Psychiatrists suicide

Not only has the connection between SSRIs and suicide been well established, but we also have some idea how SSRIs might produce this increased risk. The American psychiatrist Peter... 

How can good pharmacotherapists be found First, check with experienced and respected colleagues, take note of which pharmacotherapists are referring patients to you, attend local educational meetings with psychiatrists, or, if there is a medical school nearby, attend the psychiatry department s grand rounds. Local patient advocacy and support groups, such as the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), the National Alliance for the Mentally HI (NAMI), the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), and the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), are valuable sources of information from the patient s perspective. 

Of greater concern is the safety of the TCAs. Toxic levels of these medications can produce lethal cardiac arrhythmias, seizures, and suppression of breathing. An overdose of a 1-2 week supply of most TCAs is often fatal, a serious consideration when prescribing medication to depressed patients with suicidal thoughts. Children taking imipramine for treatment of ADHD have died from sudden cardiac death consequently, child psychiatrists seldom use TCAs. Likewise, patients with heart disease or seizure disorders are more likely to have dangerous complications from TCAs and should avoid them. 

Diagnosing depression is not a simple matter. Everyone experiences sadness once in a while, and in certain situations, such as the loss of a loved one, it is expected. The American Psychiatric Association, a group of professional psychiatrists, publishes the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, a manual that outlines the criteria for diagnosing psychiatric disorders. This widely followed manual is periodically updated, and it is currently in its fourth edition. DSM-IV, as it is often abbreviated, defines a major depressive episode to be when the patient shows a depressed mood or the absence of pleasure for a certain period of time, as well as exhibiting some other symptoms such as loss of sleep, appetite, or recurrent thoughts of suicide. Depression is one of the most common disorders, with millions of cases diagnosed every year in the United States alone. 

His final radio play was To Have Done with the Judgment of God. Artaud wrote this odd piece while in psychiatric institutions, where he was essentially tortured with excessive electroshock and other therapies. He wrote, I myself spent nine years in an insane asylum, and I never had the obsession of suicide, but I know that each conversation with a psychiatrist, every morning at the time of his visit, made me want to hang myself, realizing that I would not be able to cut his throat. ... 

Breggin, Peter. Medication Madness A Psychiatrist Exposes the Dangers of Mood-Altering Medications. New York St. Martin s Press, 2008. The psychiatrist author describes how psychiatric medicines can cause suicide, violence, crime, and emotional breakdowns. He argues that the FDA, pharmaceutical industry, and medical establishment encourage overuse of psychiatric drugs and fail to adequately protect the consumer. Breggin... 

Healy, David. Let Them Eat Prozac The Unhealthy Relationship between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression. New York New York University Press, 2004. The psychiatrist author prescribed Prozac when it first came out but found that many patients who took it became agitated and a few attempted suicide. His book reviews the history of Prozac and similar antidepressants, describes the controversies over the drugs, and ultimately criticizes the pharmaceutical industry for overstating the benefits and minimizing—or hiding—the risks. 

Prozac has been the center of controversy over the past few years. Hailed by psychiatrists and psychologists as a valuable tool in the treatment of chronic depression, the press has focused in on its not too infrequent side effects including suicidal depression. Philosophical questions also arise when considering the alleviation of depression viewed as a natural human condition . Those on Prozac undergo subtle yet significant changes in motivation and outlook which some believe is abnormal in the scheme of things. 

Tamm, as a result, felt "suicidal, at the end of my rope." As a last resort, however, she and her psychiatrist decided to try treatment with the aid of MDMA ... 

Some psychiatrists believe that there is usually a predisposition toward depression and suicidality in the affected individual, but this position lacks evidence. As a medical expert, I have extensively evaluated cases of depression and suicide induced by benzodiazepines in individuals with no prior history of these emotional problems. 

Reynaldo Lacuzong drowned himself and his two small children in a bathtub. There was no evidence of any previous suicidality or violence on his part or of any animosity toward his children. He had never seen a psychiatrist, been to counseling, or displayed symptoms of psychiatric problems. For years, Reynaldo had received outstanding evaluations as an employee at a high-tech firm. 

The psychiatrist may have anywhere from 30-50 minutes for an initial evaluation, whereas the primary care physician will probably have 15-30 minutes for the first visit. Both of them will probably have about 15 minutes for follow-up visits, sometimes less. Visits are often rushed, and any patient can look like anything for an hour. Patients can look healthy when they are psychotic, they can look happy when they are depressed and suicidal, they can successfully sublimate personality-disordered behavior, and they can (and usually do) hide substance abuse disorders. Whomever is chosen, it is critical to communicate the reasons for referral never assume that the presenting problem or diagnosis will be obvious in the visit with the physician. 

Barbara M., 35, was admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit after she developed suicidal ideas and incidents in which she repeatedly sliced the inside of her calf. Her admitting diagnosis was major depression and borderline personality disorder. The borderline diagnosis was based on the rather bizarre self-mutilation. The treating psychiatrist informed the patient s family that her acute depression could indeed be treated, but that the apparent personality disorder would likely be a serious, ongoing problem and the prognosis was more guarded. 

But Sarah s mother s predicament—a long-term reliance on medications that often work best only in the short term—is all too common, even if these more mundane problems of antidepressants don t get the public attention of the notorious suicides and psychotic episodes that were associated with Prozac in the early 1990s. Although I do prescribe antidepressants to my patients who need them, I also feel concerned about what I see as the overreliance on medication among psychiatrists, primary-care doctors, and other health professionals. For some people, antidepressants may indeed be a kind of wonder drug, balancing their... 

In his attitude toward the Negro, Rush thus adheres to the fundamental principle of Institutional Psychiatry, namely, that the patient does not know, and hence cannot protect, his own best interests. He needs the medical man to do this for him. In 1796, the psychiatrist knew that the Negro would have preferred to be white. Today, the psychiatrist knows that the alleged drug addict would prefer not to take drugs that the homosexual would prefer to be heterosexual and that the suicidal person would prefer to live.f The upshot is the psychiatric discreditation of human experience and the therapeutic destruction of human differences. 

King Ludwig II of Bavaria is deposed. Dr. Bernard von Gudden, professor of psychiatry at the University of Munich, heads a team of psychiatrists who declare Ludwig to be the victim of a mental sickness which psychiatrists know well and call paranoia. Ludwig is taken into custody and placed under psychiatric observation he kills Dr. Gudden and commits suicide. ... 

Another time, a psychiatrist making rounds with residents, asked the interpreter to check whether her Spanish-speaking patient was likely to commit suicide. The patient responded 1 feel so bad I could die. The interpreter declared, She s suicidal. ... 

One thing the psychiatrists did notice, this was a depression which drove nobody to suicide. The other constants were the slow decline in efficiency at work, increased lethargy, a rise in use of tranquilizer and stimulant programs. Pop psychology commentators took to calling it the rise of the why-bother psychosis. 

We can laugh about it now, but it puts a terrible strain on your relationship," he says. I m not the same person she married. The end of his career, the loss of the high-functioning and efficient person he once was, led to thoughts of suicide. His psychiatrist treated him with therapy and medication, and the depression lifted. But the confusion did not. 

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