Missed our latest update? Australia akathisia ads, global awareness of prescribed harm, two recent podcasts — you can read all about it here: https://conta.cc/45t3CSf.
We’re dedicated to helping ensure healthcare professionals and consumers better understand akathisia and related risks.
We’re pleased to announce our latest international akathisia awareness campaign is bringing akathisia from the outback to the forefront of awareness. The public health campaign features TV and billboard ads in several Australian cities. Read more about it here: https://www.einpresswire.com/article/929972873/missd-expands-global-akathisia-awareness-campaign-to-australia.
MISSD founder, Wendy Dolin, explains how important it is that clinical drug trial data be transparent to better protect patients and prescribers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yUHcpRQYsU
A recent UVA article emphasizes that SSRIs are “very safe” and focuses largely on relapse and mild withdrawal. This framing overlooks serious risks, including akathisia.
Rapid or poorly managed tapering increases these risks, particularly without slow, individualized (hyperbolic) dose reductions. Yet these realities are not meaningfully addressed.
MISSD advocates for clear risk communication and patient-centered care. True safety requires:
Read the UVA article at: https://news.virginia.edu/content/when-it-safe-stop-taking-antidepressants.
We’re remembering Stewart Dolin today, 16 years after his akathisia-induced death. In our latest podcast, MISSD founder Wendy Dolin and director, Jenna Sachman discuss how much MISSD has done since then to improve awareness and help ensure others are safer and better informed.
Stewart would be proud that MISSD has helped so many healthcare consumers, providers, and caregivers in the U.S. and abroad. Listen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKEIqw13AsA.
New details have emerged following the death of singer Lauren Bennett. Her father says she experienced a severe reaction to prescribed medication in the months before she died. While her cause of death has not been confirmed, her family’s account highlights the importance of recognizing serious adverse drug reactions—including akathisia—which can cause profound changes in thinking, mood and behavior.
Read the full article at: https://www.eonline.com/news/1433757/lauren-bennett-health-issues-before-death-dad-details-medication-reaction.
Dr. Marc Stone, former Deputy Director for Safety in the FDA’s Division of Psychiatry discusses evidence linking antidepressants to increased suicidality in younger individuals, identifying akathisia and agitation as key contributing factors. He also notes the heightened sensitivity and reduced impulse control in younger populations. MISSD has been raising awareness of these serious risks for 15 years.
This perspective reinforces longstanding concerns raised by MISSD and families and survivors: medication-induced risks, including akathisia, remain under-recognized and under-communicated. They are also not limited to ages 25 and under.
MISSD supports appropriate treatment but calls for:
Greater awareness can help prevent avoidable harm.
Read the full interview at: https://kevinmd.com/2026/07/a-former-fda-official-on-antidepressants-and-suicide-risk.html.
Time matters when it comes to recognizing akathisia.
In this short video, MISSD founder Wendy Dolin and communications director, Kristina Kaiser, walk you through exactly how to access MISSD’s two free, one-hour courses—available to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Both courses offer a certificate of completion for those who want continuing education credit, and one course is NASW accredited.
If your organization offers in-service or “lunch & learn” training, these courses are an easy, meaningful way to help healthcare professionals, consumers, and caregivers better understand akathisia. Given that akathisia can precipitate self-harm, violence, and suicide, first responders and emergency personnel also need to learn more about akathisia.
One hour can save a life. Get started today.
We applaud the launch of Heads Up Vet, a coalition focused on addressing undiagnosed traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a significant but often missed contributor to veteran suicide. Research shows veterans with TBI have a substantially elevated risk, and initiatives that prioritize early community identification and connection to care are vital.
What most people are not aware of is that TBI’s increase the risk of akathisia. As an organization that has actively worked with veterans to highlight medication-induced harms, MISSD knows these issues frequently intersect. Veterans seeking help for TBI symptoms, concussive injuries, PTSD, or related mental health challenges are commonly prescribed medications such as SSRIs or other psychotropics. Many of these medications can also increase the risk of akathisia and suicidality.
We cover these risks in our free akathisia courses open to all at MISSD.LearnUpon.com/catalog. Prevention demands a full picture: addressing TBI, while also equipping veterans, families, and clinicians with knowledge of potential drug-induced suicidality. Read the full article at: https://www.military.com/veterans-health-care/a-coalition-is-targeting-the-link-to-veteran-suicide-that-most-miss.
New on Akathisia Stories: Cael shares his adverse experiences after being prescribed an SSRI for mild anxiety. His symptoms include emotional numbness, insomnia, withdrawal akathisia, and PSSD. Clear risk communication, awareness, education, and support are critically important to patient safety and informed decision making. Listen to learn more.