Brightsurf Science News and Current Science News Events
 

View Larger Image

Your Drug May Be Your Problem: How and Why to Stop Taking Psychiatric Drugs


by Peter R. Breggin, David Cohen

List Price: $17.50
6 New starting at: $6.46
10 Used starting at: $4.98
Sales Rank: 40846
Studio: HarperCollins Publishers
Binding: Paperback
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: December 31, 1969
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers


FORMATS

  • Bargain Price


EDITORIAL REVIEWS

Product Description
Well over ten million Americans are prescribed a psychiatric medication annually, for symptoms as varied as headache and insomnia to depression and various psychiatric disorders. Unbelievably, many of these drugs have not been formally tested to treat the problems for which they have been prescribed. Scientifically documenting the need for an end to this vicious cycle of inadequate approval, mis-medication, and irresponsible inattention to adverse side effects, Breggin and Cohen advocate compassionate and non-toxic therapies, and offer readers a roadmap for sensible, safe withdrawal from psychiatric drugs.Whether the drug is a sleeping pill, tranquilizer, stimulant, antidepressant, mood stabilizer, or antipsychotic, Your Drug May Be Your Problem reveals its documented withdrawal symptoms, demonstrating what many doctors don’t know, understand, or consider: withdrawal symptoms often mimic the symptoms for which a person has been medicated in the first place, a fact that frequently prompts doctors to mistakenly re-medicate their patients at even higher doses. Armed with this essential background information, readers will then be able to choose for themselves when and how to withdraw from psychiatric drugs. Groundbreaking and empowering, Your Drug May Be Your Problem offers readers what they have long sought—a medically and psychologically sound program for freeing themselves from psychiatric drugs, emphasizing throughout the importance for patients to keep control over the withdrawal process.

Amazon.com
Psychiatric drugs are prescribed to more than 20 million Americans. This book aims to convince us to stop taking these drugs, and to show us how to do it safely. The authors contend that after 15 minutes with a physician or psychiatrist, Americans are prescribed medications that we may take for years or a lifetime, which can do more harm than good. We're irritable, anxious, emotionally numbed, physically fatigued, and mentally dulled. Yet when we stop taking the drugs, we encounter a whole new set of problems and setbacks.

The book lists the adverse medical reactions you may encounter, plus additional personal, psychological, and philosophical reasons for limiting or rejecting psychiatric drugs. About half the book covers withdrawing from your drug--how to do it carefully and slowly, what to expect, and how to get help--with specifics for certain drugs and a chapter on easing your child off them as well.

If you suffer from depression or another condition that warrants taking prescription drugs, you might refute the authors' contention that "the degree to which we suffer indicates the degree to which we are alive. When we take drugs to ease our suffering, we stifle our psychological and spiritual life." Certainly it would be lovely if we could "find a way to untangle that twisted energy and to redirect it more creatively," but is this really possible in all cases? The authors blame our dependence on drugs and psychiatry on big pharmaceutical-company bucks, psychiatric organizations, and even government agencies. Certainly we are an overmedicated society--but is the answer to take everyone off drugs? This provocative book says yes, and it's bound to be controversial.

Of course, do not go off any prescribed medication without working closely with the medical professional who prescribed it, and do not use this book as a substitute for professional help. --Joan Price



CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 53 reviews)

one of my favorite books of all time  
I work in the mental health field and this book was a Godsend. It is a page-turning thriller of a nonfiction book about the dangers of and alternatives to psychopharmacology. A MUST READ FOR EVERY MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL and layperson who knows somebody on drugs.
August 18, 2008

Pseudoscience at its best  
How you feel about the message will boil down to a difference of psychiatric philosophies. The book itself however, suffers from biased writing. In such a matter as important as taking a medication that could save one's life, it's important to acknowledge there is some benefit from neuropharmaceuticals. This book does not do that, which is incredibly irresponsible scientific writing. In fact, self-medication is viewed by the authors as a moral flaw. And all of this is laid out in the first chapter. It is a thesis made up mostly of moral pleas about "dealing with life" (as opposed to medication) more than anything, and the science is bent around it to corroborate.

If you're a person dead set against taking psychiatric medicine and want to quit, I suppose you'll find this book useful (at least they tell you to consult with your psychiatrist before going cold turkey). However, if you are looking for a detailed, scientific analysis of how and why psychiatric drugs might pose a medical threat, you'd be better off with a PDR and a dictionary. The doctors here confuse cynicism for skepticism. The book should have been better titled, "Your Drug IS Your Problem," since the authors seemed damned and determined from the get-go that it is.
July 10, 2008

Your Drug May Be Your Problem, Revised Edition: How and Why to Stop Taking Psychiatric Medications  
I was in search of literature which would expose the other side of the coin. [(Perscription) drugs or no drugs]For poeple who like to use common sense and aren't afraid to explore other options meaning finding the root of the problem rather than numming the symtomes that it causes - this book provides a different perspective and allows people who have been told they need these perscriptions for the rest of their lives to form their very own opinion either way. In this book you will also learn about which problems you might encounter if you consider comming of these typs of drugs and what possible harm they can cause. It mostly touches on common psycheatric drugs perscribed for anxiety disorders, ADHD and depression in adults as well as children. Other drugs are also talked about but not as much in depth as the above mentioned.
The book is written straight forward however I found it a little bit repetative. I found the information provided useful and plausible. I would recommend this book to anybody who feels uncomfortable with the thought to have to take meds. for the rest of their lives and wants to explore alternatives.
July 04, 2008

Finally  
This book and his other book The Anti-Depressant Fact Book really open your eyes to a overwhelming trend in society right now. There are so many people that don't know how to stop taking this sort of medication. Anyhow, I hope people stumble on this book as I did before considering taking meds or if they're on them this has some really good info on how to get off - as it can be a difficult road!
April 27, 2008

This Book is Dangerous  
I only give this book one star because I could not give it zero stars. This book was used for a class at Michigan State University in 2004. My daughter who has bipolar disorder discontinued taking her meds during the class which resulted in a 5-day psychiatric hospitalization for her. It is shocking that anyone with real knowledge of mental illness would publish such a book. My husband and I visited the professor after our daughter recovered (many months for a full recovery) and told our story. He promised to change his approach and tell future students that if they are taking medication and it's working, don't stop. This made us feel better, but it still troubles me that this book is out there and probably causing other people pain and heartache.
April 01, 2008


SIMILAR PRODUCTS

The Anti-Depressant Fact Book: What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, and Luvox
by Peter R. Breggin

Toxic Psychiatry: Why Therapy, Empathy and Love Must Replace the Drugs, Electroshock, and Biochemical Theories of the "New Psychiatry"
by Peter Breggin

The Antidepressant Solution : A Step-by-Step Guide to Safely Overcoming Antidepressant Withdrawal, Dependence, and "Addiction"
by Joseph Glenmullen

Blaming the Brain: The Truth About Drugs and Mental Health
by Elliot Valenstein

Prozac Backlash: Overcoming the Dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Other Antidepressants with Safe, Effective Alternatives
by Joseph Glenmullen
© 2008 BrightSurf.com