescribe some antidepressants as pain-killers and actually talk to my patients about them. We have written a leaflet that adds to the package insert. We see quote a lot of PTSD, and anxiety is a common feature. Dissociation is a feature of the illness, rather than of the medication, but one well-known feature of treatment is a temporary increase in some features of the illness. There is the risk of suicide, particularly in young people, for instance. It's important and it's brave to discuss mental health, but it's also important to get the medicine right, or it risks degenerating into simple scare-mongering... streetphotobeing 8 Jul 2017 9:28 89 Listen to this Deborah Orr : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrMPr78UpQI Then study prolonged QT interval re Citalopram, you will notice it's dose dependent, well there is no such thing as dose dependent in the context that we all have different Cytochrome P450 liver enzyme systems. You will only ascertain what the phenotype of your liver enzyme system is if you have a pharmacogenetics tes,t good luck with finding one in the UK. Also if you happen to consume one of the common food stuffs/herbs/spices that block/inhibit CYP450, you can expect to go into Akathisia, trust me, you WILL know the meaning of hell if that happens to you. Share Facebook Twitter Report PolleeD streetphotobeing 8 Jul 2017 9:46 1213 I had a cardiac reaction (short pauses, bradycardia) when I stopped taking Escitalopram (same drug essentially). I was withdrawn far too quickly (over 2 weeks after 4 yrs use). The withdrawal upset my autonomic nervous system which controls heartbeat. I ended up with a pacemaker as my ANS/ pulse would not settle back into a normal rhythm. Since then it's been determined that my sinus node doesn't work properly any more. Was this long term use of the drug at a dose of 10mg or a withdrawal reaction which was treated with a pacemaker and misunderstood? More research is needed into the cardiac effects of these drugs. Share Facebook Twitter Report streetphotobeing PolleeD 8 Jul 2017 10:24 01 Did you make a serious compliant or sue ? Share Facebook Twitter Report scubadoc streetphotobeing 8 Jul 2017 11:08 1819 Listen to this, streetphotobeing: a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, particularly if you don't understand it. Yes, cytochrome expression is polymorphic. Yes, drug metabolism is affected by the cytochromes that you happen to have. Yes, a small number of people are more sensitive to adverse effects. The answer? Stop the pill that's the problem! Simples... ... yes, I do warn my patients about problems and, yes, I do start medicines at low doses. doses. Share Facebook Twitter Report Loading… scubadoc PolleeD 8 Jul 2017 11:10 78 The drug triggered the problem, but the problem was your heart: otherwise, the abnormal rhythm would not have persisted. Share Facebook Twitter Report scubadoc streetphotobeing 8 Jul 2017 11:14 67 I'd ask an expert, streetphotobeing, before engaging in litigation. Yes, we recommend reducing the dose of SSRIs over two months after long-term use, but the likelihood of a pre-existing heart problem would be like catnip to a lawyer... Share Facebook Twitter Report streetphotobeing scubadoc 8 Jul 2017 12:20 45 ah yes, I remember you, the doctor who didn't know that akathisia is not just a movement disorder. vivify 8 Jul 2017 9:29 3536 I think there will be many many comments here with similar poor experiences. I am British but live in Austria. The reality is that most countries' mental health systems are in the same poor shape. After suffering from a few years of crippling depression that had become dangerously total I just walked in, totally broken, to the first point of help, a GP. Five minutes later I had walked out with a prescription. The sertraline gave me panic attacks and mania, feelings I had never experienced. The trazadone gave me crippling anxiety and left me with permanent cognitive loss that I'm still dealing with two years later. These drugs are so hit and miss, so random, yet are handed out without any thoughts, warnings, considerations. For some they may save lives, for for others they wreck them, or finish off an already destroyed one. That the first line of defence is not psychotherapy but medication speaks volumes of a part of the health service that needs massive funding increases to move forwards, to re-assess completely how things are done and abandon this insane model we have, and that no politician or the electorate has really cared about mental health provision, ever. Although, maybe, slowly that is changing now. Too slowly. Share Facebook Twitter Report scubadoc vivify 8 