Antipsychotics are dangerous mind-altering psychiatric drugs that are usually prescribed for schizophrenia and bipolar. They are increasingly being prescribed for disruptive behavior “disorders” in children. These drugs have enough alarming potential side effects so that putting children on antipsychotics is unconscionable.
It used to be that if a child was having trouble in school he would get extra help. It used to be that if a child was disruptive in class he would be sent to the principal’s office and he would be disciplined. That was about it, except for a few that were suspended or expelled for extremely bad behavior.
Today, it is pretty common for a child who is having trouble in school or is exhibiting disruptive behavior to be sent to a pediatrician. The pediatrician will prescribe a pill as if it was aspirin and as if it was safe, but it is not. Perhaps the doctor himself is not fully informed, but truth be told psychiatric drugs alter the brain unnecessarily. There are various types of psychiatric drugs the doctor could prescribe, but Seroquel, Zyprexa, Abilify and Risperdal are some commonly known brand names of antipsychotics.
Let’s look at some of the worst potential side effects. Antipsychotics can cause diabetes, heart failure, hostility, manic reactions, convulsions, tremors, suicidal thoughts, tics, seizures, hallucinations, panic attacks and tardive dyskinesia. Any one of these should be alarming enough so as not to take the risk of having a child experience that side effect. Tardive dyskinesia is especially troubling as it is a condition where one experiences involuntary movements of the tongue, facial muscles or other body parts. This condition is usually irreversible and may not even start until after discontinuation of the antipsychotic!
With children on antipsychotics, it is not predictable as to which side effect(s) a child could experience and when, or how many side effects could appear. It could happen at any time and that includes when it is too late to help the child. Dr. Peter Breggin, psychiatrist and author, had a seven year old patient who became dangerously violent after his first exposure to an antipsychotic, prescribed by another psychiatrist. He then developed tardive dyskinesia and early onset of puberty. Withdrawal was so agonizing that this boy became uncontrollably violent. So there is no prediction of what side effects could appear at the beginning, middle or end of treatment or even after. Does anyone want to take that chance?
Basically, antipsychotics produce a calming sedative effect which may sound alluring. However, they are literally causing brain damage by profoundly reducing brain function. This could explain why it has been found that antipsychotics can shorten life expectancy by twenty percent. They have also been found to shrink the brain to some degree. Additionally, there is also the potential for addiction which only presents a host of other problems.
Despite these horrendous side effects, children on antipsychotics is only going up and going up fast. In a recent study comparing the time periods 1993-1998 and 2005-2009, it was found that prescriptions for antipsychotics for children up to thirteen years old experienced a sevenfold increase. Since most prescriptions are for the older kids in this age group, it is really higher for preteens and thirteen year olds. For the fourteen to twenty year old age group, the increase in antipsychotic prescriptions was four times higher.
What do these dramatic increases mean? It means psychiatrists and doctors are prescribing antipsychotics to control children’s behavior without taking any responsibility for the dangerous side effects. This is especially true in the case of children on antipsychotics who are only eighteen months old. How can an eighteen-month old have a “mental disorder?” What constitutes disruptive behavior in an eighteen-month old so that an antipsychotic is prescribed? This is nothing short of ridiculous. It may produce the calming sedative result, but at the same time you are giving the toddler a chemical lobotomy.
So what is behind the increased use of psychiatric drugs? First and foremost, psychiatry is pushing “mental disorders” and “mental illnesses.” Psychiatry no longer limits treatment to those who or “crazy” or who can’t function in life. They have pretty much categorized all the normal ups and downs of everyday life to be a “mental disorder.” Children have squirmed, fidgeted, whined, been anxious, depressed and have thrown temper tantrums since time immemorial. However, any type of behavior other than quietly sitting still is at risk for being diagnosed as a “mental disorder.”
One would think extensive research with thorough scientific trials would be done before a “mental disorder” is “discovered.” This is not the case. “Mental disorders” are invented and voted upon by those psychiatrists in leadership roles. As a result, the number of “disorders” has multiplied over the years and the majority of these are laughable, aside from being unsubstantiated.
However, this gives psychiatry the audacity to say that a large percentage of people suffer from “mental disorders” when they are merely experiencing the normal emotions of life. As a result, their false statistics are skewed when only a fraction of people are actually having a rough time.
Secondly, it is no surprise that children on antipsychotics are rising because of financial motives. Drug companies push hard to make profits and doctors benefit by the quick fix and the saving of time. Psychiatrists don’t offer any alternative treatment except drugs, so a misdiagnosis of a “mental disorder” results in billions and billions of dollars made at the expense of our children’s health and future. Profits have become way more important, so that inventing a “mental disorder” and forcing that label on a child has become normal routine.
Instead of drugging our children, we need to dig in and find out what really is the problem, if any. Don’t let school personnel or any mental health professional tell you there is something wrong with your child. Do your own research and decide for yourself if your child’s behavior is normal or not. Diet, toxins, allergies and vitamin deficiencies are only a few things to start looking into for answers and solutions. Find a thorough non-psychiatric doctor that will look for a physical source of the problem. If you don’t, we will only have more children on antipsychotics with devastating results.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-peter-breggin/children-antipsychotics_b_1771152.html
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/04/04/antipsychotic-drugs-on-pediatric-bipolar-disorder.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipsychotic
http://aboutpsychdrugs.com
Putting Children on Antipsychotics Is Unconscionable
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I don’t know who you are but I want to personally thank you for writing this… Antipsychotics have had a deep and lasting scar in my late adolescence, and for the years when I was forced to take them, I coudn’t develop any further through the healthy phases of adulthood. You are incredibly right when you say that psychiatry has financial incentive to expand the all encompassing umbrella of ‘mental illness’ to include as much of the population of consumers as possible. This worries me. I am no longer a kid, but I speak from when I once was. We kids need to be allowed to live, and develop naturally. Life is hard, and the rate of change in society accelerates every year…
But drugs are not natural, nor have they ever been. If you love your child, let him grow up, and please help him grow up. From the depths of my heart, I want to thank you for not encouraging parents to give their kids antiphsychotics.