It’s telling, and frankly embarrassing, when prominent psychs on here respond to critiques of psychiatric harm with slurs and character attacks. Dragging down colleagues who question the status quo doesn’t defend the field; it exposes how fragile the narrative really is

"One of the most important studies in psychiatry followed nearly 5000 people for 12 years. They found that 88% of the time, depression is the result of stressful life events. These include loss of a romantic relationship, getting demoted at work, or the death of a loved one."

Cochrane review finds very small differences between antidepressants and placebo - mean 2.79 on 56 point scale. 'We just seem to have shifted the problem of adverse effects from one class of drugs [benzodiazepines] to another' said Peter Tyrer in BMJ madinamerica.com/2025/07/cochra…

Not everything challenging the status quo is pseudoscience. 30 yrs working in social care I've seen the harm benzodiazepines can do. Patient choice, following guidelines and contributing to committees including NICE. Don't lump me in with anti-vaxxers!

Some thoughts on ADHD Too much • 23% of boys diagnosed by age 17 • 58.9% increase in UK private school extra time accommodations since 2019 • 93.7% (almost all) adults treated with meds Stimulants don't work well • Don't improve outcomes at 3 years (MTA) • Don't improve

'Nonsense as nuance' - response to Awais Aftab's blog on antidepressant withdrawal by Mark Horowitz @markhoro.bsky.social 'The result of his [Aftab's] interventions is to solidify the status quo which misleadingly and systemically dismisses and minimises patients’ concerns.' mhorowitz.substack.com/p/no-the-kalfa…

“The most robust, consistent effect of SSRIs is a dampening of sexuality.” Excellent interview from Moral Medicine with Yassie Pirani, therapist and PSSD researcher. We are very lucky to have her speaking out for this community. m.youtube.com/watch?v=bB_fgt…

This is a powerful critique of Awais Aftab's recent blog on the antidepressant withdrawal study; a blog that minimises withdrawal & aligns with the status quo. It expertly highlights why one should approach his conclusions, biases & rhetoric with caution. mhorowitz.substack.com/p/no-the-kalfa…

Jesus Ramirez-Bermudez Bert Dr Joanna Moncrieff Which seems more plausible, Jesus? That the mood of the mother would affect development of the heart and neural system or that chemicals which are known signalling molecules in embryonic development would affect it? Don't think these hypotheses have the same a priori plausibility

I really enjoyed this conversation with Evan - hope you do too

Dr Joanna Moncrieff Thanks so much for the amazing conversation Joanna! I'm already looking forward to our next one.

Taking antidepressants is 'introducing foreign chemicals into a very delicate system'. The fact that there can be harmful consequences should not be surprising. New podcast with Evan McGloughlin Flint Books youtube.com/watch?v=lJq400…

LunaBell Maryanne Demasi, PhD Prof. Peter C Gøtzsche Melissa Raven Dr Joanna Moncrieff rosie Fiona French, freedom is bliss PsychWatch Australia Mad In America Richard Amerling It has been studied a lot but there’s still very little conclusive evidence that depression is a biological condition. x.com/evan_mcgl/stat…

Recent reviews attempt to minimise the problem of antidepressant withdrawal by focusing on flawed data and short-term studies bit.ly/46DkFmt Mark Horowitz @markhoro.bsky.social Dr John Read Dr James Davies (PhD) 💭 Michael P. Hengartner, PhD Psychology Today

Great meme on 'ad hoc' hypotheses, in other words speculation dressed up as science

It is fantastic to see so many people talking and posting about SSRI harms. However the pattern is clear. It takes 30 years and millions needlessly harmed to get from "wonder drug" to this point. The system works exactly as it is intended to work.

Article by Professor Dr Joanna Moncrieff "Debunking misleading research on antidepressant withdrawal." #MentalHealth #antidepressants Article Link: buff.ly/Fsv0f8h

I enjoyed this conversation with The Midlife Mentors, including discussing experiences of antidepressants and how to improve mood & mental wellbeing in non-pharmacological ways Flint Books themidlifementors.com/podcast-2/ also available podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ret… and open.spotify.com/episode/4zMWVP…

Most media coverage of that FDA panel on Antidepressants in Pregnancy did not mention the speaker who actually treats pregnant women: Adam Urato, MD Here’s Dr. Urato’s testimony. Read it for yourself: rxisk.org/antidepressant…

Back in the day taking psychoactive drugs was considered a barrier to therapy for this reason. The trouble is few admit or realise that antidepressants are psychoactive