Violence and suicide caused by antidepressants
   
On March 22, 2004 the FDA issued an extraordinary Public Health Advisory that cautioned about the risks associated with the new generation of  antidepressants (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Celexa, Lexapro, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Serzone, and Remeron). The warning followed a public hearing at which dozens of family members of victims testified about suicide and violence committed by individuals taking these medications.
 
While stopping short of concluding the antidepressants definitely caused suicide, the FDA warned that they might do so in a small percentage of children and adults. In the debate over drug-induced suicide, little attention has been given to the FDA's additional warning that  certain behaviors are "known to be associated with these drugs," including "anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, impulsivity, akathisia (severe restlessness), hypomania, mania."
 
From agitation and hostility to impulsivity and mania, the FDA's litany of antidepressant-induced behaviors is identical to those induced by PCP, methamphetamine, and cocaine, drugs known to cause aggression and violence. These older stimulants and most of the newer antidepressants cause similar effects as a result of their influencing brain levels of the same neurotransmitter, serotonin.
 
A new FDA warning issued on January 31, 2008 declared that yet another group of chemical agents used to treat mood disorders carried the risk of "symptoms such as anxiety, agitation, hostility, mania and hypomania" which "may be precursors to emerging suicidality."  This time the culprits are antiepileptic drugs – medications used to control seizures. Because they cause sedation, these drugs are commonly used in psychiatry as "mood stabilizers." As a result of an orchestrated psychiatric campaign to diagnose children with "bipolar disorder," increasing numbers of children are being given these drugs.
 
This group of anti-seizure medications includes carbamazapine (brand names Tegretol, Equetro), gabapentin (Neurontin), lamotrigine (Lamictal), topiramate (Topamax), and valproate (Depakote). All of these drugs are being prescribed for varying psychiatric purposes, including the treatment of anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder.
 
Articles on the relation between antidepressants and violence 
 

See the following books for more information
 
 
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Dr. Peter Breggin and Colleagues
Launch New Reform Organization &
Annual Spring Conference
 

Peter R. Breggin, MD is no longer affiliated with the Center for the Study of Psychiatry, informally known as International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, which he founded and led from 1972-2002, and Dr. Breggin will not participate in its conferences.   Dr. Breggin and his colleagues will hold their new annual spring conference April 8-10, 2011.  Details are available at http://www.empathictherapy.org.

 

 

WARNING!

Most psychiatric drugs can cause withdrawal reactions, sometimes including life-threatening emotional and physical withdrawal problems. In short, it is not only dangerous to start taking psychiatric drugs, it can also be dangerous to stop them. Withdrawal from psychiatric drugs should be done carefully under experienced clinical supervision. Methods for safely withdrawing from psychiatric drugs are discussed in Dr. Breggin's books, Brain-Disabling Treatments in Psychiatry: Drugs, Electroshock and the Psychopharmaceutical Complex (New York: Springer Publishing Company, 2008) and Medication Madness: The Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide and Crime (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008).