Overpill
Big Pharma has a pill for whatever ails you. This is particularly true in regards to mental illness. Awareness of conditions like anxiety and bipolar disorder has grown by leaps and bounds in recent times, and the pharmaceutical industry has seized its opportunity to capitalize on this trend. But has the medical industry been lured and duped into over-prescribing their patient population? Overpill examines this pressing concern that affects the lives of millions.
The film introduces us to several ordinary people who are struggling with issues related to mental health, addiction and grave uncertainties for their future.
A surfing enthusiast named Matt was put on a powerful acne medication before he hit his teens. One of the most intrusive side effects of the drug was the onset of severe depression. He soon developed a strong skepticism towards the pharmaceutical industry, especially when it came to their liberal drugging of children. In his view, this practice too often ignores the underlying issues these patients are dealing with, and ultimately it only succeeds in exacerbating their trauma.
Then there's Denis, a Russian citizen who moved to New York in hopes of starting a lucrative career in advertising. He found steady work providing services for the pharmaceutical industry, and learned the tactics of corporate drug peddling from the inside. Once he discovered a society awash in pills, which were designed to treat many conditions he had never heard of before, his conscience would not allow him to remain silent.
From a mother whose child has been prescribed a box full of psychotropic drugs to a man who suffers from persistent nervous ticks and physical agitation as a result of antidepressants, each of the film's subjects paint a stark and cautionary portrait of a healthcare industry that operates with unregulated greed and a willful betrayal of the Hippocratic oath.
The problem is systemic, and is not likely to change unless voices of opposition rise from within the industry itself. Overpill introduces us to one such voice, a psychiatrist who shuns toxic medications in favor of thoughtful therapy. For him and many others who share the film's point of view, human compassion and sound medical judgment continues to be the ideal approach to successful treatment.
Directed by: Petr Timofeev, Aleksey Shabarov
WOW I can relate to all of these stories. It's saddens me to the core.
This problem, seems so overwhelming, where do we start?
I am a survivor of big pharma and all the consequences that follow … the future is a scary thing
My sister started from sleeping pills and. Normalised Ewing her partner taking antidepressants and she started taking as well. Only she had to do was to go to her GP and just ask for it saying she has explain her symptoms that she learned by living in close proximity with other person who was ‘mentally ill’. Eventually, her medications got stronger each time she visited her GP and ended up Sectioning. Chaotic environment of mental hospital professional do not lease properly during the shift transitions. My sister got trying medication prescribed because previous shift nurse forgot to inform or record it. Please read ‘Bad Pharma’ it makes you question everything around you. God knows when we can win the battles over Multinational Weapons and Drug companies .
In my opinion, I think this is a great documentary because it demonstrates the greed of big pharma at the expense of people's lives. There are many medicines which help people live better lives, however, where the brain is concerned it's rather sketchy because of the long term affects. These people are suffering so much it is so sad. I believe if they chose to they deserve significant compensation for the damage that has been done. I hope someone from the FDA watches this documentary and has the courage to do something.
Important expose. Great film actually. Our society has a serious problem and this film exposes it. Our society has a few serious problems perhaps initiated by financial interests. One of the many areas where not knowing can really hurt you.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see one of my favorite psychiatrists, Dr. Peter Breggin, in the film.
My goodness, those poor people. There's gotta be a better way. There's gotta be better alternative than just throwing drugs at children and teens. My 21 year old daughter has already loss three of her friends from high school, all of them started out with drugs for anxiety or depression and ended up committing suicide while on the meds. Maybe instead of throwing pills at problems, we need to roll up our sleeves , identify and deal with the real issues the person is having. Using medications only as a last and temporary resort.
As someone with extensive experience in the addiction field, I love the "addictive personality" bullshit. Not once, in 20 yrs, did I have a client on prescription drugs that the prescribing physician explained a damn thing about the drug. I came away from my experience realizing that the "mental health profession" is more likely quack medicine in modern times. Once, for the hell of it, I went through the DSM IV and added up numbers of people estimated to have a "disorder". Number was between 80 and 85%. When I talk with others from the field, the opinions are equally pessimistic. On the other hand, once Americans accept that life is not to be one happy, oblivious experience reality will reassert itself. In the meantime, pharmaceutical profits will rise indefinitely.
Everyone should watch this...
When watching this film I believe what they were trying to do was an amazing idea. But the credibility of the film is very much lacking in what it is I don’t believe they should have put somebody that was addicted to heroin on here because what he said he was experiencing with the depression and anxiety is very common when you come off of drugs so of course they’re going to put you on medication for what you are saying and already having an addictive personality he is very much so lead to having another addiction so it’s not uncommon that this man is addicted to pills as it is. I wish they would’ve put in the film some people that did have positive experiences and had more variety of people included in the film such as somebody that could’ve been a businessman or someone that could’ve just been an average college student that was on antidepressants I feel this would’ve made the crowd ability go way up in this film.