Dear Rebekah. How awful - next time you're feeling down, talk to that beautiful labrador you have, and you will get better results. So who are the villians? Are they the scientific researchers, possibly on a bonus for any breakthroughs, the drug manufacturers meeting their profit targets for shareholders, or the medicos who have been educated to use, and feel powerful in using, the routine of examine-diagnose-prescribe-examine-diagnose etc. Take your pick. For goodness sake, life is full of ups and downs - why do we let a bunch of idiots "diagnose" things that happen and our reactions to them with a whole set of technical terms. "Bipolar" = north-south = ups and downs. When I studied psychopathology 25 years ago it was called cyclothymia, providing the ups and downs were less frequent than 12 days apart! Why call it anything? A name makes people believe they have got something "wrong" with them, and opens the door to the simplistic medical model of fixing it with a drug. The community is brainwashed that this is the right approach - ask any GP who sends patients away without a prescription - they simply go to another doctor who gives them one. The solution, if you don't have a dog who will listen and lick your hand - accept the downer, everyone has individuality and worth, things won't be like this forever. PS -naming a downer with the term depression usually makes things worse and more permanent.

Hi Rebekah - your story sounds so much like mine. The basic story is: 1. Had 3rd baby 1998 after 17 year gap - baby didn't sleep through until 3 years old! Major sleep deprivation. 2. Father died unexpectedly - 2000 - coped ok. 3. Younger sister murdered 2001. Stopped sleeping the night was informed - Major sleep deprivation. Told by GP I was depressed and given anti depressants with similar story to what you were told. Major anxiety attacks - increased medication. Changed medication - bombed out - huge weight gain. Changed medication. Added medication. Six years later noticed side effects eg insomnia, hypertension, numbness of feelings, sexual disfunction, akithisia +++ increasing. I read Breggin & Cohen and also Joseph Glenmullen. Decided to slowly begin reducing medication. So far I can cope with the withdrawal symptoms. Very scared about stopping Zoloft. If I had been offered some alternatives eg meditation, tai chi, homoeopathy, I would have jumped at the chance, but I was given the impression that the drugs would simply stop the "depression" (I believe it just plain old sleep deprivation)- perhaps a dry mouth or a bit of dizziness were the only other things mentioned. It seemed also that when I wanted to stop, there would be no problem. Not true. Nevertheless, I will be drug free by the end of this year. In the meantime, I struggle to find ways to repair my relationship with my daughter who does not recognise anymore the stranger I've become. Bravo for your writings. I'm looking to buy a copy of your book.

Mental Health is about Health and not "illness"!

There is no easy way to talk about this issue of Mental Health and the neglectful way drugs are administered. As you say... "these drugs can induce the very symptoms they are supposed to relieve".

I am deeply concerned about the condition of Mental Health servicing in Australia, and the way the narrow view of doctors is supported by so many, especially nurses, who fail to advocate for their clients "well-being" when it comes to complaints about DRUGS and their side-effects. One treatment appears to be pushed on ALL!

I pray that more people do speak up, and I pray harder that something happens to stop this abusive one eyed gaze of power over people who need real support.

The thing that hurts most is how many people suffer so badly... from the side-effects, that they loose their capacity to advocate for themselves... becoming further alienated from society, by the projections that go with how one often feels (frustrated) and appears (distressed) from the result of the side effects.

Many become totally trapped - drifting endlessly in a system that negates the knowledge and capacity of others in the human service industry... who could also help solve problems in areas of mental health.

I am so glad you have come through this and I admire you for disclosing your own findings, through experience.

I ask anyone intersted to visit < http://www.miacat.com/ > where I have some interesting links, about prevention of illness and resources that may help others sort through the maze of difficulties that this industry presents to consumers trying to learn more about the side-effects of these drugs.

The Mental Health Council of Australia an independent body has "THE KIT": A guide to MH self-advocacy . I wish more people would read this information and get community support to act on it..
http://www.mhca.org.au/Resources/CommunityDevelopment/index.htm

Also the Queensland Mental Health Association has Certificate courses for anyone who wants work in MH.
http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&amp;amp;ie=ISO-8859-1&amp;amp;q=Queensland+Mental+health+association&amp;amp;btnG=Google+Search&amp;amp;meta=

.

This is such a sad story. I hope many people read this article and come to realize the dangers of SSRIs.

Go to: http://www.ssristories for a list [with full media news article] of over 1,400 tragic cases of SSRI Induced Suicides & Criminal Behavior.

