I’m so glad you’re speaking up about this. I’ve never been on an antidepressant. But, my OB/GYN prescribed me one after a devastating pregnancy loss. I actually questioned him and said that it was normal to feel this way after losing a child. He said, “well you have it just in case.” In case of what? I threw it away. It occurred to me then that many, many doctors are prescribing these mind altering drugs “just in case” instead of having any compassion for grief, sadness and anxiety... all perfectly normal human emotions. It was almost as if he couldn’t deal with my grief, so he prescribed medication. I dealt with my grief, leaning on my Faith. Something else this society has degraded to it’s own detriment.
I came across this type of research (and your work & podcast interviews) while working on a documentary linking health & infrastructure. I knew it'd get people fired up to say walking & bicycling might be your best treatment for anxiety & depression, but wow did I underestimate the REEEEEs online.
After I wrote that piece, I listened to your interview with Dr. Ruby and felt so vindicated. Sometimes, a body feels quite alone in their opinions when their opinions go against mainstream thought. In addition to watching extended family member suffer through the psychiatric system, my immediate family suffered in a different way: When mystery illnesses couldn't be solved, we were referred to psychiatrists. This happened to my dad prior to his systemic lupus erythematosis diagnosis and prior my own diagnosis with a stealth strep infection that brought about an extreme personality change when I was about eight years old. I am so grateful my parents listened to their guts, didn't ignore the symptoms, and pushed for answers. Without their advocacy, my dad would have died of his illness and I would probably be a chronic psychiatric patient.
This is very well written and informative, and valuable for providers to send to mental health clients when there is no time or ability to conduct a more thorough informed consent. Great article.
Jun 22, 2023·edited Jun 22, 2023Liked by Dr. Roger McFillin
My young adult daughter was diagnosed in her teens with Nonverbal Learning Disorder. As a result of her problems, she has social anxiety, agoraphobia, and panic disorder. She's been on a couple of different SSRIs over the years, and they certainly helped the panic disorder, but she's still very anxious and has gained a significant amount of weight, which I really worry about. Also, I believe she's developed some verbal tics over the last couple of years. She's seen a psychiatrist (no longer seeing her), but all she did at every visit was fill the prescription and ask for my credit card. My daughter would really like to gradually get off the SSRI she's on, but she's always resistant to things that could really help her, such as exercise and prayer and meditation. She is also on her phone all the time--she says it helps quell her anxiety. I feel all the mental health and health care professionals she's seen over the years have not helped her but only added to her problems, since her weight is so unhealthy. I'm very discouraged.
Thank you for raising much needed awareness about the broad and possibly permanent damage from SSRIs. Most patients do not bother to read the safety literature about the drugs they are taking and most prescribers do not take the time to provide this information so the patients are not providing informed consent. This information is readily available online and there are numerous "post marketing reports" about health concerns that become known 'after' the drugs have been released to the public. This underscores the limited safety risk information available from studies which are intentionally short term so most adverse side effects are not yet known.
I’m so glad you’re speaking up about this. I’ve never been on an antidepressant. But, my OB/GYN prescribed me one after a devastating pregnancy loss. I actually questioned him and said that it was normal to feel this way after losing a child. He said, “well you have it just in case.” In case of what? I threw it away. It occurred to me then that many, many doctors are prescribing these mind altering drugs “just in case” instead of having any compassion for grief, sadness and anxiety... all perfectly normal human emotions. It was almost as if he couldn’t deal with my grief, so he prescribed medication. I dealt with my grief, leaning on my Faith. Something else this society has degraded to it’s own detriment.
I came across this type of research (and your work & podcast interviews) while working on a documentary linking health & infrastructure. I knew it'd get people fired up to say walking & bicycling might be your best treatment for anxiety & depression, but wow did I underestimate the REEEEEs online.
Thanks for being on Substack!
Thank you for the work you're doing! I recently quoted you in one of my own Substack posts, and recommended you to my followers here: https://amandabarber.substack.com/p/our-lives-under-sedation
After I wrote that piece, I listened to your interview with Dr. Ruby and felt so vindicated. Sometimes, a body feels quite alone in their opinions when their opinions go against mainstream thought. In addition to watching extended family member suffer through the psychiatric system, my immediate family suffered in a different way: When mystery illnesses couldn't be solved, we were referred to psychiatrists. This happened to my dad prior to his systemic lupus erythematosis diagnosis and prior my own diagnosis with a stealth strep infection that brought about an extreme personality change when I was about eight years old. I am so grateful my parents listened to their guts, didn't ignore the symptoms, and pushed for answers. Without their advocacy, my dad would have died of his illness and I would probably be a chronic psychiatric patient.
This is very well written and informative, and valuable for providers to send to mental health clients when there is no time or ability to conduct a more thorough informed consent. Great article.
My young adult daughter was diagnosed in her teens with Nonverbal Learning Disorder. As a result of her problems, she has social anxiety, agoraphobia, and panic disorder. She's been on a couple of different SSRIs over the years, and they certainly helped the panic disorder, but she's still very anxious and has gained a significant amount of weight, which I really worry about. Also, I believe she's developed some verbal tics over the last couple of years. She's seen a psychiatrist (no longer seeing her), but all she did at every visit was fill the prescription and ask for my credit card. My daughter would really like to gradually get off the SSRI she's on, but she's always resistant to things that could really help her, such as exercise and prayer and meditation. She is also on her phone all the time--she says it helps quell her anxiety. I feel all the mental health and health care professionals she's seen over the years have not helped her but only added to her problems, since her weight is so unhealthy. I'm very discouraged.
Thank you for raising much needed awareness about the broad and possibly permanent damage from SSRIs. Most patients do not bother to read the safety literature about the drugs they are taking and most prescribers do not take the time to provide this information so the patients are not providing informed consent. This information is readily available online and there are numerous "post marketing reports" about health concerns that become known 'after' the drugs have been released to the public. This underscores the limited safety risk information available from studies which are intentionally short term so most adverse side effects are not yet known.