Source: Lew Rockwell | VIEW ORIGINAL POST ==>
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs and SNRIs) have long been marketed as the magical solution to depression and anxiety, promising relief in a convenient little pill. But behind the glossy pharmaceutical ads and doctor endorsements lies a far more troubling reality. These drugs don’t just alter your brain chemistry—they can hijack your emotions, disrupt your life, and lead to consequences far worse than the conditions they claim to treat.
In fact, there’s a dirty secret of the SSRI antidepressants—they cause psychotic violence which typically results in suicide and sometimes in horrific homicide (e.g., mass shootings). Remarkably, this side effect was discovered throughout their clinical trials, covered up by the drug companies, and then covered up by the FDA after the agency received a deluge of complaints (39,000 in the first nine years) once the first SSRI, Prozac, hit the market.
Initially, the media would report on the prescriptions (SSRIs) mass shooters took. However, a gag order went out, it became impossible to know what medications shooters were on, and the topic became taboo to discuss. Fortunately, that recently changed (e.g., after an article I wrote compiling that evidence went viral, Tucker Carlson did a 2022 segment on it and prominent conservatives gradually like Matt Walsh and MTG began speaking openly about SSRI mass shootings).
Note: I recently learned through a CDC official that the CDC has been silently tracking what mass shooters are on and found the SSRI link continues but has not disclosed it due to political earthquakes this admission would cause.
The Toxicology Bell Curve
In toxicology, you will typically see severe and extreme reactions occur much less frequently than moderate reactions:
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Because of this, when a very concerning and unmistakable adverse reaction occurs (e.g., the COVID-19 vaccines causing sudden deaths in young healthy athletes), that suggests you’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg and far less severe injuries are also occurring much more frequently. For example, one estimate found that of those vaccinated for COVID, 18% were injured, 0.93% were disabled, and 0.05-0.1% died, while another survey found 41% of those vaccinated were injured, with 7% being severely injured.
In the case of the SSRIs, the psychotic violence they can create, sadly, is also just the tip of a very large iceberg, and there are many less severe ways they warp your mind, body, and emotions.
The Hidden Side Effects of SSRIs
Many datasets show the harm SSRIs cause greatly outweighs any benefits. For example, in a survey of 1,829 patients on antidepressants in New Zealand:
•62% reported sexual difficulties
•60% felt emotionally numb
•52% felt not like themselves
•39% cared less about others
•47% had experienced agitation
•39% had experienced suicidal ideation.
In that survey, other less common reported side effects (in order of decreasing frequency) included: insomnia, nightmares, ‘Fuzzy’/‘zombie,’ jaw grinding, sweating, blurred vision, constipation, disturbed/restless sleep, anxiety, heart palpitations, difficulty thinking, fatigue/exhaustion, strange/vivid dreams, stiff muscles/joints, ‘Brain zaps,’ mania, excessive yawning, panic attacks, memory loss, decreased motivation, night sweats, and decreased appetite.
This list matches what I’ve seen in many other datasets (although others like feeling agitated, shaky, or anxious, indigestion, stomach aches, and diarrhea are also commonly reported).
Note: another major issue with SSRIs (which is unlikely to be detected on a symptom-based survey) is that SSRIs frequently cause bipolar disorder.
Psychotic Violence: A Suppressed Truth
When Prozac was first brought to market in the mid-1980s, the pharmaceutical industry had not yet convinced the world that everyone was depressed and needed an antidepressant. So, instead (given that SSRIs work in a similar manner to a stimulant like Cocaine) Prozac was initially marketed as a “mood-lifter.”
Likewise, in 1985 when the FDA’s safety reviewer scrutinized Eli Lily’s Prozac application, they realized Lily had “failed” to report psychotic episodes of people on the drug and that Prozac’s adverse effects resembled that of a stimulant drug. In turn, the warnings on the labels for SSRIs, such as anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, akathisia, hypomania, and mania, match the effects commonly observed with stimulant street drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.
Note: a large survey of found 44% stopped a psych med because of side effects, a quarter of which were due to SSRI agitation.