Rebekah,

Let's face it. You've been through hell. Self harm is depression, regardless of the cause. If it's not physical self harm then it's mental self harm. Same, same.

Your words describe a familiar journey, through all the promises, taking advantage of your weakened and desperate condition to trial new "treatments" on you. I refer here to ECT (experimental and has no long term benefits), CBT (latest fad psychologist self help book topic which describes how to think healthy. Question? : How do you think healthy if your mind is in the throes of self contempt etc?")

It's rubbish and does not help those of us who have plumbed the depths. It works over the long term if you work hard, exercise, stay healthy and have luck with relationships, docs and support. Lot's of luck.

Your words drift off into the esoteric dreams we all have. Why me? What did I do? When will it end? I want it to stop. All casting thoughts outwards looking for help, which isn't there. All we want is relief, We don't want to die although that often seems the only way to stop the pain.

The help we all need is within Rebekah within our own minds. Not religion, no way, that's a cop out.

It's in our hopes, our family and our future. (see the philosophising start here).

Meds do help, just not too many at once as no one can then asses what, if anything, is helping.

Try this link "http://webdiary.com.au/cms/?q=node/1002"

It's my writing. Lots of anger, doubt, seeking, rage, frustration, lack of motivation, all the ususal. But I'm out, out of the pit and not returning. Happy to talk with you if you wish as I think some of your conclusions are a bit off base although perhaps highly relevant to yourself, most importantly.

My mission is to shorten the trip for anyone who cares to actually think and act rather than drift and pray. Irt can be done, and surprisingly quickly once you get a grip on the things that help YOU.

Rebekah

So sorry to read of the nightmare you've been living. It's another sad illustration of just how wrong doctors can be. They had one thing right though - depression is the result of a chemical imbalance. The good news you won't hear from your average doctor I'm afraid is that this imbalance can be corrected through dietary measures and nutritional supplementation.

Several years ago I began experiencing many of the symptoms you described. Having gone to the doctors about a tremor I had begun to notice, he mentioned low blood sugar which led me to discover a little recognized condition called hypoglycemia. I started with the website www.hypoglycemia.asn.au which I would strongly recommend to anyone else finding themselves in this position. I am now feeling better than I ever have and looking back I realize that I have lived with depression all my life.

Hypothyroidism is another condition that causes depression and is worth checking out.

Hope this is useful to you in your continued search for answers.

Firstly I would like to offer my sympathy to those who have suffered from incorrect prescribing of SSRIs. It seems to be a major problem.

However, I need to stress that some people do need chemical help for imbalances in brain chemistry.

Years ago, when I was in my early 40s, I went to a GP describing my symptoms. I felt so dreadful, that I had started to drink alcohol as soon as I got up, to try to suppress some of this terrible feeling and get me through the day. I also have a family history of depression and suicide on my father's side of the family.

He handed me a book whose title I have forgotten, with many similar stories to what I have read here. I read the book and agreed with it, and tried to pull myself together. Things just got much worse and I ended up staying in bed, or drinking to dull the pain. Life seemed to be pointless, and I lost all joy in my garden, reading etc all the things I had loved. I nearly lost my job as I had so much time off work. Eventually, my husband demanded I go to a doctor, as I wasn't behaving normally and thankfully this time I was prescribed SSRIs and recovered completely. I am just so thankful that I live when help is available, and not when earlier generations of my family undoubtedly needed such help, did.

Rebekah is sharing her experience for you. Brave indeed.

Scientific trials show that only about 33% of depressions MAY be genetic. This comes from studies of twins. It is also just a scientific guess really. Science knows little about depression and the many other mental illnesses. Most depressions are environmental. Note that statement. Look at your life and decide. When were you first affected, how, and why. If you solve those puzzles the rest will fall into place.

Those that do suffer genetic depression etc can't solve those puzzles as it started at birth, triggered by some event)s) during life. Treatment helps but does not cure, as yet. If you find something that helps, do it. To me diversion is by far the best remedy. That is focusing your mind and energy on other than thinking and living depression. Easier said than done but that's the key. NOT thinking about D 24/7 as IT wants us to.

Whatever is mooted as treatment may be relevant or not to your situation. Either way though it is worth thought as you don't know what is wrong and how to fix it either.

In my case I have finally re emerged after a lifetime in the D zome. By chance really. Persistence, yes, much pain and suffering, yes. Hope, always. Reality, never thought it would happen and who knows, it may be short term. I don't care, I'll just enjoy the current energy, motivation and access to my abilities while I can.

