If you or your loved one has been impacted by the problems of tapering off psychiatric drugs, problems that can include withdrawal akathisia, please take Medicating Normal and PROTECT’s new survey. The survey is part of the Priorities for Future Research on Reducing and Stopping Psychiatric Medicines (PROTECT) study. It is being conducted as part of a Ph.D. based at Trinity College Dublin.

For more info and survey access, see https://mailchi.mp/f565fe380a74/take-and-share-the-protect-study-survey?e=d67e22ab4a.

This excellent podcast can improve our understanding of akathisia by equating it to delirium, a term most people can readily understand. Many akathisia sufferers have reported they didn’t “feel like themselves” and surviving family members of akathisia victims have noted their loved one seemed “far away and distant,” but all were unaware of the cause. Listen to the “Know Risks” podcast at https://www.knowrisks.org/podcast.

MISSD is proud to be an authentic grassroots nonprofit that accepts no funding from the pharmaceutical industry and offers all educational resources free of charge. Most health-related nonprofits can’t say the same. Listen to our Akathisia Stories podcast, see and share our public health videos at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r9lcvh90kE and take our accredited akathisia course at https://missd.learnupon.com/users/sign_in?next=%2Fdashboard.

Withdrawal akathisia and antidepressant can cause medication-induced suicidality. When stopping drugs marketed as antidepressants, slow tapering is needed. “She reported no suicidal ideation before withdrawing from antidepressants…”

Read the full article at https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/10/antidepressant-withdrawal-linked-suicide-attempt-case-study/.

Author Brooke Siem was a teen when she was first prescribed drugs marketed as antidepressants and was thirty years old when she realized her suicidal thoughts were caused by the drug’s adverse effects. She shares her experiences in this interview and in her new book, “May Cause Side Effects.” Listen at https://kiow.com/2022/10/16/may-cause-side-effects-deals-with-childhood-depression-and-medicines/

It’s World Mental Health Day and an excellent time to read and share our newest Akathisia brochure and tip sheet. Healthcare consumers can download them to share with loved ones. Healthcare providers who want copies of the brochure should contact MISSD at share@missd.co.

It’s increasingly becoming common knowledge that drugs marketed as antidepressants can cause serious adverse effects, including withdrawal problems and akathisia. A new study of SSRIs now finds that long-term SSRIs use can cause heart problems. Read the article at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09/29/common-antidepressants-may-increase-risk-heart-disease-early/.

“A new study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that exercise was just as good at treating depression as antidepressant drugs, at least for those with mild or moderate symptoms. Adding antidepressant drugs to exercise did not increase effectiveness—exercise alone was just as good.”

Further, “adverse effects were reported by 22% taking antidepressants, compared to only 9% doing exercise.” Read the full article at https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/09/exercise-depression/.

MISSD is proud that our latest video in partnership with No Shame on U has now had more than 100K views! It’s the 1st public health video to include akathisia as a suicide risk factor.

Stay safe & help save lives by seeing & sharing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r9lcvh90kE.