There are over 78 million people taking psychiatric drugs in the United States with global sales reaching $76 billion a year.

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, April 28, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- With global sales reaching $76 billion a year, psychiatric treatment is one of the most lucrative businesses in the world and according to IMS Health, a company that provides information, services and technology for the healthcare industry, there are over 78 million people taking psychiatric drugs in the United States. [1,2]

While the month of May has been observed as Mental Health Month since 1949 for the stated purpose of educating people on mental health issues, the real motive behind this observance comes into question when normal human activities such as exercising too much or too little are viewed as signs of potential mental illness. During Mental Health Month, individuals interested in learning more about mental illness are driven via posters and social media to websites where they can take a series of quizzes called screening tools which are touted as the quickest and easiest way to determine if someone is experiencing “symptoms” of a mental health condition. [3]

“These quizzes are designed to generate more consumers for the psychiatric industry,” said Diane Stein, President of the Florida chapter for the Citizens Commission on Human Rights. “What these screens don’t tell a person is that there are dangerous side effects to taking psychiatric drugs.”

According to Scientific American, 1 in 6 American adults reported taking a psychiatric drug in a 2013 study. [4] This same study notes that there are demographic differences such as older adults reporting a higher rate of psychiatric drug use and nearly twice as many women as men reporting psychiatric drug usage. In comparison to other developed countries, Americans use more medicines overall and rank first in the use of antipsychotics. [5]

Alarmed by these statistics, CCHR Florida is encouraging people to visit their website to learn more about psychiatric drugs and dangerous side effects that can lead to suicidal ideation and completed suicide. To learn more, please call 727-442-8820 or visit www.cchrflorida.org. CCHR also operates a hotline to report mental health abuse and this hotline, 800-782-2878, is open despite COVID-19 restrictions.

About CCHR: Initially established by the Church of Scientology and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969, CCHR’s mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections. L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, first brought psychiatric imprisonment to wide public notice: “Thousands and thousands are seized without process of law, every week, over the ‘free world’ tortured, castrated, killed. All in the name of ‘mental health,’” he wrote in March 1969. For more information please visit www.cchrflorida.org.

[1] Total Number of People Taking Psychiatric Drugs in the United States https://www.cchrint.org/psychiatric-drugs/people-taking-psychiatric-drugs/
[2] Psychiatry: Hooking Your World on Drugs https://www.cchr.org/cchr-reports/psychiatry/introduction.html
[3] https://www.mhanational.org/mental-health-month
[4] MENTAL HEALTH: 1 in 6 Americans Takes a Psychiatric Drug - Antidepressants were most common, followed by anxiety relievers and antipsychotics https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/1-in-6-americans-takes-a-psychiatric-drug/
[5] Why do Americans spend so much on pharmaceuticals? https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/americans-spend-much-pharmaceuticals

Diane Stein
Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida
+1 (727) 422-8820
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CCHR: Imagine a World Without Psychiatric Abuse