Jul 2017 11:18 3839 If you have severe depression, biological treatment works faster than talking therapies. A proper health service would offer both... ... but we don't treat mental health like a "real" illness antineoliberal 8 Jul 2017 9:34 45 Awful drugs till your system accepts them , get off them isn't pleasant either . And as for Tramodol , that drug is highly addictive and prescribed like they are handing out sweets . Lot more could be done with some of these prescribed drugs , awful side affects . Share Facebook Twitter Report scubadoc antineoliberal 8 Jul 2017 11:22 1617 Tramadol is moderately addictive, often unpleasant, and over-prescribed. It is also, sometimes, the difference between despairing disability and a normal life. Medicine is like that: tricky... mediaboy Pandamonium1 8 Jul 2017 9:48 3536 Another misinformed post. Leave it out if you know bugger all. You may as well be saying peanuts are harmless. I'm not saying people are allergic to SSRIs but messing with Serotonin has profound effects on some people or we wouldn't be reading this article. Have some common sense. If you take a pill that alters your SSRI balance, it begins straight away however small. If someone is at a tipping point it doesn't take much to have a dramatic effect on your state of mind. I know from experience, so don't spread false information. I know from experience, so don't spread false information. Share Facebook Twitter Report Pandamonium1 mediaboy 8 Jul 2017 9:54 1920 I also know from experience of being on it for 2 years so don't spout rubbish. Share Facebook Twitter Report mediaboy Pandamonium1 8 Jul 2017 10:02 3233 Ok. But that doesn't mean everyone reacts the same. You find it works and I'm glad. Don't say it can't do things in this article. You may well not have the effects described by the author, or by other posters, but everyone is different. Don't discount other peoples' experiences just because they don't reflect your own. Share Facebook Twitter Report scubadoc mediaboy 8 Jul 2017 11:23 1011 Another misinformed post... ... ad nauseam. Share Facebook Twitter Report scubadoc ID0570124 8 Jul 2017 11:25 1112 mediaboy implies the drugs are bad. It's not true: the drugs are bad for some people. That's a very different thing... ... as reflected in the comments. PlanetGeli 8 Jul 2017 9:40 12 One mistake you're making is assuming a GP will even know, in any useful way, about the effects a drug will have (have they taken it themselves? of course not, so how could they really know). Another mistake is thinking the GP thinks you are worth consulting about any of this. They often simply play God with our lives. (disclaimer; some GPs are obviously brilliant yada yada, still doesn't mean they aren't affected by the zeitgeist, or even the latest salesman, when prescribing). Different drugs do different things to different people but I've heard many a nightmare from Citalopram. And if you think that's bad wait until your GP decides they'll try you on Mirtazapine. And by the time you're some way down the line you'll think that popping pills is a hell of a lot of it, as opposed to there being "very, very much more to it" as your addiction replaces your mental health as your major nightmare. SSRIs? Just say no. Or even just say know. Don't get me started on Seroxat. Don't get yourself started on any of them. Share Facebook Twitter Report floripakid1 PlanetGeli 8 Jul 2017 10:03 1314 nnn Silly, ignorant comment on many levels. 1. So, don't take any medication that your GP hasn't tried first? 2. GPs often spend as much time as they can on a consultation, but they are limited by the NHS appointment system, plus they are general practioners, not specialists. 3. Many GPS resist the "incentives" to prescribe certain meds (many do not) and genuinely try to give the patient what they think will actually help the patient. 4. "Just say no". Who tf are you to assume you know about others' mental issues and whether mediction would be of benefit? One thing you are obviously not is a doctor! Share Facebook Twitter Report scubadoc PlanetGeli 8 Jul 2017 11:50 1213 Doctors are especially trained never to read anything, never to think and never to talk to patients about their experiences. We don't study pharmacology and physiology and we have never, ever discovered that drugs have side effects. We do not understand, and this we appear to have in common with our patients, that all treatment is a balance between good and bad... ... I never, ever warn my patients. I never, ever start at a low dose. I never, ever, give advice about when to give up on a drug, and how to stop it. Perhaps it is because I'm not a GP? Or I'm a sarcastic