Don't delay. Register for the 25th Annual ISEPP Conference in Marina del Rey, California, October 27-29, 2023. We have a stellar lineup and a special treat for those of you who will be attending the Awards Dinner.
The third paper from the benzodiazepine experience survey was released recently, reporting some of the long-term symptoms and life effects attributed by respondents to benzodiazepines. It also proposes a name for these enduring symptoms that many have experienced: benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction (BIND).
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Benzodiazepine use associated with brain injury, job loss, and suicide
PORTLAND, Oregon, June 29, 2023 (eReleases) –
Benzodiazepine use and discontinuation is associated with nervous system injury and negative life effects that continue after discontinuation, according to an article published 06/29/2023 in the open access journal PLOS ONE.
“Despite the fact that benzodiazepines have been widely prescribed for decades, this survey presents significant new evidence that a subset of patients experience long-term neurological complications,” stated first author Alexis Ritvo, M.D. “This should change how we think about benzodiazepines and how they are prescribed.”
Previous studies had described this injury with various terminologies, perhaps the most well-known being protracted withdrawal. As part of the PLOS ONE study, a scientific review board unified these names under the term benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction (BIND) to more accurately describe the condition.
To better characterize BIND, Dr. Ritvo and colleagues analyzed data from a previously published survey of current and former benzodiazepine users that asked about their symptoms and adverse life effects attributed to benzodiazepine use. The survey of 1,207 benzodiazepine users from benzodiazepine support groups and health/wellness sites is the largest of its kind. Respondents included those taking benzodiazepines (63.2%), in the process of tapering (24.4%), or fully discontinued (11.3%). Nearly all respondents had a prescription for benzodiazepines (98.6%) and 91% took them definitely or mostly as prescribed.
Symptoms were long-lasting, with 76.6% of all affirmative answers to symptom questions reporting symptom duration to be months or over one year. The following ten symptoms (out of a possible 23) persisted over a year in greater than half of respondents: low energy, difficulty focusing, memory loss, anxiety, insomnia, sensitivity to light and sounds, digestive problems, symptoms triggered by food and drink, muscle weakness, and body pain. Particularly alarming, these symptoms were often reported as new and distinct from the symptoms for which benzodiazepines were originally prescribed. In addition, a majority of respondents reported prolonged negative life impacts in all areas, such as significantly damaged relationships, job loss, and increased medical costs. Notably, 54.4% of the respondents reported suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide.
BIND is thought to be a result of brain changes resulting from benzodiazepine exposure. A general review of the literature suggests that it occurs in roughly 1 in 5 long-term users. The risk factors for BIND are not known, and more research is needed to further define the condition, along with treatment options.
Christy Huff, M.D., one of the co-authors, said, “Patients have been reporting long-term effects from benzodiazepines for over 60 years. I am one of those patients. Even though I took my medication as prescribed, I still experience symptoms on a daily basis at four years off benzodiazepines. Our survey and the new term BIND give a voice to the patient experience and point to the need for further investigations.”
The survey was a collaborative effort between CU Anschutz, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and several patient-led advocacy organizations that educate on benzodiazepine harms. Several members of the research team have lived experience with benzodiazepines, which informed the survey questions.
Contact:
Primary Media Contact
Bernard Silvernail, President
Alliance for Benzodiazepine Best Practices
503-704-8983
bernie@benzoreform.org
benzoreform.org
Alternate Media Contact
Dr. Christy Huff, Director
Benzodiazepine Information Coalition
817-235-7879
christy@benzoinfo.com
benzoinfo.com
Research article:
"Long-term consequences of benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction: A survey”
PLOS ONE 2023
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0285584
ISEPP announces its Spring 2023 webinar. Join us in the discussion!
Violence and Psychiatric Drugs:
Hope or Horror?
April 28, 2023
3-5pm Eastern
2-4pm Central
1-3pm Mountain
12-2pm Pacific
Webinar recording available $20
(No CEU credit for the recording)
Our ISEPP colleague Bruce Levine, Ph.D., gives an interview on the Corbett Report podcast, Finding Mental Health. It summarizes Bruce's ideas in his book A Profession Without Reason in particular, and in general his ideas about how psychiatry and the medicalization of human life has been a failure. At around the 29:10 time mark, he mentions ISEPP as one of the many organizations dedicated to exposing this failure. Keep up the great work Bruce!
