Antidepressents and Violent Behavior

As we wait to hear the final profile on the killer of the recent Connecticut murders, there has been the buzz of mental illness whispered in various news outlets.  Whether or not the shooter was on medication for treatment will hopefully be revealed to the public soon.

There are numerous links to violent and aberrant behavior for those taking SSRI drugs for "mental illness".

Disclaimer:  

I am not supposing that anyone who commits hideous crimes has an excuse...nor can claim "the devil made me do it".  Mental illness in our judicial system has routinely been abused by criminals to evade proper punishment. 

However, the causative link between the usage of these drugs and violent crimes in unmistakable.  What this means for potential "crazy" shooters, who knows?  Perhaps background checks done on anyone  taking mind altering prescription medication (course can always be attained through black markets).  Gun laws could include holding the pharmaceutical industry accountable.  If you take SSRI type drugs...no gun...or better yet Pharma could pay for damages to the families of harmed loved ones!  Course we know this would create a longer government arm of limited freedoms for responsible gun owners which, clearly is NOT the answer.  

Here is a database listing many egregious crimes committed while on mind altering drugs.  When will the media finally make this a story?

    
SSRI Stories
Antidepressant Nightmares
"We Speak for the Dead to Protect the Living"

"This website is a collection of 4,800+ news stories with the full media article available, mainly criminal in nature, that have appeared in the media (newspapers, TV, scientific journals)  or that were part of FDA testimony in either 1991, 2004 or 2006, in which antidepressants are mentioned. 

This web site focuses on the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), of which Prozac (fluoxetine) was the first.  Other SSRIs are Zoloft (sertraline), Paxil (paroxetine) (known in the UK as Seroxat), Celexa (citalopam),  Lexapro (escitalopram), and Luvox (fluvoxamine).  Other newer antidepressants included in this list are Remeron (mirtazapine), Anafranil (clomipramine) and the SNRIs Effexor (venlafaxine), Cymbalta (duloxetine) and Pristiq (desvenlafaxine) as well as the dopamine reuptake inhibitor antidepressant Wellbutrin (bupropion) (also marketed as Zyban).

Although SSRI Stories only features cases which have appeared in the media, starting March 2012 there will be a Website:  http://www.rxisk.org/ which will allow personal stories to appear in a different Website from SSRI Stories.  This is the work of Dr. David Healy  http://davidhealy.org/welcome-to-data-based-medicine "

"Antidepressants have been recognized as potential inducers of mania and psychosis since their introduction in the 1950s.  Klein and Fink¹ described psychosis as an adverse effect of the older tricyclic antidepressant imipramine. Since the introduction of Prozac in December, 1987, there has been a massive increase in the number of people taking antidepressants. Preda and Bowers² reported that over 200,000 people a year in the U.S. enter a hospital with antidepressant-associated mania and/or psychosis. The subsequent harm from this prescribing can be seen in these 4,800+ stories.

Before the introduction of Prozac in Dec. 1987, less than one percent of the population in the U.S. was diagnosed with bipolar disorder – also known as manic depression.  Now, with the widespread prescribing of antidepressants, the percent of the population in the United States that is diagnosed with bipolar disorder (swing from depression to mania or vice versa) has risen to 4.4%³ .  This is almost one out of every 23 people in the U.S."

The Physicians' Desk Reference The Physicians' Desk Reference lists the following adverse reactions (side effects) to antidepressants among a host of other physical and neuropsychiatric effects.  None of these adverse reactions (side effects) is listed as Rare.  They are all listed as either Frequent or as Infrequent:

Manic Reaction (Mania, e.g., Kleptomania, Pyromania, Dipsomania, Nymphomania) Hypomania (e.g., poor judgment, over spending, impulsivity, etc.) Abnormal Thinking Hallucinations Personality Disorder Amnesia Agitation Psychosis Abnormal Dreams

Emotional Lability (Or Instability) Alcohol Abuse and/or Craving Hostility Paranoid Reactions Confusion Delusions Sleep Disorders Akathisia (Severe Inner Restlessness) Discontinuation (Withdrawal) Syndrome Impulsivity

http://ssristories.com/index.html