Marilyn Lemak Clemency Hearing

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July 19, 2022 | 26 Comments

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  1. We could almost write the script for this type of reporting.

    From the ‘experts say’ to the diabolical exaggeration of the personal life to the ‘invisible inner conflict’ …

    I have read many newspaper reports about Marilyn but this one takes the biscuit for drama and pettifogging.

    ‘In fact, experts say depression, even the most severe and debilitating cases, rarely prompts homicidal tendencies.’

    ‘Disorders, such as borderline personality disorder or anti-social personality disorder, are more likely than depression to precipitate murder.’

    MOTHER’S PATH FROM DESPAIR TO TRAGEDY

    Divorce records reveal inner conflict preceding slayings

    http://fact.on.ca/newpaper/ct990314.htm

    About two months ago, Marilyn Lemak began attending New Beginnings, a weekly support group for separated, divorced and widowed people.

    “If she had problems, she hid ’em pretty well,” said widower Rich Babjak, a member of the group.

    Her attorneys have cautioned against oversimplifying the case or leaping to a diagnosis about her condition.

    In fact, experts say depression, even the most severe and debilitating cases, rarely prompts homicidal tendencies.

    Disorders, such as borderline personality disorder or anti-social personality disorder, are more likely than depression to precipitate murder.

    Marilyn Lemak’s current mental state, more than that leading up to the killings, will determine the outcome of the effort to have her moved from DuPage County Jail.

    By all accounts, she is subdued and lethargic.

    “She seemed truly brokenhearted,” Kuhn said. “I know she understands that the children are gone.

    “I asked her if she was eating properly and she said she was having trouble because some of the foods were foods her children liked, and she couldn’t bear looking at it.”

    It is with certainty that widower Rich Babjak did not kill his children or ingest the amount of flannel and Zoloft that Marilyn took…

  2. I first met Dr. Healy ten years ago at a lecture he gave at a law school in Chicago. Although I’m not an attorney, I managed to get in. He explained akathisia, the link between SSRI’s and violence, and he presented stories just like Marilyn’s. I took a pile of notes. I scrambled to introduce myself afterward and told him all about Marilyn. He listened.

    I’ve stayed in touch with him ever since. He always replies to my emails and answers my questions. It’s not a bit surprising that he was willing to participate in Marilyn’s clemency hearing.

  3. You’re right, Annie, this article does not shed much light on Marilyn’s story. To put it mildly. Mainly gossip and third-hand “expert opinion.” But one small bit of it struck me: her request, during divorce proceedings, that her husband leave the house because he was causing her so much stress:

    “She said she was suffering physical symptoms due to the stress of the household: severe headaches, neck and back tension, and jaw clenching, which was causing pain in her face.”

    All three problems are documented side effects of Zoloft. She never knew; she thought it was the stress of her divorce. Worse yet, she never knew that her “mad” thoughts and impulses might be tied to Zoloft as well. She must have thought they were “the products of her own sick mind.” That must have been unbearable.

  4. “She said she was suffering physical symptoms due to the stress of the household: severe headaches, neck and back tension, and jaw clenching, which was causing pain in her face.”

    All three problems are documented side effects of Zoloft. She never knew; she thought it was the stress of her divorce. Worse yet, she never knew that her “mad” thoughts and impulses might be tied to Zoloft as well. She must have thought they were “the products of her own sick mind.” That must have been unbearable.”

    What I find difficult – that so few people are even interested in all this, let alone take any action. You would think the vaccine harm people would take it up as well, but it doesn’t seem so.

    A relative of mine is going through the same, passed the information to his mother – he has moved out of his house back to his fathers which was the best we could do, but clearly has dissociation, insomnia, disinhibition and emotional liability. Any attempt at more help from his mother is met with a dismissive – you’re not my doctor. He has now been on Sertraline 50mg for six months.

    When you actually do come out of akathisia people family, friends – if you still have any – refuse to accept or admit you are now well and normal – they don’t wish to know about akathisia. It takes sophistication, research, listening and observational skills to get a grasp, read the signs and realise it’s the drug and not the person, even if the patient thinks the drug is the best thing ever.

