Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs and SNRIs) have lengthy been marketed because the magical answer to melancholy and anxiousness, promising reduction in a handy little tablet. However behind the shiny pharmaceutical adverts and physician endorsements lies a much more troubling actuality. These medicine don’t simply alter your mind chemistry — they will hijack your feelings, disrupt your life, and result in penalties far worse than the circumstances they declare to deal with.
The truth is, there’s a unclean secret of the SSRI antidepressants — they trigger psychotic violence which generally ends in suicide and typically in horrific murder (e.g., mass shootings). Remarkably, this facet impact was found all through their medical trials, coated up by the drug firms, after which coated up by the FDA after the company obtained a deluge of complaints1 (39,000 within the first 9 years2) as soon as the primary SSRI, Prozac, hit the market.
Initially, the media would report on the prescriptions (SSRIs) mass shooters took. Nonetheless, a gag order went out, it turned unattainable to know what medicines shooters had been on, and the subject turned taboo to debate. Luckily, that not too long ago modified (e.g., after an article I wrote compiling the proof they trigger mass shootings went viral, Tucker Carlson did a 2022 phase on it and distinguished conservatives regularly started talking overtly about SSRI mass shootings3).
In July 2022 @TuckerCarlson broke a significant taboo by discussing the hyperlink between antidepressants and mass shootings—an issue that didn’t exist till SSRIs entered the market.
Regardless of being written off as a “conspiracy concept” trade research persistently confirmed that SSRIs trigger… pic.twitter.com/aSaPBndNzQ— A Midwestern Physician (@MidwesternDoc) January 7, 2025
Word: I not too long ago realized by way of a CDC official that the CDC has been silently monitoring what mass shooters are on and located the SSRI hyperlink continues however has not disclosed it on account of political earthquakes this admission would trigger.
The Toxicology Bell Curve
In toxicology, you’ll usually see extreme and excessive reactions happen a lot much less steadily than average reactions:
Due to this, when a really regarding and unmistakable hostile response happens (e.g., the COVID-19 vaccines inflicting sudden deaths in younger wholesome athletes), that implies you’re solely seeing the tip of the iceberg and much much less extreme accidents are additionally occurring far more steadily.
For instance, one estimate4 discovered that of these vaccinated for COVID, 18% had been injured, 0.93% had been disabled, and 0.05% to 0.1% died, whereas one other survey5 discovered 41% of these vaccinated had been injured, with 7% being severely injured.
Within the case of the SSRIs, the psychotic violence they will create, sadly, can also be simply the tip of a really massive iceberg, and there are numerous much less extreme methods they warp your thoughts, physique, and feelings.
The Hidden Facet Results of SSRIs
Many datasets present the hurt SSRIs trigger vastly outweighs any advantages. For instance, in a survey of 1,829 sufferers6 on antidepressants in New Zealand:
|
62% reported sexual difficulties |
60% felt emotionally numb |
52% felt not like themselves |
|
39% cared much less about others |
47% had skilled agitation |
39% had skilled suicidal ideation |
In that survey, different much less widespread reported unintended effects (so as of reducing frequency) included: insomnia, nightmares, “fuzzy”/”zombie,” jaw grinding, sweating, blurred imaginative and prescient, constipation, disturbed/stressed sleep, anxiousness, coronary heart palpitations, problem considering, fatigue/exhaustion, unusual/vivid goals, stiff muscle groups/joints, “mind zaps,” mania, extreme yawning, panic assaults, reminiscence loss, decreased motivation, night time sweats, and decreased urge for food.
This checklist matches what I’ve seen in lots of different datasets7 (though others like feeling agitated, shaky, or anxious, indigestion, abdomen aches, and diarrhea are additionally generally reported).
Word: One other main challenge with SSRIs (which is unlikely to be detected on a symptom-based survey) is that SSRIs steadily trigger bipolar dysfunction.
Psychotic Violence — A Suppressed Reality
When Prozac was first dropped at market within the mid-Nineteen Eighties, the pharmaceutical trade had not but satisfied the world that everybody was depressed and wanted an antidepressant. So, as a substitute (provided that SSRIs work in an analogous method to a stimulant like Cocaine8) Prozac was initially marketed as a “mood-lifter.”
Likewise, in 1985 when the FDA’s security reviewer scrutinized Eli Lily’s Prozac utility, they realized Lily had “failed” to report psychotic episodes of individuals on the drug and that Prozac’s hostile results resembled that of a stimulant drug.
