Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) of Florida, is a nonprofit, public education watchdog group that investigates abuse in the field of mental health. The CCHR Florida Youth Group is a sub group of CCHR Florida.  We  have created this site so that young people can take charge of their lives and get educated about their rights.  There are alternatives to psychiatric “treatment.”

Perhaps you or someone you know has been diagnosed and labeled with a so-called learning or behavioral disorder. Or perhaps you have a friend who has been taking psychiatric medication for many years that you are concerned could adversely affect them. You can help yourself and your friend by looking through the facts below!

First of all: There are four basic facts on psychiatry everyone has the right to know.

The Five Facts

1. No Medical Tests for Mental Disorders – Mental disorders are diagnosed by a list of behaviors and feelings. No objective medical tests exist that can detect a mental disorder – no brain scan , no blood test, no chemical imbalance test.

2. Follow the Money – To start with, it’s important to know that psychiatric disorders are voted on in a room full of psychiatrists.  The psychiatrists are divided into groups, called “panels” and those panels vote on different types of mental health disorders, like “Mood disorder” and things like that. Psychiatric disorders are defined in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Of 170 panel members who wrote the manual, 95 (56%) had one or more financial associations with pharmaceutical companies. One hundred percent of the members of the panels that defined “Mood Disorders” and “Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders” had financial ties to drug companies.

3. Dangerous Side Effects – Per the FDA, side effects of psychiatric drugs include mania, psychosis, depression, suicidal thoughts and death.

4. Per Florida statute 381.026 Florida Patient’s Bill of Rights and Responsibilities, each individual has the right to be fully informed about the proposed medical treatment or procedure. This includes side effects and common risks. Any consent given may be revoked orally or in writing before or during the treatment period by the patient or by a person who is legally authorized to make health care decisions on behalf of the patient.

5. You Do Have a Choice – Medical professionals can perform medical tests to detect any potential underlying physical cause of unwanted mental health symptoms.

See http://www.cchrflorida.org/informed-consent.html and http://www.cchrflorida.org/the-history-of-informed-consent.html_

Per that Statute, you have the right to know the risks of the medications as well as the alternatives.

Article 3 of CCHR’s Mental Health Declaration of Human Rights, written in 1969 when CCHR was formed, says that all persons should have “the right to a thorough, physical and clinical examination by a competent registered general practitioner of one’s choice, to ensure that one’s mental condition is not caused by any undetected and untreated physical illness, injury or defect, and the right to seek a second medical opinion of one’s choice.”

Below you will find some of the FDA listed side effects of psychiatric medications and a list of recommended non-psychiatric medical websites that provide Medical Professionals you may contact, if you desire, as well as an article that discusses the possibility of underlying physical causes of unwanted behavior.

Drug Side Effects

The FDA provides the following warnings on various psychiatric drugs:

Newer Antidepressants:

Anxiety, delusions, hallucinations, heart attacks, hostility, insomnia, panic attacks, paranoia, seizures, suicidal thoughts or behavior, and violent behavior.

Psychostimulants: (ADHD drugs):

Aggression, depression, dizziness, hallucinations, heart palpitations, insomnia, involuntary tics and twitching, moodiness, suppression of growth, psychosis, serious cardiovascular side effects and sudden death from heart attacks and strokes in those with heart problems or defects.

Antipsychotics:

Blindness, blood sugar abnormalities, diabetes, death from liver failure, heart failure, hostility, manic reaction, involuntary movements, tremors, and suicidal thoughts.

Anti-anxiety:

Aggressive behavior, anxiety, coma, depression, disorientation, epileptic seizures, hallucinations, hostility, irritability, liver problems, psychosis, and rage.

1. This is a video of psychiatrists being interviewed at the American Psychiatric Association Convention. The question they are being asked is if there are any tests behind the diagnoses and if there are any cures in psychiatry.  You will see that the answer is “No”

2. Financial Ties Between Psychiatry and the Pharmaceutical Industry:

 In 2006, psychologist Lisa Cosgrove, Manisha Vijayaraghavan and Lisa Schneider from the University of Massachusetts; and Sheldon Krimsky, a Tufts University professor, published their study. “Financial Ties between DSM-IV Panel Members and the Pharmaceutical Industry” in the journal, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.“Of the 170 DSM panel members,” they wrote, ’95 (56%) had one or more financial associations with companies in the pharmaceutical industry. One hundred percent of the members of the panels on ‘Mood Disorders’ and ‘Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders’ had financial ties to drug companies.”

These disorders represent the largest categories of psychiatric drugs in the world: annual sales of $20 billion for antidepressants and $14 billion for antipsychotic drugs.

 3. Medical Causes of Psychiatric Illness:

One of the Nation’s leading Medical Doctors talks about possible medical causes of mental health symptoms.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRDpcWZUEiU