Catherine J. Frompovich, Contributor
Activist Post
As a consumer healthcare researcher for more than 35 years, I constantly am searching for information and data to substantiate what makes people sick and ‘tick’. In that capacity, I receive a tremendous amount of information via networking with individuals around the globe. We share information on a daily basis, as we believe people ought to know facts about their health and how to preserve and maintain it, plus what deliberately interferes with that God-given right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as guaranteed citizens of these United States of America.
The recent unfortunate school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, placed a spotlight on gun violence—rightfully so. However, what seems to be missing in the equation to reduce gun violence in the USA—at least—is something that I, as a concerned citizen, healthcare researcher and pacifist, think needs to be spotlighted. It’s the inordinate use of psychotropic drugs in younger children, which may have impact upon their behavior. Negative side effects while taking psychotropic drugs are not anomalies, as the following list apparently documents.
According to a website providing individual’s stories about adverse effects/events relating to SSRI medications called SSRI Stories, we find some rather thought-provoking information, especially regarding those stories noted “ **Indicates a school shooting or school incident.”
The SSRI Stories website lists hundreds, if not thousands, of stories about the horrors related to taking psychotropic drugs.
The list below starts in April of 1988 and goes through October 2011. As noted on the SSRI Stories website, the person who kept that log has passed away, so probably it’s not been kept current.
However, I find the stories listed below implicating ‘guilt by association’ since the perpetrators of school shootings and other violence apparently were taking what’s called psychotropic drugs.
Personally, I think society, the law, and government health agencies must evaluate all that goes into violent behavior, just not guns, knives, rope, automobiles, alcohol, etc.
According to the National Institutes of Mental Health website [1],
Recently, there has been some concern that the use of antidepressant medications themselves may induce suicidal behavior in youths. Following a thorough and comprehensive review of all the available published and unpublished controlled clinical trials of antidepressants in children and adolescents, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a public warning in October 2004 about an increased risk of suicidal thoughts or behavior (suicidality) in children and adolescents treated with SSRI antidepressant medications. In 2006, an advisory committee to the FDA recommended that the agency extend the warning to include young adults up to age 25.
The warning also notes that children and adolescents taking SSRI medications should be closely monitored for any worsening in depression, emergence of suicidal thinking or behavior, or unusual changes in behavior, such as sleeplessness, agitation, or withdrawal from normal social situations.
Personally, I don’t think guns, knives, or whatever instrument is used to commit violence and crime have any input into the children’s behavior, as you can note from what I’ve underscored above. Truly, it seems to me that something additional was instrumental in the aberrant behavior that led children to commit horrible crimes and/or threats against others.
School Stand-Off Apr. 13, 1988 Idaho Zoloft antidepressant
School Shooting May 20, 1988 Illinois Anafranil Antidepressant
School Shooting Jan. 30, 1992 Michigan Prozac antidepressant
School Shooting Sep. 20, 1992 Texas Antidepressants
School Shooting Related July 23, 1993 Florida Luvox
School Shooting Oct. 12, 1995 South Carolina Zoloft Antidepressant
School Violence/Murder May 5, 1994 N.Y. Antidepressants
School Shooting May 21, 1998 Oregon Prozac antidepressant withdrawal
School Shooting Plot Dec. 1, 1998 Wisconsin Med for depression
School Shooting Threat Apr. 16, 1999 Idaho Antidepressant
School Shooting Apr. 20, 1999 Colorado Luvox & Zoloft Antidepressants
School Threats Oct. 19, 1999 Florida Prozac antidepressant
School Shooting Mar. 10, 2001 Pennsylvania Paxil
School Hostage Situation Apr. 15, 2001 Wash. Paxil & Effexor antidepressants
School Shooting Apr. 19, 2001 California Celexa & Effexor antidepressants
School Stabbings June 9, 2001 Japan Antidepressants
School Machete Attack Sept. 26, 2001 Penna. Med for depression
School Shooting Jan. 17, 2002 Virginia Antidepressant ?
