The insane story of how antidepressants stole one woman's childhood



Brooke Siem was 15 years old when her dad died. In the wake of this tragedy, her newly-widowed mother was worried about Brooke’s stoicism. So, she took her daughter to the doctor. That doctor referred her to another doctor, who diagnosed her with an anxiety and depressive disorder and put her on a cocktail of antidepressants.

That’s how Brooke lost 15 years of her life.

She stayed on the meds until she was 30 because that’s what the doctor said she needed to do.

“If the doctor tells you you need insulin because you have diabetes, you don't question it. The doctor told me I was depressed; so, he told me to take an antidepressant. I didn’t question that. Why would I, right?” she tells Allie Beth Stuckey.

But at 30 years old, Brooke found herself more depressed than she’d ever been, struggling with suicidal ideation and lack of emotion — despite the drugs. She realized this meant they were not working.

So, she decided to quit cold turkey at the instruction of her doctor, which she does not recommend. It’s important to properly wean off these drugs at the guidance of an experienced medical professional.

Brooke’s doctor told her she might feel like she had the flu for a few days, but it was no big deal. Instead, Brooke was launched headfirst into a “full-on psychological assault.”

Brooke detailed the severity of her withdrawal on last week’s episode of Relatable, “How Antidepressants Stole Her Childhood.”

Along with violent intrusive thoughts and mood swings, Brooke experienced a variety of physical symptoms:

“All my senses changed; so, I literally started seeing color more vibrantly, and things went from a little softer on the edges to super sharp. I developed really severe noise sensitivity. My skin got something called nodular vasculitis, which is basically an autoimmune response in the blood vessels, and it is because of extreme physical stress on the body.”

However, amidst all this darkness, she also described how she began to experience little moments of joy — a feeling completely foreign to her for the past 15 years.

“I was also having these moments of, like I said, color; it was like I could finally see color for the first time, and I could laugh at something and feel true joy.”

Brooke is now on a mission to share what happened to her, shed light on the reality of antidepressant withdrawal, and advocate for safe de-prescribing from psychiatric drugs. She detailed her story in her memoir, “May Cause Side Effects.”

To hear Brooke's story, watch the episode below.


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Why We Don’t Pray to Saints | Guest: Paul Pitts III | Ep 981

Why We Don’t Pray to Saints | Guest: Paul Pitts III | Ep 981

VIRAL: TikToker pays rent to boyfriend of 8 years, remodels his house for free



When Allie Beth Stuckey stumbled across the following tweet, she couldn’t help but be sucked in by the sheer absurdity of the situation.

“Oh, that is absolutely correct,” Allie says in response to the tweet.

“This is the context: There's a 28-year-old woman on TikTok (she's now deactivated her account). ... She's helping her boyfriend of eight years remodel his house; however, he purchased the house in his name, is charging her rent, and is, according to her, making her pay half of the remodeling expenses,” she reports.

When the woman was criticized for allowing herself to be taken advantage of, she posted a video explaining why it was “totally fine” that her boyfriend hasn’t proposed after eight years of dating and that she’s “still an adult who needs a place to live” and “just happens to pay that money to [her] boyfriend.”

She also said that as far as “doing this work for free and ... not gaining equity,” she “[doesn’t] see it as [her] place to reap those gains,” because she “didn't have the ability to take on [a homeowner’s] risk.”

Allie is mortified by the situation.

“Whether this woman realizes it or not, she has, in her mind, become a wife. She has, in her mind, committed her body and her heart and her soul and her mind and her money to this person who very clearly does not care about her,” she says.

“He might care about her in some way, but he doesn't care about her enough to take care of her and to marry her and to protect and to provide for her like a man should because he doesn’t want to. What did we say last time? If he wanted to, he would.”

To @crotchner2’s tweet about doing all the work for someone else’s future benefit, Allie says, “I do think that’s true.”

“You are wasting your time and your energy and your money and your love on someone who ultimately is going to commit to someone else besides you, and that's just the harsh truth of it.”


Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Megan Rapinoe shames Korbin Albert for reposting a Christian testimony, but Albert bending the knee is far more problematic



When U.S. Women’s National Team player Korbin Albert reposted a TikTok of a young man’s testimony about his Christian faith and recovery from homosexuality and transgenderism, she probably thought she was doing something good.

And she was.

Just not according to Megan Rapinoe, who Allie Beth Stuckey calls a “completely insufferable, progressive activist” – and for good reason. During the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Rapinoe was so radical and divisive, she had half the country rooting against the United States.

When Albert reposted the video, Rapinoe, per her typical character, was quick to issue the following scathing statement on Instagram:

“For people who want to hide behind ‘my beliefs’ I would just ask one question, are you making any type of space safer, more inclusive, more whole, any semblance of better, bringing the best out of anyone? ... because if you aren’t, all you believe in is hate. And kids are literally killing themselves because of this hate. Wake TF up! Yours truly, #15. For all my trans homies enduring this horrific treatment day in and day out, I see you and hear you and I am WITH YOU.”