    And there is also what the other will counter with – bruxism does trigger severe headaches and stress causes bruxism which causes neck and back tension and face pain. How would you pin it down.. that the drug was behind the stress causing family situations such as – dissociation, insomnia, disinhibition and emotional liability when almost no one wants to know about this stuff.

    • “What I find difficult – that so few people are even interested in all this, let alone take any action. You would think the vaccine harm people would take it up as well, but it doesn’t seem so.”

      Chris, your point hits home. While some close to Marilyn are able to conceive that Zoloft was the likely culprit, I see it as a very hard sell in her community and most of Chicagoland.

      Many people in my life support what I’m trying to do. But I’ve also sensed that many don’t. It’s hard for people to believe that a “mere pill” could cause a mother to kill her own. But sadly, it can.

      • Seems to me – it’s only when people experience akathisia for themselves that they grasp this horrific nettle, then it’s blindingly clear and shocking. I do not suggest people try – it’s a incredibly dangerous state to be in and get out of.

        There is far more that can be done to help people would are in an akathisia state – one such is avoiding foods, herbs and spices that inhibit Cytochrome P450 metabolising enzymes which can be as common as black tea.

  5. By
    Sarah Knapton,
    SCIENCE EDITOR
    20 July 2022 • 6:00am
    Depression is not a chemical imbalance in the brain and scientists have no idea how antidepressants work, a review by University College London has concluded.

    Although one in six adults in England are currently prescribed antidepressants – most of which act by maintaining serotonin levels – the new analysis suggests depression is not actually caused by low levels of serotonin.

    Instead, depression may be more strongly equated with negative life events which lower mood, the review found.
    Since the 1990s, antidepressant use has grown alongside the theory that the drugs establish correct levels of chemicals in the brain but researchers say that is unfounded.

    “I think we can safely say that after a vast amount of research conducted over several decades, there is no convincing evidence that depression is caused by serotonin abnormalities, particularly by lower levels or reduced activity of serotonin,” said lead author Joanna Moncrieff, a professor of psychiatry at UCL.

    “Many people take antidepressants because they have been led to believe their depression has a biochemical cause, but this research suggests this belief is not grounded in evidence.”

    Important for mood and sleep
    Most antidepressants are selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) which prevent the loss of a chemical that carries messages between nerve cells in the brain, and is important for mood and sleep.

    For the new review, researchers looked again at studies into serotonin and depression and found no difference in levels between thousands of people diagnosed with the condition and healthy control participants.

    The authors also looked at studies where serotonin levels were artificially lowered in hundreds of people by depriving their diets of the amino acid required to make serotonin, and found that it did not make them depressed.

    People with variations in the gene governing the transportation of serotonin also showed no difference in depression levels.

    In contrast, stressful life events were found to exert a strong effect on people’s risk of becoming depressed – the more stressful life events a person had experienced, the more likely they were to be depressed.

    The researchers say their findings are important as studies show that as many as 85 to 90 per cent of the public believes that depression is caused by low serotonin or a chemical imbalance.

    There is also evidence that believing that low mood is caused by a chemical imbalance leads people to have a pessimistic outlook on the likelihood of recovery, and the possibility of managing moods without medical help.

    Co-author Dr Mark Horowitz, a training psychiatrist and clinical research fellow in psychiatry at UCL said: “I had been taught that depression was caused by low serotonin in my psychiatry training and had even taught this to students in my own lectures.

    “Being involved in this research was eye-opening and feels like everything I thought I knew has been flipped upside down.

    “One interesting aspect in the studies we examined was how strong an effect adverse life events played in depression, suggesting low mood is a response to people’s lives and cannot be boiled down to a simple chemical equation.”

    A different route
    The researchers say that patients should not be told depression is caused by a chemical imbalance, or informed that the SSRIs can correct the problem. Although it is clear the antidepressants can work, they must be doing so through a different route, the paper concludes.

    Commenting on the research, experts warned people against stopping their medication.

    The Royal College of Psychiatrists said: “Antidepressants will vary in effectiveness for different people, and the reasons for this are complex, which is why it’s important that patient care is based on each individual’s needs and reviewed regularly.

    “Continued research into treatments for depression is important to help us better understand how medications work as well as their effectiveness. Medication should be available for anyone who needs it.

