Rexulti® (brexpiprazole) Pharmacological Profile

Video property of Otsuka and Lundbeck. Dr Stephen Stahl presents the pharmacological profile of Rexulti (Brexpiprazole), an atypical antipsychotic approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of major depressive disorder.

[@OreElect1]

Clinical trials show antidepressants work no better than placebos and pharmaceutical companies do several studies and cherry pick results to submit the favorable results to the FDA when it comes to getting these drugs approved. Antidepressants have not been studied for long term safety and clinical trials for most antidepressants are a few weeks or months at best.
Many have the notion that anxiety or depression is like diabetes and like a good diabetic they need to take their antidepressants for life. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even mainstream psychiatry will admit the chemical imbalance myth is just that....a myth. Unlike a disease like diabetes, high cholesterol, etc, psychiatry diagnoses are only diagnosed by excluding other issues that could cause symptoms and the DSM. The DSM has come under fire recently as it's very subjective and at any given time in a person's lifetime, they could be labeled depressed or anxious or even schizophrenic (who hasn't had an auditory hallucination and thought someone called their name??) simply because they could check off a symptom in a manual. Psychiatry is the only branch of medicine where there are no tests to diagnose a disease but rather it's based on a list of emotions. Anxiety and depression have a root cause that needs to be addressed and it's not the mythical chemical imbalance.
Antidepressants have serious side effects which are not rare. Side effects are vastly under reported but not rare. Antidepressants do not prevent suicides. In fact, study after study has shown they increase the risk of suicide in all ages. Even the FDA required antidepressants to have a black box warning (the strongest warning the FDA gives) because of the suicide risk. While the black box warning specifically mentions suicide risk in young adults, studies have shown antidepressants increase suicide risks in people of all ages. Furthermore, antidepressants have been linked to violence, worst long term outcomes, birth defects and learning disabilities when taken while pregnant, increased risk of death, diabetes, cancer, and so much more. Antidepressants have been shown to actually cause anxiety and depression and increase the risk of future depressive episodes. Some of the side effects can be permanent and continue long after the drug is stopped.
ssristories.net/archive/indexb6a1.html?sort=date

[@GeraltOfRivia99]

I have personally SEEN antidepressants save other people's lives. All you did was hear a few people say antidepressants work no better than placebo and you read a few google articles and think you know rather antidepressants are helpful or not. THEY have saved people's lives and they do work for the right brain!

[@OreElect1]

@@GeraltOfRivia99
Your sheltered.
All antidepressants are neurotoxins. Antidepressants do not cure anything. They all have hundreds of side effects and the side effects can pop up at anytime. Some of the side effects can be PERMANENT and last long after the antidepressant is stopped like Tardive Dyskinesia, tinnitus, akathisia and sexual side effects. Antidepressants actually increase the risk of SUICIDE in people of all ages (not just young adults), they are linked to worst long term outcomes compared to those who do not take antidepressants for their anxiety and depression. The chemical imbalance theory is not true but rather a marketing ploy by big pharma. Antidepressants also all need to be slowly tapered and can cause debilitating withdrawal symptoms that can lasts for years in some cases if someone doesn't taper safely. The issue would be to try to find the root cause of your symptoms. If not caused by trauma then anxiety and depression are thought to be symptoms of something physically going on in the body. It could be nutritional deficiencies or allergies, hormonal imbalances such as Thyroid disease or vitamin D or other vitamin deficiencies, heavy metal or chemical toxins, Lyme disease, genetic defects such as the MTHFR gene variations, histamine intolerance, previous medication toxicity, bad gut health, brain trauma, systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, unbalanced blood sugar levels and more.
If you can find a functional or integrative doctor then they can do the testing to find the root cause of your symptoms. Antidepressants only mask symptoms and damage a person's health while they do not realize it. Any part of the brain and body can be affected so many doctors do not tie health problems with the antidepressant. Most Psychiatrist's, Doctor's and Pharmacists are clueless about tapering off and follow old tapering guidelines by Big Pharma.
They also lack with informed consent about debilitating withdrawals, health conditions caused by SSRIs. They're research is based on short term, 6-8 week trials. No long term studies.
If coming off antidepressants, tapering no more than 2-5% every 2-4+ week's is not recognized by them and deny withdrawals with there tapering and blame it on reoccurring conditions or something else. Your then a prisoner of psychotrophic drugs.
ssristories.net/archive/indexb6a1.html?sort=date
www.antidepressantrisks.org/stolenlives

[@ozjthomas]

It's more complicated than that. There's definitely downsides to the drugs. I think there's an overreliance on them while neglecting other things such as social dynamics and food play in mental health and the way they are marketed direct to consumer is disgusting imo.
That said, they do have uses. I don't believe any drug is evil. I've seen them save lives and really help people and animals. They're probably overprescribed though and the black box warnings are real. I've seen them help and hurt people.
I think using them wisely is the best approach.