by Dr. Joseph Mercola, Green Med Info:
Antidepressants are routinely used as a first-line treatment for depression, though studies show their effectiveness is on par with placebo and serious side effects such as violence and suicide are often ignored or hidden.
Story at a glance:
- 1 in 6 Americans between the ages of 18 and 85 were on psychiatric drugs in 2013, most of them antidepressants. The highest rates of depression are reported among 18- to 25-year-olds. Suicide rates are at an all-time high as well, rising 31% between 2001 and 2017.
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- While antidepressants are routinely used as a first-line treatment for depression, studies show their effectiveness is on par with placebo, while serious side effects are often ignored or hidden.
- Violence, including suicide and homicide, is a serious side effect of at least 25 different psychiatric drugs, some of which are now given to young children, toddlers and even babies.
- The proportion of adults taking at least one drug where suicide is a potential side effect hit 23.5% as of 2013; 38.4% of American adults were in 2014 on one or more medications that can cause depression as a side effect.
- Eli Lilly paid victims of Paxil-induced violence to shield damaging data about another drug that could have influenced the jury’s determination about Lilly’s responsibility in a 1989 mass shooting.
According to a 2017 study, 1 in 6 Americans between the ages of 18 and 85 were on psychiatric drugs in 2013, most of them antidepressants. Of them, 84.3% reported long-term use, and having filled three or more prescriptions during the study year.
Despite such pervasive antidepressant use, we’ve not seen any improvement in depression rates. On the contrary, it just seems to be getting worse, and the highest rates of depression are now reported among 18- to 25-year-olds.
Suicide rates are at an all-time high as well. Statistics reveal suicide rates rose 31% between 2001 and 2017.
In 2017, nearly 47,000 Americans committed suicide, making it the 10th most common cause of death that year.
While antidepressants are routinely used as a first-line treatment for depression, evidence suggests they cause more problems than they solve.
Several studies have shown their effectiveness is on par with placebo, and some of the worst side effects have long been ignored, or worse, hidden.
Among them is the risk of violent acts against oneself and others. Research shows the proportion of adults taking at least one drug where suicide is a potential side effect hit 23.5% as of 2013, up from 17.3% in 2005, and 38.4% of American adults in 2014 were on one or more medications that can cause depression as a side effect.
Unfortunately, doctors are more likely to prescribe an antidepressant than do the detective work required to determine whether the depression might be caused by a drug you’re on.
Aside from antidepressants, some 200 different drugs have been identified as having depression as a side effect, including birth control pills and drugs for heartburn, allergies and pain.
