A nurse's husband started taking medication, and her husband's personality changed so much that she became alarmed. After she threatened to leave him unless he got off his medication, her husband stopped the medication, and he became his recognizable, not depressed, self.
A patient was diagnosed with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), for which she was prescribed medication. Out of the blue, she picked up a kitchen knife and threatened to kill her husband. Her husband, fearful for his life, left her.
A couple had been happily married for more than 20 years when a physician said the husband was somewhat depressed and recommended medication. Shortly after starting the medicine, the husband began seeing other women and feeling fine about it. The couple divorced.
One patient felt so depressed that she took medication. She was only able to get off this medication after carefully working with her physician for a couple years. Her suicidal ideation decreased substantially after getting off the medication.
One woman became so violent that she threw a chair at a door and broke the door.
A student in Columbine High School opened fire on other students and faculty, killing 13 people.
A Virginia Tech student killed 32 people.
What do all the above have in common? They were all taking medication, and all of them, with the possible exception of the latter, were taking a newer form of antidepressant known as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.) Press reports indicate that the student at Virginia Tech was taking antidepressant medication, but this author has not seen a report of the specific medication he was taking.
Are the above isolated findings?
Unfortunately, that appears not to be the case.
Peter R. Breggin, M.D., a psychiatrist and medical author in Ithaca, New York, has written extensively about SSRIs and their side effects, which can be seen here: http://www.breggin.com/SSRIinduced.htm.
Dr. Breggin began writing about the increased risk of antidepressant-induced suicide in 1991.
In 2004, the FDA issued a black box warning about the possible association of newer antidepressants, including SSRIs, and increased suicide risk in children. In 2005, the FDA issued a warning of possible increased suicide risk in adults taking antidepressants.
Dr. Breggin has written the article "Suicidality, Violence and Mania Caused by Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): A Review and Analysis," which was published in the International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine 16 (2003/2004), 31–49, IOS Press. To read the article online, see: http://www.breggin.com/31-49.pdf.
In the abstract of this article, Dr. Breggin states: "Evidence from many sources confirms that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) commonly cause or exacerbate a wide range of abnormal mental and behavioral conditions. … Each of these reactions can worsen the individual's mental condition and can result in suicidality, violence, and other forms of extreme abnormal behavior."
Among the books he has written on the topic are: "Toxic Psychiatry" (1994), "Talking Back to Prozac" (1994), "Brain-Disabling Treatments in Psychiatry" (1997), "Your Drug May Be Your Problem" (1999, with David Cohen), and the "Antidepressant Fact Book" (2001). His recent article "Intoxication Anosognosia: The Spellbinding Effect of Psychiatric Drugs" was published in Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, Volume 8, Number 3, Fall/Winter 2006.
According to Dr. Breggin: "All of the newer antidepressants can stimulate the brain. The results of stimulation are similar to the effects of amphetamine, methamphetamine, methylphenidate, and cocaine. Stimulating the brain leads to anxiety, agitation, irritability, insomnia, disinhibition (loss of self-control), emotional lability (instability), akathisia (agitation with hyperactivity), hostility, aggression, and mania."
With such overwhelming evidence against the prescription of the newer antidepressants, why would physicians prescribe such drugs or patients take them?
There are other ways to treat depression, including with St. John's wort and with SAMe (s-adenosylmethionine, a substance that occurs naturally in the body and that can be taken as a supplement). Studies have demonstrated that neither of these substances have the side effects of antidepressant medication.
Of course, taking any substance for the treatment of depression does not treat the cause, which can include poor nutrition, bad health, unresolved anger, and lack of a sense of the higher purpose of life.
Important Note: The dosage of SSRIs should only be changed with professional supervision due to the possible serious side effects of changing the dosage of this medication.
References: Dr. Breggin's Web site
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