SOB? Share Facebook Twitter Report OutOfOptions scubadoc 8 Jul 2017 12:27 1011 I'm feeling excruciatingly irritated by some of the comments here and I'm just a person on SSRIs. I can't imagine how much worse it must be for you!!!!! Share Facebook Twitter Report Show 2 more replies PolleeD 8 Jul 2017 9:40 56 This drug produces feelings of intensified worry/anxiety when it is first taken. I found that on a 10mg dose - the starting dose - I felt much worse initially. Those feelings of numbness and being unable to access your feelings will eventually return because that is what the drug does - it numbs you. It won't help you heal, and all of those feelings you couldn't access in therapy will likely come back when you eventually come off it. Problem is, unless you receive helpful tapering advice - which isn't currently available via the NHS - you will struggle with even stronger emotions when you come off which mimic your original symptoms but which are actually your mind reacting to the withdrawal of the drug. For many people this looks like their original symptoms have worsened and they get put back on the drug again. It is this cycle of what is essentially chemical dependency which keeps people in services and which persuades them that they are either more "mentally ill" than before or destined to suffer long term. The issue of chemical dependency and repeat prescribing needs to be addressed ! Share Facebook Twitter Report FleurBaladine PolleeD 8 Jul 2017 10:11 12 Check the half-life of the drug. Some you can come off quite quickly. Share Facebook Twitter Report scubadoc PolleeD 8 Jul 2017 11:53 56 I suggest looking at SSRIs on "NHS Choices" before saying what the NHS doesn't offer... KEY COMMENTS: ID2411130 amymcm 8 Jul 2017 10:14 45 I have to disagree strongly with this and other statements that one or two tablets of an SSRI can't have that effect. My life was almost completely destroyed by two doses of citalopram 9 years ago. The first dose left me, within hours with intense akasthesia that didn't go away for about two years. The GP said 'side effects were normal' in the early weeks and urged me to continue, so I took another. I then spent the entire night awake in hell begging my husband to never let me take another no matter what. I never took another one, but it took me years to recover. I couldn't sit down to eat or watch TV for a very long time as I was so agitated. It was like prolonged torture and the worst years of my life. It sparked off years of severe anxiety and agoraphobia. The irony was that I wasn't even depressed. I felt really ill with some minor psychiatric manifestations alongside many physical symptoms. Rather than investigate what was actually wrong with me the GP saw late 30,s housewife and thought I needed antidepressants, despite me saying I was not the least bit depressed. The years after the citalopram where the darkest of my life, and o am still now only getting to the bottom of my health issues and understanding what went wrong. It turns out I had Lyme disease with co infections, and we now know I also have a rare disorder- mast cell activation disease- which may have caused the severe reaction. The internet is full of support groups for people who had severe adverse life changing events from this and other antidepressants. Share Facebook Twitter Report scubadoc ID2411130 8 Jul 2017 12:05 78 The internet is also full of people who think that Donald Trump is the Hand of God... ... it doesn't make it true. Antidepressants are both life-saving and horrible. Depression comes in many shapes and sizes: there is evidently a fear of admitting to depression. There is also a real confusion, related to the way in which some symptoms of depression are initially exaggerated by treatment with antidepressants, between the illness and the medication No-one should be afraid of reporting depression; no-one should be afraid if it's diagnosed. Drugs should be respected, but not feared: other treatments should be much more widely a available. Depression without drugs is the horror of Bedlam that we do not want back... may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs. DAW188 8 Jul 2017 9:54 1112 I too have been diagnosed with PTSD which in the past has led to periods of prolonged anxiety symptoms (to the point I couldn't even open the curtains in my home for fear of something intangible awful thing befalling me) which in turn caused severe depression. Twice I have been give SSRI's to 'help' by my doctor. Citalopram the first time, Sertaline the second time. All I would say to anyone who is taking these drugs is to be very very careful! I have never normally been suicidal, even