Many people are unaware that benzos can cause serious adverse effects including withdrawal akathisia. For an informative podcast that spotlights benzo awareness, see https://www.madinamerica.com/2020/07/world-benzodiazepine-awareness-day-2020/.
MISSD is pleased our latest public health video has had more than 44,500 views since its release. That’s an average of 350 people per day who are learning that prescription drug-induced akathisia is a suicide risk factor. Please see and share https://www.youtube.com/c/MISSDFoundation/videos
MISSD’s public health videos have had more than 665K views. Please share them to help ensure others are well informed about akathisia and related adverse drug effects. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER4JGnRssSk.
A new study finds older adults taking SSRIs are at an increased risk of serotonin syndrome. It’s also important to note that people suffering from serotonin toxicity can also be suffering from SSRI-induced akathisia. Read the full article at https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/06/antidepressant-induced-serotonin-syndrome-danger-elderly/
MISSD’s latest video is the first suicide prevention video to include akathisia as a suicide risk factor. Please see and share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r9lcvh90kE
“During Mental Health Awareness Month, we hear suicide prevention and mental health organizations promoting pharmaceutical products as treatments while staying silent about adverse drug effects that can harm our mental wellbeing,” said Wendy Dolin, MISSD founder.
The Pharmaceutical Journal reports that NHS data shows there’s been a 41% increase in the number of children aged 5–12 years who were prescribed antidepressants in the last six years. Yet withdrawal problems including akathisia are seldom discussed prior to prescription.
Kristen Shukla, a child psychiatrist at Oxford Health NHS, states, “The difficulties with withdrawing from these drugs has only more recently been acknowledged. There is a very high risk that children who start taking these drugs when very young will continue taking them for many years and into adulthood.” Read the full article at https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/05/nhs-data-41-rise-antidepressant-prescribing-children-aged-5-12-since-2015/
Geraldine and Cindy discuss her late father’s prescribed harm. Louis was given drugs marketed as antidepressants and later prescribed Seroquel off-label. He soon grew increasingly anxious and developed classic symptoms of akathisia that were not accurately diagnosed and treated. He paced, rocked back and forth, and remarked on his new and worsening symptoms. Louis eventually ended his akathisia suffering by ending his life. Listen and learn at https://www.studiocchicago.com/akathisia-stories
The overprescribing of psychiatric drugs is a growing health problem that puts people at risk of permanent harm. One out of six Americans are now prescribed psych drugs, often without warning of drug dependency and critical risks to include akathisia.
Read the full article at https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-problematic-overprescription-of-psychiatric-drugs_4429336.html
A new study finds that antidepressant drugs may not improve long-term quality of life. “If we don’t expect improvement from the continuous use of these medications, then the correct decision might be to stop the continuous use of these medications,” said Omar Almohammed, a pharmacologist at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia and a co-author of the study.
Read the full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/21/well/antidepressants-ssri-effectiveness.html