One thing I have come to realise is that firstly it is only fellow D sufferers that can help each other, Docs can of course but they don't know what you feel, and think. Many of us are less than honest with docs as we don't trust them, often validly. Big minus there of course so try and be open, you've nothing to lose really have you?

Forgive me for posting twice, had to finish what I started writing.

What stands out most to me is we don't take advice, from anyone, regardless. We plead for sympathy, understanding, support, help and so on but even when all that is there no guarantee of recovery can be assured. What we do need, INHO, is reality checks. Not the continual "hugs" and "luv" that floats around as, to me, all that achieves is a warm, fuzzy nothingness. We need to face simple facts.

It is only us that can change how we react to the world and all those triggers we hate so much. It is only us that can decide what helps and what doesn't.

Telling our stories is critical and Rebekah has done that, for you and us. To provide more insight into our world.

Bottom line is that whatever you feel today is temporary. Tomorrow will and can be different if you are willing to keep trying and take advantage of changes that come your way. Mostly meds and other treatments are little more than a diversion, a watershed which allows you room and time to think about your life and what parts of that are affecting you badly. Remove those parts and use the good bits.

An example. Post Partum Depression. Not readily treated as the causes are really unknown. The trigger appears to be having a child but having that child brings about what I regard as the real meaning of our lives. Being simply to create further life and ensure that those lives are independent, strong and caring.

Thanks for writing Rebekah. Your actions in ceasing medication were courageous. I'm glad you are tring to raise awareness in this area where it is clear the medical community has a lot less reason for the confidence that they show in their prognosis.

Keep up the great work.

Dear Grey,

There is nothing to be applauded about stopping one's medication. The only thing that can be applauded is the persistence of one to continue seeking a succesful recovery from a journey littered with obstacles. Be it stigma, ignorance, rejection, isolation or the rest, it doesn't matter. Just keep going as there is always hope. Feelings and thoughts are just there for a short time. It's up to us whether those thoughts and feelings continue and dominate or not.

Regardles of any "medical" of layperson advice.

Stopping medication can be either good or bad but either way it must be done under medical supervision. Even if theose experts don't know what to do they can monitor your condition and record for others what has taken place. Guninea pigs, yes, but what's the alternative? I'd rather my experiences were used to shorten the trip for others, if they care to listen and look for their own errors, so to speak.

I am sitting outside reading the paper when I come across this review in the paper about this book. It felt like deja vu. Only a week ago I was sitting in a counsellors office, describing my situation and what brought me there. I was told to come back for another session, but also to go to my GP see if i was suitable for medication. A few days later I went through a similar outpouring with the GP, who said that she'll see if she had any samples of some anti-depressants for me to try out. I was given a trial pack of Zoloft. I don't appear to be having and ill effects from it yet, but after reading review on this book, i went to 3 bookstores on a sunday (in perth)trying to track it down. I have to admit that I hadn't for one second doubted this course of action, after all, this is what we are told to do now. If you think you are suffering from depression, to go seek medical advice, its the "done" thing now. So now I find myself not being able to put this book down. I'm a bit nervous to find out what happened to Rebekah, what if something happens to me too? ...

Seems to me that taking anti-depressants is like playing Russian Roulette with your brain.
While i can't say that i have suffered any sort of severe depression i have had periods or hopelessness and despair which i have fortunately come out of.
From stories i have heard, including the above, and people i've known who have taken these drugs (one driven to suicide, another an emotionless zombie), if i did ever become afflicted with lasting depression i'd want to run the full gamut of alternatives, exercise, diet, meditation, natural vitamin therapy, anything that i at least knew could not make the condition worse than it already was.
I may not be in a position to relate to the reality of depression, but is it really worth pulling that trigger when you don't know if the chamber holds a bullet?

I'm just speaking generally and not to Rebekah, for whom I feel much sympathy, but it seems to me that anti-depressants are given to many people by GPs, who should never be given them in the first place. I believe that most GPs are not given adequate training or enough time to be able to sit down and really go through peoples symptoms very thoroughly over a period of time. It must be difficult to sort out what is depression from life circumstances, and what is a long term depression requiring more intervention. GPs must feel that if they don't prescribe what people expect (probably from reading, TV etc) than they could be accused of not offering help, and especially if people go on to commit suicide.

I went through all the self help Workshops, Hypnotherapy, taken St John's Wort, Fish Oils, minerals, vitamins, 12 Step Programs, you name it. Nothing helped, and I began to believe that my own body chemistry was the problem, especially with my family history.

