Are Psychotropic (Psychiatric) Medications Doing More Harm than Good?

All psychotropic medications alter a person’s mental state.  The origin of the word ‘tropic’ comes from Greek meaning “a turning.”  Psychotropic quite literally means to turn the mind.  Psychotropic drugs such as antidepressants may benefit some people but determining who they may benefit, who they may harm, and why, are remaining questions.

For some people taking psychotropic medications, the consequences can be serious and catastrophic.  The efficacy and risk benefit ratio of antidepressants have been called into question in a recent blog entitled “Antidepressants – Efficacy and Risk?.”

Many are not aware these pharmaceuticals are controversial.  Demonstrated by decades of analytic research showing many adverse effects, the worst being homicide and suicide, brings into question what role these medications may play in the causation of mass shootings since homicide and suicide are known side effects of these medications.

Possible Risk of Psychotropic Medications 

Understanding the possible risks of psychotropic medications is imperative to both doctors prescribing these drugs and those taking them.  What responsibility does the doctor have in prescribing medications that change the state of mind of a person possibly leading to a mass shooting?

In lieu of a growing number of mass shootings by attackers with diagnoses of mental health issues being treated with psychotropic drugs, discussions are circulating about:

1. failure of the drug industry in the treatment of mental health,
2. clinicians in the medical system readily prescribing these drugs without researching the literature
3. and the potential role doctors and psychoactive medications may have played in such violence.

Individuals of such senseless acts are commonly described as being mentally “disturbed” or having some sort of “treated or untreated mental illness.”   One such example is the recent mass shooting which occurred in Nashville on March 27, 2023, killing six innocent children and adults.  It is reported the attacker was being treated for an “emotional disorder.”  We do not know what the treatment was.  We do not typically find out what the treatment was.  Clearly, if receiving “treatment,” the treatment is failing.

At this point in time, we cannot factually state psychoactive drugs were a contributing factor or fuel in this act of violence or others; however, it would be extremely naïve and careless to say there is no link between the two.  Is there a possibility one’s treatment with a psychoactive medication could be a contributive factor in these homicides and suicides?  What does the literature tell us?  What more do we have to learn?

Is there a Correlation between Psychotropic Medications and Mass Shootings?

“Drug proponents argue there are many shootings and acts of violence that have not been correlated to psychiatric (psychotropic) drugs…With millions of people taking psychotropic drugs, clearly not everyone will experience violent reactions to taking them.  But what drug regulatory agency warnings confirm, is a percentage of the population will.”

There are nearly 410 psychiatric drug warnings reported to the FDA and listed in “Psychiatric Drugs Create Violence and Suicide: Putting the Community at Risk.”

• 27 warnings for homicidal ideation, violence, aggression, hostility, mania, psychosis
• 49 warnings for suicide, self-harm or suicidal ideation
• 17 warnings for withdrawal or addiction effects
• 35 warnings linking emotional problems to the psychiatric drugs
• 27 warnings for Serotonin Syndrome, a result of antidepressants demonstrated by confusion, agitation and restlessness
• 43 warnings for increased risk of death or death
• 65 high-profile acts of senseless violence committed by individuals taking or withdrawing from psychiatric drugs, resulting in 357 dead and 336 wounded.
  • 36 of these acts were school shootings.

An investigation into the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System found of all drugs linked to violence, 79% were psychiatric.  Of the “484 prescription drugs identified, 31 were disproportionately associated with violence, of which 25 were psychotropic (psychiatric) drugs.

Their findings…included 11 antidepressants, 6 sedative/hypnotics and 3 drugs for treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The specific cases of violence included: homicide, physical assaults, physical abuse, homicidal ideation, and cases described as violent-related symptom.”

Ablechid, a nonprofit parent organization stated, “There have been 29,936 violence adverse reactions that have been reported to the US FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (MedWatch), between 2004 and 2011, this breaks down to:

• 9,310 cases of psychiatric drugs causing completed suicides:
• 7,871 cases of psychiatric drugs causing suicide attempts
• 2,795 cases of psychiatric drugs causing mania
• 7,250 cases of psychiatric drugs causing aggression
• 872 cases of psychiatric drugs causing homicidal ideation
• 607 cases of psychiatric drugs causing hostility
• 504 cases of psychiatric drugs causing physical assault 359 cases of psychiatric drugs causing homicide
• 191 cases of psychiatric drugs causing psychosis
• 177 cases of psychiatric drugs causing violence-related symptoms”

The total estimated US population in 2022 US Census was 333,287,557: 78% were 18 years or older and 22% under 18.  The CDC estimated 13.2% of people 18 and older between 2015-2018 and 7.8% of children and adolescents between 2013-2019 were prescribed antidepressants.

Using this data, about 41 million Americans are taking an antidepressant. This percentage was estimated to have increased by 21% in February and March of 2020, and thus the number of people taking antidepressants is significantly higher than 41 million.

Increased mental and/or physical agitation is suspected as the main causal factor behind violence and suicide while taking antidepressants. This increased agitation led to an approximate clinical trial drop-out rate of 5% for subjects receiving the drugs compared to 0.5% of subjects receiving placebo.

“If five percent of the 41 million Americans taking antidepressants were to experience ‘increased mental and/or physical agitation’…that represents 2.05 million people. How many of them could potentially become so agitated they would carry out violent acts? It’s playing Russian roulette with their lives.”

Could psychiatric drugs be the ammunition for some of these individuals to carry out mass homicide and suicide?  

“There is enough coincidence and enough professional opinion from legitimate scientists about psychotropic drugs and violence to cause us to raise the issue and to ask further questions.”

How do we identify who these drugs will help and who they will harm with devastating consequences?

Are we providing our patients ammunition for healing or ammunition for self and societal destruction?

Where is the accountability of pharmaceutical companies and/or physicians for the patient’s actions?

The next series of blogs will cover who is being prescribed these medications, who may be helped and who may be harmed, the myth of biochemical imbalance, the effects psychoactive drugs have on the brain, the integrity of the medical literature of psychoactive drugs, the integrity of the pharmaceutic companies, and how one of the most prescribed SSRI antidepressants came to be distributed by the masses.

Have an awesome day!  Dr D