Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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179 of 194 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Read For Patients and Professionals, July 25, 2001
This comprehensive book about anti-depressant medications picks up where Talking Back To Prozac left off. Dr. Breggin, through his vast personal experience and research as a medical expert in legal cases against the drug manufacturers, as well as his carefully documented research into the psychopharmacology of anti-depressants provides us with a great deal of information that is available no where else. Although quite disturbing to read, The Anti-depressant Fact Book is so well written and so clear that it is appropriate reading for the mental health professional as well as for the general public. Dr. Breggin discusses the meaning and purpose of depression as an emotional response to things, people, and situations in our lives, rather than as a biochemical disease in our brains. He points out that depression also reflects the contrasting desire in us that we have to live a more creative, meaningful life. This is in sharp contrast to the majority of the psychiatric community who sees depression as an imbalance of brain chemicals that must be corrected by drugs. Dr. Breggin explains in detail how the anti-depressant medications work, with special emphasis upon the selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors, (SSRIs') like Zoloft, Paxil, and Prozac. He carefully explains how the SSRI's block the reabsorbing of the brain chemical seratonin, causing an excess amount of it to accumulate in the spaces between neurons both in the brain and elsewhere. He goes on to explain how the brain then tries to fight back from this chemical assault by permanently eliminating receptors. This process is called "die-back" and results in sub-sensitivity of the receptors, better known as down regulation, leading to permanent dysfunction. Dr. Breggin goes on to explain through current research findings, how the SSRI anti-depressants act in the brain like stimulants and he shows their striking similarities to the illegal drugs Ecstasy and cocaine in terms of dangerousness and the creation of Mania and akathesia. He goes on to describe a multitude of other problems that are directly attributable to these anti-depressants such as cardiovascular problems, parkinsonian symptoms, tardive dyskinesea, loss of sex drive, emotional blunting, suicide, and violent behavior. Of particular interest, Dr. Breggin highlights how these anti-depressant drugs often cause depression themselves, and particularly a very dangerous kind of depression; an agitated depression. This book clearly spells out the great difficulties that people encounter when trying to stop taking these drugs and it suggests ways to soften the rebound and withdrawal effects of the drugs. Breggin also devotes a chapter to the special problems encountered when children are given anti-depressants along with the exceptional; brain damage that occurs. He goes on in yet another chapter to discuss the resurgence of electroconvulsive shock therapy (ECT) and to psychosurgery as treatments for depression. He likens ECT to a "closed-head electrical trauma to the brain." He also devotes a section to how some of the recent school violence and school shootings are linked to the anti-depressants. Finally, Dr. Breggin devotes the last part of this book to how one can go about seeking real help for depression without the use of these dangerous and brain damaging medications. He describes how to find a therapist and what to look for in a therapist. I have found this book, written by one of the most well known and well respected psychiatrists in the world, a voluminous source of necessary and previously unobtainable information about anti-depressant medications. It is meticulously documented and highlights Dr. Breggin's lifelong work as the "conscience of psychiatry." I could not recommend it more highly to both the professional mental health community and to the public.
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69 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
One side of the story, April 19, 2003
Dr. Breggin is clearly biased against psychotropic medication, but to discount his work on that basis is a mistake. He is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist with impeccable credentials, and his education and training led him to the beliefs he now holds. I find his writing and his views extremist: what it comes down to is a "blank slate" philosophy where environment is all that matters, not inborn traits. However, this is a helpful counterargument to the current biomedical model of mental illness where environment is irrelevant. Both views are too simplistic, as any thinking clinician will tell you that mental illness is almost always multiply determined, i.e. caused by several factors. People are not born depressed, but may become depressed over events in their lives; the genetic part involves how much it takes to make one depressed (or manic, or schizophrenic, or whatever illness it may be). Your physician will not give you the information in this book. Breggin will not tell you how beneficial medication can be. Take the information from both sides so you can make an informed decision before accepting serious, long-term medication.
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71 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What You Would Probably Otherwise Not Know, November 13, 2001
If you are looking for a good, general overview of the "other side" to commonly prescribed anti-depressants (which are far too frequently prescribed without much concern or interest in the actual good or bad they might do, IMHO), then this is your book. Well-researched, well argued, well analyzed. This should be the 1st book you reach for, if your doctor or psychiatrist recommends Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, or Luvox. Dr. Breggin does focus on the negative effects (higher rates of suicide and violence, increases in depressive feelings, criminal behavior, and dangerous drug interactions to name a few) and he is clearly not a strong proponent of the prescribing or taking of these strong drugs. But this is exactly the kind of person you want out there, providing you with this type of information that you would otherwise NOT get. Think about it: the TV and magazine ads and articles about these "wonder drugs," your doctor(s), your friends who are already on these drugs, those crappy little "warning" labels printed up by the pharmaceutical companies and included with your prescription--how many of them fully discuss these other effects or even admit that they exist? But now you will know about them, and you will be in a much better place to make a fully informed, wise choice about the course of your medical treatment for depression. That alone is invaluable. Now it can be yours for the price of this book. Yes, these drugs can help some people. But please make sure you know the "other side" of the story, too.
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