    “We would not recommend for anyone to stop taking their antidepressants based on this review, and encourage anyone with concerns about their medication to contact their GP.”

    Prof Allan Young, director at the Centre for Affective Disorders at King’s College London, said: “The elephant in the room is the good evidence of the efficacy and acceptability of serotonergic antidepressants.

    “The use of these medicines is based on clinical trial evidence which informs their use for patients. This review does not change that.”

    The review was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

    Depression should not be tackled as if it is a single disorder
    Dr Michael Bloomfield, consultant psychiatrist at University College London

    Up to one in seven of us will experience depression during our lives. Different people experience different symptoms of depression. While many people experience a mild episode, depression remains a leading global cause of morbidity. Sadly, depression can be potentially life-threatening for some due to an increased risk of suicide. Existing treatments, including several types of antidepressant medicines and psychotherapies (talking therapies), are effective, safe, and not addictive. However, beneficial treatment effects can take weeks to build up and each treatment does not work for everyone. It is therefore essential that we can understand what happens in our brains when we experience depression so that treatments can be improved and targeted.

    In the middle of the 20th century, the theory that depression was caused by a chemical imbalance in serotonin represented a really important step forward in the history of medicine. Since then there’s been a huge of amount of research which tells us that the brain’s serotonin system plays very important roles in how our brains process emotions. As depression involves changes in how our brains process emotions, changes in the serotonin system are likely to be important in the development and/or treatment of depression.

    The findings from this review are not surprising. Depression has numerous symptom patterns such that two people with depression can have seemingly opposite types of symptoms. For example, some sleep more when they are depressed while others suffer from insomnia. As such, having met scientists and psychiatrists from all over the world, I have yet to meet a colleague who thinks that all cases of depression are caused by a simple “chemical imbalance” in serotonin. Indeed, the serotonin system is complex. What remains likely is that changes in the serotonin system are contributing to certain symptoms in certain people. The challenge with this review is that it isn’t able to address this point because it has grouped together depression as if it is a single disorder which, from a biological perspective, does not make sense.

    There is consistent evidence that antidepressant medicines can be helpful in the treatment of depression and even life-saving. This latest paper does not change this. Patients must have access to treatments for depression. Many of us know that taking paracetamol can be helpful for headaches and no one believes that headaches are caused by not enough paracetamol in the brain. The same logic applies to depression and medicines used in its treatment. All medicines can have side-effects and suddenly stopping any treatment can be potentially harmful. Anyone taking a medicine for depression who is thinking of stopping treatment should discuss this with their doctor first.

  6. The public and the law enforcement just doesn’t want to believe how dangerous and homicidal these drugs could be. Like in the case of Umar Dutt who stabbed his psychiatrist 165 times and run over him with a car. No motive was established yet he was declared sane. Who sane or without motive would present with such an aggression ? He wasn’t a serial murderer but seemingly a normal person who has been medicated

    • Not just psych drugs and over a 100 others. Drug toxicity induced behavioral issues from minor to extreme are way way more common than almost anyone wishes to admit to.

  7. today several media articles ( thetimes.co.uk, independent.co.uk, neurosciencenews.com, news.sky.com, theconversation.com, newscientist.com, scotsman.com, telegraph.co.uk, psychologytoday.com, dailymail.co.uk, walesonline.co.uk, hulldailymail.co.uk, etc. ) about this study that reaffirms that there is no evidence on the link low serotonin and depression.

    Systematic Review Open Access
    Published: 20 July 2022 Molecular Psychiatry

    The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence

    Joanna Moncrieff, Ruth E. Cooper, Tom Stockmann, Simone Amendola, Michael P. Hengartner & Mark A. Horowitz

    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01661-0

  8. This ‘BIG BIG THEORY’ is everywhere – adding to S and L

    Hint: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors

    Clue: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors

    Depression ‘is NOT caused by low serotonin levels’: Study casts doubt over widespread use of potent drugs designed to treat chemical imbalance in brain

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11027847/Depression-NOT-caused-low-serotonin-levels-study.html

    ‘Many of us know that taking paracetamol can be helpful for headaches and I don’t think anyone believes that headaches are caused by not enough paracetamol in the brain,’ he said.

