‘...Notice that every single shooter in a high school shoot out had or was on an “antidepressant”...’
More specifically, an SSRI (such as Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac). Suicidal and homicidal “ideation” is a side-effect of these drugs, but is particularly pronounced in young men. Research has yet to explain why, it would seem that hormones are involved, as brain chemistry and hormone production obviously are inter-related (as is blood sugar).
Yet most doctors don’t give parents any warning signs to look for. Anyone on a drug like this, should be talking daily on the phone to the psychiatrist and answering a litany of questions about how they are feeling, eating, thinking, etc, so the indicators are caught before the person acts out the suicidal/homicidal promptings.
Often the diagnosis is not correct to begin with. Someone comes into the doctor “depressed” but really has bipolar, shizophrenia, or something else, which SSRI’s greatly make worse, such as triggering mania. Or they don’t have the type of depression that can be helped with SSRI’s to begin with.
Most doctors, especially general practitioners, do not have the knowledge or training to diagnose or treat brain disorders or mood disorders. But somehow instead of making referrals, they prescribe these powerful drugs. If they get financial ‘kick-backs’ that could explain why, and seems quite unethical to me.
Doctors don’t fully understand what they do to the brain. We are learning the hard way through suicides and chemically altered moods that are not addressing the ROOT problem for ANY depression.
A lot of you people hear a story about a patient who had a side effect taking a medication. Do these meds have some side effects, sure, but many patients lives are greatly improved. Until you see patients with schizophrenia, you cannot believe their lives are devastated.
A little bit of knowledge is scary. Look at all the patients with depression who live normal lives after being so depressed they were suicidal, are put on an antidepressant, and improve. Americans expect perfection from medications and everything and when a small number of patients have a side effect, the media paints a broad picture and speak to an idiot with virtually no knowledge about the subject and make claims that these meds are dangerous. If you do not want to take a medication, don’t, but don’t scare others away from meds that can help them live normal lives.
More specifically, an SSRI (such as Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac). Suicidal and homicidal “ideation” is a side-effect of these drugs, but is particularly pronounced in young men. Research has yet to explain why, it would seem that hormones are involved, as brain chemistry and hormone production obviously are inter-related (as is blood sugar).These drugs work by (over time) raising the level of serotonin in the brain. One thing I remember reading when these drugs first came out, was that if you analyzed a group of apes, the dominant male would have an elevated level of serotonin in his brain.
I had two coworkers who went on this stuff when it first came out. BOTH of them had different personalities on it than off it. One of them strikingly so. I'm not talking about they were depressed and suddenly became undepressed; I'm talking about someone who seemed reasonably balanced before became very gregarious, outgoing, and in some cases took what I thought unwarranted risks.
>>Often the diagnosis is not correct to begin with. Someone comes into the doctor “depressed” but really has bipolar, shizophrenia, or something else, which SSRI’s greatly make worse, such as triggering mania. Or they don’t have the type of depression that can be helped with SSRI’s to begin with.<<
Or they don’t have depression at all, which was my case.
What makes me absolutely frothing livid is that in my personal experience, from the age of 15-23, with treatment from multiple doctors at multiple facilities is that the answer was always medication.
- No suggestion of hormone or thyroid tests
- No examination of behavior patterns
- No suggestions for exercise or diet
- No comparison of drug interactions (when the combination of SSRI’s and birth control pills made me stark raving mad, the answer was yet anoter pill, not discontinuing one of the other two)
And worst of all:
- No thought to how damaging a frivolous diagnosis and prescription can be to someone’s life.