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Butler Hospital, in association with Brown University in Providence, RI are doing research on a 20 week taper comparing two different taper methods. Is this unusual? Considering the paucity of information from pharma and/or scientific research on tapering I was astonished to see this being done. I've put in a call. The research head is on vacation for week, so I'll need to wait to hear back. I probably won't be eligible as my anxiety is PTSD based, not PD, SAD or GAD! TAPS Tapering Anxiety Pharmacotherapy Support Study TOPS Tapering OCD Pharmacotherapy Support Study

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

Just wondering on people's thoughts on this? The heaviness and dread and unable to move and despair I've certainly had in years on and off meds but I also suffered in childhood from a lot of crying spells and dread feelings but I never found the root cause and now I've thrown into the mix stupid medication. I've tried counselling, CBT, change of diet, eft and doesn't seem like much shifts it..it feels like there could be hundreds of causes but until the root is found anything else doesn't touch it. What has others experiences been? Did you find the root cause and how on earth did you find it? I feel like I need a list of all possible causes so I can test and go through them..I've had tests for thyroid done btw. Thank you.

Science behind commonly used anti-depressants appears to be backwards, researchers say The science behind many anti-depressant medications appears to be backwards, say the authors of a paper that challenges the prevailing ideas about the nature of depression and some of the world's most commonly prescribed medications. The authors of the paper, posted by the journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, combed existing research for evidence to support the theory that has dominated nearly 50 years of depression research: that depression is related to low levels of serotonin in the gaps between cells in the brain. The low-serotonin theory is the basis for commonly prescribed anti-depressant medications called selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, which keep the neurotransmitter's levels high by blocking its re-absorption into the cells that release it. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150217114119.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28Latest+Science+News+--+ScienceDaily%29