This is such an important topic, and so swept under the rug , , . https://www.madinamerica.com/ is a great website. Robert Whitaker, independent journalist, has written a few fascinating books including https://www.amazon.com/Mad-America-Medicine-Enduring-Mistreatment/dp/1541618068/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1. Read the reviews, whether by people who have had the dubious privilege of being psych patients or forward thinking psychiatrists who have really thoughtful, intelligent responses, there's a lot to take in.
Another great resource is https://www.lauradelano.com/. Her story is fascinating and she's been interviewed on a bunch of podcasts, including either Tucker or Rogan, I can't remember which.
I have observed first hand, in clients and within my close circle of family and friends, some of the tragedies that you draw attention to. It's real, for sure.
I have to say, though, that I do think the subject is more complex/nuanced than just "all antidepressants are bad."
I puzzled for years as to why one person would come in for a session and say "Prozac (or other SSRI/SNRI) is evil, it made me suicidal, I tell everyone not to touch it" and two hours later a different client would come in and report that "Prozac saved my life, it's a wonder drug, I tell everyone what it did for me."
I think the answer to those disparate reactions lies partly in genetics. When people use https://genesight.com/ or https://www.tempus.com/patients/neuro-psych/genetic-test-g-a/ they do MUCH better with streamlining the whole med merry-go-round situation. The test looks for the meds that a person should NOT take because it indicates which metabolic pathways in that person have genetic mutations, does not work properly, and therefore that person is likely to get all of the side effects and feel horrendous on the med.
Chris Masterjohn has some brilliant work and brought to light that SSRIs are mitochondrial drugs.
That shines light on why they "work" for some - the brain has a ton of mitochondria.
That said, are there other ways to improve mitochondrial function and therefore brain function? Sure.
And this: https://mthfr.net/ is the other area that I find astounding, how many Drs, even shrinks, who STILL don't test their patients with recurrent depression for this very common gene mutation that is pretty common across the board and especially so within the segment of the population that experiences chronic recurrent depression.
I spend my life educating Drs. And I am so appreciative of the ones who acknowledge that they haven't heard of whatever I'm talking about, are open to learning about it, and actually read the studies/info that I send them and then adapt their practices accordingly.
If the study of nutrition had been required in Med School... perhaps doctors would have learned about the nutrients that the human mind and body needs...and they would never have prescribed drugs. Nutrients coming from food are what the body was designed to handle. Drugs of any kind would destroy the inner organs, glands and cells of the body. Nutrients nourish the body and the brain. Drugs destroy the glands in the brain which contribute to the ability to think, analyze, remember, emotional development, and consciousness relating to intuition, perception; knowingness of right or wrong.
In 1999, when the Columbine shooting happened, I was on an advisory committee for a public-school superintendent named Thomas Vanderark. Beginning with the Columbine shooting, I became obsessed with researching all school shootings. The common denominator of the shooters was that they were prescribed antidepressants. Tom went on to be the first director of the Gates Foundation. The Columbine shooting upset school districts across the country.
The FDA began requiring black box warnings on antidepressants for children and adolescents in October 2004. This warning was later expanded to include young adults in May 2006.
When you think about it there's a related commonality - all those shooters got SSRI drugs because they were diagnosed with mental health problems. In other words, they were all in a mental health database.
This bolsters the "MK-Ultra" theory that shooters are deliberately manipulated. If that were true, step one would be finding suitable shooters - which they could do if they mined mental health or pharmaceutical databases.
On Sept 11, 2025, Dr Paul Marik, MD, from Independent Medical Alliance, interviewed a former FDA Psychiatrist. "Dr. Paul Marik and Dr. Joseph Varon speak with Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring, a psychiatrist and former FDA medical officer who now runs one of the few clinics focused exclusively on safe tapering. Together, they walk through what the profession gets wrong, what patients are rarely told, and what needs to change in how we think about depression, treatment, and recovery." To find this interview, go to Rumble, then Independent Medical Alliance, and search for SSRI Dangers & Tapering Off Safely with Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring. It is an eye-opening interview. Stopping an SSRI without carefully tapering off with medical guidance is dangerous.
SSRIs have caused seizures for me personally to the point of nearly killing me. I was given SSRIs for depression in 2015 that caused seizures for almost five hours before the ER was able to induce a coma to calm my brain. I had brain swelling, stage 2 kidney failure due to rhabdomiolysus, my heart was damaged as my heart rate dropped about 25 beats per minute, and I was declared brain dead.
The neurologist wanted to pull the plug after four days of almost no brain activity. Luckily nobody pulled the plug and I woke up a couple of days later. I walked out of the hospital using a walker after nine days. Also did not have health insurance and racked up 100k in hospital bills that was erased due to charity, likely non-profit tax write off.
This is such an important topic, and so swept under the rug , , . https://www.madinamerica.com/ is a great website. Robert Whitaker, independent journalist, has written a few fascinating books including https://www.amazon.com/Mad-America-Medicine-Enduring-Mistreatment/dp/1541618068/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1. Read the reviews, whether by people who have had the dubious privilege of being psych patients or forward thinking psychiatrists who have really thoughtful, intelligent responses, there's a lot to take in.
