Health Alert: Biggest Ever Study Confirms Antidepressant Drugs Raise Risk Of Suicide

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Shocking and controversial: An editorial published in 2016 in the prestigious British Medical Journal has reported that antidepressant drugs could be counterproductive and actually increase the risk of suicide. This was first reported early in 2016 by several news outlets, wherein big pharmaceutical companies did not report severe side effects and deaths that were associated with antidepressant use. There have been many outcries from families reporting increased suicide attempts from loved ones who were on antidepressants — outcries that have been swept under the rug by pharmaceutical conglomerates who focus on profit instead of the dangers of taking said medication. ^[1]

The BMJ editorial by Moncrieff focused on the “misclassification, misrepresentation, and under-reporting of serious harm” associated with taking antidepressants in clinical trials. The study in question was published by Sharma, et. al. in 2016 as well. The study aimed to focused on the dangers of taking antidepressants, specifically selective serotonin and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs and SNRIs). After studying 70 clinical trials involving these drugs, they found that SSRI’s and SNRI’s increased the risk of suicide and aggression in children and adolescents — and by twice as much! The study did not find significant findings in adults taking antidepressants but a double increase in suicide risk among the younger generation is something everybody should be worried about. ^[2]

Because these results are seriously under-reported, more and more children and teenagers are being exposed to medications that could do more harm than good – in fact, the exact opposite of the intended purpose of antidepressant medications. Misreporting is another big issue, where deaths resulting from antidepressant use are not included in the final results because of timing issues. The Telegraph cited one death that was excluded from the results of a trial on venlafaxine because he died five days after trying to commit suicide, and was technically no longer part of the trial period upon his death. A lot of the studies also misclassify symptoms such as suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts as emotional instability or worsening depression. In clinical trials conducted by the company Eli Lilly, suicide attempts were not included in the results of 90 percent of the cases. These technicalities allow companies to trick the public into thinking that their drugs are safe when the complete opposite is true. ^[3]

While antidepressants may in fact help a lot of people, a lot is still unknown in terms of how they work and side effects they may have. If your child has been diagnosed with depression, think twice before agreeing to start them on antidepressant therapy. Make sure to look into other options, such as therapy, relaxation activities, sunshine or even regular exercise! There are many ways to battle depression naturally instead of exposing yourself and loved ones to an increase risk for suicide.