Dying for a Cure: A Memoir of Antidepressants, Misdiagnosis and Madness

by Rebekah Beddoe

Shortly after the birth of her daughter, Rebekah Beddoe was diagnosed with post-natal depression. Two years later she was taking six different drugs. This is a powerful memoir of the nightmarish three years Rebekah endured as she was repeatedly misdiagnosed, only to realise that it was her medication that was causing her illness.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology

346 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Laura Morrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly terrifying story about how medical misdiagnosis ruined years of a woman's life. After the birth of her child, she was misdiagnosed with postnatal depression and put on andtidepressants. While they take several days (not sure of the exact time frame) to kick in, the side effects can kick in earlier. Thus, as someone who wasn't actually clinically depressed, the drugs affected her differently, actually causing severe depression and self harm. So began a cycle of diagnoses and drugs that might have continued for the rest of her life, had she not discovered the truth.

It is an unfortunate side effect of our society that problems like this are overdiagnosed and many doctors are only too willing to put people on medications. At the moment, misdiagnosis of over energetic children as having ADD is leading to the medication of children who are not affected, which can actually lead to mental problems in the children, as the drugs react with their brain chemistry.

This book is a frightening warning about how the cures in our society can be worse than the illness.

[Rosalind · Rating 5 out of 5]

A page turner, a shocking insight into the deception and manipulation wielded by pharmaceutical companies, and the passive acceptance of "infomercials" by our health system, and health workers, including psychiatrists, who emprisoned, manipulated and mismanaged a young exhausted mother. Shame shame shame

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reason for skepticism

This book should give everyone pause who is involved with mental health. Recognition of how much messages regarding mental health are tailored to sell medication is important. The author's admonition to monitor feelings/behavior before and after starting medication would be an important corrective to blindly accepting that only the "disease" may cause problems. Would recommend this book to anyone considering taking psych meds.