There are no "safe" psychiatric drugs. Each has numerous harmful short term and largely unknown long term effects. Each psychiatric drug which was orginally heralded as the new "safe" wonder drug, was found to have severe harmful side effects, including addiction, and withdrawal symptoms, among others. Psychiatric drugs obtain their result by causing brain dysfunction.
Thorazine, a strong tranquilizer, creates a very similar effect to a lobotomy (brain surgery) by disrupting frontal lobe nerve activity. Psychiatrists grossly neglect to point out the potential harm of psychiatric drugs to their patients, such as tardive dyskinesia, tardive dementia, general dulling of awareness, emotional numbing, and cognitive dysfunction.
Side effects can occur in as high as 50% or more of patients, depending on the drug and dosages, and often the effects are permanent with no known cure.
The following modern psychotropic drugs are all dangerous and should not be used by anybody under an circumstances:
1) Neuroleptics (anti-psychotic agents, major tranquilizers) - Such as Haldol, Prolixin, Thorazine, Mellaril, Stelazine, Vesprin, Clozaril, Navane, Trilafon, Tindal, Taractan, and Compazine.
2) Tricyclic Antidepressants such as Tofranil, Elavil, Adapin, Surmontil, Norpramin, Pamelor, Aventyl, Vivactil, and Anafranil.
3) Atypical Antidepressants such as Asendin, Ludiomil, Desyrel, and Wellbutrin.
4) Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (very dangerous antidepessant agents) such as Marplan, Nardil, Parnate, Eldepryl, and Eutonyl.
5) Lithium
6) Prozac
7) Xanax
7) Minor Tranquilizers - such as Xanax, Valium, Librium, BuSpar, Ativan, Halcion, Tranxene, Paxipam, Centrax, Klonopin, Dalmane, Serax, Ativan, Restoril, Miltown, Equanil, Atarax and Vistaril.
8) ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) & ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) drugs (psychostimulants - "speed") - Such as Ritalin (highly addictive), Dexedrine, and Cylert.
Maybe everyone here is trying to hang the wrong person?
Say NO To Psychiatry!
I wish I could say no to psychiatry - for some of us, it's not that easy. I said no to it for years and it nearly cost me my life.
I agree with you in part in that there are probably no totally safe psychiatric drugs - but when faced with a life-threatening mental illness, sometimes there is no choice.
But I would also include steroids in that list of potentially dangerous drugs. People do not realize that steroid medications can have devastating psychiatric side effects, especially for someone with an underlying mental illness. I speak from personal experience.
Time to put the shrinks back in their skinner box and let them analyse each other, imo...