Tag: mental illness

Depression and Anxiety Affect Millions of People. For Big Pharma, It’s a Big Profit Opportunity

According to the World Health Organization, mental health conditions are one of the biggest health challenges globally, affecting over 450 million people worldwide.

Depression and anxiety are the most common, impacting nearly 30% of adolescents worldwide and ranking as the 13th and 24th leading causes of disability respectively.

In today’s medical system, antidepressants are still the primary treatment for depression and anxiety, making up 75% of all prescriptions for these conditions.

While antidepressant dispensing was already on the rise, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about an even greater increase. Between January 2016 and December 2022, research shows a 66.3% increase in monthly antidepressant dispensing rates.

Today, despite growing concerns about their safety, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and norepinephrine (noradrenaline) reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) — such as Citalopram, Fluoxetine, Sertraline and Mirtazapine — continue to be widely prescribed across all age groups.

This raises important questions about their long-term impact and whether the medical model that prioritizes medication is truly the best approach.

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Doctors, Detransitioners Allege Medical Malpractice In Treating Gender Dysphoria

Dr. Eithan Haim, a surgeon from Texas, says that some physicians cannot handle the shock after realizing that prescribing drugs or performing surgeries for youth with gender dysphoria can cause harm.

Haim said such doctors “have to grow a spine” and speak out about this alleged malpractice in the medical community toward vulnerable youth that “turn them into chronic medical patients.”

“Self-reflection for them would be self-immolation. Their souls, I don’t think, could survive that reality, that truth,” he said in an interview March 12 with Jan Jekielek on NTD, a sister outlet of The Epoch Times.

“So they lie to themselves.”

Haim recently emerged from a legal battle with the Department of Justice under former President Joe Biden. The Texas physician faced charges of illegally accessing medical records when he revealed that a Houston hospital was performing gender transition procedures on minors, against state law.

Those charges were dropped shortly after the election of President Donald Trump.

Haim was a guest panelist at a Capitol Hill forum highlighting detransitioners—individuals who have undergone gender transition procedures, but later chose to halt those procedures or attempt to reverse them.

The panel, hosted by detransition advocacy group Genspect, was held on Wednesday, Detrans Awareness Day. Established in 2021, Detrans Awareness Day honors the experiences of detransitioners and raises awareness about the harmful effects of gender ideology and “gender medicine.”

Speaking during the panel, Dr. Patrick Hunter, a pediatrician, said he is “not optimistic” that doctors will change their minds about “gender-affirming care” unless motivated by public scrutiny and the threat of legal and financial action.

“Make them defend themselves, that will damage their reputation, and help save kids,” he said.

Dr. Patrick Lappert, a plastic surgeon, told attendees that hormone therapies can be reversed, but many “below-the-belt” surgeries cannot, leaving patients disfigured and unable to conceive children. They may also experience kidney, bladder, and bowel problems.

Surgical assistance to detransitioners after such surgeries involves “managing the complications of what they’ve done in the past,” Lappert said.

“Surgery is essentially management of chronic wounds and chronic problems, but there’s no way to reverse genital mutilation.”

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Man Eats Rosary Beads, Attacks Flight Crew in Mid-Air ‘Satanic’ Meltdown

When you’re traveling, whether for work, vacation, or personal reasons, you expect—or at least hope—to have some peace and quiet along your journey. However, this one American Airlines flight passenger had other things in mind.

A recent American Airlines flight from Savannah, Georgia to Miami, Florida was forced to turn around when a passenger experienced what appeared to be a manic episode. 

The passenger, Delange Augustin, 31, apparently claimed that he was being followed by demonic spirits, which prompted him to swallow rosary beads. According to his sister, who was traveling with him, he did so “because [rosary beads] are a weapon of strength in the spiritual warfare.”

Originally on Monday night, the airline crew believed Augustin was experiencing a seizure, as he was reportedly “yelling and shaking” early on in the flight. 

However, his behavior escalated quickly when he started swallowing his rosary beads with the hope to ward off “Satan’s disciple(s),” per The New York Times. He also grew unruly and violent, kicking a flight attendant across an aisle of seats and into a window before eventually storming the front of the plane and swinging at flight attendants.

Ultimately, the American Airlines pilot turned the plane around to land safely back in Savannah. Meanwhile, passengers were able to tackle Augustin and his sister to the floor, detaining them. No one was seriously injured during the flight.

According to Augustin’s sister, the duo was traveling to Haiti to “flee religious attacks of a spiritual nature,” the affidavit reads. During the flight, he allegedly told his sister “to close her eyes and pray because Satan’s disciple(s) had followed them onto the plane and the legion did not want the Augustins to make it to Haiti.”

