Posted by -Beyond Health on Nov 3rd 2025

Mental Health and Our Children

When Psychiatric Drugs Replace Real Care for Children

A recent article in The New York Times told the story of a young woman who had been prescribed ten different psychiatric drugs by the time she graduated from high school. Sadly, she is not an outlier—she is part of a rapidly growing population of American children medicated for emotional and behavioral struggles.

In fourth grade, Renae Smith began having difficulty in school and was prescribed Focalin for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). By her freshman year of high school, she reported severe anxiety and depression and was prescribed Prozac. When its effects waned, Effexor was added. Additional medications followed to stabilize mood—and still more to counteract side effects of the existing drugs.

By the time she graduated high school, Renae was taking five different psychiatric medications simultaneously and had been prescribed ten psychiatric drugs total—none of which addressed the underlying cause of her distress.

A National Trend Toward Polypharmacy

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 10% of U.S. children aged 3–17—about 6 million children—have been diagnosed with ADHD. Approximately three-quarters are treated, most commonly with prescription drugs.

Alarmingly, ADHD treatment initiates a path toward polypharmacy the use of multiple drugs more than 40% of the time.

At Beyond Health, we find this trend deeply troubling.

Treating Symptoms While Ignoring Causes

Prescription drugs do not cure disease. They suppress symptoms often at significant cost to long-term health.

Renae’s experience illustrates a common pattern:
• Brain dysfunction appears early (ADHD)
• Symptoms evolve (anxiety, depression)
• Drugs multiply
• Causes remain unaddressed

Side effects are then managed with more drugs, creating a downward spiral that can follow a child for life.

The Beyond Health Model of Disease

Our philosophy is based on four foundational principles:

Disease must be addressed at its root cause
All disease arises from only two causes:
– Toxicity
– Nutritional deficiency
Health moves through six pathways:
– Nutrition
– Toxins
– Physical (sleep, exercise, movement)
– Mental (beliefs, attitudes, stress)
– Genetic
– Medical (interaction with the healthcare system)
There is almost always a safer, more health-supportive alternative to prescription drugs

Modern medicine may acknowledge diet and lifestyle as “important,” but in practice they are frequently ignored especially in mental health.

The Brain Is Built From Nutrition

The brain is mostly fat and the types of fat consumed profoundly influence mood, cognition, and emotional stability.

Research consistently shows:

Trans fats (processed foods) → increased depression and irritability
Omega-3 fats (fish, fish oil, flax) → improved mood and cognition
Olive oil fats → emotional stability

As early as the 1970s, Michael Crawford, Director of the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition at Imperial College London, warned that replacing traditional fats with industrial oils would lead to a public-health epidemic of psychological and neurological disorders on par with heart disease.

Many would argue that epidemic has now arrived.

Nutrient Deficiency and Mental Health

The brain also depends on vitamins and minerals for neurotransmitter production, nerve signaling, and stress resilience.

Years ago, a young man in his twenties came to Beyond Health after suffering from severe anxiety and depression since adolescence. Without changing anything else, he began taking Beyond Health’s Multi-Vitamin as directed. Within a few months, his anxiety and depression resolved completely.

This was not a miracle cure but a correction of long-standing nutrient deficiencies using highly bioavailable forms with proper cofactors, allowing the brain to finally function as intended.

Proof That a Whole-System Approach Works

In 2006, nutritionist Patrick Holford, founder of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in London, implemented a comprehensive lifestyle intervention in a primary school for children with special needs—including ADHD, autism, fragile X syndrome, and cerebral palsy.

The program included:

A daily multivitamin
An essential fatty acid supplement
A low-sugar, additive-free diet
Fresh fruit and water for snacks
Daily structured exercise
Parent and child lifestyle education

After six months, teachers and parents reported:

Less hyperactivity and impulsivity
Improved social behavior
Reduced anxiety and shyness
Better focus and cognition

A psychologist evaluating the children concluded:

“Every measure of cognition and behavior improved—most notably ADHD symptoms.”

Despite these results, no government-funded programs followed.

What This Means for Children Today

Instead of addressing:

Nutritional deficiencies
Toxic food additives
Environmental neurotoxins
Sleep deprivation
Blood sugar instability
Inflammatory diets

We continue to medicate developing brains—often permanently.

Millions of children are suffering not because they need drugs, but because their bodies and brains are being deprived of what they require to function.

Final Thought

Children deserve health, not lifelong prescriptions.
They deserve nourishment, not chemical restraint.
And parents deserve to know there is another way.