It's better to be "mad" than be medicated, some say

Now that "MAD Pride" seems to be gaining momentum, some leaders of the movement are trying to steer people away from anti-psychotic drugs.

Chuck Areford, described by the organization "Mind Freedom International"- an organization that opposes the heavy prescription of medication to treat mental illness - as someone who has worked in the public health system for years, says a new class of drugs, such as Clozaril, Zyprexa and Risperdal, have largely replaced older medications such as Thorazine, Haldol and Prolixin.

But research and advertising sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry, he says, have led to the widespread belief that the newer medications were indisputably safer, more effective and well worth additional billions of dollars in taxpayer money.

"Since then, the life expectancy of those treated in community mental health centers has plunged to an appalling 25 years less than average," he said. "Life expectancy may have fallen by as much as 15 years since 1986. Indications are that the death rate continues to accelerate in what must be ranked as one of the worst public health disasters in U.S. history."

He said people who need mental health services already suffer from high rates of cigarette smoking, lack of exercise, substance abuse, poor nutrition, homelessness and poor access to health care. Adding medications "pours gasoline on a fire," he said, and the "lethal" combination is almost certainly driving the spiraling death rate.

"Advances in brain imaging techniques show that antipsychotic medications cause brain damage," he says. "Animal and human studies link the drugs to shrinkage of the cerebral cortex, home to the higher functions."