Functional Medicine For Antidepressant Withdrawal

Since the days of the “Psychopharm Revolution,” antidepressant medications such as SSRIs and SNRIs have been a foundation of modern psychiatric practice. Today, 40 million Americans take antidepressants, and global antidepressant prescribing is on the rise. Simultaneously, however, a gap has emerged between pharmacologic innovation and methodology. Amidst patient reports of antidepressant side effects, evidence is mounting that antidepressant discontinuation often leads to withdrawal - which can be severe. And although today’s clinicians are trained how to prescribe antidepressants, they are not trained how to safely stop them. There is currently zero field-wide consensus regarding antidepressant discontinuation best practices. In addition to a stunning ethical failure, this represents a serious void in the psychiatric model... a riddle that too many patients and clinicians are being forced to solve alone. Functional Medicine for Antidepressant Withdrawal presents a comprehensive, evidence-based paradigm for antidepressant discontinuation that prioritizes the repletion of underlying nutritional deficiencies. Bridging concept and application, it provides health professionals with clinically proven tools for mitigating antidepressant withdrawal and guiding patients successfully through taper. It also reveals a path to the standard of care that we all deserve, one illuminated by science and upheld by the mandates of ethical, conscientious, personalized medicine.

In a nation plagued with chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, a different predator is the single greatest reason for disability in the United States: mental disorders. Our fast-paced and frenetic lifestyle, coupled with a grossly polluted environment, has created the perfect breeding ground for mental instability. With the spread of brain disorders on the rise around the world, nutritional biochemistry and one of its stars, lithium, has stepped into the spotlight to offer proven methods to heal our bodies from the inside out. Historically linked to severe psychiatric illness, lithium as an agent of good health and well-being is often ignored and brushed aside. Known as the Cinderella drug, it is an essential mineral in our physical and psychological makeup. Lack of its presence in the body can result in poor brain development, psychiatric symptoms, and so on. When administered in small, controlled doses, lithium can significantly improve the lives of those suffering from mental disorders. Nutritional Lithium: A Cinderella Story illustrates the significance of this precious mineral not only as a nutrient vital to human development, but also as a nutritional component that can help millions of people worldwide.

With the FDA's warning that antidepressants may cause agitation, anxiety, hostility, and even violent or suicidal tendencies, these medications are at the forefront of national legal news. Harvard physician Joseph Glenmullen has led the charge to warn the public that antidepressants are overprescribed, underregulated, and, especially, misunderstood in their side and withdrawal effects. Now he offers a solution! More than twenty million Americans -- including over one million teens and children -- take one of today's popular antidepressants, such as Paxil, Zoloft, or Effexor. Dr. Glenmullen recognizes the many benefits of antidepressants and prescribes them to his patients, but he is also committed to warning the public of the dangers associated with overprescription. Dr. Glenmullen's last book, Prozac Backlash, sounded the alarm about possible dangers. The Antidepressant Solution provides the remedy. It is the first book to call attention to the drugs' catch-22: Although many people are ready to go off these drugs, they continue to take them because either the patient or the doctor mistakes antidepressant withdrawal for depressive relapse. The Antidepressant Solution offers an easy, step-by-step guide for patients and their doctors. Written by the premier authority in the field, The Antidepressant Solution is an invaluable book for all those concerned with going through the process -- from friends and family members to doctors and patients themselves.

Depression affects six per cent of adults each year & is the leading cause of suicide. Its symptoms can be disabling & its effects pervasive, impacting on the individual patient, on their families, & the wider society. This text enables healthcare professionals to recognize, assess & offer effective treatments for depression.

An updated edition of the classic history of schizophrenia in America, which gives voice to generations of patients who suffered through "cures" that only deepened their suffering and impaired their hope of recovery Schizophrenics in the United States currently fare worse than patients in the world's poorest countries. In Mad in America, medical journalist Robert Whitaker argues that modern treatments for the severely mentally ill are just old medicine in new bottles, and that we as a society are deeply deluded about their efficacy. The widespread use of lobotomies in the 1920s and 1930s gave way in the 1950s to electroshock and a wave of new drugs. In what is perhaps Whitaker's most damning revelation, Mad in America examines how drug companies in the 1980s and 1990s skewed their studies to prove that new antipsychotic drugs were more effective than the old, while keeping patients in the dark about dangerous side effects. A haunting, deeply compassionate book -- updated with a new introduction and prologue bringing in the latest medical treatments and trends -- Mad in America raises important questions about our obligations to the mad, the meaning of "insanity," and what we value most about the human mind.

This book offers the first new medical treatment plan in 50 years for anorexia nervosa, the self-starvation disease that affects adolescents and women of all ages in the U.S. and is now increasingly common in men. Written by a leading psychiatrist and eating disorder expert, the book is based on cutting-edge research on nutritional deficiencies in anorexia that have been long ignored, and the use of a simple but revolutionary brain test that can help psychiatrists select the best medication for each individual person. James Greenblatt, MD, explains that anorexia is a complex disorder with genetic, biological, psychological, and cultural contributing factors. In other words, anorexia is not primarily a psychiatric illness as has been believed for so long; rather, it is a medical illness of starvation that causes malnutrition in the body and the brain. Successful treatment must focus on correcting this malnutrition. Dr. Greenblatt has helped many patients with anorexia recover simply by correcting their nutritional deficiencies, and here he explains specifically which nutrients must be supplemented as part of treatment. Answers to Anorexia finally offers patients and their families new hope for successful treatment of this serious, frustrating, and enigmatic illness.

DISCOVER THE ADHD SOLUTION FOR YOUR CHILD Dr. James Greenblatt has seen thousands of children and adults struggling with the symptoms of ADHD – hyperactivity, inattentiveness, impulsiveness, and often irritability and combativeness. Rather than simply prescribing medication for their ADHD symptoms, he tailors remedies to his patients’ individual needs, detecting and treating the underlying causes of the disorder. Finally Focused provides proven natural and medical methods to easily treat problems such as nutritional deficiencies or excesses, dysbiosis (a microbial imbalance inside the body), sleeping difficulties, and food allergies, all of which surprisingly can cause or worsen the symptoms of ADHD. Using Dr. Greenblatt’s effective Plus-Minus Healing Plan, parents will first understand the reasons behind their child's symptoms, and then be able to eliminate them by addressing the child’s unique pattern of biological weakness. Adults with ADHD can do the same for themselves. And if conventional medication is still necessary, this integrative approach will minimize or even eliminate troublesome side effects. Using Dr. Greenblatt’s expert advice, millions of children and adults with ADHD finally will get the help they need to achieve true wellness.

Integrative Therapies for Depression: Redefining Models for Assessment, Treatment and Prevention summarizes emerging theories and research findings on various nonpharmaceutical therapies to treat mood disorders.Supported by the review of nearly 3000 scientific studies, the book describes the concepts of inflammation, genetics, hormonal imbalance, g