Rein in SSRI epidemic ..... By Jeff Kupfer psychologist from Superior, Colorado

[Guest guest]

Rein in SSRI epidemic

By Jeff Kupfer, a licensed psychologist from Superior, Colorado.

guest commentary

Friday, April 09, 2004

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~158~2071735,00.html

America's alleged health watchdogs have stepped up to the plate in

dubious fashion. The Food and Drug Administration has asked

manufacturers of popular anti-depressants known as selective

serotonin

reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, to strengthen suicide warnings on

their

labels. This campaign appears to take steps to protect the public, at

least from suicide, but has failed to curb a larger assault on

Americans.

The effects of poor diagnoses and over-prescribing of medications

have

been as detrimental as the SSRIs themselves. The fallout: Powerful

pharmaceutical companies continue to rake in billions.

SSRI anti-depressants are dispensed like Chex Mix at a tavern on a

Saturday night. Americans have been painstakingly primed for

pharmaceutical exploitation, thanks to the drug industries, media,

the

American Medical Association and the FDA. Physicians adorn waiting

rooms

with medication propaganda like pubs touting Genuine Draft

two-fers on Tuesday. TV commercials popularize depression, reducing a

complex condition to an animated, morose " bubble " that no longer

appreciates the simple beauty of a butterfly. At last count, about 70

percent of my spam e-mails promoted SSRIs, leaving sex products and

low-interest home mortgages in the dust. Popular magazines thrive

from

selling full-page spreads, accompanied by obligatory clinical test

results written in jargon that sends statisticians running for

reference

books.

Americans have been seduced by a slick, well-conceived marketing

ploy.

Everyone, at times, feels sad, anxious, strung out, overworked,

misunderstood and simply indifferent and uninspired. In a society

that

seems to be on a cataclysmic tailspin toward the self-absorbed, SSRIs

are touted to cure all: depression, sleeping and eating disorders,

anxiety and social phobias.

A new species of primary care physician has evolved. Armed with a

mini-arsenal of samples left by pharmaceutical company

representatives,

he greets a patient who reports feeling off-center ever since the

final

episode of " Sex in the City. " Under the subliminal control of

strategically placed SSRI pamphlets, the question is asked: " Is it

right

for me? " The physician elucidates the complex chemical imbalance,

then

whips out a prescription pad and a pen emblazoned with a drug

manufacturer's logo. " Side effects? You've got nothing to worry

about.

Here, take these clinical test results home with you. "

SSRIs have established a cultural double-standard. It's no surprise

that

teenagers cast a doubtful eye when warned about gateway drugs and

alcohol from parents who dose up on SSRIs. These same parents seek

out

pharmaceutical relief for their unruly, oppositionally defiant

teenagers. At best, this simply substitutes an SSRI or other

FDA-approved drugs for illicit ones; at worst, parents inflict

pharmaceutical propaganda into the lifestyles of vulnerable

teenagers. A

pill-popping parent is a poor model for a skeptical teenager trying

to

make sense out of a culture in which parents divorce with acrimony,

competition for college admission is daunting and the safety and

future

of our nation teeters like a hanging chad on an election ballot.

At center stage of this circus is the FDA, watching in the wings as

untrained medical professionals parade as experts in treating

behavior

problems, many functioning as marketers with medical degrees.

Pharmaceutical companies care little about physician competency, only

that they have a license to prescribe medications.

Left unchecked, the reliance on SSRIs to solve minor complaints

keeps us

from closely examining where the problems come from, and how to deal

with them effectively. If the diagnoses of depression, anxiety and

obsessive-compulsive disorder are on the rise, it's an artifact of

these

rules of engagement: SSRIs are prescribed only when there is an

alleged

diagnosis - not necessarily an accurate one. Many people who undergo

proper diagnoses benefit from prescription drugs, but too many others

are misdiagnosed and are taking SSRIs for no good reason.

The FDA should take precautions to protect Americans from more than

SSRIs. It's time to rein in pharmaceutical companies from exploiting

the

public, and demand competency-based criteria for medical

professionals

prescribing SSRIs.

*

The material in this post is distributed without profit to those

who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included

information for research and educational purposes.

For more information go to:

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

<http://oregon.uoregon.edu/%7Ecsundt/documents.htm>

http://oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm

<http://oregon.uoregon.edu/%7Ecsundt/documents.htm>

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this email for

purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission

from the copyright owner.