    ‘The same logic applies to depression and medicines used to treat depression. 
    ‘There is consistent evidence that antidepressants can be helpful in the treatment of depression and can be life-saving.’

    Professor Allan Young, director of the Centre for Affective Disorders at the Institute of Psychiatry, said the review ‘does not change’ the evidence that antidepressants work. 

    Mark Horowitz
    @markhoro

    Although it is apparently not news to most academics/psychiatrists it is news to the public because our paper is now the top trending story on many newspapers. Perhaps someone forgot to inform the public?

    @HengartnerMP @joannamoncrieff

    The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence

    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01661-0

    Michael P. Hengartner, PhD
    @HengartnerMP
    ·
    3h
    The wide-spread belief, also supported by many prescriber, that depression is caused by a lack of serotonin is not grounded in science. In fact it‘s an unsubstantiated claim that must be abandoned

    Kim Witczak 
    @woodymatters
    · 14h
    Replying to @DuthieAlyne

    Look at the ads that @pfizer used to run for Zoloft. These were running at time of Woody’s death.

    https://twitter.com/woodymatters/status/1549465626720186368

    Carmine Pariante’s reply on behalf of the Royal College. He said, “The old idea that ADs (antidepressants) correct a chemical imbalance in the brain is an over-simplification and we do not support this view.”

    Wendy Burn CBE (She/her) 
    @wendyburn

    I’m very careful what I say to patients but it still may turn out to be a “chemical imbalance” in the end. We just don’t know yet. One of my favourite papers last year was the one demonstrating serotonin transporter levels increasing after CBT.

    Patrick D Hahn – in conversation

    https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=search&v=435465861792158

    JULY 20, 2022

    expert reaction to a review paper on the ‘serotonin theory of depression’
    https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-a-review-paper-on-the-serotonin-theory-of-depression/

    “the theory that never was” …

  9. Part Two – The Daily Mail Delves Deeper…

    With Campaigner Stevie Lewis…

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11033517/Have-millions-taking-antidepressants-harmful-effects-decades-no-reason.html

    ‘The Royal College of Psychiatrists said: ‘Antidepressants are an effective, NICE-recommended treatment for depression. We would not recommend for anyone to stop taking their antidepressants based on this review.’

    Professor Marshall of the RCGP said: ‘This research is challenging, and it’s important it is taken into account as clinical guidelines are developed and updated.

    ‘Patients should not be concerned about taking antidepressants as a result, but if they are, they should continue to take them as prescribed and discuss this with their doctor at their next appointment.’

    As Stevie says:

    Stevie Lewis, 66, a former business consultant was prescribed antidepressants after being told she had developed a chemical imbalance.

    Now a campaigner against the overuse of antidepressants and a board member of the International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal, Stevie was on an SSRI for 17 years, most of which she spent ‘trying and failing to stop’ because the withdrawal effects were so severe.

    ‘I am outraged that I and so many other people have been persuaded to take a drug based on unproven science,’ says Stevie, from Catbrook, Monmouthshire.

    Patients should be very ‘concerned as a result of this review’ and ‘discussing this with their doctor’ is a hiding-to-nothing as so many know to their cost.

    Marshall, as those before him, Gerada, and the cult-infused RCP members, Wessely and Burn, have done their dam-nest to hold back progress.

    As Michael says:

    Michael P. Hengartner, PhD
    @HengartnerMP

    In the Science Media Centre experts comment (mostly critical) on our umbrella review of the serotonin hypothesis of depression.

    https://sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-a-review-paper-on-the-serotonin-theory-of-depression/…

    But the best thing is how these experts directly contradict each other.

    @joannamoncrieff @markhoro

    Will They Never Learn, with the constant Buck-Passing…

  10. Part Three – Peter Is Back In The Game…

    Our media and the medical profession simply don’t know what to do about yesterday’s emphatic news that supposed ‘antidepressant’ pills do not in fact do what it says on the packet.

    It could hardly be clearer. Yet the Times, which published this news prominently, also printed an astonishing editorial under the headline: ‘Antidepressant medication works, even if the mechanism is not yet clear.’

