Two shootings, one thing in common: antidepressants

Group finds antidepressant Seroxat poses sevenfold increase in suicide risk

 

European Medicines Agency declares high risk of suicide and violent behavior in under-18s taking antidepressants

IThe European Medicines Agency (EMA, equivalent to the U.S. FDA) has ordered all antidepressants to carry a warning label stating an increased risk of suicidal and violent behavior in under-18s taking the drug. The FDA issued a similar order in late 2004. The EMA also added warnings about an increase in hostility and "emotional lability" for children prescribed Strattera, an antidepressant-like drug used to treat ADHD. See the full article here.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=23446

 

FDA requires suicide warning label on ADHD drug Straterra

The FDA is now requiring Eli Lilly to add a black-box warning label—the FDA’s most serious label classification—to their ADHD drug Straterra, warning of possible suicidal behavior in children taking the drug. The FDA recommends children on the drug be monitored for "agitation, irritability, suicidal thinking or behaviors, and unusual changes in behavior, especially during the initial few months of therapy or when the dose is changed." Straterra and Cylert have already been linked to liver damage, and its ADHD cousin Adderall to heart problems. Read the full article here. 

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050929/fda_strattera_warning.html?.v=2

 

Massive study finds no evidence that ADHD drugs are safe or help school performance

The Drug Effectiveness Review Project at Oregon State University has just completed the most comprehensive study to date (2,287 studies reviewed) on the safety and efficacy of ADHD drugs, including Adderall, Concerta, Strattera, Ritalin, Focalin, Cylert, Provigil, and others. Their findings? There is no evidence of these drugs’ long term safety; no evidence that they improve academic performance, behavior, or social achievements; no evidence that ADHD drugs help adults; and perhaps most disturbing, no clear understanding of how the drugs work in the first place. See the full report here.

http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/05/09/13a.php

 

Is TeenScreen in your town?

A few months ago, we told you about TeenScreen, a suicide screening survey marketed to teens in order to diagnose them with mental disorders and refer them to treatment (read drugs). See http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0507_Teenscreen%20summary.htm for background on TeenScreen. With the surge in warnings of suicide and violent behavior in children taking antidepressants and stimulants, a suicide prevention screening that results in more children on suicide-inducing drugs should be illegal. We have located a list of schools that are implementing mental health screening using the TeenScreen program. Click here to see if a school in your area is on the list: http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0510_teenscreensites.htm. 

If you know of a school using TeenScreen that is not on this list, please email us at lisaandryan@psychologydebunked.com.

To hear what Concerned Women of America thinks about TeenScreen, click here: http://www.cwalac.org/article_260.shtml

To hear us speak on TeenScreen and other mental health screening initiatives, click here: http://www.psychologydebunked.com/otherresources.htm

 

Q&A: What is the biblical diagnosis of bipolar disorder?

Lately we have received many questions about bipolar disorder, formerly called manic-depressive disorder. The DSM-IV, psychology’s bible, describes bipolar disorder as experiencing alternating periods of extreme highs and extreme lows, two weeks or more at a time. In this Q&A, we answer the question, "What is the biblical diagnosis of bipolar disorder?"

http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0510_Q&A.htm

 

Letters

A Christian counselor recommended medication for this reader diagnosed with bipolar disorder. But she found that Christ was enough to help her live a "productive and stable life." Read her story.

http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0510_letters.htm

 

We Want to Hear From You! - mailto:lisaandryan@psychologydebunked.com FREE BIBLICAL COUNSELING - Do you get charged for a church service, or a prayer request? Of course not! Then why should you have to pay for help that Jesus said should be free (Matthew 10:8)? If you need biblical advice, let us know your situation and we will respond for free. Do you have a question relating to secular or "Christian" psychology, psychiatric medications, or biblical counseling? Ask us. Would you like us to speak about psychology at your church, a local event, or a media outlet? Please contact us to book a date. Have you recently discovered a web site or news article that would be of interest to us and our readers? Send us the link, and we may include it in future newsletters. Note: We do not necessarily agree with or endorse all of the material on websites to which we link.

___________________________________________