| Looking at the News the past several weeks, it seems like every single mental health facility, psychologist and psychiatrist in the country is advertising their services for people with anxiety about the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, the number of Americans on drugs used to treat mental trauma has substantially increased since 2001; more than one?in?five adults was on at least one of these drugs in 2010, up 22 percent from ten years earlier. We can only suppose that has continued to increase into present time; the latest data from 2017 shows over 32 million Americans taking anti-anxiety drugs. Anti-Anxiety Drugs Anti-anxiety drugs can cause hallucinations, delusional thinking, confusions, aggression, violence, hostility, agitation, irritability, depression and suicidal thinking. They are also some of the most difficult drugs to withdraw from. There have been 39 warnings from 8 countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States) and the European Union warning that anti-anxiety drugs cause harmful side effects. There are 79 studies from 19 countries (Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom and United States) showing that anti-anxiety drugs cause harmful side effects. Many people who have taken psychiatric drugs have found out the withdrawal effects of the drugs can persist for months, even years after they stop taking them. No one should attempt withdrawal from psychiatric drugs without a doctor’s supervision due to the potential for serious withdrawal symptoms. Recommendations CCHR recommends a full, searching medical examination by a non-psychiatric health care professional, with appropriate clinical tests, to determine if there are undetected and untreated medical conditions that could be causing or contributing to mental distress. It has been known for a long time that certain kinds of infections are known to cause mental symptoms, but they are rarely considered during psychiatric examinations and diagnosis. Be very wary of any psychiatrist or psychologist who claims you have a mental illness when you are suffering from some infectious disease. This information is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease; mental symptoms can be caused by many different conditions, so see a qualified health care practitioner (not a psychiatrist) who can perform legitimate clinical tests. Be prudent, lawful, observant, helpful — basically just be the good people you know you should be anyway! Download and read “The Role of Infections in Mental Illness” by Frank Strick here. |