    It might as well have said: ‘It’s time to stop paying so much attention to scientists.’ It suggested that, despite this devastating study, SSRIs still worked better for most people than sugar-pill placebos. This is a poor argument.

    PETER HITCHENS: As a major study overturns decades of received wisdom that depression is caused by a lack of serotonin in the brain, the verdict of science is now clear – our unhealthy obsession with antidepressants must end

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-11033359/PETER-HITCHENS-unhealthy-obsession-antidepressants-end.html

    As Huxley described it: ‘All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects . . . the warm, the richly coloured, the infinitely friendly world of Soma-holiday. There is always Soma, delicious Soma, half a gram for a half-holiday, a gram for a weekend, two grams for a trip to the gorgeous East, three for a dark eternity on the moon.’

    Huxley meant it as a warning against a kind of willing, self-imposed slavery. We seem to have taken it not as a threat but as a promise.

    ‘Doctor, please! Some more of these! Outside the door, she took four more.’ …

  11. ‘It’s a Sellers Market’ and we who pay for the NHS are more and more blatantly -being sold a service which is too often causing more harm than good.
    The advice is ‘Discuss it with ‘your’ doctor. How cynical not only because the message conveyed by the review is deliberately confusing giving prescribers huge loopholes to carry on as usual and leaving thousands of people at rxisk In addition where in the NHS do people find ‘their’ GP. these days. Many GPs are taking advantage to leave in droves then work part time as locums often traipsing around from practice to practice where obviously they have no ‘doctor-patient’ relationship , no continuation of ‘care’ and actually in many cases GPs don’t want one. What they do want is the money

    Locum GPs offered £1,000 per day to fill shifts at ‘desperate’ practices
    Locum GPs offered £1k/day rates
    Costanza Potter
    19 July 2022

    Exclusive Locum GPs are being offered shifts with day rates of ‘in excess of’ £1,000,
    Locum agency Primary Care Medical Chambers (PCM Chambers) claimed these are the ‘highest locum rates in the country’.

    In an email sent to GPs last month and seen by Pulse, PCM Chambers said it has ‘in the last few days secured exclusive lucrative contracts to supply GPs to a number of practices across various locations in the UK’.

    It is ‘looking to identify GPs willing and interested in earning in excess of £1,000 per day’, giving them the opportunity to ‘become one of the highest earning GPs in the country’, it added.

    It said: ‘Naturally, this may require you to travel and work slightly further afield so contribution towards travel expense can be organised.’

    All the participating GP practices can offer ‘anything from ad hoc sessions to three-month block bookings at the enhanced rate’, it added.

    She said: ‘From a practice perspective, we find it really difficult to recruit locums and obviously there’s a shortage of GPs so I guess it’s a sign of the times and it’s a sellers’ market.

    Dr Thorpe said: ‘The trouble is with the locum rate being so high, nobody’s really committing to joining a practice full-time, so it accentuates the problems that we have in general practice, which then makes the locum rates higher and we’re in a vicious circle.’

    Rates of £1,000 per day have also been reported in Northern Ireland.

    The Irish News reported that the Northern Ireland Department of Health offered GPs the fee to provide cover for two daily sessions on dates in July and August at a rural Co Tyrone practice facing a staffing ‘crisis’.
    In 2018, an investigation from Scottish Labour found that locum GPs in Scotland were paid up to £1,400 a day in rural isles the previous year.

  12. Spreading the Good News, Simon Wessely – True to Form…

    Simon Wessely Retweeted

    Alexander Lisinski
    @a_lisinski

    I feel like I also have to comment on today’s paper, as I have not yet read a good take on it, including from the authors.

    https://twitter.com/a_lisinski/status/1549848277587267584

    Alexander Lisinski
    @a_lisinski

    PhD in psychopharmacology, University of Gothenburg. Medical intern, Sahlgrenska University Hospital

    Alexander Lisinski
    @a_lisinski

    Surely there is a connection, but at the same time most negative life events do not seem to lead to depression, and some get depression also in the absence of negative life events. Why so quick to replace one simplistic theory with another? Can we not do better? /End.

    https://twitter.com/a_lisinski

    Simon Wessely Retweeted

    Prof Linda Gask
    @suzypuss

    The orchestrated message against antidepressants is so very loud at the moment, I’m really wondering who are the beneficiaries. It’s certainly not helping those of us who suffer from it and have benefited from medication. We are just to the placebo effects. Fools.

    https://twitter.com/suzypuss/status/1550162341853073408

    Prof Linda Gask
    @suzypuss

    It’s so well organised, it could almost be a #BigPharma advertising campaign.

