In this book, author Peter Breggin, M.D., cuts through the shiny propaganda of the psychiatric and pharamaceutical industries, which tell parents that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is an epidemic that can be easily solved with the use of psychotropic drugs such as Ritalin and Concerta.   The reality is, many of these medications are molecularly similar to drugs such as amphetamines and cocaine.  Breggin exposes the harmful side effects that can result from the medications, such as behavioral disorders, growth suppression, neurological tics, agitation, addiction, and psychosis.  He also argues that withdrawal from some of these medications can actually create these supposed chemical “imbalances” and insubordinate behaviors these drugs are prescribed to treat.  Basically, this book is an overall “red pill” to Americans about the true motivations in the psychiatric community behind the diagnosis of ADHD and prescription of psychotropic drugs.

In Talking Back to Ritalin: What Doctors Aren’t Telling You About Stimulants and ADHD, Breggin goes into great detail explaining the condition of ADHD, how it is diagnosed, and gives a corporate and economic background on who financially profits from these diagnoses and the prescription of psych0tropic drugs.  The author explains the interactions that take place between the body, mind and environment, that are largely ignored by medical and mental health professionals, which can explain many of the behaviors and symptoms that are misdiagnosed as ADHD.

Breggin calls out the incompetence of medical professionals to properly diagnose physical issues that can cause concentration struggles, such as poor nutrition, neurological impairment and allergies.  He also addresses the myth that mental illness is biologically determined.  The author discusses non-drug alternatives and improvements in school and family life that may instead address these issues more effectively.

About the Author

Peter R. Bregg, M.D., is a a psychiatrist who is very well known for helping set the stage for modern criticism of psychiatric treatments and psychotropic drugging.  He has promoted so much success in the field of mental health that he has acquired the nickname “conscience of psychiatry.”  HIs reform efforts began in the 1970s, and resulted in almost a complete cease in the use of procedures like lobotomy and psychosurgery in the Western World.   Then in the 1990s, he and his wife Ginger were able to stop a federal eugenics project that was planned on America’s inner-city children.  You can find more details about this in the book he co-authored with Ginger, The War Against Children of Color.

Breggin has been a full-time consultant at NIMH, as well as for the FAA.  He has published over 20 books and numerous scientific articles.  Some of his books include Toxic Psychiatry, The Antidepressant Factbook, and Talking Back to Prozac.  His latest book is Covid-19 and the Global Predators: We are the Prey.  Dr. Breggin is also the founder and director of The Center for the Study of Emphatic Therapy, Education and Living.  He attended Harvard, and currently resides in Ithaca, NY.  Find out more on his website, www.breggin.com.

Reviews

Psychiatrist Sharon A. Collins, M.D.:

“I am a mother first and a doctor second… The principles in this book help us as parents to empower our children to be successful in life.”