In light of this, and SSRI violence commonly being blamed on a “pre-existing mental illness” I thus compiled numerous studies (including ones industry tried to bury) showing the drugs themselves cause violence. For example:
•A Cochrane review assessed 150 studies where healthy volunteers were given SSRIs and found approximately one-third of them deliberately omitted discussing SSRI side effects, and about half of the studies were never made publicly available (presumably to hide their concerning data). Ultimately, 14 of the 150 studies were eligible for meta-analysis (since enough information existed in them for the researchers to know what actually happened), and in these 14 studies, SSRIs were found to double the risk of suicide.
•In 2000, David Healy published a study he had carried out with 20 healthy volunteers – all with no history of depression or other mental illness – and to his big surprise two (10%) of them became suicidal when they received Zoloft. One of them was on her way out the door to kill herself in front of a train or a car when a phone call saved her. Both volunteers remained disturbed several months later and seriously questioned the stability of their personalities.
•Eli Lilly showed in 1978 that cats who had been friendly for years began to growl and hiss on Prozac and became distinctly unfriendly. Once Prozac was stopped, the cats returned to their usual friendly behavior in a week or two.
Note: the FDA hypothesized that SSRIs could reduce violence in some but cause an increase in violence in others. Likewise a review of 84 animal studies showed that reduced aggression upon treatment with SSRI was most commonly observed, but sometimes the animals instead became more aggressive.
Sexual Dysfunction
One of the side effects that I feel best illustrates the poor risk-reward ratio of SSRIs is sexual dysfunction—as not being able to have sex is quite likely to make someone depressed (and in some cases suicidal)—hence often completely invalidating the justification for taking an SSRI to “feel happy again.”
For example, a Spanish study of five of 1,022 patients on the most commonly prescribed SSRIs found:
•The drugs caused sexual disturbances in 59% of them and 40% considered that dysfunction unacceptable.
•57% experienced decreased libido.
•57% experienced delayed orgasm or ejaculation.
•46% experienced no orgasm or ejaculation.
•31% experienced erectile dysfunction or decreased vaginal lubrication.
Note: similar results have been obtained in other studies, and I’ve met many men and women who continued to experience sexual dysfunction long after they stopped the SSRI (as this dysfunction is often permanent).
What I find the most amazing about SSRI sexual dysfunction is that while psychiatrists tend to downplay or ignore it, they simultaneously market SSRIs to treat premature ejaculation—which is yet another example of the drug industry trying to have its cake and eat it (especially given that many of the SSRI manufacturers also sell drugs for erectile dysfunction).
Note: one reason this side effect is under recognized is that embarrassed patients often won’t report it unless they are specifically asked about it (e.g., in the Spanish study, while 59% of SSRI users reported sexual dysfunction, only 20% did so without prompting—something unlikely to be done in a drug trial aimed at getting a medication to market).
Emotional Blunting: Losing the Essence of Life
Once the SSRIs hit the market, I immediately noticed that SSRIs sometimes dramatically altered the personality of those who took them. For example, they often destroyed the drive people had to make something of their life—and in some cases, I sadly watched that derailment continue for decades. Likewise, I began to hear stories of people describing how their experience of life was deadened, often in a manner not too different from how the drugs “numb” your sexuality.
Some of the common stories included:
•Not having emotional responses to things you should have responses to. For example, I saw numerous cases of people being in unhealthy jobs or relationships, seeing a doctor for help with their depression, quickly being put on Prozac, and then wasting a decade of their life because Prozac (or another SSRI) removed their drive to leave that toxic situation. Likewise, I heard many people state that Prozac took away the joy they felt in life.
•Losing the depth and richness of life. This comment for instance, does an excellent job of illustrating that:
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Note: in psychiatry, this emotional anesthesia (not finding things as enjoyable as one used to) is known as “emotional blunting.” Depending on the study (e.g., those mentioned above) between 40-60% of those who take SSRIs experience this side effect, and it’s sometimes rationalized as a necessary trade-off for removing the emotional pain associated with depression.
One of the greatest problems with our society is the belief that the media has marketed to us that we should never have to feel negative emotions. In reality, they are a critical component of the human experience and are frequently necessary for our growth and identifying the correct direction for our lives. Unfortunately, to market depression (and SSRIs) it was necessary to pathologize normal facets of life and turn them into permanent illnesses requiring indefinite treatment.