The Ethics International Press Critical Psychiatry and Critical Psychology Series was created by creativity coach and lead editor Eric Maisel, Ph.D. He is assisted in this project by his co-editor, psychologist Chuck Ruby, Ph.D. The books in this series are for everyone who would like to understand what’s wrong with the current “mental disorder” system, especially how chemicals are employed to deal with life’s problems. 
The first two volumes in the series,
Critiquing the Psychiatric Model and Humane Alternatives to the Psychiatric Model, have just come out in a lower-cost paperback (the hardback, for institutions, was pricey) and the publisher is offering an additional 20% off the paperback price. Just employ the code MORALS20 at checkout. These books will provide you with a picture—maybe even a life-changing picture—that you will not get in the mainstream media, which is dominated by the power of Big Pharma.
Come take a look. You will be very happy that you did!
We are saddened to hear about the death of a legend in the critical psychiatry and psychology fight. Fred Baughman, M.D., died last October, peacefully at his home in El Cajon, California. Fred was a giant in the field and accomplished an incredible amount in his profession and well as creating a wonderful family environment at home. One of his many accomplishments was the publication of his 2006 book, The ADHD Fraud: How Psychiatry Makes Patients Out of Normal Children. The world will not be the same without him.
by Barry Duncan, Psy.D.
Dr. Jacqueline A. Sparks, social justice advocate, critical thinker extraordinaire, beloved university professor, ISEPP journal Editor-in-Chief, gifted therapist, and my best friend, died November 3rd after a lengthy illness. The world is not quite as good without her. Behind her voluminous publications, impeccable scholarship, and amazing writing abilities, Dr. Sparks championed two ideals in her work throughout her career. First and foremost, she was driven to transform systems of care to privilege the service user, especially their goals for service and how those goals are approached—to include consumers in all decisions that affect their care. Deeply embedded in her unyielding drive for client privilege was a call for cultural responsiveness and the promotion of social justice. Jacqueline operationalized this ideal in the Partners for Change Outcome Management System or PCOMS, a method that levels the hierarchy in therapy and honors service user views of benefit and relationship. Ten randomized clinical trials and four editions of the PCOMS manual later, this ideal has become manifest. Dr. Sparks was not only a great thinker, she also got things done.
The second ideal was an unwavering commitment to challenge the status quo, to question presumed mental health authority and ask the hard questions. But this was not just rebellious talk to her, it emerged from a deep dive into research and exposing the science, or rather the science fiction masquerading as science, regarding psychiatric diagnoses and psychotropic medication. Our 2000 article in the Psychotherapy Networker, “The Myth of the Magic Pill,” called attention to the flawed science and the financial web of deceit of the pharmaceutical industry. This article was recognized by Project Censored as one of the “Top Ten Under-Reported Stories of 2000.” It also received the “The Networker 20thAnniversary All Time Top Ten Award” as one of the most influential features in magazine history. Since then, Dr. Sparks continued to question the “taken for granted,” exposing the bankrupt science and corruption that permeates psychiatric diagnosis and medication in multiple articles in top tier journals, uncovering the methodological tricks of drug company research and building the case for psychotherapy as a first line intervention for both every day and catastrophic problems that humans face. For this enormous body of work, Jacqueline received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry.
Pictured below is Jackie smiling broadly holding the Psychotherapy Networker issue containing our award-winning article.
On a personal note, Jackie was also my closest friend, my ally through thick and thin. I counted on her keen analyses and insightful perceptions of any situation, personal or professional, and I knew I could always expect her unyielding support. Knowing this made me stronger and knowing her made me a better person.
Jackie was diagnosed last summer, and she courageously faced and endured everything that might prolong her life. Simultaneously she squeezed every ounce of enjoyment out of each day, playing her violin (she was a brilliant musician), decorating her new house, and traveling with her partner, Martin, and her sister and brother-in-law (Trish and John). Just a couple of weeks before she died, although not able to eat, she travelled to New York and profusely enjoyed a concert (Tedeschi Trucks Band) at the Beacon Theater and a Broadway musical (Six). She excitedly gave me a detailed description of the trip in our last conversation before she was hospitalized.