Another great resource is https://www.lauradelano.com/. Her story is fascinating and she's been interviewed on a bunch of podcasts, including either Tucker or Rogan, I can't remember which.
I have observed first hand, in clients and within my close circle of family and friends, some of the tragedies that you draw attention to. It's real, for sure.
I have to say, though, that I do think the subject is more complex/nuanced than just "all antidepressants are bad."
I puzzled for years as to why one person would come in for a session and say "Prozac (or other SSRI/SNRI) is evil, it made me suicidal, I tell everyone not to touch it" and two hours later a different client would come in and report that "Prozac saved my life, it's a wonder drug, I tell everyone what it did for me."
I think the answer to those disparate reactions lies partly in genetics. When people use https://genesight.com/ or https://www.tempus.com/patients/neuro-psych/genetic-test-g-a/ they do MUCH better with streamlining the whole med merry-go-round situation. The test looks for the meds that a person should NOT take because it indicates which metabolic pathways in that person have genetic mutations, does not work properly, and therefore that person is likely to get all of the side effects and feel horrendous on the med.
Chris Masterjohn has some brilliant work and brought to light that SSRIs are mitochondrial drugs.
That shines light on why they "work" for some - the brain has a ton of mitochondria.
That said, are there other ways to improve mitochondrial function and therefore brain function? Sure.
And this: https://mthfr.net/ is the other area that I find astounding, how many Drs, even shrinks, who STILL don't test their patients with recurrent depression for this very common gene mutation that is pretty common across the board and especially so within the segment of the population that experiences chronic recurrent depression.
I spend my life educating Drs. And I am so appreciative of the ones who acknowledge that they haven't heard of whatever I'm talking about, are open to learning about it, and actually read the studies/info that I send them and then adapt their practices accordingly.
OxyContin, the highly addictive painkiller opioid.
DOPESICK Official Trailer (2021) Michel Keaton 2:33 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6c-YlETtl4
OXYCONTIN - Dopesick Michel Keaton 2:07 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUVR63ZHLV4
Beyond the Script of Hulu's 'Dopesick' and America's Real-Life Opioid Crisis 41:04 min
https://youtu.be/x4KDmENOkYM
If the study of nutrition had been required in Med School... perhaps doctors would have learned about the nutrients that the human mind and body needs...and they would never have prescribed drugs. Nutrients coming from food are what the body was designed to handle. Drugs of any kind would destroy the inner organs, glands and cells of the body. Nutrients nourish the body and the brain. Drugs destroy the glands in the brain which contribute to the ability to think, analyze, remember, emotional development, and consciousness relating to intuition, perception; knowingness of right or wrong.
Antipsychotics like risperidone and olanzapine are worse than SSRIs. They permanently destroy neurons.
In 1999, when the Columbine shooting happened, I was on an advisory committee for a public-school superintendent named Thomas Vanderark. Beginning with the Columbine shooting, I became obsessed with researching all school shootings. The common denominator of the shooters was that they were prescribed antidepressants. Tom went on to be the first director of the Gates Foundation. The Columbine shooting upset school districts across the country.
The FDA began requiring black box warnings on antidepressants for children and adolescents in October 2004. This warning was later expanded to include young adults in May 2006.
When you think about it there's a related commonality - all those shooters got SSRI drugs because they were diagnosed with mental health problems. In other words, they were all in a mental health database.
This bolsters the "MK-Ultra" theory that shooters are deliberately manipulated. If that were true, step one would be finding suitable shooters - which they could do if they mined mental health or pharmaceutical databases.
On Sept 11, 2025, Dr Paul Marik, MD, from Independent Medical Alliance, interviewed a former FDA Psychiatrist. "Dr. Paul Marik and Dr. Joseph Varon speak with Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring, a psychiatrist and former FDA medical officer who now runs one of the few clinics focused exclusively on safe tapering. Together, they walk through what the profession gets wrong, what patients are rarely told, and what needs to change in how we think about depression, treatment, and recovery." To find this interview, go to Rumble, then Independent Medical Alliance, and search for SSRI Dangers & Tapering Off Safely with Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring. It is an eye-opening interview. Stopping an SSRI without carefully tapering off with medical guidance is dangerous.
SSRIs have caused seizures for me personally to the point of nearly killing me. I was given SSRIs for depression in 2015 that caused seizures for almost five hours before the ER was able to induce a coma to calm my brain. I had brain swelling, stage 2 kidney failure due to rhabdomiolysus, my heart was damaged as my heart rate dropped about 25 beats per minute, and I was declared brain dead.
The neurologist wanted to pull the plug after four days of almost no brain activity. Luckily nobody pulled the plug and I woke up a couple of days later. I walked out of the hospital using a walker after nine days. Also did not have health insurance and racked up 100k in hospital bills that was erased due to charity, likely non-profit tax write off.
Glad you made it, Mark!
For sure!...