Watchdog Warns Against Mental Health Industry Profiting from COVID-19
CCHR’s 50 years of monitoring psychotropic drug marketing in times of social upheaval prompts call for resilience, unity and the American Spirit rather than costly and damaging mind-altering drugs
CCHR’s monitoring of psychotropic drug marketing in times of social upheaval prompts call for resilience, unity and the American Spirit rather than psych drugs
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, March 24, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- With the alarming news regarding the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and restrictions on our daily living, the mental health watchdog, Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is reminding people that CDC prevention guidelines are a safer option than anti-anxiety pills, antidepressants or other potentially mind-altering drugs. With 50 years’ experience, CCHR has tracked and documented the push for people to take psychotropic drugs when facing social crises. Sales of these, especially antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, often soar in times of major health or terrorism threats and natural disasters, yet long-term use can carry significant risks.
A recent study, showed that an antipsychotics may lower the elderly’s immune systems, making it difficult for them to fight off infections.[1]
Two months after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the Food and Drug Administration approved the antidepressant paroxetine for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). About $1.8 billion of the drug was sold in the U.S. that year, despite it triggering suicidal thoughts and severe withdrawal problems in some patients, experts said.[2]
Sales of antidepressants, sleeping aids and other drugs to address mental health concerns skyrocketed.[3] A Time article advised that no one should be “wandering off into [antidepressant]-induced forgetfulness.”[4] It’s a recommendation that CCHR says should be taken to heart during the COVID-19 outbreak.
CCHR offers a free online psychiatric drugs side effects database to ensure people are properly informed of the risks and dangers of these drugs.
Psychology Today already has reported that COVID-19 is likely to increase the emergence of anxiety and treatment may include anti-anxiety drugs and antidepressants.[5]
Taking advantage of 9/11, a survey was conducted during the six days immediately following the terrorist attack, when Americans were still in a state of shock and TV-bound watching it repeated on the news and experiencing predictable reactions to the horrific occurrences. “The survey sampled only 1,200 people, and by some quantum semantic leap, concluded that 71% of Americans had been harmed,” CCHR says. Within days of the 9/11 attacks, psychiatrists were predicting that as many as 30% of people affected by the attacks would develop PTSD.[6]
We already see signs of this today. In a Psychiatric Times article, “The Role of Psychiatrists During the Coronavirus Outbreak,” the Chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s “Committee on the Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster,” predicts that those put in isolation are “more likely to develop PTSD or increase substance use.”[7] Psychiatry Advisor added that Chinese citizens have shown “acute” PTSD during the outbreak of COVID-19, according to study results published in medRxiv. This was determined from an online survey in mainland China after the COVID-19 outbreak (between January 30 and February 3).[8]
Psychiatric Times was also quick to report “it is anticipated that COVID-19 will have rippling effects.” For example, the required excessive cleaning of hands could lead to compulsions. Such compulsions are a core feature of OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and “can easily be exacerbated by the threat of infectious pandemics.”[9]
Lancet, a British medical journal, just published a study recommending: “Timely mental health care needs to be developed urgently” in light of the virus. This includes establishing mental health teams at regional and national levels that include psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health workers. Specialized psychiatric treatments and appropriate mental health services and facilities are recommended.[10]
CCHR reminds people that Americans’ resilience and unity has kept it on tack before without resorting to mind-altering drugs to get through it. In June 2017, Nick Mueller, CEO of The National WWII Museum, addressed a Junior Achievement Hall of Fame banquet telling them: “We don’t have to look back too far—to 9/11, 2001, when America was subject to a sneak kamikaze attack on the Twin Towers. We all remember the shock, the fear, the anger—and then the overwhelming sense of national unity.
“A common sense of the American Spirit brought us together against a new enemy that attacked us with the intent of undermining our system of beliefs, our economic and democratic way of life.”[11]
Psychiatric funding usually soars when governments are advised that the nation’s mental health needs a financial boost. It would be better put towards food and covering decimated employment costs. CCHR says funding psychiatric treatment often means profits before patients.
A Behavioral Health Business article recently reported that the behavioral health market is poised to make a profit out of COVID-19: “The viral outbreak shouldn’t hurt the behavioral health industry long-term and could even lead to a higher demand for mental health services.”[12]
Add to this one Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (ECS) firm recommending 20 minutes of self-shocking “in the comfort of your own home.” The device uses a fraction of the electricity used in an electroshock treatment (ECT) device, but is still electricity passed through two electrodes that clip onto your earlobes.[13] Risks include dizziness or nausea that can last for hours to days, skin irritation, electrode burns, headaches and “potent” reactions such as “increased anxiety.”[14]
Epidemics take a significant toll, creating uncertainties and worries about the future. CCHR wants to ensure that one of the legacies of the Coronavirus is not minds damaged by psychotropic drugs and electrical interventions that carry with them longer-term risks. Its website, www.cchrint.org also offers links to alternatives.
CCHR is the mental health watchdog responsible for more than 180 laws that now protect patients from damaging practices. DONATE to support its work here: https://www.cchrint.org/cchrint-donate/
References:
[1] “New study shows antipsychotic drugs can suppress the immune system,” UNE News (University of New England), 14 Aug. 2019, www.une.edu/news/2019/new-study-shows-antipsychotic-drugs-can-suppress-immune-system
[2] “DARKER SIDE TO THE 9/11 ‘WONDER’ PILL,” New York Post, 20 Oct. 2002, nypost.com/2002/10/20/darker-side-to-the-911-wonder-pill/
[3] www.pfnyc.org/reports/2001_11_ImpactStudy.pdf
[4] Lance Morrow, "The Case for Rage and Retribution," TIME, Sep. 12, 2001, content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,174641,00.html
[5] “How COVID-19 May Impact Mental Health: When anxiety about a coronavirus becomes a problem,” Psychology Today, 2 Mar. 2020, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-future-brain/202003/how-covid-19-may-impact-mental-health
[6] Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Hearing on “Psychological Trauma and Terrorism,” Capitol Hearing Testimony, Federal Document Clearinghouse, 26 Sept. 2001, babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000048694704&view=1up&seq=5
[9] “Psychiatrists Beware! The Impact of COVID-19 and Pandemics on Mental Health,” Psychiatric Times, 28 Feb. 2020, www.psychiatrictimes.com/psychiatrists-beware-impact-coronavirus-pandemics-mental-health
[10] “Timely mental health care for the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak is urgently needed,” Lancet, Volume 7, ISSUE 3, P228-229, March 01, 2020, www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30046-8/fulltext
[11] www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/american-spirit-what-does-it-mean
[12] bhbusiness.com/2020/03/10/coronavirus-concerns-shake-up-behavioral-industry-could-boost-demand-for-services/
Amber Rauscher
Citizens Commission on Human Rights
+1 323-467-4242
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