    The study that shatters explanations about the causes of depression. And shake the pharmaceutical industry

    https://atlantico.fr/article/decryptage/l-etude-qui-fait-voler-en-eclat-les-explications-sur-les-causes-de-la-depression-et-trembler-l-industrie-pharmaceutique-antidepresseurs-cerveau-serotonine-pression-desinformation-medicaments-joanna-moncrieff

    Very strange Company, Wessely associates himself with…

    “Wessely by Name, Wessely by Nature” …

  13. ‘CHERRY-PICKED’

    “starring Zoloft’s miserably depressed ovoid creature” …

    recovery&renewal Retweeted

    James Barnes
    @psychgeist52

    Psychotherapist⎮Writer⎮Visiting Lecturer Mental health, relational psychotherapy & philosophy Lived experience. He/him. Views my own.

    Professor of Psychiatry
    @joannamoncrieff
    and
    @Dr_Ellie

    share their differing perspectives on serotonin’s role in depression & antidepressants in light of the recent ‘chemical imbalance’ review. — aired on
    @thismorning

    “merely cherry-picked”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d65J2Kqv4xQ&feature=emb_logo

    Paul John Scott
    @pauljohnscott

    Author, MALCHARIST

    Watching the UK engage with the serotonin myth today I hope my old friend Jonathan Leo is taking a bow somewhere. It’s been 17 years since he wrote this with Jeff LaCasse.

    https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020392

    Serotonin and Depression: A Disconnect between the Advertisements and the Scientific Literature

    In the United States, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants are advertised directly to consumers [1]. These highly successful direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) campaigns have largely revolved around the claim that SSRIs correct a chemical imbalance caused by a lack of serotonin (see Tables 1 and 2). For instance, sertraline (Zoloft) was the sixth best-selling medication in the US in 2004, with over $3 billion in sales [2] likely due, at least in part, to the widely disseminated advertising campaign starring Zoloft’s miserably depressed ovoid creature. Research has demonstrated that class-wide SSRI advertising has expanded the size of the antidepressant market [3], and SSRIs are now among the best-selling drugs in medical practice [2].

    Pfizer’s television advertisement for the antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft) stated that depression is a serious medical condition that may be due to a chemical imbalance, and that “Zoloft works to correct this imbalance” [5]. Other SSRI advertising campaigns have also claimed that depression is linked with an imbalance of the neurotransmitter serotonin, and that SSRIs can correct this imbalance (see Table 2). The pertinent question is: are the claims made in SSRI advertising congruent with the scientific evidence?

    The incongruence between the scientific literature and the claims made in FDA-regulated SSRI advertisements is remarkable, and possibly unparalleled.

    Paul John Scott
    @pauljohnscott

    12h

    Fun fact: “SSRI” designation was developed by the marketing people for Paxil. Drug is not especially selective. (Healy, 2003)

    Malcharist – taut, racy thriller…

  14. I am struck by the media impact that the publication in Nature about low serotonin & depression is having in these few days. Many popular sites and magazines have been talking about it in articles that are then shared on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and others, where people comment. On a quick and limited look I have seen that psychotherapists and alternative therapists are particularly happy, while institutes of psychiatry are relaunching with articles and studies saying that in any case antidepressants work, some psychiatrists point out that one of the authors is “anti-psychiatry”. Patients tell their stories between drugs that saved their lives, drugs that were ineffective, serious adverse effects (such as PSSD); many are surprised, many feel deceived or mocked by doctors; others blame Big Pharma; others say it was known; many reflect and philosophize about the causes of depression in today’s times. It would be nice to have an investigative report on this web reaction by some famous TV show!