School Shooting Threat May 31, 2003 Michigan Antidepressant
School Shooting Feb. 9, 2004 New York Paxil antidepressant
School Shooting Threat Oct. 19, 2004 N.J. Med for depression
School/Assault Feb. 15, 2006 Tennessee Zoloft antidepressant
School Shooting Mar. 24, 2005 Minnesota Prozac Antidepressant
School Shooting Aug. 30, 2006 North Carolina Celexa antidepressant
School Shooting Sept. 30, 2006 Colorado Antidepressant
School Hostage Situation Nov. 28, 2006 N.C. Antidepressant withdrawal
School Knife Attack Dec. 6, 2006 Indiana Med for depression
School Stabbing Dec. 4, 2006 Indiana Wellbutrin
School Shooting Apr. 18, 2007 Virginia Antidepressant questionable
School Threat Apr. 23, 2007 Mississippi Antidepressants
School Suspension July 28, 2007 Arkansas Lexapro antidepressant
School Shooting Oct. 12, 2007 Ohio Antidepressant withdrawal
School Shooting Nov. 11, 2007 Finland Antidepressant withdrawal
School Threat Jan. 25, 2008 Washington Prozac antidepressant
School Shooting Feb. 2, 2008 Illinois Prozac withdrawal
School Suicide/Lockdown Feb. 20, 2008 Idaho Med for depression
School Stabbing Feb. 28, 2008 Texas Med for depression
School Threat Mar. 20, 2008 Indiana Antidepressants
School Shooting Plot Aug. 28, 2008 Texas Med for depression withdrawal
School Shooting Mar. 13, 2009 Germany Med for depression
School Shooting Mar. 18, 2011 South Carolina Meds for depression & ADHD
School Hostage Situation Apr. 11, 2009 N.Y. Cymbalta antidepressant withdrawal
School/Assault Nov.4, 2009 California Antidepressant
School Shooting Threats Jan. 25, 2010 Virginia Celexa antidepressant
School Shooting Feb. 19, 2010 Finland SSRI drug
School Knifing/Murder Apr. 28, 2010 Mass. Medications for Depression & ADHD
School Incident/Bizarre Aug. 22, 2010 Australia Zoloft
School Hostage Situation Dec. 15, 2010 France Med for depression
School Massacre Plot Feb. 23, 2011 Virginia Prozac withdrawal Illinois
School Shooting July 11, 2011 Alabama Zoloft Antidepressant & ADHD med
School Stabbing Oct. 25, 2011 Washington Med for depression
For those interested in finding more information about SSRI drugs, you may want to check out this rather informative website, Anxiety Medication and Kids at Education.
Too many physicians are too quick, in my opinion, to prescribe SSRIs for kids. Recently I heard that physicians will be labeling more and more children as bipolar, which means more psychotropic drugs. Will there be more violent crimes committed by children who may not be responsible for their acts, as such acts are drug-induced—not gun or knife induced, as many would have the public believe? When on psychotropic drugs, kids can be compared to a person who may be chronically drunk because of how those drugs change personality traits.
In May of 2012 ABC News reported “Childhood Bipolar Boom: More Cases or Misdiagnoses?”
A 40-fold rise in bipolar disorder is being reported by physicians. Why so? My suggestion would be to reconsider all the neurotoxins and toxic chemicals found in vaccines that are being pumped into kids as soon as they exist the womb [Hepatitis B vaccine] with more vaccinations in multiple combinations at 2, 4 and 6 months! Doesn’t medicine realize that those chemicals and neurotoxins cross the blood brain barrier? Poisons were not meant to enter the brain. Isn’t that what the blood brain barrier is all about?
That’s why there’s the need for federal health agencies to stop kowtowing to Big Pharma and take a serious look at the ramifications of what chemicals do to the human brain, especially in infants, toddlers, and teens. Let’s examine every aspect of probable chemically-induced crime, and not pin the tail on just one donkey in this game of what actually may be a prelude to the taking away of 2nd Amendment rights for some apparent spurious reason. At least that’s how I assess it.
UPDATE: Here’s documentation that there’s more to the culture of violence in the USA than just guns. NBC News reported January 25, 2013 in a feature story, “Teen’s confession: Horror film inspired murder of mom, sister,” that 17-year-old Jake Evans admitted in a four page confession that he got the idea to shoot and kill his mother and sister after watching the remake of “Halloween” three times during that week! Another gun killing story apparently precipitated by entertainment. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/25/16692073-teens-confession-horror-film-inspired-murder-of-mom-sister?lite
Catherine J Frompovich (website) is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in Nutrition and Holistic Health Sciences, Certification in Orthomolecular Theory and Practice plus Paralegal Studies.
Her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s. Catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co-authoring papers and monographs with physicians, nurses, and holistic healthcare professionals. She has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting.
Catherine’s latest book, A Cancer Answer, Holistic BREAST Cancer Management, A Guide to Effective & Non-Toxic Treatments, is available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle eBook.
Two of Catherine’s more recent books on Amazon.com are Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick (2009) and Lord, How Can I Make It Through Grieving My Loss, An Inspirational Guide Through the Grieving Process (2008).