at my most ill (just doesn't seem to be in my nature) but two of my paternal uncles and my Father all killed themselves before the age of 40. I was asked about this by both the GP's who prescribed me drugs and they still went ahead with the prescription. By the end of a four week course on Citalopram, I couldn't even get out of bed, which frankly even when I was at my most ill was not like me. So I stopped and recovered and was fine for around 7 years. Then I had a severe relapse and got to the doctor (new GP as old one had left the surgery) again and explained the problems I had had with Citalopram and so was given Sertaline instead. Well by the end of a four week course of that I was suicidal, for the first time in my life. In the end the police turned up as I had been reported as a missing person by my employer and I was very close to being carted off and sectioned. So again I stopped taking the medication. Within days I was no longer wanting to die and had begun to recover just the tiniest part of myself. When I finally got dragged to my GP (by my boss no less as she was so concerned about the state of me) I explained what had happened and also what happened previously with Citalopram and got the response "It can't of been the medication, it must have been a decline in your mental health that would have happened anyway, the SSRI probably stopped it from being worse" which is exactly what every mental health paitent wants to hear 'it's all in your head'. Hasten to say I swapped GP's at the same surgery, when I explained my family history to the new GP she recoiled in horror at what the previous GP's had put me on. She explained that for anywhere between 1-10 and 1-100 patients (apparently research is still undecided as to exactly what the number is) SSRI have almost a polar opposite effect to the one they are designed to have, leading to increased symptoms of anxiousness, depression and suicidal thought. One of the warning signs is a strong family history of suicide. I've learnt over the years how to manage my condition. Talking therapy, a good well rounded diet and exercise, meditation and being as open and honest with the people I trust about what is really going on inside my head. They've learnt the warning signs and so have I and it means now if I start to fall off a cliff, I or someone else can grab my hand and intervene to save me. I'm not saying medication doesn't work, it does, some people find it helps them in no end of ways to get that boost to overcome the obstacles that mental illness lay in their path. But I would recommend have a proper in-depth discussion with your GP before taking them (some GP's seem very quick to go 'let me write you a prescription' the moment you explain your symptoms). Also make sure someone you trust and who knows you well is aware of what you are taking and checks on you regularly (daily at least I would say) to make sure they don't see you declining. Often a friend, family member or colleague can pick up something isn't working before you can. Share Facebook Twitter Report BraceYourself DAW188 8 Jul 2017 10:05 78 I'm sorry but it can't have been the medication. Citalopram is not known anywhere to create issues like you had. I suggest other things were at play Thanks - take good care of old sport - a fellow traveller!!? Share Facebook Twitter Report DAW188 BraceYourself 8 Jul 2017 10:26 56 Citalopram actually now carries warning labels about its possible risk of increasing suicide rates (as do other SSRI's) and having now volunteered for several mental health charities over the years I have found my experience is far from a one off. As I said it does help plenty of others though. However I notice you seem very defensive about SSRI use (particularly citalopram) not a drugs rep by any chance? Share Facebook Twitter Report Loading… BraceYourself DAW188 8 Jul 2017 10:33 23 Paracetamol carries a label now. No not a drugs rep and hate the stronger anti depressants, they are soul sucking. There are many people who are a bit more up and down than others, more and more as the years go on. There is a valid place for this mild mood stabiliser. I'm defensive on something I've taken for 20 years and the over reaction and exaggeration contained within Share Facebook Twitter Report AonOlc DAW188 8 Jul 2017 10:37 12 Very sensible advice. Share Facebook Twitter Report mediaboy BraceYourself 8 Jul 2017 10:53 45 Thanks doctor, for your utter cluelessness. Share Facebook Twitter Report scubadoc mediaboy 8 Jul 2017 12:28 23 We are trained in cluelessness... ... although if Brace is a doctor, I'm Charley's Aunt... Report SubjectiveSubject 8 Jul 2017 10:01 12 After Grenfell, I