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:

• Clear, comprehensive risk disclosure
• Improved prescriber education on akathisia
• Careful monitoring during medication changes

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.

$238.6 million for 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline has been allocated specifically to “curb psychiatric overprescribing” and “drive deprescribing when clinically indicated.”

Yet 988’s official guidance lists counselors asking about safety, feelings, and social situation—but medication questions are NOT routine.

This gap needs fixing. If millions are being invested to address psychiatric medication overuse through 988, counselors MUST routinely screen for medications during every call. This is critical for:

✓ Assessing side effects that may contribute to crisis
✓ Identifying inappropriate prescriptions needing deprescribing
✓ Connecting callers to informed care about their treatment

MISSD offers courses two free akathisia courses open to anyone, anytime, anywhere. Equip yourself with the knowledge to understand a medication-induced disorder that can precipitate self-harm, violence, and suicide. Healthcare providers, consumers, and caregivers need accurate info to make informed decisions.

Explore our courses: MISSD.LearnUpon.com/catalog.

Yet another BMJ rapid response highlights the continued failure to recognize medication adverse effects—including akathisia—as a preventable contributor to suicide risk.

MISSD Foundation’s BMJ submission is cited as an important resource for identifying these effects, yet this knowledge remains largely absent from frontline training and guidance.

While patient information leaflets warn of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, these risks are still too often overlooked in practice.

Recent developments—including the Prevention of Future Deaths report following Thomas Kingston’s death and the MHRA’s ongoing review—reinforce the urgency. Read the full Rapid Response at: https://www.bmj.com/content/393/bmj-2026-959881/rr.

Dr. Peter Gordon, a former NHS psychiatrist, shares his severe SSRI withdrawal, akathisia, and suicidality after trying to discontinue paroxetine. Paroxetine, an SSRI, is sold in the U.S. under the brand name of Paxil.

He has been unable to fully stop the drug for nearly 30 years. This contradicts decades of official claims that withdrawal was “mild, transient, and self-limiting.”

When Dr. Gordon publicly questioned antidepressant withdrawal, he reports that his profession gaslighted and marginalized him. In today’s Mad In America article, Dr. Gordon describes the distress and isolation that caused. “The profession was utilising its unique power – the power to diagnose and deem someone mentally unstable – to undermine his credibility as a critic.”

MISSD has long highlighted that withdrawal is frequently misattributed as “relapse,” and that institutions need to collaboratively investigate and report on withdrawal problems and akathisia.

Decades of denial can never be erased, but providing clinicians and patients with accurate information can help reduce prescribed harm and save lives.

Read the full article here: https://www.madintheuk.com/2026/06/former-nhs-psychiatrist-speaks-about-his-own-lived-experience/.

It was a good week with the release of our new video and a Rapid Response published in the BMJ. Together, we’re closing the patient safety gap by providing accurate info, accredited courses and promoting comprehensive risk assessment that includes akathisia.

Read more at https://conta.cc/4uZprnz.

Questions about medication should be a routine part of any comprehensive suicide assessment and prevention training. That’s why when we recently read a British Medical Journal (BMJ) editorial that overlooked this huge patient-safety gap, we spoke up.

Akathisia is a suicide risk factor everyone should know. Medical training and clinician guidance must include routine questions about stopping, starting, or changing drug dosage or type.

Doing so may make the difference between life or death.

Read our latest Rapid Response in today’s BMJ here: https://www.bmj.com/content/393/bmj-2025-086834/rr.

A newly published BMJ clinical update encourages clinicians to ask direct questions about suicide, identify risk factors, and provide timely intervention for individuals experiencing suicidal ideation.

While MISSD supports these evidence-based recommendations, healthcare professionals must also consider medication-induced causes of suicidal thoughts and actions, including akathisia and other psychiatric adverse drug effects.

Comprehensive suicide prevention requires awareness of all potential contributors. When suicidal thoughts emerge, recent medication changes, dose adjustments, and withdrawal effects should be part of the clinical conversation.

Read the BMJ update at https://www.bmj.com/content/393/bmj-2026-959881.