National Suicide Prevention Week starts on Sunday, but MISSD’s free educational resources are available anywhere, anytime, every day of the year. Akathisia awareness saves lives. Please see and share our public health videos. This one was our first of many. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x86aCDtvbT0

We’re glad to see this Washington Post article increase awareness of benzo withdrawal. Few doctors know that symptoms can be long-lasting, including withdrawal akathisia and delirium.

“But many physicians fail to follow the guidelines. One reason is that doctors typically don’t learn much, if anything, about the drugs in medical school, Lembke says.”

Read the full article at https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/09/02/xanax-klonopin-benzo-withdrawal-addiction/.

This insightful article highlights how akathisia and Functional Neurological Disorder can be caused by a seemingly benign medication prescribed for heartburn. The sufferer states, “It is hard to really describe how bad akathisia is. In the patient information leaflets it is often described as restlessness paired with insomnia. I would describe it as my nervous system being tortured, all my sensory nerves being stripped with knives, a complete inability to rest or lie down and extreme insomnia.”

Read the full article at https://www.madinamerica.com/2023/08/harmed-psychiatric-drugs-prescribed-acid-reflux/.

It’s always good to see an akathisia article focused on educating healthcare professionals. Unfortunately, a fee is required to access this full article. We hope clinicians will read it and learn more about this critical and often misdiagnosed medication-induced disorder. See the article summary at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1742-1241.1996.tb09548.x.

A new study led by Tyra Lagerberg at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute and published in Neuropsychopharmacology states: “For those younger than 25, with no history of suicidal behavior, taking an antidepressant makes you up to three times more likely to attempt suicide, with that likelihood decreasing as you age. For those 25 or older, taking an antidepressant doesn’t help reduce suicide. Similarly, for those at high risk for suicide, taking an antidepressant doesn’t reduce the risk.”

Read the full article at https://www.madinamerica.com/2023/08/antidepressants-increase-suicide-attempts-in-youth-no-preventative-effect/.

“Within two months of his prescription change (Zoloft), he had taken his own life. His mother says neither of them were warned about potential side-effects.”

“The physical and mental side effects of the drugs can be wide-ranging from headaches and brain fog to more severe side effects such as loss of sexual function and suicidal thoughts.”

Read the full article at https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-66430817.

A new article published today explores possible reasons why some medications cause suicidality (akathisia). We’re always glad to see this critical topic covered.

“A number of approved drugs (including, antidepressants) carry warnings about side effects that include depression and suicidal thoughts, particularly in younger patients – with some including the strongest warning mandated by the FDA: a black box warning. For example, a study in suicidal behavior in adults taking paroxetine (Paxil/Seroxat) found an increase in attempted suicide in the drug group compared with placebo – and GSK has faced a major lawsuit connected with the drug.”

Read the full article at https://themedicinemaker.com/business-regulation/why-are-some-medicines-linked-to-suicide.

A new study reports that data regarding the increased suicide risk posed by antidepressant exposure is less likely to be published in psychiatric journals.

Suppressing data about medication-induced suicidality and suicide is dangerous and unethical. Read the full journal article at https://www.jclinepi.com/article/S0895-4356(23)00187-7/fulltext.

It’s good to see this akathisia article for clinicians: Akathisia can be induced by a wide variety of drug classes, and some symptoms can include: highly disturbing feelings of restlessness & dysphoria, an inability to stay still, and suicidality. Read the full article at https://thegoaspotlight.com/clinical-approach-to-akathisia-articles/.