had the symptoms of PTSD. The correct treatment for this is psychology and drug-free cognitive behavioral therapy but, psychiatrists will deceive people and give them addictive and dangerous drugs. Never trust a psychiatrist, unless they tell the truth about medications. scubadoc Wiltsbloke 8 Jul 2017 12:35 56 OK: but it is likely true that PTSD can be triggered by a perceived threat as well as by a real one, so objectively minor trauma can actually generate the syndrome. placebo effect. Share Facebook Twitter Report cassandrasshrink 8 Jul 2017 10:06 23 Dear lovely Deborah. If you're not already working with a sensorimotor therapist and doing some EMDR work it really really helps. Not a quick fix but the safest thing you'll find. Take care, be well. Share scubadoc cassandrasshrink 8 Jul 2017 12:39 45 Good grief! That took a long time to appear, despite being one of the major therapies: there seems to have been little mention of the importance of combining drugs with other treatments. My practice includes a lot of reactive depression and we rarely use antidepressants for it: GPs seem to use them a lot. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs. SubjectiveSubject 8 Jul 2017 10:11 12 Akathisia from poisoning and/or withdrawal is horrible and dangerous and often causes suicidal ideation and high risk of suicide. The fact is many people do not have the chemistry to handle these toxic drugs and here in the UK, they bypass the testing to see whether it is safe to give patients medications. Share Facebook Twitter Report scubadoc SubjectiveSubject 8 Jul 2017 12:53 45 I don"t mean to be nasty, but I'm worried about you: you seem agitated and unwell. I know that you are worried about medication, but could you contact local help, like Healthy Minds or the equivalent, of you can"t face your GP? If you were involved in Grenfell, then there has been more than enough stress to go around. You can refuse drugs, it's your body and your mind, but things sound very difficult for you. A discussion about the comtroversial subject of drugs in mental health isn"t a good place to get advice, as you are getting extremes of opinion and garbled evidence, even "fake news". Share Facebook Twitter Report SubjectiveSubject scubadoc 8 Jul 2017 12:57 12 My experience of Grenfell is being treated by professional therapy that has worked. My experience of medication goes back years when I was coerced and poisoned, suffering near-fatal side-effects. This is how I know the industry is a scam. Please don't patronise. Share Facebook Twitter Report SubjectiveSubject scubadoc 8 Jul 2017 13:01 This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn't abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs. Facebook Twitter Rep

Hello, I am new to this site. I have come here to hear of success stories and\or advice regarding recovery from Antipsychotics and SSRI's. At the beginning of July I took Risperidone 0.5mg and Prozac 20mg for 10 days and ceased it's use due to side effects such as Tachycardia, Emotional Blunting, Anxiety, blankouts and lowered cognition. The withdrawal was not extreme, if I remember correctly, I had a period of severe depression which resolved itself over a few days. Followed by a slightly manic phase which stabilized itself. For the next 2 weeks after the initial withdrawal I had periods of anger and agitation. But now, at present times. There appears to be no withdrawal symptoms. But lasting damage and effects. I now have hyperprolactinemia with no sign of a prolactinoma gathered from my MRI results. This is causing gynecomastia and other effects such aa fatigue and a lowered sex drive. This was not present prior to the drug combination. Ever since taking those two drugs, I now have these effects. I have read that Risperidone can cause hyperprolactinemia for 54 weeks which is 1 year and a month 1\2. Do you I truly have to wait that long to recover? Can I actually recover at all? My GP sent a referral to an Endocrinologist and I am awaiting an appointment. Through the endo I can be treated with Cabergoline and Clomid to lower the Prolactin but I have my doubts that it will work.

A live interview last night about PSSD awareness on Juliemadblogger Radio. It has been recorded and widely available for free on demand at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/juliemadblogger/2017/10/22/guest-from-uk-pssd-sexual-dysfunction-from-psychiatric-drugs You can also download the mp3 version that can be listened to offline by clicking the download icon at the top too... (top right) Please share and distribute as widely as possible on social media and websites. And help spread PSSD Awareness.