Following a hospital visit, Augustin was then placed in jail for several charges, including misdemeanor battery and criminal property damage.

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Trans Tesla vandal — who allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at cars — lives with mom and calls herself ‘baby’: sources

A 42-year-old transgender woman who allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at vehicles and spray-painted “Nazi cars” at a Colorado Tesla dealership lives with her mother due to “emotional problems” and calls herself “baby” online. 

Lucy Grace Nelson, also known as Justin Thomas Nelson, is accused of hurling incendiary devices at a Tesla dealership in Loveland, Northern Colorado, and vandalizing the business and vehicles on multiple occasions with graffiti “offensive and hateful in nature,” police said.

In one incident, the suspect allegedly took aim at Tesla CEO Elon Musk — who has previously been accused of antisemitism — scrawling “f—k Musk” with red paint on the front windows of the establishment and in another, sprayed “Nazi” on a company sign.

Nelson was arrested on February 24 upon returning to the Tesla dealership, allegedly in possession of additional incendiary devices and “materials attributed to vandalism,” police said at the time.

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Transgender surgeries associated with increased risk of suicidal ideation, depression: Oxford Academic study

A study of over 107,000 patients with gender dysphoria over the age of 18 has concluded that those who undergo transgender surgeries, are at greater risk for mental health problems, including depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, and others.

The paper, published in the Oxford Academic Journal of Sexual Medicine, stated in conclusion that bottom and top surgeries are “associated with increased risk of mental health issues.” The results section stated that “from 107 583 patients, matched cohorts demonstrated that those undergoing surgery were at significantly higher risk for depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and substance use disorders than those without surgery.”

It said of those who got surgery, “Our analysis reveals a significantly elevated risk of mental health disorders-including depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and substance use disorder-post-surgery among individuals with a prior diagnosis of gender dysphoria.”

Males and females who underwent surgery had a higher risk of depression, according to the study. Although those who underwent surgery had a higher rate of mental health issues, the study claimed that the surgeries were “beneficial in affirming gender identity.”

The study authors noted that “the heightened risk of mental health issues post-surgery was particularly pronounced among individuals undergoing feminizing transition compared to masculinizing transition.”

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Cannibal Who Killed Man with an Axe and Ate His Brain and Eyeball Has Been Granted Conditional Release in Connecticut

A cannibal in Connecticut has been granted conditional release from a psychiatric hospital after brutally killing a man with an axe, eating one of his eyeballs, and part of his brain.

Tyree Smith had been found “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity” in 2013 and sent to Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown for “up to 60 years” for the murder and cannibalism of 43-year-old Angel Gonzalez.

Smith was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been abusing drugs and alcohol at the time of the murder.

The Hartford Courant reports:

Gonzalez’s decomposed body was found in an abandoned building on Brooks Street in Bridgeport on Jan. 20, 2012. He had suffered severe wounds to his face and head.

Three days later, Smith’s cousin, Nicole Rabb, told police Smith arrived at her house in mid-December and said he had “to get blood on his hands,” the arrest warrant affidavit, according to Courant archives. He was going to Beardsley Park and his former home on Brooks Street, the Courant reported. The next day he returned with blood on his pants and carrying an ax saying he wanted to take a bath.

Rabb said Smith told her he was sleeping on the second-floor porch of 216 Brooks St. when a man invited him to the third floor to get out of the cold, archives said. Smith said he then beat the man with the ax so severely that he was able to remove an eye from the man’s head along with pieces of brain matter and a piece of his skull, the Courant reported.

According to previous Courant reports, Smith then went to Lakeview Cemetery, where he said “he ate the eyeball, which tasted like an oyster, and the brain matter,” according to the warrant affidavit.

The Connecticut Psychiatric Security Review Board issued the decision to allow Smith’s release on Friday.

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Letitia James Orders NY Hospitals to Continue Trans Surgeries on Minors

Democrats are sending a message: election or no election, executive orders or no executive orders, reality or fantasy: “This is our world, and you might be welcome to live in it, so long as you toe the line.” Make no mistake, they may have lost the White House, House, and Senate and elected David Hogg as the DNC vice chair, but they are digging in and remaining intransigent while they plot their return to power. And they aren’t content to merely lose their minds over confirmation hearings or the fact that the party is over at USAID. 