But treatment did not stop the aggressive spread of the cancer. Suddenly, months left became weeks left, and then days left—the end came unexpectedly rapidly. Our plan for her and Martin to escape the cold and stay with Barbara and I in January was not going to happen. With her death imminent, I flew to Rhode Island to give my last goodbye to my best friend. It was devastating, yet beautiful and inspirational. When Jackie awakened and saw me, she cried and we shared 25 years of love expressed in joyful tears. Unbelievably, in her weakened state, she asked the nurse to help sit her up, with her legs over the side of the bed so she could face me. Her body barely there and her voice but a whisper, we talked until she couldn’t anymore. We discussed our work, our history, our relationship—we laughed and cried, and said everything that needed to be said.
After an emotionally soothing dinner with her fantastic partner, Martin, also a lifelong social justice advocate, I laid awake that night in my hotel feeling the brunt of my grief. Because I couldn’t accept that I wouldn’t see her or talk to her again, I planned to stop at the hospital and see her one last time on the way to the airport. I summoned a car on a familiar service and waited…and waited until I got the message that no cars were available. I had never experienced this before, but this was a small town, not like the cities I usually frequented. I was frantic. I called other local services but only got recordings. When I was about at my wits end, the front desk person, Stacy, said she would get back to me. I told her I would gladly pay $20 (the cost of the service) for the ride if anyone there could do it. The manager okayed it, and Lucas, a young man of no more than 19 took me to South County Hospital where my friend lay in a Hospice bed. Lucas, who I noticed was not wearing trendy clothes or expensive sneakers or anything even remotely new, asked me about my friend and told me of his grandma’s battle with cancer. We enjoyed a quiet, empathic, and melancholic ride, our shared experience making an unspoken connection in minutes, if not seconds. There was a wonderful, comforting kindness to this young man that provided some solace to my grief. When we arrived after our brief trip, I pulled out my wallet to give him the twenty, and he told me he couldn’t accept any money from me. I asked if he was sure as it was clear he could use it, but he declined and wished me the best.
I was disappointed because Jackie did not regain consciousness for my final visit. In fact, she didn’t regain consciousness after I left her the night before. I felt fortunate and gratified that I had said everything I wanted to say the day before. But I still said everything I wanted to say, again. Jackie died later that day. But as I experienced my grief about the loss of this stunningly compassionate, brilliant human being, I realized that Lucas somehow personified Jackie’s kindness and integrity. In this world of vitriol and hatred, there are those who care about the plight of others, and act to ease their burden in small but meaningful ways. Thank you, Lucas, for showing the spirit of Jackie, and continuing my faith in the human species.
And thank you, Jackie, for being in my life, enriching me personally and professionally, and being the friend who everyone should be fortunate to have. I love you. I miss you—along with many others whose lives you touched.
ISEPP has chosen two of the most qualified people of the critical psychology and psychiatry movement to join the editorial staff of Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry: An International Journal of Critical Inquiry (EHPP).
EHPP's new Editor-in-Chief is Don Marks, Psy.D., Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Training at Kean University, NJ. He is a clinical health psychologist specializing in strategies for living with chronic pain and advanced illness. His work on psychological interventions for chronic pain has led to research regarding sport injury and athlete psychological well-being. He is also a marriage and family psychologist, working primarily with couples and families facing medical illness. Dr. Marks completed both the professional practicum and internship in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) at the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine of Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship and served as a clinical instructor in psycho-oncology and palliative medicine at The Ohio State University Medical Center. He has been a member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) since 2005, and he has served as president of the organization's Greater New York chapter. Dr. Marks is the past Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology.
We are also excited to announce that Niall (Jock) McLaren, MBBS, FRANZCP, was selected as an Associate Editor of EHPP. He joins our current Associate Editor, Jim Tucker, Ph.D., in assisting Dr. Marks in continuing to make EHPP an important voice in the critical psychology and critical psychiatry field. Dr. McLaren is an Australian psychiatrist who recently retired after 50 years of practice. He is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Philosophy at University of Queensland. He has published a number of monographs on the application of the philosophy of science to mental disorder, most recently with a fierce critique of the so-called "bio-psycho-social" model, showing how it is without substance. He lives in the rural outskirts of Brisbane with his family and keeps busy growing trees.
ISEPP's past Executive Director, Al Galves, Ph.D., has been working hard on the development of a Soteria House program in New Mexico, named Soteria Las Cruces.
Didn't get a chance to attend the 2022 conference? No problem. Recordings of the presentations are available here.
Don't miss out on an amazing lineup of speakers and their thoughts on the failed medical model of emotional distress.
