Key Takeaways
1. Antidepressants can induce severe psychosis and self-harm in healthy individuals.
While going through a divorce I took a pill (escitalopram, or Lexapro as it’s known in the US) and went into a four-day toxic delirium.
Sudden, terrifying onset. The author, Katinka Blackford Newman, experienced a rapid and terrifying descent into psychosis after taking her first dose of escitalopram (Lexapro) for stress related to her divorce. Within hours, she developed wild hallucinations, believed she had harmed her children, and self-lacerated her arm with a knife, all while feeling disconnected from reality. This was not a pre-existing mental illness but a direct, acute reaction to the medication.
Delusional state. During this drug-induced delirium, Katinka believed she was in a video game or a dream, making her capable of actions she would never normally contemplate. She hallucinated being filmed for a national TV show about "the worst mother in the world" and was convinced her ex-husband was part of a plot to poison her. This profound detachment from reality highlights the extreme mental alteration caused by the drug.
Unforeseen violence. Her experience underscores the book's central claim: antidepressants can cause ordinary people with no history of mental illness or violence to suddenly want to self-harm or harm others. This is a stark contrast to the common perception of these drugs as benign mood stabilizers, revealing a hidden, dangerous potential.
2. The "chemical imbalance" theory of depression is a pharmaceutical marketing myth.
The idea that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance, or low serotonin, is not true: it is, in fact, a myth.
Marketing, not science. The widely accepted notion that depression stems from a "chemical imbalance" or low serotonin levels in the brain is not scientifically proven. Instead, this theory originated from the pharmaceutical industry as a marketing strategy to sell SSRI antidepressants, creating a simplified narrative that resonated with the public.
Lack of scientific evidence. Scientists confirm that serotonin levels cannot be accurately measured in a living brain, and there is no scientific proof that depressed individuals have inherently different serotonin levels than anyone else. Experts like Professor Tim Kendall describe the serotonin theory as "complete bunkum," emphasizing its role in product promotion rather than medical fact.
Misleading public perception. Despite expert consensus, this myth persists in popular consciousness, leading many to believe that antidepressants merely "top up" serotonin like insulin for diabetics. This misconception allows drug companies to frame complex emotional states as simple biological deficiencies requiring medication, even when some antidepressants can actually lower serotonin.
3. Akathisia, a severe inner restlessness, is a critical and dangerous drug side effect.
Akathisia, or acathisia (from Greek kathízein – ‘to sit’, a- indicating negation or absence, lit. ‘inability to sit’) is a movement disorder characterised by a feeling of inner restlessness and a compelling need to be in constant motion, as well as by actions such as rocking while standing or sitting, lifting the feet as if marching on the spot, and crossing and uncrossing the legs while sitting.
Excruciating discomfort. Akathisia is an agonizing side effect of antidepressant poisoning, characterized by an unbearable inner restlessness and an inability to stay still. This condition can range from disquiet to excruciating discomfort, often described as feeling like a "demented animal" or having skin that feels like it's crawling.
Lethal danger. The author emphasizes that akathisia is a sign of drug toxicity and a critical warning sign. If someone exhibits this symptom, they are in lethal danger of harming themselves or others and should immediately stop the medication. This symptom is frequently associated with:
- Antipsychotics (e.g., Haloperidol, Risperidone)
- SSRIs (e.g., Fluoxetine, Paroxetine, Citalopram)
- Other antidepressants (e.g., Venlafaxine, Mirtazapine)
Driver of suicide and violence. Numerous tragic cases, including Stewart Dolin's suicide and the Sierre bus crash, are linked to akathisia. This intense agitation can drive individuals with no prior history of self-harm or violence to sudden, inexplicable acts, often with no rationale or memory of the event.
4. Drug-induced illness is frequently misdiagnosed as a worsening mental disorder.
After four days of being delusional, I was better once I came off the Lexapro (escitalopram). However, the doctors didn’t realise it was the pill that made me ill and so they diagnosed psychotic depression, kept me in hospital and put me on a lot more drugs – five altogether, not just antidepressants but also antipsychotics.
Compounding the problem. After her initial psychotic episode, Katinka was misdiagnosed with "psychotic depression" by doctors who failed to recognize her symptoms as an adverse drug reaction. This led to her being prescribed a cocktail of five powerful psychiatric drugs, including antipsychotics, which exacerbated her condition and prolonged her suffering for a year.
Cycle of worsening symptoms. This pattern of misdiagnosis is common: when patients react badly to initial medication, their symptoms are often interpreted as a worsening mental illness, leading to more prescriptions. This creates a vicious cycle where the drugs themselves cause the illness, which is then "treated" with more of the same toxic substances.
- Claire's son: Asperger's, Prozac, psychosis, schizophrenia diagnosis, permanent brain damage from antipsychotics.