[Guest guest]

Rein in SSRI epidemic

By Jeff Kupfer, a licensed psychologist from Superior, Colorado.

guest commentary

Friday, April 09, 2004

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~158~2071735,00.html

America's alleged health watchdogs have stepped up to the plate in

dubious fashion. The Food and Drug Administration has asked

manufacturers of popular anti-depressants known as selective

serotonin

reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, to strengthen suicide warnings on

their

labels. This campaign appears to take steps to protect the public, at

least from suicide, but has failed to curb a larger assault on

Americans.

The effects of poor diagnoses and over-prescribing of medications

have

been as detrimental as the SSRIs themselves. The fallout: Powerful

pharmaceutical companies continue to rake in billions.

SSRI anti-depressants are dispensed like Chex Mix at a tavern on a

Saturday night. Americans have been painstakingly primed for

pharmaceutical exploitation, thanks to the drug industries, media,

the

American Medical Association and the FDA. Physicians adorn waiting

rooms

with medication propaganda like pubs touting Genuine Draft

two-fers on Tuesday. TV commercials popularize depression, reducing a

complex condition to an animated, morose " bubble " that no longer

appreciates the simple beauty of a butterfly. At last count, about 70

percent of my spam e-mails promoted SSRIs, leaving sex products and

low-interest home mortgages in the dust. Popular magazines thrive

from

selling full-page spreads, accompanied by obligatory clinical test

results written in jargon that sends statisticians running for

reference

books.

Americans have been seduced by a slick, well-conceived marketing

ploy.

Everyone, at times, feels sad, anxious, strung out, overworked,

misunderstood and simply indifferent and uninspired. In a society

that

seems to be on a cataclysmic tailspin toward the self-absorbed, SSRIs

are touted to cure all: depression, sleeping and eating disorders,

anxiety and social phobias.

A new species of primary care physician has evolved. Armed with a

mini-arsenal of samples left by pharmaceutical company

representatives,

he greets a patient who reports feeling off-center ever since the

final

episode of " Sex in the City. " Under the subliminal control of

strategically placed SSRI pamphlets, the question is asked: " Is it

right

for me? " The physician elucidates the complex chemical imbalance,

then

whips out a prescription pad and a pen emblazoned with a drug

manufacturer's logo. " Side effects? You've got nothing to worry

about.

Here, take these clinical test results home with you. "

SSRIs have established a cultural double-standard. It's no surprise

that

teenagers cast a doubtful eye when warned about gateway drugs and

alcohol from parents who dose up on SSRIs. These same parents seek

out

pharmaceutical relief for their unruly, oppositionally defiant

teenagers. At best, this simply substitutes an SSRI or other

FDA-approved drugs for illicit ones; at worst, parents inflict

pharmaceutical propaganda into the lifestyles of vulnerable

teenagers. A

pill-popping parent is a poor model for a skeptical teenager trying

to

make sense out of a culture in which parents divorce with acrimony,

competition for college admission is daunting and the safety and

future

of our nation teeters like a hanging chad on an election ballot.

At center stage of this circus is the FDA, watching in the wings as

untrained medical professionals parade as experts in treating

behavior

problems, many functioning as marketers with medical degrees.

Pharmaceutical companies care little about physician competency, only

that they have a license to prescribe medications.

Left unchecked, the reliance on SSRIs to solve minor complaints

keeps us

from closely examining where the problems come from, and how to deal

with them effectively. If the diagnoses of depression, anxiety and

obsessive-compulsive disorder are on the rise, it's an artifact of

these

rules of engagement: SSRIs are prescribed only when there is an

alleged

diagnosis - not necessarily an accurate one. Many people who undergo

proper diagnoses benefit from prescription drugs, but too many others

are misdiagnosed and are taking SSRIs for no good reason.

The FDA should take precautions to protect Americans from more than

SSRIs. It's time to rein in pharmaceutical companies from exploiting

the

public, and demand competency-based criteria for medical

professionals

prescribing SSRIs.

*

The material in this post is distributed without profit to those

who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included

information for research and educational purposes.

For more information go to:

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

<http://oregon.uoregon.edu/%7Ecsundt/documents.htm>

http://oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm

<http://oregon.uoregon.edu/%7Ecsundt/documents.htm>

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this email for

purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission

from the copyright owner.