The way a lot of folks in the pro-psychiatry group talk you would think that coming off their drugs always happens like this. "Consumer" wakes up on a bright sunny morning. After stretching and yawning she says, "Gee, I feel so great today I think I'll just stop taking my 'meds.'" After 2 weeks this individual spends over $1,000,000 on trinkets, has numerous affairs, steals cars in order to have accidents, and tries to kill herself. Tut, tut. That is not how it happened for me. It took me well over five years to screw up the courage to come off these drugs. I had always been frightened by the dire warnings about "terrible things that would happen" if I went off the brain drugs. I read over a dozen books and hundreds of blog posts on the subject. This would baffle so-called experts because they think we're all alike and only have one paradigm for withdrawal. Thanks to a lot of online resources like MIA and BeyondMeds I learned what not to do in coming off psych drugs. Despite my bogus Bipolar label I have already succeeded on going off Lamictal (cold-turkeyed 2 days after leaving hospital) and Abilify. The Abilify took 3 months to taper off of after 7 years. I have reason to believe it was causing frequent, painful fistulas. Glad I'm off! I have no mania either; according to the shrinks I should. Ha! In your face psychiatry! Now for the "Biggy." Effexor. Ugh. Already overwhelmed by crazy-making withdrawal symptoms. Will describe the worst one in my next post Using a micro-taper over a period of fifteen months or more. Slow and steady wins the race.~Aesop

I'm curious but was anyone here born with mental problems that function fine now without "Medications"? Meaning as young as you can remember? I ask because I had a lot of anxiety growing up as a child, mostly separation anxiety from my parents but I was never medicated. As I grew older I started to out grow it until one of my parents died in front of me when I was 15 which led me down this path, so really I am just curious. I almost feel like I got trapped and there is no way out. The withdrawal from this Anafranil is horrible, I just don't know if I got trapped on the Klonopin and might just have to remain on it because I am barely holding on as it is and I can't imagine having something but I remember before the trauma I wasn't on anything, you know?

I found this documentary to be very succinct in conveying my perspective as someone who has a mental illness and has been through the mental health system and is still currently "chemically incarcerated". I believe it will be free to watch until tomorrow after which I assume one must purchase or rent the documentary. It is called CrazyWise. https://vimeo.com/201079582/37ea6dd390 I hope you find it helpful. GFT

Things I underlined in my copy of Anatomy of an Epidemic, by Robert Whittaker. (I’ve added bold here for emphasis). ‘Now there may be a number of social factors contributing to the epidemic. Our society may be organised in a way today that leads to a greater degree of stress and emotional turmoil. For instance, we may lack the close-knit neighbourhoods that help people stay well.’ P. 208 ‘…over the course of the next 30 years, researchers determined that the drugs work by perturbing the normal functioning of the neuronal pathways in the brain. In response the brain undergoes ‘compensatory adaptions’ to cope with the drug’s mucking up of its messaging system, and this leaves the brain functioning in an ‘abnormal’ manner. Rather than fix chemical imbalances in the brain, the drugs create them.’ P.207 ‘”I do wonder what might have happened if [at age sixteen] I [a woman] could have just talked to someone, and they could have helped me learn about what I could do on my own to be a healthy person. … my eating problems, and my diet and exercise, and … how to take care of myself. Instead, it was you have this problem with your neurotransmitters … take this pill Zoloft, and when that didn’t work, it was take this pill Prozac, and when that didn’t work, it was take this pill Effexor, and then when I started having trouble sleeping, it was take this sleeping pill,” she says, her voice sounding more wistful than ever. “I am so tired of the pills.”’ P.171 ‘A study conducted by the World Health Organisation … [found it was those] who weren’t exposed to psychotropic medications (whether diagnosed or not) that had the best outcomes. They enjoyed much better ‘general health’ at the end of one year, their depressive symptoms were much milder, and a lower percentage were judged to still be ‘mentally’ ill. The group that suffered most from ‘continued depression’ were the patients treated with an antidepressant.’ P. 165 ‘“I thought that sincere human involvement and understanding were critical to healing interactions,” he [Loren Mosher, schizophrenia doctor] said. “The idea was to treat people as people, as human beings, with dignity and respect.”’ P.102