I also suffer from severe migraine headaches, which run in my family and are brought on my some sort of adrenalin-like chemical (I believe). I know I will get a migraine 24 hours after I have been very excited or happy or very upset, more than usual. I also tried many other treatments to no effect. I eliminated various types of foods, took up Yoga, used herbal treatments, and tried meditating. Meditation helped somewhat, but my anxiety or excitement usually won out.

I'm not trying to persuade people to take medication, just saying, I needed it, and wasn't given it.

Hope all goes well with Rebekah.

This is a very important issue showing up the inadequacy of mental health care in Australia. GP's generally are no more qualified to prescribe mood altering drugs than your plumber is. Read Dr Lucire's articles on SSRI's, they are most illuminating: http://www.lucire.com.au/SSRIs_main.aspx
Many, including myself have been tortured by inapropriate prescibing and inadequate follow-up and the failure of medical staff to listen. The belief that new drugs have the answer to everything is so entrenched in the medical professions they fail to believe their own observations, trusting instead to inadequate and often faulty drug literature. Finding a genuine mental health professional that understands the need to listen and respect that each individual has the the right to determine what they pills swallow has virtually disapeared. Instead an arrogant disregard of a patient's rights is manifest in the teaching and belief systems in this country. The menatlly ill are regarded as obects to be medicated, if necessary by force of law, and their concerns to be disregarded in the paternalistic attitude that the 'professionals' know best. Few psychiatric professionals will take the time or even consider a patients need to negotiate what they take and when they take it, and the need to change mood altering chemicals to find the right balance for a patient. A radical shift in attitude and practice is long over due.

Congratulations Rebekah on your courage. It is a wonderful story of survival. I hope your book gives many courage to seek information, not only mentally ill patients.

There can be lots of discussion on the ethics of drug companies influencing the medical profession, but at the end of the day patients themselves need to take much more interest in and responsibility for their own treatment. Rebekah is an example of how persistence in wanting to understand pays off.

I've been in the Health profession for nearly 30years and I still marvel at how perfectly capable people who take responsibility for the maintenance for their car completely abrogate any responsibility when it comes to their own bodies.

Doctors are genuine in wanting to help their patients. Many of them are quite passionate about wanting to improve the quality of life for their patients, but it must come from their point of view and their understanding of your needs. This could never be the whole picture, unless the doctor is your identical twin.

How many of us want a quick fix and don't really want to know too much about the drugs we are prescribed, or God forbid, what they are actually for? Or even why we could have a symptom. Have a hot flush, there must be a pill. A headache, take a couple of Panadol.

Ask, question and seek information. Do not let yourself be fobbed off by technobabble or brushed off with a leaflet printed by the drug manufacturer. Ask about alternatives, and there ALWAYS are alternatives. Even if it is not proceeding with the treatment.You are the one who has to put very potent chemicals into your system. We are not talking food additives here or vitamins. It must make sense to you.

benroeb

What other OLO threads did you post this on?

And why this particular thread?

What relevance does it have to the discussion?

Why confront readers who for all you know could be suffering deep depression with your so-called "near-death experiences"?

What were you aiming to achieve?

I probably don't really want your answers, but I couldn't help feeling that some questions needed to be asked nonetheless.

I was the first post on this article, and I've followed the reaction closely. Many of the posts have criticised the medical profession, and the drugs its members prescribe.
In my original post I questioned whether one should go to a doctor at all with this kind of problem. Most contributors to this discussion assume that one should go to a doctor, and at the same time criticise the medical profession. Well - don't go to a doctor.
There are other well-trained and state registered professionals who do not prescribe drugs, which seem to be the problem. These professionals can be found by checking the local branch of the Australian Psychological Society or state Psychologists Registration Boards.

Whether one should go to a doctor (or analyst) in the first place is an excellent point.

Analyst, you are right in your observations of many of the posts. The article was of course mainly about what happened after the Author made the decision to go to a doctor.

I feel that so often many of us do not trust our own ability anymore about making decisions about our own ,or our children's, health, mental or physical -whether that is with or without the expertise of a medical practitioner, psychologist, gym instructor, iridologist, etc. There must be an 'expert' who will know best and who is going to tell me what to do or that it is OK to feel the way I do when actually I don't want to feel like that anymore.

It was really telling that Rebekah didn't feel empowered enough to tell her doctor what she had found out and that she wanted to come off the drugs. It is good to trust your chosen practitioner, but that shouldn't be blindly or with fear of 'upsetting' the practitioner.