[Guest guest]

Rein in SSRI epidemic

By Jeff Kupfer, a licensed psychologist from Superior, Colorado.

guest commentary

Friday, April 09, 2004

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~158~2071735,00.html

America's alleged health watchdogs have stepped up to the plate in

dubious fashion. The Food and Drug Administration has asked

manufacturers of popular anti-depressants known as selective

serotonin

reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, to strengthen suicide warnings on

their

labels. This campaign appears to take steps to protect the public, at

least from suicide, but has failed to curb a larger assault on

Americans.

The effects of poor diagnoses and over-prescribing of medications

have

been as detrimental as the SSRIs themselves. The fallout: Powerful

pharmaceutical companies continue to rake in billions.

SSRI anti-depressants are dispensed like Chex Mix at a tavern on a

Saturday night. Americans have been painstakingly primed for

pharmaceutical exploitation, thanks to the drug industries, media,

the

American Medical Association and the FDA. Physicians adorn waiting

rooms

with medication propaganda like pubs touting Genuine Draft

two-fers on Tuesday. TV commercials popularize depression, reducing a

complex condition to an animated, morose " bubble " that no longer

appreciates the simple beauty of a butterfly. At last count, about 70

percent of my spam e-mails promoted SSRIs, leaving sex products and

low-interest home mortgages in the dust. Popular magazines thrive

from

selling full-page spreads, accompanied by obligatory clinical test

results written in jargon that sends statisticians running for

reference

books.

Americans have been seduced by a slick, well-conceived marketing

ploy.

Everyone, at times, feels sad, anxious, strung out, overworked,

misunderstood and simply indifferent and uninspired. In a society

that

seems to be on a cataclysmic tailspin toward the self-absorbed, SSRIs

are touted to cure all: depression, sleeping and eating disorders,

anxiety and social phobias.

A new species of primary care physician has evolved. Armed with a

mini-arsenal of samples left by pharmaceutical company

representatives,

he greets a patient who reports feeling off-center ever since the

final

episode of " Sex in the City. " Under the subliminal control of

strategically placed SSRI pamphlets, the question is asked: " Is it

right

for me? " The physician elucidates the complex chemical imbalance,

then

whips out a prescription pad and a pen emblazoned with a drug

manufacturer's logo. " Side effects? You've got nothing to worry

about.

Here, take these clinical test results home with you. "

SSRIs have established a cultural double-standard. It's no surprise

that

teenagers cast a doubtful eye when warned about gateway drugs and

alcohol from parents who dose up on SSRIs. These same parents seek

out

pharmaceutical relief for their unruly, oppositionally defiant

teenagers. At best, this simply substitutes an SSRI or other

FDA-approved drugs for illicit ones; at worst, parents inflict

pharmaceutical propaganda into the lifestyles of vulnerable

teenagers. A

pill-popping parent is a poor model for a skeptical teenager trying

to

make sense out of a culture in which parents divorce with acrimony,

competition for college admission is daunting and the safety and

future

of our nation teeters like a hanging chad on an election ballot.

At center stage of this circus is the FDA, watching in the wings as

untrained medical professionals parade as experts in treating

behavior

problems, many functioning as marketers with medical degrees.

Pharmaceutical companies care little about physician competency, only

that they have a license to prescribe medications.

Left unchecked, the reliance on SSRIs to solve minor complaints

keeps us

from closely examining where the problems come from, and how to deal

with them effectively. If the diagnoses of depression, anxiety and

obsessive-compulsive disorder are on the rise, it's an artifact of

these

rules of engagement: SSRIs are prescribed only when there is an

alleged

diagnosis - not necessarily an accurate one. Many people who undergo

proper diagnoses benefit from prescription drugs, but too many others

are misdiagnosed and are taking SSRIs for no good reason.

The FDA should take precautions to protect Americans from more than

SSRIs. It's time to rein in pharmaceutical companies from exploiting

the

public, and demand competency-based criteria for medical

professionals

prescribing SSRIs.

*

The material in this post is distributed without profit to those

who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included

information for research and educational purposes.

For more information go to:

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

<http://oregon.uoregon.edu/%7Ecsundt/documents.htm>

http://oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm

<http://oregon.uoregon.edu/%7Ecsundt/documents.htm>

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this email for

purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission

from the copyright owner.

