LET'S TALK ABOUT PSYCHIATRY AND CHILDREN.

#Children and #psychotropic drugs:

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But wait, there’s more.

#By Frances Harris

 Cause of death – Died from anxiety. That’s what is likely to be on the death certificate of 7% of the population, (one person in 14), a child or adult with unreceptive liver enzymes after the psychotropic drugs went wrong. Side effects means there is a steady residual build-up of unprocessed medication, until the patient is overwhelmed.They can be seriously injured and die.

Anxiety: in hospitals is code for, died from side effects of medication that overwhelmed them. None can dispute it, because no one tests for it. If you look at the statistics of many hospitals, it's amazing how many people have anxiety the recorded cause of death. At major hospitals sometimes it is the leading cause of death above all others. I was baffled by this until I saw what happens first hand, when the file notes were revealed in my own case, or lack of them. If you have a child or adult in your family, and you are thinking of this type of psychotropic drug therapy are you scared yet? You should be! You may be told they are help for anxiety; or may help your loved one relax. These words sound so reassuring when you are in the middle of a storm. 

How am I qualified to comment? I’ve been a carer for sixteen years and seen the effects first hand, but luckily I was able to intervene before it went to the final step. I was informed and aware while others are not. Most unsuspecting parents would never know. I have seen under the covers of psychiatry and it’s not a pretty sight.

Now many people have children they can no longer control. We, being many of the adults, might have unwittingly made them that way. So we go to the doctor to give the kid a pill to make it better faster; sedate him out and life can go back to normal. Seemed alright at the time but was it? - Perhaps not – Short term gain then more likely long term pain is on its way. You should do your own research, but you'll find the truth is well disguised.

Life issues and divorce do traumatize kids, especially if their part has not been handled with care. Dad or mum is replaced by a new partner, so continuity of emotional attachments are left behind. We run them off their feet trying to catch up while emotions are raw, then there is the everyday stuff, homework, out of school activities and countless others. There’s no real time to play without rules and timeframes so they can have time to strike their own balance and their own thoughts. They go into survival mode, sometimes leaving empathy for others behind. It seems to make them unappreciative, uncaring. But however much we don’t like it; we the parents and caregivers, were probably greatly and unintentionally the cause.

Somewhere along the line, personal identity of the child or adolescent can be fractured and in the confusion they become sad, they feel alone and then scared and eventually left on the fringes to make their own way. The result is understandably anger and rebellion. It’s a normal reaction to injustice, and we forget sometimes these unpleasant reactions happen to adults too. 

Because they are smaller or powerless it is easy for adults to pass responsibility to a doctor to fix it with a pill; because we don't have time for this.. They are not in a position to know, or resist. Parents are understandably distressed too. But think a bit about what this means. Some of the kids are not psychotic, but psychiatrists and even general practitioners are dealing out these drugs like candy. Often they don’t know the deal either. They think they make good sedatives. I suppose they do, but not for the reasons you might think. When the child or adult becomes drowsy, that is the beginning of possibly dangerous side effects from the medication that can lead to further complications.  

It’s not too bad if the effects are subtle and don’t continue, but it can lead to other things. When side effects become apparent in some people, it means there is a residue of medication building up in the bloodstream with every dose because the liver does not have the capacity to process it. If the adult or child happens to be the unfortunate one person in ten who does not have sufficient liver enzyme to metabolize the dose, they can quietly slip into a coma and die, or develop a potentially lethal heart arrhythmia, or Creatin Kinase elevation that can blow out the kidneys, requiring a transplant. I convey this information because I have been directly in the middle of such a crisis. The patient could have these events happen at night leaving the parents unaware till morning. If the patient begins to sweat more than usual, alarm bells should ring.

Then there is the matter of changes to the dopamine receptors on the growing brain. D1 dopamine receptor is where many of the antipsychotics target. So when the child becomes an adult don’t be surprised if he or she is different to others and has trouble fitting in. You may not recognise that lovely little person you used to know, and they may not be coming back. It’s when you may reject them and their feelings are hurt beyond belief, they will resort to unsociable behaviours, and possibly in some unusual cases, revenge. I don’t feel the need to go into that, I believe you can work it out.

So this is it, there is no magic pill to substitute for parenting, and I don’t include the children who are diagnosed with a serious personality or genetic disorder, they have no choice. Resist while you have the opportunity if you can, and if your children are acting badly, and if it is within your means, give them a warm hug, take them out of town for a spot of fishing, a laugh and an ice cream. You won’t regret it.