I think I also understood from your posts, that it can be revealing how often we think we are 'sick' when very likely we're not. That so true, but from Rebekah's story I got that she had been struggling for quite a while till she sought help. She chose a doctor rather than a psychologist, that was a decision made at the time which seemed most appropriate to her. Maybe that was wrong, but then maybe she should not have had a child, maybe she should not have given up her career.It also possible to overanalyse past decisions! To me the point remains, NEVER abrogate responsibility for your own health. Rebekah overcame immense odds precisely because she did not 'hand over' herself. Use the experts, that's really what 'consulting' is all about.

Yvonne
I think you've missed the point here.
Rebekah trusted "experts" as we all would have in her situation.Should she have known whether during/after childbearing her hormonal changes could have played havoc? Would it not have been an "expert's" job to inform her? It is known in the literature that females produce more of a certain hormone especially around childbearing time,yet they are given more of the same hormone,how wrong can one be?
Coming to my point ...when she was already in a mental state, how could she have known where to go next, until somebody caring enough to do the research for her? That should have been the "expert's" job again!
Besides- psychiatry is a made up modality based on nothing.True-chemical imbalance is very rare and would quickly show itself at birth.The rest is all hogwash.Show me one person who has been healed by a psychiatrist.
People heal themselves,drugs don't do it,doc's don't do it,experts don't do it.There is a similar case like Rebeccah's here is the url following. http://www.iahf.com/on_the_back_wards.html and
http://www.nocodexgenocide.com/page/page/3113480.htm

John has gone worldwide with his story and people like Rebeccah are joining this organisation in droves.

Rebekah, Sorry to have misspelt your name in my previous post,I appologise sincerely.May you have the health you so deserve:-)
Interesting reading for selfhelp is: http://emotional-freedom-technique.tk
Please download the free script (where it says:"you can get started for free") on how to apply this simple and natural technique you'll be pleasantly surprised.

eftfnc

Your website attributes depression and other similar physical manisfestations of ill health to the emotional baggage we carry from earlier trauma in our lives. While such past trauma, along with current stressful circumstances, undoubtedly contribute, they are not the sole cause. Why is it that some people buckle under these pressures while others facing similar if not greater stresses show no signs of mental or physical unwellness?

The answer lies largely in our genetic makeup. A large number of people are born with the propensity to fall victim to depression and related problems. Whether or not they actually do depends more on their personal fitness and their diet than the levels of stress and trauma they experience in their lives.

I fell victim to these problems and yet haven't had a particularly traumatic or stressful past. I had the genetic predisposition and menopause and work stress at the time provided the trigger. I have researched the literature thoroughly and changed my diet accordingly - and very specifically. It's much more than healthy eating. I take specifically prescribed vitamin and herbal supplements as well.

I have gone from a person who has suffered depression on and off all my life and was finally verging on total mental collapse to a person who can now handle whatever life throws at me. I'm not on medication (though I would have been if I'd listened to my doctor at the time) and I'm very sceptical of behavioural therapy though it might work for some people.

My life's circumstances haven't really changed in any way but I am feeling better than I ever have in my life, and that includes my younger years when I should have been at my prime. I have maintained this sense of well-being for three years now, though it does require daily discipline to do so. If I slip up too much I notice the difference in how I feel. I consider myself living proof that the website I mentioned in an earlier post does indeed have the answers when it comes to managing depression.

Thank you so much for sharing your story, Rebekah. It's brought me to the realisation that my own history is an example of 20+ years of possible misdiagnosis, for which I have just had shock treatment.

I think I was 19 when I first was hit with major depression. My parents think I was depressed prior to this, but this was when it first debilitated me. Coincidently, it started the day I started on the contraceptive pill. I didn't realise this until a long time afterwards though. By the time I stopped the pill a couple of years later, I was already on the anti-depressant cycle, and it made no difference. Had I realised at the time I started the pill and stopped it straight away, I may have avoided all these years of trouble. I think my original depression, as identified by my parents, was attention deficit disorder. I realised this after both my sons were diagnosed with ADHD.

I am in the process of being discharged from hospital, but I'm worse than when I went in. I had a temporary improvement, but have plunged down again. The reason I was admitted to hospital? I now believe it was efexor withdrawal.

The author's experience sounds very much like mine when I think back over the drugs I've been prescribed over the years and their doses. What annoys me is the times I've mentioned to my doctors that the meds are causing certain side-effects that my concerns have been dismissed. My dr disputed my withdrawal from Efexor, as did the doctors of other people who I know have suffered the same thing. It took me 18 months to come off efexor - I got to a quarter of my dose enduring the side effects, but couldn't get past that without really suffering. Oddly enough, I decided to get off the last 75mg at the beginning of the year. During this time I was admitted to hospital for ECT.

