Topic : 09/28 Overmedicating America: The Cruise Controversy

When I listened to Tom Cruise talk about his opinions on psychiatric medications and doing it while his was promoting his film.  I felt it was a desperate pubilicity attempt.  It was soooo inapropriate.  Mr. Cruise may have strong opions regarding the health of society, but he is in no way an expert.  He offended me because as a society we are not biologically perfect and we need help.  I really do not see the difference taking vitamins and natural remedies, to me that medication to to help the body.  He should not take the higher ground and say that is better than medication.  People have special needs and not everything is cured with Christian Science methodolgy.  Plan and simple everything he discussed can be proven wrong.  He made a weak case and did it at an inappropriate time, did he do it to save his film, because it was not good.  The movie was not good from the begining and he needed to save it and his ego. I hope Rosie O'Donnell will rethink her admiration for him.

Tom Cruise has nothing to do with the fact that we are over medicating here in America, Its a shame that People can not take their personal feelings for Tom Cruise or his film ratings or most of all his religious or personal beliefs and set that aside and focus on the topic of this subject, THE FACTS, the topic is OVERMEDICATING!!! 36 million people or more are on drugs, people have been lied to, there has been a huge cover up by the pharmaceutical companies, they knew that these drugs cause death and many many other problems and they hid the truth, the FDA hid the truth, right now most of these pharmaceutical companies are paying people off left and right, this is not a matter of who should or should not take antidepressants but should the people taking them at least know the truth about the clinical trials, it is not a small percentage of people who have horrible effects from these drugs, its more then we thought, these drugs are very very dangerous and i thank people like TOM CRUISE who went out and took a risk that people would not really like what he said, but he stood up and spoke the TRUTH, not his opinion, we need more people to stand firm in the FACTS. not opinions. I am not a Scientoligist, this is not a religious issue, I am a victim and I deserved to know the truth. I am alive and I plan on telling as many people I can how dangerous these drugs are.

Who says vitamins, proper diet and exercise won't work to relieve depression and/or other "mental disorders"? 

I'm recovering from several years of damage from a variety of SSRIs, benzos and a tricyclic. 

I had most of the listed side effects from each drug, plus horrific withdrawal effects from discontinuing the drugs too quickly. Doctors are taking patients off of these drugs too fast, causing withdrawal problems, sometimes severe. But that's another story. My two original diagnoses, depression and anxiety, are gone now because of vitamins, proper diet (whole foods, no artificial flavorings/colors, etc.) and gentle exercise. I'm left only with drug-induced problems, such as depersonalization, numbness and burning sensations in the extremities, weakness and insomnia. And even those problems are waning because I'm taking proper care of myself now. You might say that those symptoms are signs of mental illness, but I assure you they didn't show up until after I'd been on drugs for some time. Some were the result of discontinuing. 

I want to add that I'm not a fan of Tom Cruise, nor am I a scientologist. But he was definitely telling the truth. 

she may not be alive today if it weren't for her medications. 

I am not saying that doctors do not over prescribe but I think there are some cases where the ONLY way to live a productive life is to be on medication. I think Mr. Cruise was totally wrong for using his movie as a way to put down mental health. He is WRONG when he says there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance of the brain. 

Bipolar is one very REAL mental illness that is in fact an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. 

My daughter is not a zombie on her medications, she is better. Before meds she used to rage and destroy things and was very aggressive towards her sister who is 11 years YOUNGER than her. Since being on the right combo of meds at the right dose she is a much better person. She can function and doesn't hurt her sister and doesn't rage out of control anymore. 

  

JMO 

Tammy 

when our now 23 year old son was nine, he was "diagnosed" by his teacher as "hyperactive"!  The school social worker, without consulting us, had decided he had ADD and wanted to place him on ritalin.  My husband and I were called in for a meeting and told this.  We chose not to medicate, and instead completely changed his diet.  Two weeks later, I was called by his teacher and asked what had we done because he was a totally different child.  We were told by the social worker, we were abusive parents because we refused to medicate.  I look at the many teenagers who are two and three medications, which started with ritalin.  People...it does not work.  It may subdue the child, but it only leads to other problems later.  Many teens suffer from depression and social issues because they have been overmedicated.  The average American is on eight prescriptions! 

How can this be???? Because instead of dealing with issues, we take the easy path, and take a pill.  But this is not a solution, it only creates another problem!! 

There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance.  There
is no medical test to prove such a thing exists.  This
was made up by the drug companies to push their drugs
and it's working.  Most 14 year olds appear to be
bipolar.  It is normal for  teenagers to act out.
Drugging them is not going to be the answer.  There is
no test for bipolar, and a young hormonal girl at 14
should not be drugged.   Kids fight, thats normal
too.  There are many ways to deal with this with
out medication.  The bottom line is that there have
been many teenagers who have killed themselves because
of these drugs, and you have a right to know that as a
consumer. 

The bottom line is not about who does or doesn't need medication or whether or not certain conditions exist.  The fact is that the pharmaceutical companies have knowingly decieved the public!  These drugs are extremely dangerous!  They have knowingly continued to widely distribute a medication that has severe, potentially fatal side effects!  They have persistantly covered up these tragedies in order to profit.   

  

In the last few months, there have been several warnings by the FDA admitting the harmful effects of these psychiatric drugs.  The public deserves to make an informed choice, knowing these tragedies & fatal, permanent side effects occur.  

Excuse me when you say kids fight thats normal??  Is it normal for a 14 year old TEENAGER to choke a 3 YEAR OLD toddler?? 

I do not think so. 

  

My daughter is not just your average "hormonal teen" so before you go telling me that I should not have her on meds you should live my life. 

Is it normal for teenagers to cut themselves 40 times? Is it normal for 12-14 year old sto attempt suicide? Is it normal for a 14 year old to see a little boy and a little girl calling her name? Is it normal for a 14 year old to feel "someone" tapping her on the back while she is trying to sleep?
 

I know ALL the risks to medications and my daughter is now NOT attempting suicide. 

She was attempting suicide and self mutilating BEFORE she was put on meds. 

Believe me when I tell you meds was my last resort. Not everyone needs them but not everyone can function without them. 

  

What is a Chemical Imbalance?

Over the course of the last three decades much research into the origins of emotional distress and disturbances have led researchers to embrace “chemical imbalance” as the leading cause. Though the exact mechanisms linking chemical imbalances and common disorders like anxiety, depression and ADHD are not completely understood, clinical studies and medical observations have been able to identify a number of chemical inconsistencies that occur in individuals who report experiencing symptoms related to these disorders.  

Common chemical imbalances related to anxiety and depression related disorders that have been observed in clinical practice include: 

• Reduced availability of neurotransmitters like Serotonin, Dopamine, Norepinephrine, GABA and acetylcholine.
• Increased levels of toxic neurochemicals such as Homocysteine
• Lower levels of serum Magnesium, Zinc or Potassium
• Unhealthy, or deficient levels of essential vitamins like B6, B9, B12 and Vitamin-C
• Undersupply of key cofactors like amino acids that are used to help transport neurotransmitter precursors into the blood-brain barrier.
• Increased cortisol stress hormone levels
  

"I think Mr. Cruise was totally wrong for using his movie as a way to put down mental health. He is WRONG when he says there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance of the brain." 

  

When did he use the movie to put down mental health?