- O'Shea McCarthy: Antibiotic reaction, panic attacks, depression, bipolar diagnosis, cocktail of drugs, tragic death.
Lack of recognition. Despite clear signs of drug toxicity like akathisia, emotional blunting, and neurological damage, many medical professionals, even top psychiatrists, fail to identify these as adverse drug reactions. This systemic oversight traps patients in a cycle of medication that causes, rather than cures, their suffering.
5. Antidepressants are linked to increased risks of suicide and violence, often concealed.
Antidepressant drugs can cause ordinary people with no history of suicide, mental illness or violence to suddenly, and inexplicably, want to self-harm, or even kill themselves or other people.
Hidden dangers. The book presents compelling evidence that antidepressants can trigger suicidal and homicidal ideation, even in individuals with no prior history. Packaging inserts list side effects like suicidal thoughts, psychosis, and hallucinations, but these risks are often downplayed or concealed by drug companies.
- Joseph T. Wesbecker: Mass shooting after taking Prozac.
- William Forsyth: Stabbed wife, then self-impaled after Prozac.
- Donald Schell: Killed family after taking Seroxat.
- Christopher Pittman: 12-year-old killed grandparents on Zoloft.
- James Holmes: "Batman killer" withdrawing from Zoloft.
Specific patterns of harm. When adverse reactions occur, they often manifest in distinct ways:
- A switch in the brain causing both violence and suicidality.
- Akathisia, driving intense agitation.
- Emotional numbing and disinhibition, leading to a loss of empathy.
- Hallucinations, often involving death, knives, or voices commanding harm.
These patterns are consistently observed across numerous cases, suggesting a direct drug effect.
Tragic consequences. The author highlights that many mass killings and suicides, previously attributed to mental illness, may in fact be drug-induced. These cases often involve individuals with no prior history of violence, who show no remorse until they are off the medication, and frequently have no recollection of their actions.
6. Pharmaceutical companies manipulate research and hide negative trial data.
The most alarming thing is that these drugs are only tested for 6–8 weeks and the drug companies themselves largely do this. They only need to produce two positive trials to get their drugs approved by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and are under no obligation to report the trials that don’t prove positive or indeed any adverse effects that come about.
Biased trials. Drug companies conduct their own trials, which are typically short-term (6-8 weeks), and are only required to submit two "positive" trials for FDA approval. They can run numerous trials and selectively publish only the favorable results, effectively burying any negative or inconclusive findings. This practice distorts the perceived efficacy and safety of the drugs.
Concealed evidence. Internal documents and whistleblowers have revealed deliberate efforts to hide damaging evidence. For example, Eli Lilly suppressed data showing Prozac caused agitation in 38% of patients and withheld information about suicide attempts in their trials. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) was fined billions for concealing data linking Seroxat to suicide and birth defects.
Ghostwriting and influence. Pharmaceutical companies engage in ghostwriting articles for medical journals, paying psychiatrists to attach their names to pieces that promote drugs while downplaying risks. This widespread practice, affecting 50-100% of drug articles, corrupts medical literature and misinforms doctors and the public.
7. Withdrawal from psychiatric medication can be agonizing and debilitating.
After four weeks of agonising withdrawal I was 100 per cent better. I got a job, a house, and started training for a half marathon – all within weeks.
Severe physical and mental distress. The author's recovery began only after she was taken off all five psychiatric drugs "cold turkey" at an NHS hospital. This led to four weeks of agonizing withdrawal symptoms, including:
- Shaking, writhing in agony
- Inability to sleep, eat, or think
- Uncontrollable scratching
- Hallucinations and difficulty standing
- Intense panic and terror
Heroin-like withdrawal. Experts compare antidepressant withdrawal to heroin withdrawal, highlighting its extreme severity. Many individuals attempting to taper off these drugs experience such debilitating symptoms that they are forced to resume medication, leading to long-term dependence.
Long-term effects. Even after successful withdrawal, some individuals suffer persistent, long-term side effects, such as chronic nerve pain, tinnitus, and extreme agitation, as experienced by Luke Montagu. This underscores that the impact of these drugs can extend far beyond the period of active use.
8. The medicalization of normal human experiences is a growing, profit-driven problem.
In 1950, 1 in 100 people had a mental illness, now it’s 1 in 4.
Expanding definitions of illness. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), psychiatry's "bible," has expanded from around 100 disorders in 1952 to over 300 today. This expansion includes "conditions" that cynics argue are normal variations of human behavior, such as:
- Social Anxiety Phobia (shyness)
- General Anxiety Disorder (worrying about everyday things)
- Caffeine Withdrawal Disorder
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder (average two-year-old behavior)
Profit motive. This proliferation of diagnoses is seen by critics as a way to sell more drugs, transforming "painful life experiences" into medical illnesses that only pharmaceuticals can cure. Professor Dinesh Bhugra, President of the World Psychiatric Association, expresses concern about drug companies profiting from convincing people they are sick.