  15. I see this Prof Sam Vaknin fella has picked up the latest research from UCL as have others which is good. I’m used to feeling rather frazzled every day now he looks alot more focused than I am. I tend to lose my train of thought quite a bit these days. I have to be careful that I don’t put dishes in the washing machine and silly stuff like that. It’s a bit like the phenomenon when you go upstairs to get something and when you get there you forget what it was, only all the time.

    https://youtu.be/4hGleMOGO-8

  16. “This profession has misled people for so long about the need for antidepressants and now doctors don’t want to admit they got it wrong.”

    How can this woman completely miss the points raised in the study…

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11042071/DR-ELLIE-CANNON-awful-stomach-pain-sickness-often.html

    My verdict on the great antidepressant debate

    Like many GPs, I was concern by claims last week that antidepressants don’t work. It followed the publication of a review that concluded that depression isn’t caused by an imbalance in mood-boosting serotonin after all. Commentators leapt to say this was proof that common antidepressants – which boost serotonin – are useless.

    I appeared on ITV’s This Morning, alongside the review’s author Professor Joanna Moncrieff, to argue that people were jumping to the wrong conclusion.

    The fact that a lack of serotonin might not be the sole cause of depression doesn’t mean topping up levels can’t help treat it. I take paracetamol to help my headache – but headaches aren’t caused by a lack of paracetamol.

    We GPs are on the front line, treating mental illness in our clinics, day in day out.
    We see life-changing benefits in our patients who take the medicines. They don’t care how it works, as long as it does. And as long as clinical trials show they are safe and effective – which many do – I will keep prescribing them. 

    Antidepressants do work, insist top doctors as they hit back at bombshell study 

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11042143/Joanne-Moncrieff-University-College-London-disproves-link-low-serotonin-depression.html

    Top psychiatrists have rounded on the authors of a bombshell study which cast doubts on the effectiveness of antidepressants, labelling the findings ‘absurd’ and ‘grossly exaggerated.’

    Last week, researchers at University College London said they had disproved a theory dating back to the 1960s that depression is caused by low levels of serotonin, a chemical in the brain believed to control mood.

    ‘Through years of research we know that antidepressants work and save lives,’ says Professor David Nutt, head of the Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London.

    ‘This paper’s conclusions are absurd. The authors have grossly exaggerated the importance of serotonin levels. No one has ever said a serotonin imbalance is the sole cause of depression.’

    He adds that newer studies, not included in Prof Moncrieff’s review, that used more accurate testing methods, had found ‘decreased serotonin release capacity’ in people with depression. ‘To dismiss the serotonin hypothesis of depression at this point is premature,’ he said.

    Responding to the criticism, Prof Moncrieff said the aim of the study was not to argue that antidepressants don’t work but to question whether the pills should be prescribed in the first place.

    ‘People are told the reason they feel depressed is that there is something wrong with the chemistry in their brain and antidepressants could put it right. But if there’s no evidence there’s anything wrong with the brain’s chemistry, then that doesn’t sound like a sensible solution. This profession has misled people for so long about the need for antidepressants and now doctors don’t want to admit they got it wrong.’

    A Decisive Blow to the Serotonin Hypothesis of Depression

    https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/07/decisive-blow-serotonin-hypothesis-depression/

    Moncrieff explained in the press release:

    ‘Patients should not be told that depression is caused by low serotonin or by a chemical imbalance and they should not be led to believe that antidepressants work by targeting these hypothetical and unproven abnormalities. In particular, the idea that antidepressants work in the same way as insulin for diabetes is completely misleading. We do not understand what antidepressants are doing to the brain exactly, and giving people this sort of misinformation prevents them from making an informed decision about whether to take antidepressants or not.’

    Invited to extrapolate the review’s findings for Psychology Today, Moncrieff added:

    ‘Antidepressant use has reached epidemic proportions across the world and is still rising, especially among young people. Many people who take them suffer side effects and withdrawal problems that can be really severe and debilitating. A major driver of this situation is the false belief that depression is due to a chemical imbalance. It is high time to inform the public that this belief is not grounded in science.’”

    “They don’t care how it works, as long as it does.”

    Excuse me, we don’t like false representation…

  17. “But really this is irrelevant.”

    “It’s important to note that several of the academics involved in this latest research are so-called ‘critical- psychiatrists’.”