The AP reported that on Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James sent a stern warning to the state’s hospitals. The warning came in a letter to the hospitals that despite Trump’s executive order to halt funding for transitioning treatments for minors, hospitals that did not continue what the Left refers to as “gender-affirming care” would be in violation of New York’s anti-discrimination laws. James commented, “Regardless of the availability of federal funding, we write to further remind you of your obligations to comply with New York State laws.” The outlet noted that hospitals in Colorado, Virginia, and Washington D.C. had hit the pause button on the procedures while they evaluated the order. 

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Study: Number of Children Who Think They’re The Wrong Gender Surges 50X in 10 Years

New research from England shows a steep increase in children identifying as the wrong gender, sparking debate over the causes and implications. Some believe societal pressures and online influences are fueling this rapid growth in gender-related distress.

Key Facts:

  • Diagnoses of gender dysphoria rose from fewer than 200 cases in 2011 to over 10,000 in 2021.
  • Girls made up about twice as many cases as boys by 2021.
  • Over half of those diagnosed had anxiety, depression, or a history of self-harm.
  • Around 5% were prescribed puberty blockers, and 8% were given gender-altering hormones.
  • The landmark Cass review advised caution about rushing children into treatments they might later regret.

The Rest of The Story:

The University of York study analyzed thousands of anonymized GP records between 2011 and 2021.

Researchers concluded that more children than ever believe they were born the wrong gender, with one in 1,200 young people now diagnosed.

Previously, it was just one in 60,000.

A surge in mental health problems accompanied this trend, leaving experts to ponder which comes first: the distress or the gender confusion.

Professor Tim Doran, one of the authors, suggested social media and increasing public awareness may play key roles.

The study’s findings echo concerns raised by the Cass review, which argued that care must be taken before offering irreversible medical interventions to minors.

Researchers also discovered high rates of anxiety and depression in this group, calling for better mental health support.

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With more Americans able to access legalized marijuana, fewer are picking up prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications – new research

In states where both medical and recreational marijuana are legal, fewer patients are filling prescriptions for medications used to treat anxiety. That is the key finding of my recent study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

I am an applied policy researcher who studies the economics of risky behaviors and substance use within the United States. My collaborators and I wanted to understand how medical and recreational marijuana laws and marijuana dispensary openings have affected the rate at which patients fill prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications among people who have private medical insurance.

These include:

  • Benzodiazepines, which work by increasing the level of gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, a neurotransmitter that elicits a calming effect by reducing activity in the nervous system. This category includes the depressants Valium, Xanax and Ativan, among others.
  • Antipsychotics, a class of drug that addresses psychosis symptoms in a variety of ways.
  • Antidepressants, which relieve symptoms of depression by affecting neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. The most well-known example of these is selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, or SSRIs.

We also included barbiturates, which are sedatives, and sleep medications – sometimes called “Z-drugs” – both of which are used to treat insomnia. In contrast to the other three categories, we did not estimate any policy impacts for either of these types of drugs.

We find consistent evidence that increased marijuana access is associated with reductions in benzodiazepine prescription fills. “Fills” refer to the number of prescriptions being picked up by patients, rather than the number of prescriptions doctors write. This is based on calculating the rate of individual patients who filled a prescription in a state, the average days of supply per prescription fill, and average prescription fills per patient.

Notably, we found that not all state policies led to similar changes in prescription fill patterns.

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Woman who stabbed classmate to please Slender Man can be released from psychiatric hospital

A Wisconsin woman who at age 12 stabbed her sixth grade classmate nearly to death to please online horror character Slender Man will be released from a psychiatric hospital, a judge ordered Thursday after a trio of experts testified that she has made considerable progress battling mental illness.

Morgan Geyser has spent nearly seven years at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. She has petitioned Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren, who committed her, for release four times since June 2022. She withdrew her first two petitions. Bohren denied her third request this past April, finding she still presented a threat to the public.

Geyser, now 22 years old, filed her latest petition in October. Bohren decided to grant her release after a day-long hearing Thursday, finding that she had maximized her treatment options at the facility and is no longer a safety risk. He ordered the state Department of Health Services to set up a plan to house her in a group home and supervise her for his consideration at a hearing within 60 days.

The judge said that her crime was a “brutal, terrible offense” but Geyser has since grown up and to be truly rehabilitated she must exist as part of society.

“She’s done what she’s supposed to do,” Bohren said. “She appears to have a good attitude.”

Geyser and Anissa Weier were 12 years old in 2014 when they lured their classmate, Payton Leutner, to a Waukesha park after a sleepover. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier egged her on. Leutner barely survived.

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