In flip, the warnings on the labels for SSRIs,9 similar to anxiousness, agitation, panic assaults, insomnia, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, akathisia, hypomania, and mania, match the results generally noticed with stimulant road medicine similar to cocaine and methamphetamine.
Word: A big survey of discovered 44% stopped a psych med due to unintended effects, 1 / 4 of which had been on account of SSRI agitation.10
In gentle of this, and SSRI violence generally being blamed on a “pre-existing psychological sickness” I thus compiled quite a few research (together with ones trade tried to bury) exhibiting the medicine themselves trigger violence. For instance:
• A Cochrane evaluate11 assessed 150 research the place wholesome volunteers got SSRIs and located roughly one-third of them intentionally omitted discussing SSRI unintended effects, and about half of the research had been by no means made publicly obtainable (presumably to cover their regarding knowledge).
In the end, 14 of the 150 research had been eligible for meta-analysis (since sufficient info existed in them for the researchers to know what truly occurred), and in these 14 research, SSRIs had been discovered to double the chance of suicide.
• In 2000, David Healy revealed a research12 he had carried out with 20 wholesome volunteers — all with no historical past of melancholy or different psychological sickness — and to his huge shock two (10%) of them turned suicidal after they obtained Zoloft. One in all them was on her means out the door to kill herself in entrance of a practice or a automobile when a cellphone name saved her.
Each volunteers remained disturbed a number of months later and critically questioned the steadiness of their personalities.
• Eli Lilly confirmed in 197813 that cats who had been pleasant for years started to growl and hiss on Prozac and have become distinctly unfriendly. As soon as Prozac was stopped, the cats returned to their ordinary pleasant habits in per week or two.
Word: The FDA hypothesized that SSRIs might scale back violence in some however trigger a rise in violence in others.14 Likewise a evaluate of 84 animal research confirmed that diminished aggression upon remedy with SSRI was mostly noticed, however typically the animals as a substitute turned extra aggressive.15
Sexual Dysfunction
One of many unintended effects that I really feel greatest illustrates the poor risk-reward ratio of SSRIs is sexual dysfunction — as not with the ability to have intercourse is sort of more likely to make somebody depressed (and in some instances suicidal16) — therefore typically utterly invalidating the justification for taking an SSRI to “really feel glad once more.”
For instance, a Spanish research17,18 of 5 of 1,022 sufferers on essentially the most generally prescribed SSRIs discovered:
- The medicine brought on sexual disturbances in 59% of them and 40% thought of that dysfunction unacceptable
- 57% skilled decreased libido
- 57% skilled delayed orgasm or ejaculation
- 46% skilled no orgasm or ejaculation
- 31% skilled erectile dysfunction or decreased vaginal lubrication
Word: Related outcomes have been obtained in different research,19 and I’ve met many women and men who continued to expertise sexual dysfunction lengthy after they stopped the SSRI (as this dysfunction is usually everlasting).
What I discover essentially the most wonderful about SSRI sexual dysfunction is that whereas psychiatrists are inclined to downplay or ignore it, they concurrently market SSRIs to deal with untimely ejaculation — which is yet one more instance of the drug trade making an attempt to have its cake and eat it (particularly provided that most of the SSRI producers additionally promote medicine for erectile dysfunction).
Word: One purpose this facet impact is below acknowledged is that embarrassed sufferers typically gained’t report it until they’re particularly requested about it (e.g., within the Spanish research, whereas 59% of SSRI customers reported sexual dysfunction, solely 20% did so with out prompting20 — one thing unlikely to be finished in a drug trial geared toward getting a drugs to market).
Emotional Blunting — Dropping the Essence of Life
As soon as the SSRIs hit the market, I instantly observed that SSRIs typically dramatically altered the character of those that took them. For instance, they typically destroyed the drive folks needed to make one thing of their life — and in some instances, I sadly watched that derailment proceed for many years.
Likewise, I started to listen to tales of individuals describing how their expertise of life was deadened, typically in a fashion not too totally different from how the medicine “numb” your sexuality. Among the widespread tales included:
• Not having emotional responses to issues it’s best to have responses to — For instance, I noticed quite a few instances of individuals being in unhealthy jobs or relationships, seeing a health care provider for assist with their melancholy, rapidly being placed on Prozac, after which losing a decade of their life as a result of Prozac (or one other SSRI) eliminated their drive to go away that poisonous state of affairs. Likewise, I heard many individuals state that Prozac took away the enjoyment they felt in life.