    “In other words, they are academics who disagree with the idea of prescribing medication for mental illness, so their conclusions are, perhaps, unsurprising.”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11044087/DR-MAX-PEMBERTON-Dont-believe-doomsters-happy-pills-really-work.html

    I would also like to discuss your stance on whether or not depression is caused by a lack of the brain chemical serotonin, if not, then what is depression caused by?

    You also claim that, “As an academic, Professor Healy doesn’t have to pick up the pieces. As a psychiatrist working in the NHS, I do.”

    Monday, May 04, 2015

    An Open Request For Dr Max Pemberton (TV Doctor)

    https://fiddaman.blogspot.com/2015/05/an-open-request-for-dr-max-pemberton-tv.html#.Yt5mRj3MI2w

    THE MIND DOCTOR MAX PEMBERTON: The REAL scandal about happy pills 

    By DR MAX PEMBERTON FOR THE DAILY MAIL

    PUBLISHED: 00:23, 2 May 2015 | UPDATED: 00:36, 2 May 2015

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3064856/THE-MIND-DOCTOR-MAX-PEMBERTON-REAL-scandal-happy-pills.html

    The other day it was the turn of renowned psychiatrist Professor David Healy to stick his oar in.

    In a scathing attack, he claimed that the scientific theory underpinning antidepressants — that depression is caused by a lack of the brain chemical serotonin — has no evidence to support it.

    The logical conclusion to his argument is that we shouldn’t be prescribing antidepressants at all.

    No, Max Pemberton, the logical conclusion is that you are as ignorant about antidepressants now as you were when you wrote this in 2015.

    Bob wrote the stunning post above showing some of those who died from antidepressants.

    Sticking Our Oar In, has become a necessity if only to ward off people like yourself.

    David, Bob and Oars have rather more experience to stick in…

    • “As an academic, Professor Healy doesn’t have to pick up the pieces. As a psychiatrist working in the NHS, I do” – really? When he was here in North Wales, Dr Healy was the very one who “picked up the pieces” left by the unsuccessful prescribing of others in the NHS!
      I remember one saying to our son ” Dr Healy? ah, yes, – he seems to be handed all the tricky cases that noone else understands doesn’t he!”
      An academic – yes, but one who practices what he preaches.

  18. FoxNews July 25, 2022: article on antidepressants with brief mention at PSSD and opportunity to comment

    https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-drugs-not-answer-every-human-problem

    In the same journal in 2020, researchers found that “post-SSRI sexual dysfunction is underrecognized and can be debilitating both psychologically and physically.” Well, that’s kind of a problem, too. If it steals your sex drive, maybe it’s stealing your soul. No, ignore it. Only cult members care.

    (..)

    So, even after you stop taking the drugs, you may be impotent, infertile, violent, but at least the drugs cure the chemical imbalance in your brain that causes your depression. That was the selling point. What a great piece of marketing. You’ve got a chemical imbalance in your brain. You need these drugs and so hundreds of millions of prescriptions every year for these drugs. Well, in what seemed like news to us, last week we learned that actually SSRIs don’t cure a chemical imbalance in your brain.

  19. I became violent when taking and withdrawing from Seroxat. I also attempted suicide. With each pill I took I could hear my children in my head saying, ‘daddy, don’t do it’.

    SSRIs like Seroxat do something that basically pauses your survival instinct, they also strip you of empathy.

    This is so difficult to prove in homicide cases because a lot of leg work has to be done, a jury of lay people also have to be convinced.

    Who could believe that a treatment prescribed by a GP could cause such a heinous act?

    Luckily, there are some great law firms out there who will do the leg work. Sadly, they are few and far between.

    This popped up in my feed about an hour ago. My first thoughts were obviously drawn to Marilyn’s case

    https://nypost.com/2022/07/28/connecticut-mom-killed-her-3-kids-in-murder-suicide-cops/

    ~ Fid

  20. I was introduced SSRI’S dangers while attending an alternative school for emotional disorders about four years before and only a few blocks away from this tragedy. This is the kind of tragedy that just didn’t happen in DuPage County but begins to make sense decades later in the context of our mental health system.

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