Before the late nineteen eighties, mass shootings and acts of senseless violence were relatively unheard of. Prozac, the most well known SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) antidepressant, was not yet on the market. When Prozac did arrive, it was marketed as a panacea for depression which resulted in huge profits for its manufacturer Eli Lilly. Of course other drug companies had to create their own cash cow and followed suit by marketing their own SSRI antidepressants.
Subsequently, mass shootings and other violent incidents started to be reported. More often than not, the common denominator was that the shooters were on an antidepressant, or withdrawing from one. This is not about an isolated incident or two but numerous shootings. The question is, during the past twenty years is the use of antidepressants here a coincidence or a causation?
There have been too many mass shootings for it just to be a coincidence. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed twelve students and a teacher at Columbine High School. Eric was on Luvox, an antidepressant. The Virginia Tech shooter killed thirty-two people and he was on an antidepressant. While withdrawing from Prozac, Kip Kinkel murdered his mother and stepmother. He then shot twenty-two classmates and killed two. Jason Hoffman wounded five at his high school while he was on Effexor, also an antidepressant. James Holmes opened fire in a Colorado movie theater this past summer and killed twelve people and wounded fifty-eight. He was under the care of a psychiatrist but no information has been released as to what drug he must have been on.
Psychiatrists generally will tell you that these people were mentally ill and they weren’t treated in time or didn’t get enough help to prevent the tragedy. However, Dr. Peter Breggin, who is a psychiatrist, stated that depression rarely leads to violence and that it’s only since the SSRI’s came on the market that such mass shootings have taken place.
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Ohh ohh liberal alert
ReplyDeleteDepression does lead to violence, but usually only self-violence.
ReplyDeleteHaving been duped into believing that lexepro would help me with my depression it took me almost a year to wean myself off the drug. Cold turkey is not how you do it and its not like quiting smoking. You have to reduce dosage until its almost zero and even then you still have to cut it off at some point. The entire time my head did not feel right at all and I cant explain it but it was not easy and it was not pleasant. My family did not appreciate the effects either. Taking that drug was possibly one of the worst decisions I had ever made.
ReplyDeleteWhat shocked me is that there was no mention from my doctor that this would happen. None at all. No mention of becoming physically addicted. No mention of the horrible withdrawal and weaning process. Ever since then I have taken a much different view of "Doctors". We really do put an overwhelming amount of trust in these people. They have become little more than fronts for big pharma and they operate much like our politicians do with all the money they and influence being thrown at them.
Thank you for your response. The same thing happened to me. Unfortunately, when I tried to tell my doctor about my withdrawal symptoms, he pretty much called me a liar.
DeleteCymbalta was a nightmare to wean off. It took over six months for the freaky effects to wear off. I was given the medication as an adjunct to non-narcotic pain relievers. The weirdness over the year I took it was progressively worse. There's a big class action lawsuit over the side effects and lingering aftereffects.
ReplyDeleteThink twice before you let any doctor put you on SSRIs or similar drugs. And think three times before you let them give them to kids and teens.