Exhibit Warns About Connection of Psychiatric Drugs to Suicide and Violence -- Organizers Add Special Reach Out to Military and Veterans
(PRWEB) May 25, 2014 -- The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) of California opened its traveling exhibit, “Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" with a partial display in the state's capitol building on May 22nd where keynote speaker Bishop Dr. Ron Allen of the International Faith Based Coalition stressed the importance of this exhibit in saving lives. The show is part of CCHR's continuing efforts to warn people about the connection that psychiatric drugs have with increasing rates of suicides and violence, especially among our military and veterans. The full exhibit is free and now open at 1201 Front Street in Old Sacramento through May 31st.
“The show has vital information for everyone,” said Jim Van Hill, Executive Director of Sacramento's CCHR chapter, “but with the increasing number of suicides in the military and the shootings at Fort Hood and the Washington Navy Yard, we are increasing our reach out to members of the military.”
According to the U.S. Department of Defense website, the number of military suicides in 2012 far exceeded the number of those killed in battle, nearly one per day.[1] The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs reported suicides among veterans at 22.[2] Yet the Pentagon spends $2 billion a year on mental health alone[3] and the VA’s mental health budget skyrocketed to nearly $7 billion in 2014.[4]
While some claim that these appalling statistics are due to the stresses of war, the facts reveal that 85% of military suicides have not seen combat—and 52% never even deployed.[5]
For those who want to know what’s behind this “epidemic,” Van Hill said there is all too often a common factor involved – the soaring rate of psychiatric drug prescriptions since 2003. These drugs have known side effects such as increased aggression and suicidal thinking that are reflected in similar uptrends in the rates of military domestic violence, child abuse and sex crimes, as well as self-harm.
There are 22 international drug regulatory warnings on psychiatric drugs, citing effects of mania, hostility, violence and even homicidal ideation.[6] “With so many television commercials promoting drugs, some people may dismiss the warnings as ‘mere’ side effects,” Van Hill said, “They are all too real to those whose loved ones committed suicide or who lost family and friends to senseless acts of violence.”
Another factor, according to Van Hill, is a widening definition of what it means to be mentally ill, especially when it comes to post traumatic stress syndrome in military and veterans. “In psychiatry, a diagnosis of a psychological disorder such as PTSD, personality disorder or social anxiety disorder is almost inevitably followed with at least one psychiatric drug. The National Institute of Mental Health says, 'Medications treat the symptoms of mental disorders. They cannot cure the disorder...'”[7]
The result, according to Van Hill, is that the individual’s real problems are not addressed and he or she is put at risk of the drugs’ many side effects. Meanwhile tragic suicides and senseless violence continue.
Public are invited to tour the free exhibit which is open through May 31st at 1201 Front Street in Old Sacramento. In addition to the in-depth section on the relationship of psychiatric drugs to violence and suicides, there are documentaries and displays revealing the results of 40 years of investigation into psychiatry and its treatments. Tours are available daily from noon until 8:00 pm.
About Citizens Commission on Human Rights: CCHR is a nonprofit mental health watchdog established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and the late Dr. Thomas Szasz, professor emeritus of psychiatry at SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse. Its mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections. CCHR has helped to enact more than 150 laws protecting individuals from abusive or coercive mental health practices. CCHR California is the Sacramento Chapter.
For more information, go to http://www.cchrca.org.
[1] “Military Suicides Hit Epidemic Levels,” American Free Press, 27 Mar. 2013,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/military-suicides-2012_n_2472895.html
[2] Moni Basu, "Why suicide rate among veterans may be more than 22 a day," CNN, Nov. 14, 2013, cnn.com/2013/09/21/us/22-veteran-suicides-a-day/
[3] Martha Thompson & Nancy Gibbs, "The War On Suicide?" Time Magazine, July 23, 2012, content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2119337,00.html
[4] John Ramsey, "The Last Battle: Steven Chadduck lost his home and nearly committed suicide while waiting for help for PTSD," Fayottesville Observer, Sept. 24, 2012, fayobserver.com/military/article_a0699933-cac5-5ced-8616-f01eef305f16.html; Patricia Kime, "Budget plan gives VA big funding boost for veterans care," Army Times, Apr. 10, 2013, writer armytimes.com/article/20130410/NEWS/304100023/Budget-plan-gives-VA-big-funding-boost-veterans-care
[5] Department of Defense Suicide Event Report Calendar Year 2012 Annual Report,” National Center for Telehealth & Technology (T2), Department of Defense Suicide Event Reports, Generated on 12/20/13 RefID: 7-AF33A11. ) http://www.suicideoutreach.org/Docs/Reports/2012_DoDSER_Annual_Report.pdf
[6] 22 international warnings compiled from the US FDA, fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch; US DEA, justice.gov/dea/?; Health Canada, hc-sc.gc.ca/index-eng.php; Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, mhlw.go.jp/english/; European Medicines Agency, ema.europa.eu/ema/; Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration, tga.gov.au; UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, mhra.gov.uk/?
[7] “Mental Health Medications,” National Institute of Mental Health, US Department of Health and Human Services. NIH Publication No. 12-3929. Rev. 2010, Printed 2012, http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/mental-health-medications/nimh-mental-health-medications.pdf
Media Department, Citizens Commission on Human Rights of California, http://www.cchrca.org, (916) 447-4599, [email protected]
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