I'm now an invalid until this can be fixed.

Dear Rebekah,

I have just finished reading your book. It's brilliant. I really admire your courage in stepping out to tell your ordeal and to reveal to the world the "conspiracy" of the powerful drug companies.

Though i did not have quite a similar illness, but I have been in a similar situation whereby i have suffered the horrible effects of prednisolone for 3 years. I was told that i will have to take the drug for the rest of my life. And to compensate the side effects of that drug, i was given more and more drugs which led me down the road to no return. Instead of getting better, i got worse and worse.

My doctor sees me once a month for less than 10 mins. But every time i waited outside her room for an hour. She gets angry and defensive every time i questioned her about the drugs or why i am not getting better. But i was too young then to contradict her. I thought i was doomed at 20.

And the irony is i started getting better after i stop taking my medication, without her knowing. And to this day, she thinks my recovery is her good work.

I have since lost faith in western medication and has started learning natural therapy and becoming a therapist myself. I want to empower myself and all my patients to own their health and have an active role in their healing.

It is important to research on your own condition and not to rely on everything your doctor says. Make the necessary diet & lifestyle changes. We have to remember that we have a right to our own health.

Hi Rebekah,

I am reading your book at the moment, and finding it a bit of an eye opener. Since my childhood I have been medicated on the insistance of my mother, and in my teenage years my mother took me to the doctor and insisted I be started on anti depressants. I have taken Aurorix (from memory), Zoloft, Lithium, and anti psychotic drugs (very briefly). I found that the only drug that didn't give me immediate side effects, to be Aropax however. I have spent a lot of my early adult life addicted to Aropax, once being prescribed 6 a day. I began to wonder if I really needed Aropax, and tried to come off them. Withdrawal however is awful, but I can now say that I am no longer taking any drugs.

Which makes me wonder if I did need them to begin with. (I think I was suffering from a dysfuntional home life, as opposed to mental problems!) I was diagnosed with a hormonal imbalance (which there was evidence for), which may have affected my state of mind at times, but I am starting to think that all the drugs that my mother had me taking have caused me more harm then good.

I now belive that my mother used my 'problems' to get attention for herself. A former nurse, she had me diagnosed with ADD from my earliest memory, behavioural problems, depression and even psychosis. She was always reading books looking for a new disorder. What is scary is she convinced these doctors to over medicate me. I have suffered such a lot, but now at the age of 31 I am trying to get my life and self esteem back. I have lost so much, and no longer have a relationship with my mother (who still tells people I am mentally ill).

Thankyou for your book, and best of luck Rebekah. I hope "Max" is no longer practising!

Rebekah, your story is remarkable and speaks of your brilliance and determination. To have recognized what was happening to you and why it was occurring was a stroke of genius! Knowing the necessity of GRADUALLY reducing dosage of drugs you were eliminating is unknown to many, if not most, doctors. You were fortunate, as well, to have had a mum and husband who believed in your worth and in spite of your horrible times, stuck by you. I am fortunate to have read your story as it is not available in our book stores or our U.S. Internet companies to date but hopefully this will change. Your book should be REQUIRED reading for all students at medical schools. It gives a perspective often overlooked by members of the medical profession. I have found that doctors generally dismiss "side-effects" as being rare and not to be considered! Continue your research and I look forward to your next book! Good luck and enjoy your new freedom.

Holy moly!!
I'm halfway through the book and am horrified at the 'care' Rebekah received. I can't decide whether I'm heartbroken at the torment she and her family endured, or furious at the stupidity of those responsible.
These people are supposed to be health professionals, with your very best interests at heart. I find it inconceivable that the adverse reactions to these classes of drugs have gone ignored for all this time. (And by all accounts, continue to be.) These consequences are catastrophic!! Do these care givers sincerely believe that they are providing the best possible care for their charges by throwing drugs at the 'problem'?
The fact that Rebekah had to wean herself in secret so as not to be forcibly medicated is just appalling - words just fail me at the situation. And as for that 'Max Braydle', I sincerely hope that he is no longer practicing his brand of therapy on ANYONE. What a creep.

I'm shocked at the amount of posts that support the "no doctors, no drugs" line. If you applied that to all medicine we'd be back to medicine men and blood letting.

If you haven't felt the wrath of depression you know nothing and should listen and learn, not repeat rubbish you have "heard".

The deep depression sufferers, of which I have been and still am one, would all be dead if we didn't have meds and doctors who try with the limited arsenal they have.

