The Unholy Alliance Between Psychiatrists and Psychotropic Drugs: 36,000 Deaths a Year?

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The Unholy Alliance Between Psychiatrists and Psychotropic Drugs: 36,000 Deaths a Year?

Posted by: Dr. Mercola
February 05 2009 | 32,272 views

Psychotropic drugs is a story of big money. These drugs fuel a $330-billion psychiatric industry, without a single cure -- and now kill an estimated 36,000 people every year, with the death toll still rising.

This is part one of a riveting 10-part documentary containing more than 175 interviews with lawyers, mental health experts, the families of victims and the survivors themselves.

Click Here to See the Video

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

It is really a tragic commentary on the effectiveness of medical marketing that 100 million people worldwide are taking psychotropic drugs. These powerful medications interfere with the delicate and complex workings of your brain and personality. They have a great potential to cause a number of serious side effects ranging from somnolence and fatigue to violent behavior, hormone disruption and even suicide.

Could it be that so many people are truly in need of these side-effect-ridden mind-altering medications?

Or is this just an amazing testimony to marketing brilliance?

Psychotropic drugs have been a goldmine for drug makers. Through savvy marketing aimed at consumers and physicians, people are now convinced that what previously had been their normal emotions now fall outside of normalcy and require the use of some expensive and potentially toxic prescription pharmaceutical.

Normal Life Challenges are Now Medical Conditions

At the crux of the problem is the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), and its slew of newly created diseases that are dubbed in need of medical treatment (i.e. drugs).

The central dilemma is that many of the “disorders” could apply to nearly any one of us at one time or another.

• Do you drink coffee and then have trouble sleeping? It’s “Caffeine-Induced Sleep Disorder.”

• Are you sometimes shy? You may have “Social Phobia.”

• Are you wondering about deeper things, such as the meaning of life? Then you’ve got a “Religious or Spiritual Problem.”

• Do you argue with your brother or sister? Then it’s “Sibling Relational Problem.” With your spouse? That one’s “Partner Relational Problem.”

Your kids likely fall under some of the categories in this massive tome as well.

• Does your child argue with adults, lose his temper, or annoy people? He has “Oppositional Defiant Disorder.”

• If your child has trouble with math, he can be diagnosed with “Mathematics Disorder.”

• Or if you or your teenager is uncertain about what path to take in life, what your values or career goals are, you’ve likely got an “Identity Problem.”

Of course, any one of these “disorders” likely has a drug solution to “cure” it.

This practice of systematically inventing disease, or exaggerating minor ones, in order to sell more products actually has a name. It’s called diseasemongering, and it’s a well established tool used among drug companies.

Of course, their pills do not eliminate the problem but instead merely relieve the symptoms as long as you continue to purchase them. That is, until the side effects begin and you run the risk of feeling even worse than you did prior to taking them.

Here is just a short list of side effects from psychotropic drugs such as Prozac, Paxil, Ritalin, Zyprexa, Depakote and others:

• Anxiety, depression, impulsivity and obsession
• Anger, compulsion, temper tantrums and mood instability (this one, ironically, from a mood stabilizer drug)
• Social awkwardness, withdrawal, tics
• Sleep disturbances

• Separation anxiety
• Behavior problems
• Inattention and distractibility

What About Your Children?

This seems to be a question that far too few people are asking. It is bad enough to prescribe dangerous psychotropic drugs to adults, but some of the most targeted people are just barely out of diapers.

In 2007 alone, half a million children and teenagers were given at least one prescription for an antipsychotic, including 20,500 under the age of 6.

U.S. children are getting three times more prescriptions for antidepressants and stimulants, and up to double the amount of antipsychotic drugs than kids from Germany and the Netherlands.

These powerful meds are being given to children not for life-threatening conditions or to treat acute emergencies … they’re being prescribed for behavioral problems such as attention deficit disorder, and often they’re not even approved for use in children at all!

How can we, as a society, continue to allow corporate profits to come before lives, and even before children’s lives? And why is it that so few people are willing to step up and really expose the corruption once and for all?

If you or your child is suffering from an emotional or mental challenge, please seek help, but do so from someone who does not regard psychotropic drugs as a first line of defense. It will be very helpful if you first optimize your or your child’s diet and lifestyle as this will significantly improve the likelihood of any successful natural intervention.

A good starting point would be my comprehensive health plan that is free to view.

Of course you will need specific interventions to address any emotional challenges. There are many wonderful tools out there. One of my favorite ones is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).