Page 84 - Winter2014

All Thumbs Book Reviews

Studies have tion occurs when pathways in the brain become tinue to have episodes even when the treatment
shown that dysfunctional because of psychiatric drugs. is stopped. The more quickly these states of
TD is an incurable disorder, which involves manic-to-hypomanic change (rapid-cycling)
smoking grimacing, involuntary tongue movements, lip occur, the more dangerous the disease becomes.
marijuana is smacking, lip puckering, eye blinking, inability These rapid cyclers can lose cognitive abilities
associated to keep the tongue in the mouth and other related and “come to a bad end.”
Whitaker did find bright stars in the dark-
behaviors. Rapid involuntary movements of the
with a arms, legs and fingers can also occur, which do ness of mental illness treatment in programs run
five-fold not cease upon withdrawal of the drugs. Not only in Finland, Europe, and the U.S., where drugs
increased risk are people not cured, but while on drugs they are given only on a limited basis and lifestyle
exhibit freakish behaviors, lose motor control, changes like exercise are seriously incorporated
of a bipolar experience much diminished quality of life and into patients’ treatment. In fact, studies have
diagnosis and die earlier. shown that exercise produces a “substantial im-
Whitaker found that children today are at provement” within six weeks and that seventy
accounted for high risk of becoming mentally ill because of percent of all depressed patients respond to an
one-third of the practice of prescribing them psychiatric exercise program. Patients living with good fam-
all new cases. cocktails of stimulants and antidepressants for ily support did much better in these programs.
ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder) Anatomy of an Epidemic was enthusiasti-
and other conditions. When the child reaches the cally received by many audiences, but not by the
age of eighteen, Whitaker says, he often becomes psychiatric community, which has opposed its
a disabled adult. contents. Yet this book contains more interest-
In the case of bipolar disease, which was ing, surprising and even shocking information in
rare in the 1950s, the outcomes have seriously addition to that which I have described here. By
worsened in the past twenty years. Numbers be- the end of this book, readers are certain to have
gan to increase with the hippie era of marijuana many disturbing questions of their own about the
use and picked up steam with the introduction of history and continued use of psychiatric drugs in
antidepressants in the late 1980s. Today one out this country. Despite their poor outcomes, these
of forty is affected with the condition. Research drugs continue to be the treatment of choice for
points to the conclusion that it is most certainly the major mental illnesses in America.
drug use, whether illicit or prescription, that has We give Anatomy of an Epidemic a re-
contributed most to the diagnosis of bipolar ill- sounding “Thumbs Up” for its contribution to
ness, a condition where the person experiences our understanding of mental illness and current
extreme highs (mania) and lows (depression). treatments, and for describing alternative meth-
Whitaker found that most first episodes of bi- ods of treating the mentally ill. If you suffer
polar disease were preceded by substance abuse from a mental illness, have a mentally ill family
of marijuana, cocaine or amphetamines, or from member, are a parent, grandparent, or intend to
legal prescription use of antidepressants. Studies have children, I highly recommend this book for
have shown that smoking marijuana is associ- your required reading list.
ated with a five-fold increased risk of a bipolar The first chapter of Anatomy of an Epidemic,
diagnosis and accounted for one-third of all new “A Modern Plague,” may be found at this link:
cases. The psychiatric profession has admitted http://robertwhitaker.org/robertwhitaker.org/
that all antidepressant treatments, including Anatomy%20of%20an%20Epidemic_files/
electroshock, can cause manic or hypomanic anatomych1.pdf.
(depressive) episodes and that patients can con- Review by Sylvia P. Onusic, PhD, CNS, LDN
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