Yes drugs are dangerous and yes drug companies don't want a cure as it defeats their purpose. And yes some of us go through hell in treatment. Rebekah has and so have I.

What would you suggest? No meds, no doctors? We'd be suicidal or out on the streets looking for a truck to stand in front of in our droves. Maybe we should anyway, this society is so sick in itself.

Why are prisons and police the first line of help for the mentally ill? Why do our "leaders" turn a blind eye to us? Don't dare quote "Beyond Blue" as any help at all. It's simply a government funded PR exercise to show they are doing "something"
Are you aware how many road deaths are actually suicides? Yes, that's right, people driving around looking for an end for themselves. Often taking out others.

Our doctors and medical support generally knock themselves out trying to help and all they get is abuse. As an extreme example of this how about under trained nurses being responsible for all patients overnight and legally liable if anything should go wrong?Large corporations understaff their private hospitals, make them sign contracts stating they are responsible and then sit back to rake in the money. John Howard, take a bow.

Did you know about 25% of all Aussies will feel the pain of depression during their lifetimes? Did you know most deep depression sufferers never recover, they learn to live with it and manage it. With doctors and meds.

Ignorance is excusable. Displaying it is not.

I just recently finished reading Dying For a Cure by Rebekah Beddoe. I have a family member who suffers from mental illness, so Rebekah's story was very interesting. I found this book to be very well written, and I had a hard time putting it down. Here are the main points I took from the book; 1) Anti depressants (SSRIs) do cause more harm than good in SOME patients, 2) SSRIs do have side effects, sometimes manifesting themselves into life threatening conditions in SOME patients, 3) SOME doctors need to educate themselves better on the potential side effects of anti depressants, 4) anti depressants should not always be the first line of defense in treating mental illness, 5) when anti depressants are determined to be the appropriate treatment option, SOME doctors need to do a better job monitoring their patients, 6) if the condition of the person taking anti depressants worsens, then it is very likely caused by the anti depressant itself, and 7) the drug companies need to do a much better job of making the potential harmul side effects known to their patients.

After reading the book completely, I did not come away with the impression that Rebekah was saying anti depressants never work, or that they aren't appropriate for some people. The main message I took from the book was that anti depressants, like any other medication, do carry side effects which in some people can be detrimental. And, for whatever reason, the pharmaceutical companies are not making the public aware of the negative side effects of these drugs. My personal opionion is that the pharmaceutical's have a public responsibility to make patients/doctors aware of the side effects of all medications, so that the patient/doctor can make an informed risk/benifit decision as to whether or not to take a particular medication.

Finally, the family member I spoke of, my brother, does take anti depressant and anti psychotic medications. After much tweaking by some very dedicated doctors, I can say the medications appear to help him lead a much more functional life. I am very thankful for that.

Well said Sarge. You have read correctly. Why do drug companies and doctors hide side effects? Well, they don't. There are just so many possible side effects that they are all listed in doco given with ALL meds. And available on the web under many reputable sites.

Regardless of that though it is true drug companies publish this simply to try and avoid any legal responsibility. No doubt about that at all.

Doctors on the other hand? Ignornace is usually the reason they don't spend an hour telling all patients what may happen. Whose ignorance is the question.

If you take anti depressants for goodness sake see a specialist, not a GP who is trying to cope with ALL illnesses in usually 5 minute sessions. That's like asking our government to keep us informed of the law. Too much information so we don't read or listen right?

If you are going to take these drugs, as I do, then read, research, discuss with others who have already used them. All available on Aussie web sites, user to user.

Someone above stated they were "admitted" to ECT. All my sympathy but please be clear. You don't just get "admitted" to ECT. Unless you are a danger to society and 2 psychiatrists agree you are, or yourself, then ECT is not a possibility. You must sign for it, read and sign away your rights which we will do when at the worst of depression.

It is not forced these days.

There is more to this story than medications and their side-effects.
People say, "get a second opinion" but from Rebekah’s account we see that she got second, third and fourth opinions. She was hospitalised in the Private and Public sector and not once did any of the doctors question her medications - the type, the amount or the sometimes blatantly contraindicated combinations.

Through her mother’s intervention, one psychiatrist fairly early on, obviously suspected her medications but his mistake was to try to cease them abruptly. Rebekah, not coping with the unbearable ‘withdrawal’ effects, ran straight back to the clutches of Max, whose power and control now thwarted, rejected her.

