Medication Madness: The Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide, and Crime

Front Cover
Macmillan, May 26, 2009 - Health & Fitness - 400 pages

In Medication Madness, psychiatrist Peter R. Breggin, M.D., describes how people taking psychiatric medication can experience abnormal behavioral reactions, including suicide, violence, emotional breakdowns, and criminal acts. Dr. Breggin explains his concept of "medication spellbinding": individuals taking psychiatric drugs may have no idea whatsoever that their mental conditions are deteriorating and that their actions are no longer under control. He proves his argument by documenting dozens of cases from his practice and his consultations in legal cases.

Reading like a thriller, the book also examines how the FDA, the pharmaceutical industry, and the medical establishment continue to oversell the value of these drugs, and he provides information on how to safely stop taking psychiatric medications. Medication Madness is a compelling and frightening read as well as a cautionary tale about our reliance on medicine to fix what ails us.

 

Contents

These Are True Stories
1
Killing the Painand Almost the Cop LO
5
What Is Medication Spellbinding?
18
The Toothless Watchdog Growls
36
Young Girl Murderers in the Making
56
Doctors Driven Mad by Medication
72
Killing Loved Ones to Save the World
98
DrugInduced Happy Faces
111
He Wanted to Do Better in School
180
Spellbound by Ritalin Addiction
200
Parents Forced to Drug Their Children
211
This Is Not My Daughter
222
Dilemmas and Difficulties in the Role of
239
Marketing Myths and the Truth About
269
Spellbound by DrugWithdrawal Reactions
287
The Tough Question of Personal Responsibility
311

Not Quite Twelve Years Old
129
Sleeping Pill Madness
140
Tranquilized Into Violence
156
A Courtroom Christmas Story
163
A Vicious Addiction
167
Appendix A Psychiatric Medications by Category
335
Bibliography
361
Index
377
Copyright

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About the author (2009)

Peter R. Breggin, M.D., is a psychiatrist and expert in clinical psychopharmacology. A former teaching fellow at Harvard Medical School and full-time consultant at the National Institute of Mental Health, he has written dozens of scientific articles and more than twenty books, including the bestsellers Toxic Psychiatry and Talking Back to Prozac. He has served as a medical expert in criminal and civil cases involving psychiatric drugs, including product-liability suits against drug manufacturers. Dr. Breggin founded the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, taught at universities, and is on the editorial boards of several scientific journals. He lives in the Finger Lakes region with his wife, Ginger, and practices psychiatry in Ithaca, New York.