STUMBLE UPON

Kids Don't Need Suicidal Antidepressants

The recent story I posted about pushing antidepressants on kids in state foster care systems feels all the more tragic and pointless to me, based on new research that found these toxic drugs elevate their risk of suicide.
Researchers reviewed the medical records of some 5,500 Medicare patients (both adults and children) from all over the country who were treated for depression, then separated them into groups who had or hadn't received antidepressants. Among children (ages 6-18), antidepressants raised their risk of attempting suicide by an amazing 150 percent and their chances of dying by a factor of 15.
An interesting caveat: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), except for Zoloft, generally weren't the problem. The serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) Effexor, however, did raise the risk of suicide, along with tricyclic antidepressants.
All this bad news about antidepressants should make it perfectly clear that there is no safe one-pill-cure for depression. Yet, there are many safer things you can do to tame your emotions.
Get to the heart of your emotional pain by learning how to use a safe, effective energy psychology tool like the Emotional Freedom Technique.
Start an exercise program today.
Take a high quality fish or krill oil daily.

Archives of General Psychiatry, Vol. 63, No. 8, August 2006:


iVillage.com August 7, 2006