Articles in the Headline Category
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Prescriptions for psychiatric drugs increased 50 percent with children in the US, and 73 percent among adults, from 1996 to 2006, according to a study in the May/June 2009 issue of the journal Health Affairs. Another study in the same issue of Health Affairs found spending for mental health care grew more than 30 percent over the same ten-year period, with almost all of the increase due to psychiatric drug costs.
On April 22, 2009, the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported that in 2006 more money was …
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A White Paper by Citizens Commission on Human Rights
DRUG USAGE STATISTICS
Thomas Moore, author of Prescriptions for Disaster said that the current use of drugs like Ritalin is
taking “appalling risks” with a generation of kids. The drug is given, he said, for “short-term control
of behavior—not to reduce any identifiable hazard to [children’s] health. Such large-scale chemical
control of human behavior has not been previously undertaken in our society outside of nursing homes and mental institutions.”1
More than 8.5 million American children are prescribed powerful stimulants, antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs for so-called …
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Like street drugs and any mood or mind altering substance, psychiatric drugs alter mental states and behavior by affecting brain chemistry.
Current medical theory is that most psychiatric drugs work by changing the levels of chemicals called neurotransmitters (anti-convulsants, anti-epileptics, and “mood stabilizers” like lithium appear to work by changing blood flow and electrical activity in the brain in general). Neurotransmitters are linked with mood and mental functioning, and all the cells of the nervous system, including brain cells, use neurotransmitters to communicate with each other. When neurotransmitter levels change, “receptor” …
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• Friendships with people who believe in your capacity to take charge of your wellness can be crucial. Ideally these should be people who have seen you on your “bad days,” are there for you when you’re in trouble, and are prepared for difficulties that can come from withdrawal. At the same time, they should be friends who know the limits of what they can offer and know how to say “no” to protect themselves from burnout.
• Consider going off recreational drugs and alcohol. Many people who go through extreme …
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Prozac: PANACEA OR PANDORA?, by Ann Blake Tracy, Ph.D.
Prozac: PANACEA OR PANDORA?, by Ann Blake Tracy, Ph.D., is the product of five years of research, and the study of the cases of approximately 1,000 patients on a long-term basis. The author holds a Doctorate in Biological Psychology, and heads the only support group in the state of Utah for those who have suffered adverse reactions to the SSRI drugs such as prozac, paxil, zoloft, luvox, effexor, serzone, anafranil & the diet pills – fenfluramine, fen-phen & redux.
“Brain wave patterns indicate …
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By age 14, 35% of youth have engaged in some form of illicit (illegal) drug use. By the end of high school, more than 50% will have tried at least one illicit drug. Teens who begin using illicit drugs before the age of 15 are more likely to develop a lifelong dependence on illegal substances. Below are a few of the most common drugs used by youth.
Marijuana is the most prevalent illicit drug used by teens because it is easily accessible. In fact, 90% of high school seniors stated that …
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It was supposed to be a short course of treatment with tranquilizers after the death of her infant son 15 years ago. But Lynn Ray, 46, of Germantown, Md., says her abuse of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and other prescription drugs led to a long struggle with addiction that nearly ruined her life.
Tranquilizers, which slow down the central nervous system and cause drowsiness, numbed Ray’s agony, helped her sleep, and untied the relentless knot in her stomach. Soon, even if her doctor had prescribed one pill in an eight-hour period, …
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by Lawrence Stevens, J.D.
Psychiatric drugs are worthless, and most of them are harmful. Many cause permanent brain damage at the doses customarily given. Psychiatric drugs and the profession that promotes them are dangers to your health.
ANTIDEPRESSANTS
The Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry/IV, published in 1985, says “The tricyclic-type drugs are the most effective class of anti-depressants” (Williams & Wilkins, p. 1520). But in his book Overcoming Depression, published in 1981, Dr. Andrew Stanway, a British physician, says “If anti-depressant drugs were really as effective as they are made out to be, …
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I’ve heard the murmurs for a while now. My professors back in graduate school often bemoaned the decline of private practice. They said managed care and Big Pharm threatened to render psychotherapy obsolete (to a room of aspiring clinical psychologists, no less).Glancing at the msnbc.com headline Monday, you’d think those predictions were coming true.
The article, titled: “In era of pills, fewer shrinks doing talk therapy” suggests psychotherapy is losing ground to medication in the treatment of psychological disorders. It refers to a study published this week in the Archives of …
Antidepressants, Headline »
Definition
Antidepressant drugs are medicines that relieve symptoms of depressive disorders.
Purpose
Depressive disorders may either be unipolar (depression alone) or bipolar (depression alternating with periods of extreme excitation). The formal diagnosis requires a cluster of symptoms, lasting at least two weeks.
These symptoms include, but are not limited to, mood changes, insomnia or hypersomnia, and diminished interest in daily activities.
The symptoms are not caused by any medical condition, drug side effect, or adverse life event. The condition is severe enough to cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important …
