MISSD’s new akathisia billboards in Illinois and West Virginia are being met with positive feedback and our public health videos have now had more than 280K views.

“I saw your ad in Chicago today. I was driving here from Minnesota. I almost didn’t survive akathisia. Upon seeing the ad, I was so happy and started crying at the same time. Thank you for all your work. I definitely will be donating.”

See and share to save lives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibCOhnmM608

Travelers during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend may learn a new word to save lives: Akathisia. MISSD’s latest billboard ad campaign in West Virginia straightforwardly shares akathisia info. Read the full release at https://www.einpresswire.com/article/542051121/ad-campaign-increases-awareness-of-akathisia-to-save-lives?r=paUMX7LU6yiuTyUDWt

“Many suicide prevention and mental health organizations fail to explain or even mention akathisia,” said Wendy Dolin, MISSD founder. Drug ads that end with warnings about an increased risk of suicidality also don’t mention it is related to akathisia. Such dangerous silence is unacceptable given that keeping akathisia in the dark increases the likelihood that this critical adverse drug effect is overlooked, misdiagnosed, or mistreated.”

Read more at https://www.einpresswire.com/article/541638727/mental-health-awareness-month-spotlights-akathisia?n=2

Katinka Newman, a BBC producer and author of “The Pill that Steals Lives,” has a new website aimed to help people understand and better recognize antidepressant harms including withdrawal, akathisia and serotonin toxicity. It also shares the lived experiences of those whose lives were adversely impacted by these adverse drug effects.

See https://www.antidepressantrisks.org/

Cochrane researchers found that most studies of antidepressant withdrawal “were unable to distinguish between a genuine relapse of depression and withdrawal from the tablets.”

Akathisia can be one component of post antidepressant withdrawal syndrome and consumers “might experience disturbing feelings, tell their GP they don’t feel well enough to stop the medication and get another script. This pattern can continue for years and even decades.”

“Prof van Driel said long-term usage of antidepressants should be avoided wherever possible, with the medication linked to a range of adverse consequences. Weight gain, emotional numbing, sexual dysfunction, sleep disturbance and gastrointestinal bleeding are among the side effects.”

Read more at http://hospitalhealth.com.au/content/clinical-services/news/evidence-urgently-needed-on-how-to-safely-withdraw-patients-from-antidepressants-1326306198#ixzz6ttI2s63K

The symptoms of SSRI withdrawal often mirror akathisia because withdrawal akathisia can occur when stopping SSRIs such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil. Read Med Page Today’s full article at https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/fluoxetine-withdrawal#symptoms

MISSD’s latest video features testimonials from real people whose lives were adversely impacted by akathisia. They share their lived experiences with the hope that others can be safer and better informed. Listen, learn and share at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibCOhnmM608&t=6s

MISSD is pleased to release our latest educational video to help healthcare professionals, consumers and caregivers increase their awareness of akathisia and reduce avoidable suffering and death. “Akathisia: In Their Own Words,” features firsthand experiences of people who suffered akathisia and family members who witnessed akathisia before their loved one’s death.

Please see and share our latest video to increase akathisia awareness and reduce avoidable deaths. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibCOhnmM608

It’s critical that consumers and caregivers are accurately informed that drug withdrawal can cause withdrawal akathisia. Safe and slow tapering of depression pills can reduce the possibility and/or severity of suffering from akathisia.

“Over the course of a few appointments with my well-meaning psychiatrist, I listened politely as he talked about halving my antidepressant pills every couple of days and hoping for the best in my next psychotropic-cessation experiment.”

Read the full article at https://www.madinamerica.com/2021/04/how-i-became-my-own-psychiatrist/

Withdrawal akathisia can occur when stopping certain drugs. It’s critical clinicians and consumers have conversations about akathisia so that early warning signs can be recognized.

“A large review by Public Health England identified the need to educate both the public and our clinicians about the likely benefits and effects of psychiatric drugs and withdrawal from them. They are also overprescribed because when people try and come off the drugs, their withdrawal responses are often mistaken as relapse. So people come to believe, “I’ve got to be on this drug for life.”

Read the full interview at https://www.madinamerica.com/2021/04/how-therapists-can-help-with-drug-withdrawal-an-interview-with-anne-guy/