While I was reading the reviews on Amazon of Robert Whitaker's new book: Psychiatry Under The Influence: Institutional Corruption, Social Injury, and Prescriptions for ReformI came across a great analogy, written by Ron Unger in the comments on one of the reviews, he was talking about the problem with psychiatric diagnosis and treatment- Think of it this way. Let's say someone is having trouble walking. There could be a lot of reasons. Maybe they have a biological illness that makes it hard for them to walk. Maybe they have an injury. Maybe their leg fell asleep. Maybe they are drunk. What would make sense is to try and figure out why they are having trouble walking, and then help them with whatever it is. The psychiatric approach would be to diagnose them with "having trouble walking disorder," explain that was a biological illness, and then equip them with a wheelchair and tell them this would be required for the rest of their life. Of course, the long term result would probably be that they would have even more trouble walking because now they were out of practice, but any trouble they might have when trying to get out of the wheelchair would just be attributed to their "having trouble walking disorder." http://www.amazon.com/review/R2Y475RR5J7CYR/ref=cm_cd_pg_pg2?ie=UTF8&asin=113750692X&cdForum=Fx1X3DU559LHIQL&cdPage=2&cdThread=Tx3S5D5EX9QTNHE&store=books#wasThisHelpful

Hello, My name is Daniel and I am 28 years old. I'd like to introduce myself and learn more about the people on this forum. I've been involved in the mental health system since 2011 (age 25). During that time some extremely traumatic things happened to me and as a result I have been somewhat debilitated for the past three years. I am just beginning to awake out of my slumber and to realize that I am not a permanently disabled mental patient. It wasn't always like this, though. I have worked with a slew of therapists, psychologists, case workers, and psychiatrists who have all told me that I would be medicated for the rest of my life. I don't point the finger at them. Actually, I am thankful for much of the good that the mental health system and its practitioners have done for me, as I doubt I'd be alive today were it not for psychiatric medications. However, the original crisis that prompted me to go on medication in the first place (I was basically medication free for the first 25 years of my life) has resolved itself, and I am feeling a tremendous amount of relief psychologically. As a result, I no longer feel the need to be on medication, and have gradually taken steps to taper myself off the cocktail of meds that has worked so successfully for me in the last three years. This cocktail includes the maximum dose of Lexapro (20mg), which I have effectively tapered to 0 as of last month. I'm feeling fine, by the way. The remaining two medications I take are not antidepressants at all, but rather are popular antipsychotics: Abilify (15mg) and Depakote (750mg). It is hard because I feel I have found the minimum therapeutic dose for these medications and have never been able to successfully taper them below the current doses, yet I have never tried tapering by small amounts (10% or less) at a time. I have always started with a 33% or 50% taper, which inevitably leads to withdrawal symptoms. I've recently gotten hold of a copy of Dr. Glenmuller's "The Antidepressant Solution", which has convinced me that I am not facing a biological disorder but rather an "addiction" to the medication due to fear of experiencing withdrawal symptoms. There are several reasons why I wish to get off psych meds completely. First of all, as someone who has traveled to other countries and as someone who wishes to eventually build an international career, taking medications poses serious problems. A) the safety of psychiatric medications overseas is questionable, most countries do not allow you to bring a long term supply of these medications into the country, and C) the stigma of being recognized and "found out" as a psych patient when applying for a job, etc. Second of all, I used to be a healthy, though skinny male weighing 155 pounds. Thanks to psych meds and a poor diet, I now weigh almost 230 pounds. I want to get my image and more importantly, my health back. I feel it is simply impossible to lose the kind of weight I want to lose while being on medications that are recognized for chronic weight gain. Getting off the Lexapro was a huge victory for me. Finally, I want to get off the drugs because I've allowed my self-image to become tainted while taking them. I self-identify as a psych patient, and thus as someone who could never attract someone of the opposite sex, and generally as someone who is not desirable, either as a friend or as a romantic interest. These reasons and more are the reasons I want to become drug free. For the interests of space and time I don't want to type much more. I simply wanted to say "Hello" and to say I empathize with those of you trying to escape from antidepressants, as well as those of you who aren't. Life is hard to deal with. I look forward to reading more of your posts and to gain insight from what I read. Thanks.

A collection of essays written by attorney Wayne Ramsay, using the work of credible witnesses critical of psychiatry. http://wayneramsay.com/index.html Current available titles include: Does Mental Illness Exist? Schizophrenia: A Nonexistent Disease The Myth of Biological Depression The Myth of Psychiatric Diagnosis Why the Myth of Mental Illness Lives On Psychiatric Drugs: Cure or Quackery?