Urgent shortage of evidence for safe withdrawal from antidepressants eurekalert.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eurekalert.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Lead author of the review, GP and emeritus professor of general practice at the University of Queensland, Mieke van Driel, said the researchers compared different approaches and looked at benefits, such as successful stopping rates, and harms reported during and after stopping. Withdrawal symptoms and harms reported during stopping included insomnia, low mood, anxiety and changes to appetite, but these can also be symptoms of a return of depression.
“In a nutshell there was only very low certainty evidence on the pros and cons of each of the different approaches to stopping, making it difficult to reach any firm conclusions at this time,” van Driel said. “The key issue is that studies do not distinguish between symptoms of a return or relapse of depression and symptoms of withdrawal after stopping, and that’s really problematic.”
Mental Health Survival Kit, Chapter 2: Is Psychiatry Evidence Based? (Part 7)
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Editor’s Note: Over the next several months, Mad in America will publish a serialized version of Peter Gøtzsche’s book, Mental Health Survival Kit and Withdrawal from Psychiatric Drugs
. In this blog, he discusses the colossal overprescribing of prescription pills. Each Monday, a new section of the book will be published, and all chapters will be archived
The final nails in the coffin of biological psychiatry
When I discuss the state of psychiatry with critical psychiatrists, psychologists and pharmacists I collaborate with, we sometimes ask each other: “Who are most mad, on average, the psychiatrists or their patients?”
Deaths from alcohol abuse spiked during COVID-19 lockdowns, according to data from the UK
Marianne GuenotFeb 3, 2021, 18:47 IST
Alcohol misuse during COVID-19 lockdowns may have led to an increase in alcohol-related deathsSimpleImages/Getty Images
Deaths linked to
alcohol misuse in 2020 were up 16%, per stats from England and Wales.
The causes are uncertain, but it could be related to the stress caused by the pandemic.
More services are needed to support those with alcohol dependence, said one expert.
The number of deaths linked to alcohol misuse spiked in much of the UK during 2020 amid the
coronavirus pandemic and widespread lockdowns, new data shows.
The causes are uncertain, but it could be related to the stress caused by the pandemic.
More services are needed to support those with alcohol dependence, said one expert.
The number of deaths linked to alcohol misuse spiked in much of the UK during 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic and widespread lockdowns, new data shows.
They show that alcohol-linked deaths were up 16.4% in 2020 compared to 2019. It is the sharpest increase since records began in 2001.
Experts have warned that changes in the way people consumed alcohol during the pandemic could lead to problems for those who are more susceptible to alcohol-use disorder.