This is an extraordinary thing for a society to do, to force people to take medications that alter their minds... #MH →
R. Whitaker rebuts a critical review of his book (Anatomy of an Epidemic), by Dr. E. Fuller Torrey (founder of the [Forced & Coerced] Treatment Advocacy Center):
We are embracing the increased use of outpatient commitment laws that force people to take antipsychotic medications, and we do so under the belief that these drugs are a necessary good for those people. This is an extraordinary thing for a society to do, to force people to take medications that alter their minds and experience of the world.
Yet, here is the story told in Anatomy of an Epidemic: If we look closely at Harrow’s study and a long list of other research, there is good reason to believe that these medications increase psychotic symptoms over the long-term, increase feelings of anxiety, impair cognitive function, cause tardive dyskinesia with some frequency, and dramatically reduce the likelihood that people will fully recover and be able to work. If this is so, how can we, as a society, defend our increasing embrace of forced treatment laws?
Read Robert Whitaker's complete blog post here.
