A new report (“St. Louis Regional Mental Health Data Report“, May, 2019) outlines mental health trends in the St. Louis, Missouri region.
The St. Louis County Department of Public Health and the City of St. Louis Department of Health prepared the report for System of Care St. Louis Region.
One significant finding is that “…intentional self-harm (i.e., suicide) was the sixth leading cause of death for children under 18 years of age and the third leading cause of death for ages 18 to 24 years in St. Louis County, and it is the tenth leading cause of death for all age groups in both the United States and the state of Missouri.”
Unfortunately, the report fails to notice that there is overwhelming evidence that psychiatric drugs cause suicide and violence.
While there is never one simple explanation for what drives a human being to commit such unspeakable acts of violence, all too often one common denominator has surfaced in hundreds of cases—-prescribed psychiatric drugs which are documented to cause mania, psychosis, violence, suicide and in some cases, homicidal ideation. To date, there has been no federal investigation of the link between psychiatric drugs and acts of suicide and violence.
Mental disorder is not a predictor of aggressive behavior, but rather the adverse effects of the drugs prescribed to treat it. Drug proponents argue that there are many shootings and acts of violence that have not been correlated to psychiatric (psychotropic) drugs, but that is exactly the point. It has neither been confirmed nor refuted, as law enforcement is not required to investigate or report on prescribed drugs linked to suicide and violence, and media rarely pose the question.
Those with a vested, financial interest will continue to champion the use of such drugs, as the psychiatric-pharmaceutical drug industry rakes in an average of $35 billion a year in sales in the U.S. alone. It is that vested financial interest which may be preventing a thorough investigation of the link between prescription psychoactive drugs and increased suicide and violence, especially considering that there have been calls for such investigations since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999.
The theory that a person is violent because he “stopped taking his medication” is misleading and omits the fact that it is more likely to be the withdrawal from a drug of dependence that is experienced—-not the return of the person’s “untreated mental illness.” Numerous studies and expert opinions support this. Psychotropic drug withdrawal destroys mental faculties and creates impulsivity.
It is long past time that government agencies answered that call with an investigation. Legislative hearings should be held to fully investigate the correlation between psychiatric treatment and violence and suicide. None can argue against the fact that disclosure of the facts would serve the public interest.
Click here for more information about the link between suicide, violence, and psychiatric drugs.
