Antidepressants have been shrouded in controversy for decades due to the effects that are reported when people take them and when they withdraw, effects that include aggression, violence and suicidal thoughts.
With that in mind, recent headlines covered the increased use of antidepressants for children during the pandemic. When this kind of increase occurs, being fully informed and having the opportunity to give informed consent is an important fundamental issue and a basic right when considering taking prescribed drugs known to have paradoxical effects.
It’s questionable whether parents of children who are prescribed antidepressants are being fully informed. When reading the long list of effects associated with antidepressant drugs, it’s probable that those taking them are not making an informed choice. They may agree to take the drugs, but the decision or consent is uninformed. If they knew all of the effects of antidepressants, they may think differently.
With so many damaging and potentially fatal outcomes and with so many acts of senseless violence linked to those on or withdrawing from antidepressants, it’s testimony to the propaganda pushed out by pharmaceutical companies that the prescribing habit is still rampant. It may be good business, but it’s bad medicine.
Worldwide, there have been 99 drug regulatory agency warnings regarding antidepressants. Of those warnings, 35 concerned suicide, suicide risk, and suicide attempts. How many consumers know this?
While we might hope for an altruistic purpose in the manufacture of prescription drugs, there’s an inescapable factor that gives pharmaceutical companies an extra production impetus. The commercial success of drugs is important for shareholders, but a nightmare for those who have to pick up the pieces and rebuild when things go catastrophically wrong.
Psychiatrists and drug companies commonly say benefits outweigh the risks. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that when it comes to psychiatric drugs, profits outweigh the risks.
It’s been said before, but it can’t be said enough times. A person, especially a parent who is making a decision for their child, must be made aware of all of the effects of antidepressants in order to make a fully informed choice about the consequences of taking psychiatric drugs.