• Dropping the depth and richness of life — This remark as an example, does a superb job of illustrating that:
Word: In psychiatry, this emotional anesthesia (not discovering issues as fulfilling as one used to) is called “emotional blunting.” Relying on the research (e.g., these talked about above) between 40% to 60% of those that take SSRIs expertise this facet impact, and it’s typically rationalized as a crucial trade-off for eradicating the emotional ache related to melancholy.
One of many best issues with our society is the assumption that the media has marketed to us that we should always by no means must really feel unfavourable feelings. In actuality, they’re a crucial element of the human expertise and are steadily crucial for our development and figuring out the proper course for our lives. Sadly, to market melancholy (and SSRIs) it was essential to pathologize regular sides of life and switch them into everlasting diseases requiring indefinite remedy.
Delivery Defects — A Hidden Consequence
As soon as a drug will get accredited, pharmaceutical firms will at all times attempt to broaden their marketplace for it (e.g., that is why after adults stopped wanting the preliminary COVID-19 vaccine, they pivoted to pushing it on kids — despite the fact that kids have an nearly 0% likelihood of dying from COVID-19).
With SSRIs, the trade has likewise labored to push them on susceptible teams (e.g., foster kids, “struggling” college students, prisoners or parolees, pregnant moms, and the aged), and every group has suffered important penalties from these practices — significantly since many should not allowed to say no the medicine. This wonderful skit by Peter Gøtzsche illustrates the absurdity of pushing them on pregnant girls:
As a result of the SSRI’s have been shielded from scrutiny, they’re steadily pushed on sufferers (typically in opposition to their consent) when the medicine dangers vastly outweigh their advantages. This skit for instance highlights the unconscionable SSRI recommendation pregnant girls steadily obtain: pic.twitter.com/X5zKC1Jzhv
— A Midwestern Physician (@MidwesternDoc) January 7, 2025
Pushing SSRIs on pregnant girls is rationalized by the actual fact girls steadily get depressed throughout or after their pregnancies (which is usually on account of extreme copper ranges — one thing fairly straightforward to deal with naturally). Sadly, there are a selection of explanation why SSRIs should not protected throughout being pregnant. These embody:
• SSRIs improve the chance of untimely births,21 with the best threat (a doubling) occurring if an SSRI is taken throughout the third trimester.
• SSRIs considerably improve the chance of septal defects22 (which regularly require coronary heart surgical procedure to restore). One research of 500,000 infants in Denmark discovered moms taking a single SSRI whereas pregnant brought on the probability of a septal defect of their youngster to go from 0.5% to 0.9% and taking two or extra elevated it to 2.1%. Moreover, whereas on common taking an SSRI doubled the chance of a delivery defect, the elevated threat ranged from 34% to 225%, relying on the SSRI.
• SSRIs considerably improve the chance of persistent pulmonary hypertension in a new child child. One research of 1,173 infants discovered SSRIs elevated the chance of it by 6.1 occasions,23 whereas one other discovered the chance elevated by 4.29 occasions,24 whereas one other discovered it elevated by 2.5 occasions.25
On condition that this situation impacts 1 to 2 out of 1,000 births and is usually deadly, this “small” threat provides up fairly rapidly (however nonetheless this was not sufficient for the FDA to rethink its advocacy of those medicine for pregnant girls26).
Word: Different new child issues linked to SSRIs embody irritability, tremor, hypertonia, and problem sleeping or breastfeeding.
Sadly, after delivery SSRIs proceed to have an effect on the event of a kid. For instance, the bundle insert for Prozac states that after solely 19 weeks of remedy, kids misplaced 1.1 cm (0.43 inches) and 1.1 kg in weight (2.43 lbs.) in comparison with kids handled with placebo.27
The Position of Advertising and marketing in SSRI Reputation
A lot in the identical means, the pharmaceutical trade spends exorbitant quantities of cash dishonestly advertising medicine, it can steadily concoct elaborate methods to make a ineffective (or worse) drug look like price promoting to all of America (for my part greatest encapsulated by the idiom “Placing Lipstick on a Pig”28).
Since “melancholy” is so subjective, it’s even simpler to recreation this analysis. Because of this, when the “profitable” research of antidepressants are fastidiously examined, like many different prescription drugs (e.g., the COVID and HPV vaccines), the advantages are comparatively inconsequential whereas the far larger dangers are hid with elaborate reclassifications.
Word: Antidepressants do work for a metabolic subset of sufferers (whose metabolic dysfunction can be handled naturally). Sadly, physicians are by no means educated to display for these sufferers, as that screening would eradicate the vast majority of potential SSRI clients.
