AbleChild Demands Congressional Support for Informed Consent with EXIT Plans for Consumers Relating to Psychiatric Labels & Drugs in 2026

Republished with permission from AbleChild.

A recent article in the Daily Mail brings home the necessity for legislation that will help to protect the ever-increasing number of Americans who are prescribed psychiatric mind-altering drugs as “treatment” for alleged mental illnesses without proper physician information.

As the article explains, Danielle Gansky was a normal, energetic child when teachers insisted she had been exhibiting signs of ADHD. This was the beginning of Gansky’s nightmare into numerous psychiatric drug prescriptions, ultimately leaving her nearly incapacitated.

Gansky was first prescribed Ritalin for ADHD and an “unspecified” learning disability. From there, the sky was the limit when it came to diagnosing and drugging Gansky. By the time Gansky was in college, she had been prescribed 14 psychiatric drugs including Adderall, Concerta and Prozac.

Throughout the years, Gansky had been told that she was suffering from a chemical imbalance but, as she got older, she knew something wasn’t right. Gansky explained that “I wanted to see who I was underneath all these drugs, and I knew I needed to come of them.” Famous last words.

In 2019 a kind of withdrawal hell began for Gansky, when her doctor began to withdraw her from numerous drugs over just a few weeks. As she recalls, “I was simply harmed by coming off these drugs exactly the way my doctor told me to. And then, what followed was a severe, life-altering, full-body neurological crises.”

Having stopped all the drugs in a short period of time, Gansky recalls “a living nightmare of physical and psychological torment.” “It was,” explained Gansky “unlike anything I’d ever known or experienced or thought humanly possible, like my entire nervous system was hijacked.”

These withdrawal symptoms are not unheard of. In fact, adverse events associated with withdrawing from psychiatric drugs is quite common, yet physicians rarely make these possible adverse events known to patients when first prescribed the psychiatric drugs.

Consider, for example, the withdrawal effects associated with Fluoxetine (Prozac). According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the following adverse events may be experienced during “discontinuation.” “There have been spontaneous reports of adverse reactions occurring upon discontinuation of these drugs, particularly when abrupt, including the following: dysphoric mood, irritability, agitation, dizziness, sensory disturbances (e.g., paresthesias such as electric shock sensations), anxiety, confusion, headache, lethargy, emotional lability, insomnia, and hypomania.”

And the FDA explains the discontinuation effects associated with methylphenidate (Ritalin) this way. “Physical dependence is a state that develops as a result of physiological adaptation in response to repeated drug use, manifested by withdrawal signs and symptoms after abrupt discontinuation or a significant dose reduction of a drug. Withdrawal signs and symptoms after abrupt discontinuation or dose reduction following prolonged use of CNS stimulants, like Ritalin, include dysphoric mood; depression; fatigue; vivid, unpleasant dreams; insomnia or hypersomnia; increased appetite; and psychomotor retardation or agitation.”

Now imagine that your physician has begun withdrawing all drugs at the time. One can imagine a psychological lobotomy. According to Gansky, her withdrawal was “just chaos, and I was basically bedridden and physically couldn’t take care of myself because I couldn’t function. It’s just chemical torture. I never experienced suffering like that in my life.”

AbleChild has long believed that psychiatric diagnosing and drugging must be based on informed consent. Patient Gansky clearly was never informed about what to expect about withdrawing from the psychiatric drugs and, one can assume, never advised about the known possible serious side effects of the drugs themselves.

AbleChild intends to submit federal legislation in the new year with the intent of making prescribing physicians responsible for providing an “exit plan” to all patients when first diagnosed with an alleged mental disorder and prescribed any psychiatric mind-altering drug.

Nearly 77 million Americans take at least one prescription psychiatric drug, millions of them under the age of 18. Each of these Americans need to know what to expect when prescribed the drug. For example, patients need to know exactly what is being “treated” when prescribed the drug. There is no abnormality in the brain that is any psychiatric diagnosis, and the patient must be advised of this information. In other words, there is no abnormality that is depression and the physician must explain this to the patient when prescribing the drugs as “treatment.”

Further, the patient must be advised of the expected duration of the drug “treatment” and how its success is being measured. Of course, because there is no abnormality that is any psychiatric diagnosis, the patient will have to discuss how they are feeling as there is no test available to reveal anything abnormal has been healed or successfully “treated.”

AbleChild will be submitting a request to Congress for legislation in the coming year that will make it mandatory practice for physicians prescribing psychiatric drugs to adhere to the following suggested “Exit Plan.”

1. Physicians must conduct all biological tests first to rule out any possible medical condition.
2. At first prescription, physicians must provide patients with a return in-person appointment to review behavioral status and discussions about continuation or discontinuation of specific drugs.
3. Physicians must advise patients that the alleged mental health diagnosis is not based in science and there is no abnormality in the brain that is the diagnosed psychiatric disorder.
4. Physician must advise patient of alternative treatment other than drugs… exercise, diet, communication skills, and talk therapy.
5. Physicians must advise patients that the pharmaceutical companies do not know how the recommended psychiatric drug “works” in the brain as “treatment” for the alleged disorder.
6. At first prescription written, physician must provide an anticipated “treatment” timeline. Start date and expected/anticipated end date for each drug.
7. With each prescription, physicians must provide written expectations of wellness with specific timeframes.
8. Physicians must provide patient with written information about when a prescription drug is anticipated to begin “working” and what specific possible life-threatening adverse events to be aware of for each prescribed drug.
9. Physicians must provide detailed written information about withdrawing from each psychiatric drug and should be overseen by physicians on weekly basis.
10. Physicians must see patients at three, six and nine-month follow-up after withdrawal from all psychiatric drugs.

With the ever-increasing number of Americans taking psychiatric drugs, patients must be made aware of the facts surrounding the alleged “treatments” and have full knowledge about the lack of science to support the diagnosis. Without this information, there is no informed consent associated with psychiatric diagnosing and treatment.

Be the Voice for the Voiceless

AbleChild is a 501(3) C nonprofit organization that has recently co-written landmark legislation in Tennessee, setting a national precedent for transparency and accountability in the intersection of mental health, pharmaceutical practices, and public safety.

What you can do.  Sign the Petition calling for federal hearings!

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The post AbleChild Demands Congressional Support for Informed Consent with EXIT Plans for Consumers Relating to Psychiatric Labels & Drugs in 2026 appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.