Fringe Science: SSRI Antidepressants Drive Shrimp to Suicide, Are Based on Pseudoscience, and Potentially Contribute to Mass Shootings

Here we will cover a trio of interrelated stories:

·       Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants severely disrupt shrimp neurological function and cause them to essentially kill themselves

·       The “serotonin deficiency” theory behind depression is now clinically debunked, rendering the entire theoretical antidepressant mechanism of SSRIs mute – although they continue to generate generous profits for pharmaceutical firms nonetheless

·       The majority of mass shooters in the United States are subsequently found to have been taking antidepressants, which often goes unremarked upon in the pharmaceutical industry-controlled media for obvious reasons

The shrimp suicide phenomenon

Via National Geographic:

“To mimic conditions in the wild, scientists exposed the estuary-dwelling shrimp Echinogammarus marinus to the antidepressant fluoxetine at levels detected in average sewage-treatment waste. Fluoxetine is the key ingredient in the drugs Prozac and Sarafem.

Shrimp normally gravitate toward safe, dark corners. But when exposed to fluoxetine, the animals were five times more likely to swim toward a bright region of water, the team discovered.

“This behavior makes them much more likely to be eaten by a predator, such as a fish or bird,” said study co-author Alex Ford, a biologist at U.K.’s University of Portsmouth.

The fluoxetine likely makes shrimp’s nerves more sensitive to serotonin, a brain chemical known to alter moods and sleep patterns, according to the study…

Ford believes that many other common prescription drugs—such as antiinflammatory drugs and painkillers—could also be causing problems for aquatic life.”

The debunked serotonin deficiency theory of depression

Via Molecular Psychiatry:

“Our comprehensive review of the major strands of research on serotonin shows there is no convincing evidence that depression is associated with, or caused by, lower serotonin concentrations or activity. Most studies found no evidence of reduced serotonin activity in people with depression compared to people without, and methods to reduce serotonin availability using tryptophan depletion do not consistently lower mood in volunteers. High quality, well-powered genetic studies effectively exclude an association between genotypes related to the serotonin system and depression, including a proposed interaction with stress. Weak evidence from some studies of serotonin 5-HT1A receptors and levels of SERT points towards a possible association between increased serotonin activity and depression. However, these results are likely to be influenced by prior use of antidepressants and its effects on the serotonin system. The effects of tryptophan depletion in some cross-over studies involving people with depression may also be mediated by antidepressants, although these are not consistently found.”

Despite the total inefficacy of antidepressants given that the entire theory of their mechanism is flawed, none of the clinical proof has prevented their mass-prescription to American patients: “During 2015–2018, 13.2% of adults aged 18 and over used antidepressant medications in the past 30 days. Use was higher among women (17.7%) than men (8.4%),” per the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

The potential mass shooter-SSRI link

If you do the investigative digging required to find these details, obscured as they often are, you will find that, in almost every case, the mass shooter of the day was on some form of SSRI antidepressant – one of the Columbine shooters, the 2013 theater shooter in Aurora, Colorado, etc.

Via WPBF:

“But buried beneath the Washington Post headlines was the detail about Eric Harris' treatment with the antidepressant Luvox. Fourteen years later, claims of a link between anti-depressants and violence have grown louder, if not clearer. British psychiatrist Dr. David Healy told WPBF 25 News that "almost all the school shooters that we know of have either been on or using these drugs or in withdrawal from them."

Healy is a leading voice in the call for stronger warnings about anti-depressants, specifically the withdrawal from the group of drugs called Selective Seratonin Reintake Inhibitors, or SSRI.

Last July 20, James Holmes walked into a midnight showing of the latest "Batman" movie in Aurora, Colo., and opened fire, killing 12 and wounding 58, police said. The Denver Post reported Holmes was taking generic Zoloft, an SSRI.

"You can become emotionally numb when you go on these drugs," Healy said. "That means you can do things you wouldn't normally contemplate doing."”

The most recent shooter from Maine was institutionalized in a mental health facility over the summer. What drugs he was administered is unclear, but it’s almost a sure thing he was given antipsychotics and/or antidepressants as standard treatment.

Via Newsweek:

“Within reports about the incident were claims regarding Card’s mental health. The Associated Press reported that a police bulletin, circulated to law enforcement officials, stated Card had been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks in the summer of 2023. It reportedly said he had been “hearing voices” and made threats “shoot up” a military base in Saco, Maine.”

A 2004 “black box” FDA warning required “a boxed warning on antidepressants regarding the risk of suicidality in young adults.”

Via the Prozac insert:

“All patients being treated with antidepressants for any indication should be monitored appropriately and observed closely for clinical worsening, suicidality, and unusual changes in behavior, especially during the initial few months of a course of drug therapy, or at times of dose changes, either increases or decreases.”

Ben Bartee, author of Broken English Teacher: Notes From Exile, is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs.

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