[Guest guest]

Rein in SSRI epidemic

By Jeff Kupfer, a licensed psychologist from Superior, Colorado.

guest commentary

Friday, April 09, 2004

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~158~2071735,00.html

America's alleged health watchdogs have stepped up to the plate in

dubious fashion. The Food and Drug Administration has asked

manufacturers of popular anti-depressants known as selective

serotonin

reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, to strengthen suicide warnings on

their

labels. This campaign appears to take steps to protect the public, at

least from suicide, but has failed to curb a larger assault on

Americans.

The effects of poor diagnoses and over-prescribing of medications

have

been as detrimental as the SSRIs themselves. The fallout: Powerful

pharmaceutical companies continue to rake in billions.

SSRI anti-depressants are dispensed like Chex Mix at a tavern on a

Saturday night. Americans have been painstakingly primed for

pharmaceutical exploitation, thanks to the drug industries, media,

the

American Medical Association and the FDA. Physicians adorn waiting

rooms

with medication propaganda like pubs touting Genuine Draft

two-fers on Tuesday. TV commercials popularize depression, reducing a

complex condition to an animated, morose " bubble " that no longer

appreciates the simple beauty of a butterfly. At last count, about 70

percent of my spam e-mails promoted SSRIs, leaving sex products and

low-interest home mortgages in the dust. Popular magazines thrive

from

selling full-page spreads, accompanied by obligatory clinical test

results written in jargon that sends statisticians running for

reference

books.

Americans have been seduced by a slick, well-conceived marketing

ploy.

Everyone, at times, feels sad, anxious, strung out, overworked,

misunderstood and simply indifferent and uninspired. In a society

that

seems to be on a cataclysmic tailspin toward the self-absorbed, SSRIs

are touted to cure all: depression, sleeping and eating disorders,

anxiety and social phobias.

A new species of primary care physician has evolved. Armed with a

mini-arsenal of samples left by pharmaceutical company

representatives,

he greets a patient who reports feeling off-center ever since the

final

episode of " Sex in the City. " Under the subliminal control of

strategically placed SSRI pamphlets, the question is asked: " Is it

right

for me? " The physician elucidates the complex chemical imbalance,

then

whips out a prescription pad and a pen emblazoned with a drug

manufacturer's logo. " Side effects? You've got nothing to worry

about.

Here, take these clinical test results home with you. "

SSRIs have established a cultural double-standard. It's no surprise

that

teenagers cast a doubtful eye when warned about gateway drugs and

alcohol from parents who dose up on SSRIs. These same parents seek

out

pharmaceutical relief for their unruly, oppositionally defiant

teenagers. At best, this simply substitutes an SSRI or other

FDA-approved drugs for illicit ones; at worst, parents inflict

pharmaceutical propaganda into the lifestyles of vulnerable

teenagers. A

pill-popping parent is a poor model for a skeptical teenager trying

to

make sense out of a culture in which parents divorce with acrimony,

competition for college admission is daunting and the safety and

future

of our nation teeters like a hanging chad on an election ballot.

At center stage of this circus is the FDA, watching in the wings as

untrained medical professionals parade as experts in treating

behavior

problems, many functioning as marketers with medical degrees.

Pharmaceutical companies care little about physician competency, only

that they have a license to prescribe medications.

Left unchecked, the reliance on SSRIs to solve minor complaints

keeps us

from closely examining where the problems come from, and how to deal

with them effectively. If the diagnoses of depression, anxiety and

obsessive-compulsive disorder are on the rise, it's an artifact of

these

rules of engagement: SSRIs are prescribed only when there is an

alleged

diagnosis - not necessarily an accurate one. Many people who undergo

proper diagnoses benefit from prescription drugs, but too many others

are misdiagnosed and are taking SSRIs for no good reason.

The FDA should take precautions to protect Americans from more than

SSRIs. It's time to rein in pharmaceutical companies from exploiting

the

public, and demand competency-based criteria for medical

professionals

prescribing SSRIs.

*

The material in this post is distributed without profit to those

who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included

information for research and educational purposes.

For more information go to:

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html

<http://oregon.uoregon.edu/%7Ecsundt/documents.htm>

http://oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm

<http://oregon.uoregon.edu/%7Ecsundt/documents.htm>

If you wish to use copyrighted material from this email for

purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission

from the copyright owner.