Reviewed by Fritz;

Breggin, Peter R. Talking Back to Ritalin: What Doctors Aren’t Telling You About Stimulants and ADHD. Cambridge, MA: DaCapo, 2001.

Peter Breggin, a psychiatrist who has devoted much of his career to challenging the psychiatric drug industry, has created a very user friendly and informative guide to the concealed truth about Ritalin and other psychiatric drugs with similar qualities such as Dexedrine, Adderall, Concerta, Metadate ER, and other stimulants commonly prescribed for “ADHD”.

This is the second edition of Talking Back to Ritalin, the first edition came out in 1998, and this edition is substantially expanded and updated from the original. Peter Breggin opens with a optimistic statement about how much closer we have come to tipping the balance of public opinion against Ritalin in the 4 years since he was writing the first edition. However, in 2007, Ritalin is ever popular, so Breggin’s optimism seems a little dated and naive, but the information the book contains is still equally valid.

Utilizing a convincing combination of medical studies, court cases, and personal anecdotes to cover everything from the non-disease nature of what has been labeled “ADHD”, and the anti child sentiments responsible for this medical travesty, to the brain damage caused by psychiatric stimulants, and how this brain damage is analogous to the damage caused by illegal stimulants such as crack and meth, Breggin includes detailed information about the function of the serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine system. Many examples are given of drug “side effects” which harm the body and mind, potentially inducing “mental illness” and leading to psychosis, suicide and violence. The addictive nature of Ritalin is acknowledged, including it’s ability to act as a “gateway drug” leading children into drug abuse, common withdrawal problems are also discussed.

Although increasing numbers of adults take these drugs, the particular focus of this book is the harm that these drugs cause to children. This book is focused on stimulants, but Breggin also takes the time to connect the facts about stimulants to the bigger picture of the corruption of the entire psychiatric industry, and the danger of all of it’s drugs. Someone who reads this book will likely seek out some of Breggin's other works, and see their opinions about the psychiatric system drastically changed.

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For more great anti-psychiatry perspectives, from this author and others, check out our evolving resource; http://www.againstpsychiatry.com