Impact on children. The medicalization trend extends to children, with diagnoses like bipolar disorder in children rising 35-fold in the US. Antidepressants are prescribed for conditions like shyness and pre-exam nerves, despite studies showing they are no more effective than placebos in children and adolescents, and can double the risk of suicide.
9. Long-term psychiatric drug use can cause irreversible neurological damage.
Because the result of this altered brain chemistry can be neurological damage and a whole host of side effects including Parkinsonism, agitation, muscle spasm and tics.
Brain's reaction to chemicals. When drugs artificially boost serotonin, they disrupt the brain's delicate chemical balance, leading to "Prozac backlash" and artificially induced fluctuations of various neurotransmitters. This can result in long-term neurological damage.
Permanent physical manifestations. The author experienced severe physical symptoms after a year on multiple drugs, including:
- Involuntary movements (Parkinsonism)
- Dribbling and slurred speech
- Muscle spasms and tics
- Emotional blunting (loss of empathy)
These are recognized side effects of antipsychotic and antidepressant medication, sometimes leading to permanent conditions like tardive dyskinesia.
Torture-like effects. The book notes the irony that some antipsychotics, like haloperidol, were condemned by the World Psychiatric Association in 1977 for their use in torturing Soviet dissidents. The author's experience of being administered similar drugs in a private hospital highlights the severe, debilitating effects these medications can have on the brain and body.
10. Genetic predispositions can make individuals highly vulnerable to drug toxicity.
Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) is the family of genes responsible for creating the enzymes essential to digest and break down antidepressants. Selma is of the view that when there are certain genetic mutations on any of the two alleles of one or several of these genes, the person is unable to produce the enzymes needed to digest the drug and the result is that the body becomes poisoned.
Pharmacogenetics and drug metabolism. Forensic medical investigator Selma Eikelenboom suggests that genetic polymorphisms in the Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) gene family can impair an individual's ability to metabolize antidepressants and other medications. This genetic intolerance leads to drug accumulation and acute toxicity, even at standard doses.
Family history of adverse reactions. The author discovers a potential genetic link to drug intolerance within her own family. Her niece had a severe reaction to an anxiety pill, and Katinka suspects her father's mysterious illness and suicide, which occurred after he was prescribed medication, might also have been drug-induced due to similar genetic factors.
Explaining extreme reactions. This genetic insight offers a plausible explanation for why some individuals experience extreme, life-threatening reactions to psychiatric drugs while others do not. Selma Eikelenboom's work with cases like James Holmes, who had four defective genes, suggests that genetic testing could identify vulnerable individuals before medication is prescribed.
11. Personal advocacy and sharing stories are vital to expose drug dangers.
We knew it intuitively, but we understood it better when we started reading up on the subject together. One of the first books we came across was Dying for a Cure by an Australian called Rebekah Beddoe.
Breaking the silence. The author's journey of recovery led her and her children to become passionate advocates, sharing their story to raise awareness. They found solace and understanding in the experiences of others, like Rebekah Beddoe, whose book "Dying for a Cure" mirrored Katinka's own descent into drug-induced madness and subsequent recovery.
Empowering others. By publicizing her story in the Daily Mail and through a planned documentary, Katinka aims to reach a wider audience, giving a voice to countless individuals whose lives have been "stolen" by psychiatric drugs. She highlights the importance of listening to personal testimonies, which often go unheard or are dismissed as anecdotes.
Challenging disbelief. Despite facing disbelief from friends, family, and medical professionals, Katinka persists in her mission. She believes that even if only one person pauses before taking a powerful pill, her efforts are worthwhile, emphasizing that the truth about these drugs needs to be widely understood.
12. True healing requires confronting problems, not relying on "magic pills."
“There’s no magic pill,” I tell her. “You have to face up to your problems.”
The illusion of easy solutions. The author's ultimate realization, after a year of drug-induced suffering, is that there is no "magic pill" to solve life's problems. Her initial attempt to escape the pain of divorce and selling her home with medication only led to a far worse ordeal.
Value of natural emotions. Katinka now understands that anxiety, sleepless nights, and sadness are not illnesses to be quelled, but invaluable signals that something is wrong. These emotions are "the keys to our happiness," prompting individuals to confront and resolve their challenges rather than numbing them with drugs.
Personal responsibility and resilience. Her recovery was not due to a new medication but to stopping all drugs and actively rebuilding her life. She emphasizes that true healing comes from within, through facing difficulties head-on, fostering resilience, and reconnecting with human emotions and relationships.
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