Brazilian beauty queen drugged up on antidepressants and booze now paralyzed after jumping from fourth floor of apartment building

Tuesday, June 21, 2016 by: Isabelle Z.
Tags: antidepressants, suicide risk, adolescents

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(NaturalNews) A young model has been left paralyzed following a failed attempt to take her own life, and antidepressants appear to be a big factor in the tragic turn of events.

Debora Dantas, a 20-year-old Brazilian model, found success as a Brazilian beauty queen, but her friends say she struggled with depression for many years. Dantas represented the Brazilian state of Paraiba in the Miss Bumbum competition. She made headlines for dating famous Brazilian singer Mister Catra, and then again when raunchy video footage emerged showing her in a compromising situation with a woman in an adult nightclub.

Dantas threw herself off the fourth floor of an apartment building while under the influence of antidepressants and alcohol. She reportedly fell 65 feet, sustaining severe injuries to her head and arms in the process. Although she survived, she is now paraplegic. She asked fans to pray for her in a video.

A friend told the local press: "She was always drinking a lot and taking lots of medication. She was depressed all the time and had emotional problems. She used to say her life was empty and made no sense."

How many lives must be lost before people realize that antidepressants are dangerous?

The incident highlights the dangers of antidepressants, which have long been linked with suicide. A very comprehensive study recently published in The Lancet showed that most of the antidepressants that young people are prescribed do a lot more harm than good. In fact, in many cases, they do not do much to help with depression, while significantly boosting thoughts of suicide and attempts at suicide.

The researchers analyzed 14 antidepressants, and only one of them – fluoxetine (Prozac) – was shown to be effective at relieving depression symptoms better than the placebo. Meanwhile, Venlafaxine (Effexor) increased suicidal tendencies in teens and children despite being one of the ineffective antidepressants.

A study published in the British Medical Journal showed that antidepressants could double children's risk of suicide and aggression. The study's lead author, Professor Peter Gotzsche, said: "Antidepressants don't work in children, that is pretty clear. In the randomized trials, children say that they don't work for them, but they increase their risk of suicide."

It makes one wonder why people are prescribed this drug in the first place. One big problem is the fact that drug makers intentionally under-report these effects.

Gotzsche said: "What I get out of this colossal under-reporting of suicides is that [antidepressants] likely increase suicides in all ages. ... It is absolutely horrendous that they have such disregard for human lives."

Young people increasingly being prescribed antidepressants despite the risks

Antidepressants are so dangerous for young people that they are required to carry "black box" warnings for users under the age of 24, clearly stating that they can intensify existing suicidal thoughts and increase a person's chances of becoming suicidal. At age 20, Dantas was part of this vulnerable group of users. She was also drinking, and alcohol is known to amplify depression, particularly when combined with antidepressants.

While we don't know exactly what happened in her case, we do know for certain that doctors are prescribing antidepressants to younger people in droves, despite the risks. In fact, children younger than 5 are the fastest-growing group to be prescribed these drugs.

A similar story hit the headlines recently about a British 18-year-old hanging herself after a night of drinking just four weeks after starting antidepressants, and countless other stories of this nature never make it to the spotlight. It's clear that something needs to be done to prevent out-of-control pharmaceutical companies from misrepresenting side effects and helping children get their hands on pills that make them want to end their lives.

Sources include:

NYPost.com

NaturalNews.com

Metro.co.uk

TheLancet.com

NaturalNews.com

Science.NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com