There is the issue of Psychiatry’s apparent belief that a patient ‘belongs’ to a particular psychiatrist. Rebekah was treated like a commodity or a runaway slave when she made an attempt to change doctors. The psychiatrist expert in mood disorders ‘refused’ to take her as a patient and sent her back to the blinkered, self-important and incompetent Maarsten. The general hospitals who treated her in times of crisis would just send her right back to the doctors who were slowly but surely killing her!

There is the issue of ECT being administered so early in the piece; the so-called ‘informed consent’ whilst under the influence of mind-altering drugs; her development of Type 1 insulin dependent diabetes; the fact that the general hospital that detected it did not inform anybody. Had her mother not been present during the initial irregularity in the urine test was Rebekah destined to die from her untreated diabetes? The issue of threats and fear tactics to coerce a patient into taking medications –a Community Treatment Order or being made an involuntary patient.

Rebekah’s story is a truly harrowing tale that needed to be told. Thankfully she survived with her intelligence in tact and had the commitment and determination to research and the courage to write it in her book Dying For A Cure. Congratulations to you Rebekah and 3 cheers for your husband for his undying support & your mother’s master stroke of keeping a diary !

Hi Rebekah
I have been ill for the past 10 years. It started out as panic attacks that became more frequent and more dibilitating. I was tried on many antidepressants to find the best one for me. After some time efexor was the one that worked. After about 12moths i was feeling that the panic attacks were mostly under control so i stopped taking the efexor and started feeling all these other symptoms, eventually i could not get out of bed because i could not stand up as everything just kept moving and the dread feelings and palpitations just didnt stop. I had no idea what was going on.

I went back to my doctor to whom i explained what i had done and he said that was good and all i had to do was try yoga or some relaxation techniques. He also recomended that EFT thing which only made my palpitations worse.

To cut things short i spent the next 9 years spiraling towards the end result of going through 3 different doctors and going to the last one and saying basically she was my last resort and that i was seriously considering suicide. She sat and listened to all i had to say and at the end she asked me if i would consider going back on the efexor, to which i said i would do anything to feel better. With that she put me back on them. And after getting the dose to where it had me living again she explained that it seemed that the panic attacks were only the start of my problems and that there was a seritonin embalance that needed medication to fix(not really the right word because i may need to take this medication for ever).

Since then i have been 99.9% with my life back im going outside the house, driving again, all sorts. If it had not been for this doctor taking my cry for help seriously i would not be here today.

Yesterday, I commenced reading Rebekah Beddoe's shocking and courageous book "Dying for a Cure," I have just finished reading it, and am in total awe. I felt the contents of her book detailed my personal and horrific drug induced state of madness.

My 5 month hospitalisation involved the callous treatment of a psychiatrist who came very close to killing me with his constant misdiagnosis, verbal and emotional abuse, and enough medication to sedate 3 adult elephants - I was on a daily medical regime of 8 different medications including 2 types of antidepressants, 2 antipyschotics, 1 mood stabiliser, 2 different sleeping pills and 40 mg of valium. I was highly suicidal for much of that time. Had it not been for the intervention of my darling brother who had me transferred to another mental health facility where I was under the care of a decent, compassionate and highly experienced doctor, Professor Gordon Johnson, at Northside Clinic, Greenwich.
My drug regime was immediately rationalised by taking me off 6 of the 8 drugs I was consuming daily and then commenced my slow withdrawal off valium and stilnox sleeping wills. The nurses were peeling me off the walls for 6 weeks. For anyone addicted to valium, please take care, it is a devil of a drug to come off. My shocking withdrawals were comforted by the capable and compassionate staff at Northside Clinic, their constant encouragement was my saviour. For anyone who is suffering or not confident with their treatment, I urge you to seek a second or more opininon/s or engage the help of a loved one or friend who can intervene on your behalf.

Rebekah, thank you for sharing your amazing courage and insight. I would strongly recommend your book to all individuals who are suffering from some form of mental illness and particularly to all those professionals working in the medical health sphere.

Glo123

Dear Rebekeh
I have just finished your book - thank you for sharing your life so openly with us. Your book has the potential to make great change by increasing peolpe's awareness/knowledge and by doing so their personal ability to do something and not get into the powerlessness than can often occur within the medical model. I work in the health industry and plan to recommend your book to my colleagues.
Last year I received this article on neurogenesis and depression - will send the link as it does appear to give a plausible explananation as to why SSRIs can help some people long term. Best wishes Nik Nik
http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2006/02/the_reinvention_of_the_self.php?page=all&p=

Dear Rebekah, I have read and reread your book. It gives me some comfort thinking that the difficulties that you overcame may somehow happen to my son who is now suffering terribly while being treated for "mental" (or non-mental?) problems.