Sobering Facts on Anti-depressants

So many antidepressants are being prescribed these days that, well, it’s depressing. Even toddlers are now a user group.  Though their judicious use can be valuable, antidepressants are not well researched for long term use nor for the age groups now taking them. Further, dangerous side effects are not fully exposed, and financial conflicts of interest by scientists muddy the waters.

A reader sent some links to give an idea of the scope of the problem. You can judge for yourself:

• A powerful proponent of psychiatric drugs for children under investigation for risperidone research. Here
• Development of different movement disorders associated with antidepressant use. Here
• Comprehensive list of side-effects with links to their research abstracts. Here
• Use of Paxil in Tourette syndrome exacerbates tics. Here

The moral of the story: do your research and be informed when you make decisions on medications, and explore your natural alternatives.