The Antidepressant Fact Book: What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, And Luvox

A very compelling read. Plain talk about the dangers of SSRI drugs, and the victims who are mislead into taking them.Dr. Breggin is compassionate towards the depressed and others suffering from emotional problems, and suggests successful treatment options that do not involve psychosurgery or drugs. He is able to state authoritatively that depression is an emotional disorder, not a physical one, and cannot be "cured" with drugs or other harmful brain damaging methods like lobotomy or electroshock. Many years of private practice and vast amounts of research into the private records of pharmaceutical companies enable Dr. Breggin to support his findings with empirical evidence.I highly recommend this book, especially to readers who suffer from depression, or have a friend or loved one who does.

This practicing psychiatrist went through the details of the drug trials we never get to see as part of testifying for parents suing over the damage to their children. Very good discussion of how so many psychiatrists have become hooked on prescribing dangerous mood drugs (SSDI) like Prozac and Ritalin to children under age 18. Includes why these drugs should be a last resort because they damage the growing brain and suppress learning how to cope with life. Explains the hidden damage to adults too that can surface years after getting off drugs like Paxil and Zoloft and be a major contributor to suicides. I would add that since it requires a prescription, it is a good way for psychiatrists to "lock in" a patient for years of therapy; especially since stopping the drugs can create relapse.

Every doctor and patient and all who are considering taking anti-depressants should be aware of the facts constained in this excellent and informative book.If doctors do not stop pushing anti-depressants we are going to have many people on drugs that have forgotten how (or never been given the chance to learn how) to fight the problems of life instead of succumbing to what seems the easy way out by taking a pill. But...only to find that it is easy to begin taking the meds but it can be no easy road to get off of them. And in the meantime a good portion of your life has been lived with parts of your brain being changed and keeping you from thinking and living to your full potiential.

This book focused mostly on prozac and spoke very little of the other two mentioned on the front cover. I was disappointed with the information and didn't end up reading it all the way through. It didn't seem to come with enough evidence surrounding other products.

Read this book, try to understand what you/they are taking. This family of drugs is known and well documented to alter your personality (sometimes for the better) and ruin your sex life (always for the worse). If you or your partner is no longer interested in sex, read this book and THEN talk to your doctor. You'd be surprised how many doctors prescribe this stuff without paying attention to potential sexual side affects.

I bought this book when a friend of mine said they were on an anti-depressant drug but they were still experiencing depression and other physical symptoms. I had heard of Prozac but that was years ago. This book is a real "eye-opener." The book has changed my whole outlook on prescription drugs. Now I take side-effects very seriously will study these before agreeing to taking any drug. What I find most interesting is the drug companies have to mention all the possible side effects but they are not required to mention how frequently each of these side effects show up in their studies. People like myself tend to side on the belief that a side-effect is rare and won't apply to myself but actually side-effects could apply to significant numbers of people but the drug company doesn't have to mention this. But did you notice when a drug company advertises on television they have to mention all the side-effects and that is the scariest part of the ad. Peter Breggin is not a believer in treating depression with anti-depressants and he makes a very strong case here. Basically, if you are depressed then there are probable causes which are not going away by just popping a pill.

I enjoyed reading this book! It has given me more insight into depression and drugs, and backed up my own theories I have formulated about them from my experiences and research.If you are thinking of using anti-depressants or know someone who is then you would certainly benefit from the knowledge in this book.It is written as a pretty one sided argument but then this guy is extremely passionate about it. This does not make him any more right or wrong, But reading his experience and qualifications does impress. I have to say my bull-o-meter could not be nudged in the slightest. Don't forget the world once was flat, Everything revolved around the Earth, Going faster than 100km/h could kill and.....For goodness sake deal with depression for what it is! If you don't know about it then learn about it. Don't deal with it by masking it with dangerous mind altering drugs which cause widespread devastation.

Read this book BEFORE taking any meds! FDA covers up bad side effects- this doctor is honest!

Despite Dr Breggin's credentials, this text is ultimately a melodramatic and terribly simplistic presentation of what is otherwise a highly valid anti-psycho-pharmacological position. The premise of the book is a poignant one - that antidepressants and other psychoactive medications both exasperate mental suffering and afflict users with dangerous side effects to boot. However, the argument is poorly articulated. Breggin's prose often seems as if it is directed at an infantile audience. He is inadvertently patronising; he assumes that his readers have zero knowledge not only of psychiatric practice but of scientific method generally. He makes sweeping claims without providing any explicit justificatory evidence - even though lord knows there is plenty of it. Breggin advances in a horribly unacademic, anti-scholastic manner. Enormous points of argument are covered fleetingly in the space of mere paragraphs and then simply repeated in excess rather than expanded upon and developed. Overall, one leaves this read very disappointed; Breggin has a lot to offer - his psychiatric ideology, from the little I can gather, is inspiring - but his best mind is not to be found here. Maybe he's just not a good writer?

Fascinating read about what is really behind the world of anti-depressants. Very thought provoking for those who have been on these drugs for long time.

Breggin kämpft seit Jahrzehnten gegen die zunehmende Medikamentierung von Menschen in seelischer Not.Höchst wissenschaftrlich widerlegt er hier die zentralen Behauptungen der Pharmaindustrie und klärt über den enormen Schaden, den Psychopharmaka anrichten, auf.

I didn't know that there was any other way to cope with depression than medication. I am so glad to have found this book. It has helped me to seek other means to deal with my depression, and I am happy to say I am now drug free, and living a joy filled life.

slightly biased view, but gives the reader lots of good information that is normally over-looked. Dr. Peter Breggin is a well spoken individual

I bought this book to learn more about the harm SSRI medications can do. The author is an expert on his subject, but as soon as I read his views on the causes of depression I lost some faith in the whole book. Clearly depression can be biological. Whether drugs do more harm than good is another matter. I am sure in many cases they probably can.Dr Breggin states the following about deep brain stimulation (a procedure that has given relief to many with Parkinson's and also OCD and some other mental conditions): "Deep brain stimulation is bound to cause serious harm to the surrounding brain tissue, neuronal function, or both, and it makes no rational sense as a psychiatric treatment. To electronically stimulate oneself with a portable device to cause euphoria seems like the epitome of treating oneself as a "thing" rather than a human being."Now I am sure many people will agree with him about any form of psychosurgery, but I happen to have experience of deep brain stimulation and find his remarks utterly ridiculous. We are not stimulating ourselves to experience euphoria, we are finding ways to manage life-long anxiety, OCD and depression - which in many cases IS biological.

As this was very biased, and also American, it was not quite what I wanted. I did however read it all, but would not recommend it to other people. It was in good condition and arrived on time well packed.

This book is explosive - if you have ever considered taking antidepressants, you need to read this first - if you do not, and you end up suffering for the remainder of your life, from any of the 'toxic poison' side-effects related here, then you have only yourself to blame.Mark Fletcher