Unfortunately, instead of sticking to her guns, Albert quickly bent the knee and issued an apology for sharing content that was “offensive, insensitive and hurtful,” claiming that she was “really disappointed in [herself]” and would “do better.”

Allie is disappointed in Albert’s response.

“Just looking at the objective standard of God's word, this was the wrong thing to do,” she says. “This was sin to apologize for this. If the word of God says something, it is good enough for us to repeat.”

“The word of God divides; the gospel divides; the truth about who God made us to be in his image and that his gospel liberates us from the lies of the world ... is a controversial and radical and divisive message,” says Allie, adding that regardless of the cost to us, God’s word “is worth standing on.”

Allie hopes that Albert will indeed “do better” but rather “in accordance with God’s standards” rather than the woke mob’s.

To hear more, watch the clip below.


Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Korbin Albert Bows to the Mob & Megan Rapinoe

Korbin Albert Bows to the Mob & Megan Rapinoe

Washington Post triggered by all the women quitting birth control, issues article warning of 'misinformation'



The Washington Post, who Allie Beth Stuckey says “probably has a pretty cozy relationship with the pharmaceutical companies,” has released an article titled, “Women are getting off birth control amid misinformation explosion.”

Authors Lauren Weber and Sabrina Malhi cite “misleading videos vilifying hormonal contraception,” “right-wing commentators” (including Brett Cooper, Candace Owens, and Brittany Martinez), and “testimonials” as the culprits behind the new trend of women parting ways with their birth control.

“I think a lot of women have started to think more thoroughly about hormonal birth control – whether they ethically align with it and what it's actually been doing to their bodies,” says Allie. “And the Washington Post, of course, is very upset about this.”

The news outlet also claimed that the movement away from birth control is “targeting a vulnerable demographic: people in their teens and early 20s who are more likely to believe what they see on their phones because of algorithms that feed them a stream of videos reinforcing messages often divorced from scientific evidence.”

Interestingly, the article acknowledged that birth control poses risks of negative side effects, including serious ones, like strokes and blood clots, yet it stood firmly on the hill of misinformation.

“The pill does, in fact, change the pheromones emitted by a woman's body and can influence how partners are chosen, according to a 2018 study published in the National Library of Medicine,” reads Allie.

Further, “According to the Mayo Clinic, weight gain, breakthrough bleeding, headaches, nausea, elevated blood pressure, and bloating are common side effects of combination birth control pills, which contain both estrogen and progestin. The pill can also increase the risk of blood clots, heart attacks, and other health issues.”

Hormonal birth control “also increases the likelihood of breast cancer” – “You can find that information anywhere,” says Allie.

“A 2016 study published in JAMA Psychiatry looked at over a million Danish women over age 14 and found all forms of hormonal contraception were associated with an increased risk of developing depression.”

“These are all things most women are not told by their doctors,” says Allie, but “this is ruining people’s lives.”

“The Washington Post is mad about this ... because they're always on the side of pharma; they're always on the side of less control. It's so interesting that these same people who say, ‘my body, my choice’ and ‘bodily autonomy’ and ‘women's rights’ and ‘women taking charge,’ are against women taking charge of their bodies when it comes to understanding the negative effects of hormonal birth control,” she sighs.

To hear more, watch the clip below.


Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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RFK Jr.’s Radical VP Pick | Guest: Ron Simmons | Ep 975

Candace Owens & ‘Christ Is King’ | Ep 974

Candace Owens & ‘Christ Is King’ | Ep 974

Ladies: If he wanted to, he would



Is five years too long for a man to wait to propose?

A recent post on X asked users this question and referenced a real relationship between a woman who is 32 and a man who is 35. The relationship has lasted five years, but the man claims he’s not ready to move in with her or “commit.”

Allie Beth Stuckey has an answer, especially considering the post doesn’t give any extenuating circumstances or reasons besides not being ready.

“Based on that knowledge, I am saying goodbye. Goodbye, you break up with him and you move on,” Stuckey says.

“He is a manchild at this point, there is a failure to launch, there is something going on here.”

Stuckey believes that when a man truly loves a woman, committing is a non-issue.

“If he wanted to, he would,” she says.

“He will stop at nothing to pursue you, to secure the relationship, to make sure that you are together forever,” she adds.

However, the age of the two in the relationship referenced is a huge factor in Stuckey’s opinion — as women have a biological clock to consider. Since they’re in their 30s, he is simply wasting her time.

“You are wasting your most fertile years on losers. Do not do that. Do not waste your most fertile years on weak men who will not commit,” she explains.

Stuckey has a parting message for those stuck in relationships with men who won’t commit.

“I know you’re scared of being single, I know you’re scared of being alone, I know that you’re sad because all of your friends are getting married and you’re tired of being the bridesmaid and never the bride,” she says.

“Do not settle. It is better to be single and sad than married and stuck.”


Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Olivia Rodrigo Passes Out PLAN B to Young Fans?!

Olivia Rodrigo Passes Out PLAN B to Young Fans?!