Editorial Review:

Well over ten million Americans are prescribed a psychiatric medication annually, for symptoms as varied as headache and insomnia to depression and various psychiatric disorders. Unbelievably, many of these drugs have not been formally tested to treat the problems for which they have been prescribed. Scientifically documenting the need for an end to this vicious cycle of inadequate approval, mis-medication, and irresponsible inattention to adverse side effects, Breggin and Cohen advocate compassionate and non-toxic therapies, and offer readers a roadmap for sensible, safe withdrawal from psychiatric drugs.Whether the drug is a sleeping pill, tranquilizer, stimulant, antidepressant, mood stabilizer, or antipsychotic, Your Drug May Be Your Problem reveals its documented withdrawal symptoms, demonstrating what many doctors don't know, understand, or consider: withdrawal symptoms often mimic the symptoms for which a person has been medicated in the first place, a fact that frequently prompts doctors to mistakenly re-medicate their patients at even higher doses. Armed with this essential background information, readers will then be able to choose for themselves when and how to withdraw from psychiatric drugs. Groundbreaking and empowering, Your Drug May Be Your Problem offers readers what they have long sought--a medically and psychologically sound program for freeing themselves from psychiatric drugs, emphasizing throughout the importance for patients to keep control over the withdrawal process.

Psychiatric drugs are prescribed to more than 20 million Americans. This book aims to convince us to stop taking these drugs, and to show us how to do it safely. The authors contend that after 15 minutes with a physician or psychiatrist, Americans are prescribed medications that we may take for years or a lifetime, which can do more harm than good. We're irritable, anxious, emotionally numbed, physically fatigued, and mentally dulled. Yet when we stop taking the drugs, we encounter a whole new set of problems and setbacks.

The book lists the adverse medical reactions you may encounter, plus additional personal, psychological, and philosophical reasons for limiting or rejecting psychiatric drugs. About half the book covers withdrawing from your drug--how to do it carefully and slowly, what to expect, and how to get help--with specifics for certain drugs and a chapter on easing your child off them as well.

If you suffer from depression or another condition that warrants taking prescription drugs, you might refute the authors' contention that "the degree to which we suffer indicates the degree to which we are alive. When we take drugs to ease our suffering, we stifle our psychological and spiritual life." Certainly it would be lovely if we could "find a way to untangle that twisted energy and to redirect it more creatively," but is this really possible in all cases? The authors blame our dependence on drugs and psychiatry on big pharmaceutical-company bucks, psychiatric organizations, and even government agencies. Certainly we are an overmedicated society--but is the answer to take everyone off drugs? This provocative book says yes, and it's bound to be controversial.

Of course, do not go off any prescribed medication without working closely with the medical professional who prescribed it, and do not use this book as a substitute for professional help. --Joan Price

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

one of my favorite books of all time:

I work in the mental health field and this book was a Godsend. It is a page-turning thriller of a nonfiction book about the dangers of and alternatives to psychopharmacology. A MUST READ FOR EVERY MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL and layperson who knows somebody on drugs.

Pseudoscience at its best:

How you feel about the message will boil down to a difference of psychiatric philosophies. The book itself however, suffers from biased writing. In such a matter as important as taking a medication that could save one's life, it's important to acknowledge there is some benefit from neuropharmaceuticals. This book does not do that, which is incredibly irresponsible scientific writing. In fact, self-medication is viewed by the authors as a moral flaw. And all of this is laid out in the first chapter. It is a... more info

Your Drug May Be Your Problem, Revised Edition: How and Why to Stop Taking Psychiatric Medications:

I was in search of literature which would expose the other side of the coin. [(Perscription) drugs or no drugs]For poeple who like to use common sense and aren't afraid to explore other options meaning finding the root of the problem rather than numming the symtomes that it causes - this book provides a different perspective and allows people who have been told they need these perscriptions for the rest of their lives to form their very own opinion either way. In this book you will also learn about which... more info

Finally:

This book and his other book The Anti-Depressant Fact Book really open your eyes to a overwhelming trend in society right now. There are so many people that don't know how to stop taking this sort of medication. Anyhow, I hope people stumble on this book as I did before considering taking meds or if they're on them this has some really good info on how to get off - as it can be a difficult road!

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