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Exposing Psychology, Exalting Christ |
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Reader Letter, 12/20/05 On Sunday, a popular Christian cardiologist with children who are my children's ages, who attended our fellowship, killed himself. I went to visit the family yesterday afternoon. When I got in to see his wife, she was sitting on the sofa next to the pastor… When she told me her husband had been under medical care for depression since the first of December, I couldn't stop crying. Last summer, a renowned pediatric cardiologist at the local Children's Hospital killed himself. If memory serves, he also was being treated for depression. In 1996, one of my grandmother's best friends killed herself. At the time, she was being treated for pain with Prozac. I've been reading the back issues of your newsletter, and saw where the FDA requires all of the antidepressants to include a black box warning label concerning the increased suicide risk for children and adolescents. WHAT ABOUT THE ADULTS! And, how ridiculous to give a medication to someone complaining of depression that has a warning on it for increased suicide risk?! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see a problem with that, does it? God rightly said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:" (Hosea 4:6). And it's so sad… Internet Our response: How sad that you have seen first-hand how antidepressants have caused adults you knew to kill themselves. This alone makes for a good way to start conversations with others about the dangers of antidepressants. In your email below, you ask, "What about the adults?" In our July 2005 newsletter (see http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0507_home.htm) we write: Last year, the FDA required a "black-box" label for all SSRI antidepressants, warning of the possibility of increased suicidal thoughts and behavior in children. Now, the FDA is investigating these reported effects in adults taking SSRI antidepressants. The FDA report (accessible here http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/advisory/SSRI200507.htm) states, "Adults being treated with antidepressant medications, particularly those being treated for depression, should be watched closely for worsening of depression and for increased suicidal thinking or behavior. Close watching may be especially important early in treatment, or when the dose is changed, either increased or decreased" (emphasis ours). Read the full article. http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/05/07/01.php We believe it's only a matter of time before the FDA will require a similar black box warning on all antidepressants for suicidal behavior in adults--but the ramifications of this are huge, since it would severely dent drug company revenues. They have a very powerful lobby in Washington that insists there is no connection between their drugs and the thousands of cases of suicidal and violent behavior reported by users. Drug companies have already lost millions due to fewer children being prescribed antidepressants since the black box warning for children went into effect in 2004. You say, "How ridiculous to give a medication to someone complaining of depression that has a warning on it for increased suicide risk?! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see a problem with that, does it?" That is the irony of these drugs. Most psychiatric drugs can cause the same behaviors their makers claim to cure. Antidepressants can cause worsening depression, anti-anxiety drugs (benzodiazepines) can cause worsening anxiety, and ADHD drugs (stimulants) can cause inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity! But you won't hear that from your doctor or the drug companies. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:" (Hosea 4:6). That is why Lisa has left the psychology field, and why we do this ministry--to give God's people the knowledge they need about psychology, psychiatry, and the biblical approach to counseling and mental health.
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