Akathisia is a dangerous, possibly deadly extrapyramidal side-effect caused by certain medications, but most often, psychiatric medications. Akathisia is not a psychological condition nor a mental illness—it is a neurological movement disorder caused by medications such as: · SSRI antidepressants · SNRIs antidepressants, anti-anxiety and panic disorder drugs. · AAPs (second-generation atypical anti-psychotics) which are now being marketed not just to people with schizophrenia, but people suffering from bipolar disorder and even unipolar depression (see the ad for the “booster drug” Rexulti.) · Other medications such as Chantix, Lyrica and the new weight-loss drug, Contrave. This list is not-all-inclusive. Akathisia can also occur when withdrawing off these medications, and others, such as benzodiazepines and opiates. Depression is the #1 cause of disability in America today. One in 5 Americans take psychiatric medications. That means either you, or someone you know and love, are taking a drug that causes akathisia. Akathisia is fatal—not because it actually kills you, but because the side-effect presents in two ways: outer “restlessness” and motor agitation, and also, the most dangerous, akathisia causes a subjective “internal emotional restlessness, distress, terror/panic, pain and emotional agony”: feelings so unbearable, people would rather die than live with it for one more second. The danger is, many doctors and patients blame these symptoms on mental disorders or psychological issues for which the patient sought treatment in the first place, rather than realizing the drug(s) themselves may be the cause. Akathisia is astonishingly unknown by healthcare and mental healthcare providers, as well as people on the medications themselves. Instead of recognizing akathisia, it is often mistaken for “treatment-resistant” or “agitated depression,” “severe anxiety,” or other mental disorders. It is NOT a psychological disorder. It is a drug-induced side effect, and it is neurological. This video was written and produced by award-winning poet and literary novelist J.A. Carter-Winward to create awareness of this debilitating side effect. She was misdiagnosed with a mental illness after suffering a TBI. People are suffering daily, and have no idea why. One woman who shared the video gave it a simple, chilling tagline: “It has a name.” This film is to give this unbearable suffering that so many have experienced–or currently experience–a name. It is to give them hope and validation, and offers, perhaps, closure to loved ones who have lost people to akathisia-induced suicide. Closure, but little comfort. Knowing it was a drug side effect can be healing, but tear open new wounds of anger at a medical establishment that has colossally failed those suffering with mental illnesses. The film also provides information for those who have it and need help gaining knowledge in order to get the proper care, and to stop akathisia’s debilitating effects before it’s too late. Ms. Carter-Winward is not anti-medication, nor anti-psychiatry; she is pro-transparency, pro-information, and her intention is to save as many lives as she can save. After years of having the incorrect diagnosis on her permanent medical records, Ms. Carter-Winward’s record now reflects: “Bipolar Disorder: RESOLVED.” Small comfort, however, when these conditions have now emerged, and are so prevalent, they have a name: DIMD–Drug-Induced Movement Disorders http://mhc.cpnp.org/doi/full/10.9740/… **Please DO NOT STOP TAKING ANY medications without consulting your doctor.** Discontinuing certain medications can cause serious health complications, and even death. Talk to your doctor if you suspect you have developed akathisia, but also learn as much as you can, especially about withdrawing from psychiatric medications. Most require a very slow, careful titration down, ideally under a supportive and knowledgeable doctor’s care. Thought Candy for the Brain: · One in five Americans are taking psychiatric medications. · According to an article from April of 2016 in the New York Times: “Suicide in the United States has surged to the highest levels in nearly 30 years, a federal data analysis has found, with increases in every age group except older adults.” · We have more medications than ever to treat mental illness, and yet the rise of mental illness has been “400% in the last two decades,” and death by suicide has risen exponentially. · Every day in the U.S., 121 Americans take their own lives. (Source: U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention) With all of these new medications, how is it possible that the incidents of mental illness and statistics of death by suicide are rising?
For more information, visit: www.akathisia.life, www.jacarterwinward.com/akathisia