No Such Thing as Antipsychotic Medication

When we talk about medications for psychosis, we usually hear the word antipsychotics. But the older and more accurate term — neuroleptics — tells a fuller story about what these drugs actually do and don't do.

Neuroleptic means “to seize the nerves.” The term was coined in the 1950s when doctors noticed that drugs like chlorpromazine dulled emotions, slowed motor movement, and generally suppressed the nervous system. These drugs don’t target symptoms of psychosis — they broadly dampen brain activity.

Neuroleptic/anti-psychotic drugs originated from the chemical phenothiazine, which was used as a synthetic dye in 1883. In 1934, phenothiazine was used by veterinary practices as an insecticide and extended for killing swine parasites; phenothiazine affects the brain's acetylcholinergic system and results in lethal increases of acetylcholine in the periphery and central nervous system of the insect.

In France, Delay and Deniker (1952) discovered that Largactil (Thorazine) helped to reduce hallucinations and delusions. Years later, pharmaceutical companies found that Largactil reduced dopamine production in the brain. The conclusion drawn from these two observations was the belief that schizophrenia was a brain disease, which resulted from an excess of dopamine production in the brain.

In reality, this theory has no confirmed basis. There is no test to prove that psychosis is the result of an excess of dopamine, and in fact, a majority of research disproves this theory completely.

Over time, the term antipsychotics replaced the term neuroleptics in order to market them to the public, because the term "antipsychotic" sounded more focused and less alarming. But this shift in language masks an important fact: these drugs don't heal mental illness - they simply suppress activity in specific neurotransmitter systems. They blunt and numb the brain’s natural functioning, especially by blocking dopamine, one of the core chemicals that drives motivation, emotion, and connection to life. "These drugs are not used to heal or help, but to torture and control. It's as simple as that" (Janet Gotkin).

Why does this matter? Because calling them antipsychotics can give the false impression that they’re precise fixes for psychosis, like antibiotics for infection. In reality, this story was made up by Big Pharma and the National Institute of Mental Health decades ago. A fiction that is still being sold to the public today.

Bringing back the word neuroleptic can encourage more honest conversations about what these medications do, helping people make better-informed decisions about their treatment.

Words shape health care. Accuracy matters.

__________________________________________________________________________________

• Delay, J., & Deniker, P. (1952). Therapeutic uses of chlorpromazine (4560 RP) in psychiatry. Annales Médico-Psychologiques, 110, 112–117.

• Frances, A. (2013). Saving normal: An insider’s revolt against out-of-control psychiatric diagnosis, DSM-5, big pharma, and the medicalization of ordinary life. William Morrow.

• Whitaker, R. (2002). Mad in America: Bad science, bad medicine, and the enduring mistreatment of the mentally ill. Perseus Publishing.

• Moncrieff, J. (2013). The Bitterest Pills: The Troubling Story of Antipsychotic Drugs. Palgrave Macmillan.

• Gotkin, J. and Gotkin, P., Too Much Anger, Too Many Tears: A Personal Triumph Over Psychiatry . 1977.

• Moncrieff, J. (2020). Magic bullets for mental disorders: The invention of antipsychotic drugs. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 113(7), 266–270. https://doi.org/10.1177/0141076820930331

• Sartorius, N., Gulbinat, W., Harrison, G., Laska, E., & Siegel, C. (1996). Long-term follow-up of schizophrenia in 16 countries. A description of the International Study of Schizophrenia conducted by the World Health Organization. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 31(5), 249–258. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00787917