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In August 2011, a new incident of an antidepressant-related suicide was reported. A  35-year old man named Wade Belak, who was a retired National Hockey League player, was found dead in a downtown hotel in Toronto, he allegedly committed suicide. An article in the Globe and Mail reveals that his mom knew that Belak was battling depression and was taking antidepressant drugs. Suicides seem to evade an easy explanation. Ultimately, the exact reason for Belak’s suicide is impossible to uncover.

According to Medical Publishing’s Prescription Medicines, Side Effects and Natural Alternatives, in June 2001, a jury in the state of Wyoming determined that the antidepressant drug Paxil caused a man to murder his wife, daughter, and granddaughter before committing suicide. $8 million in damages were given to the family of the victims.

In 2005, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released Public Health Advisories saying that antidepressant intake can aggravate suicidal attempts. But these advisories were considered late by the Paxil victims. The FDA additionally asked the manufacturers to clearly attach explicit label cautions about the antidepressant’s harmful side effects such as the risk of suicide.

Depression and Suicide            

“Trying to escape from a situation that seemed impossible to deal with or to get relief from really bad thoughts or feelings” is what most patients’ reason out in the therapy after their suicide attempts. In simpler terms, they were depressed.

Depression is considered a disorder of the brain. Its causes are varied from genetic, environmental, psychological and biochemical factors like alcohol and drug intake.

People with depression may feel worthless, guilty, regretful, helpless, hopeless and may hate oneself. Insomnia and oversleeping are also common patterns for depressed individuals. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the criteria for depression include fatigue, migraines, digestive problems, social withdrawal, and reduced sex drive.

In extreme depression cases, unpleasant hallucinations, psychosis, memory loss, poor concentration and suicide are among the symptoms.

Suicide is now considered an object of multidisciplinary study with psychology, psychiatry, sociology and anthropology. Each branch provides important insights into suicide.

Then treatment for depression includes antidepressants intake and talk therapy. Both ways are taken by most patients. However, according to various clinical studies and researches, antidepressant like Paxil increases the risk of suicide instead of treating depression. As stated earlier, the FDA already released various warnings regarding Paxil intake.

So, if you have been taking Paxil, or you may know someone who does, immediately consult your healthcare expert if you have doubts concerning its effect on your health and state of mind. At present, its manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline is now facing a number of Paxil Lawsuit. Victims of the drug intend to receive a financial compensation from the company. Seek legal advice to find out more about Paxil lawsuits.