Luckily, there are a number of metrics you can not cowl up. One of the well-known ones is general mortality (how many individuals in complete on vs. off the drug died) since you possibly can’t reclassify loss of life. One other is what number of sufferers voluntarily selected to cease taking a drugs:
• A evaluate of 29 revealed and 11 unpublished medical trials containing 3,704 sufferers who obtained Paxil and a couple of,687 who obtained a placebo, discovered an equal proportion of sufferers in each teams left their research early (suggesting Paxil’s advantages didn’t outweigh its facet impact), and that in comparison with placebo, 77% extra stopped the drug due to unintended effects and 155% extra stopped as a result of they skilled suicidal tendencies.29
• A research of seven,525 sufferers, discovered that 56% of them selected to cease taking an SSRI inside 4 months of being prescribed it.30
• A world survey of three,516 folks from 14 affected person advocacy teams discovered that 44% had completely stopped taking a psychiatric drug on account of its unintended effects.31
• A survey of 500 sufferers discovered 81.5% had been not sure if their antidepressants had been crucial.32
Put in a different way, if most sufferers really feel worse on a drugs they’re taking to “really feel good” than they do with out it, which means the trials proclaiming the medicines made sufferers really feel higher had been fraudulent.
In flip, 1000’s of remarkably related tales might be discovered on-line.33 Sufferers expertise a variety of beforehand unimaginable unintended effects that shake the very basis of their world, assume one thing have to be incorrect with them (therefore going by way of a interval of disbelief), discover no assist or understanding throughout the medical discipline — after which finally notice they’d been trusting their medical doctors to have a specific amount of data they don’t even have.
“And you recognize, that is heartbreaking. I went by way of this, and I felt that the world had fallen out from beneath me. There wasn’t any medical security internet. So the sociological phenomenon exists, and has not but filtered into drugs. Drugs has its personal methods of gathering info, and in psychiatry, for some purpose, they maintain asking one another what the reality is as a substitute of asking their sufferers. The affected person voice will not be very effectively acknowledged in psychiatry in any respect.”34
Word: This SSRI expertise mirrors many different pharmaceutical accidents (e.g., I’ve heard nearly an identical tales from numerous people injured by the COVID-19 vaccines).
Most significantly, many sufferers report that their prescribers don’t warn them about most of the SSRI unintended effects. In brief, many individuals I do know haven’t solely needlessly been severely impacted by these medicine but additionally gaslighted35 by the medical doctors they sought care from.
Conclusion
Through the years, I’ve requested numerous holistic medical doctors what they take into account to be the 5 most harmful, extensively pharmaceuticals within the market, and with out exception, SSRIs at all times make that checklist. On this article, I’ve tried as an instance among the most frequent harms of those medicine, however sadly it solely touches on the floor.
For instance, due to how they’re dosed, SSRIs are extremely addictive, and as soon as they’re partially decreased, a wide range of extreme signs can onset (e.g., dose adjustments generally proceeds SSRI suicides and homicides,36 which is why it’s best to by no means abruptly cease taking them).
Tragically, medical doctors should not educated to acknowledge these withdrawals (medical doctors usually as a substitute interpret them as a pre-existing sickness not being counteracted by the SSRI and proceed to push the medicine), and only a few know learn how to safely taper sufferers off SSRIs.
Luckily, with the MAHA motion, that is starting to vary. For instance, take into account what RFK Jr. said37 when he shared this text:
As such, for the primary time in my life, I’m sincerely hopeful this practically 40 yr tragedy eventually will finish.38 As such, it’s now crucial every of us do all we are able to to reveal the Forgotten Sides of Drugs so we are able to create public stress to finish these pharmaceutical atrocities and convey again the unimaginable pure therapies that had been faraway from the market to guard these grotesque pharmaceutical monopolies.
Creator’s notice: That is an abridged model of an extended article which discusses the above factors in far more element and discusses learn how to safely withdraw from SSRIs. That article and its extra references might be learn right here. Moreover, a companion article in regards to the melancholy trade and efficient pure therapies for melancholy might be learn right here.
A Word from Dr. Mercola Concerning the Creator
A Midwestern Physician (AMD) is a board-certified doctor from the Midwest and a longtime reader of Mercola.com. I admire AMD’s distinctive perception on a variety of matters and am grateful to share it. I additionally respect AMD’s need to stay nameless since AMD remains to be on the entrance strains treating sufferers. To seek out extra of AMD’s work, remember to take a look at The Forgotten Facet of Drugs on Substack.
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