Psychiatry Needs Reform

originally posted by: Blaine91555
a reply to: EducationSeeker
A biochemical imbalance is physiological and treating it with medication is the same as using medication to deal with say diabetes.

As I stated in the OP, I don't believe the theory that mental distress is caused by a biochemical imbalance in the brain.

However, psychiatric meds do wreak havoc in the brain.

Dr. Breggin has pointed out that psychiatric drugs should be called "neurotoxins," because that's what they are.

I agree with that.

There is another organization called the International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry (ISEPP):

The International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry, Inc. (ISEPP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit volunteer organization of mental health professionals, physicians, educators, ex-patients and survivors of the mental health system, and their families. We are not affiliated with any political or religious group.

Our mission is to use the standards of scientific inquiry and critical reasoning to address the ethics of psychology and psychiatry. We strive to educate the public about the nature of “mental illness”, the de-humanizing and coercive aspects of many forms of mental health treatment, and the alternative humane ways of helping people who struggle with very difficult life issues.

We believe this is essential since one of the most cherished principles of the mental profession is “informed consent”. That means you should be fully and honestly informed about the problems you are experiencing, and the full risks and benefits of any treatment, before making truly voluntary decisions about your care. Our goal is to fully inform you.

At the heart of our critique is the fact that “mental illnesses” are not literal illnesses like diabetes and cancer. Despite popular media portrayal and pronouncements from medical organizations, decades of scientific research have failed to demonstrate any biological pathology that causes “mental illness”. For this reason, they should not be considered medical problems and traditional medical treatment is not a solution. Treating them as if they were truly illnesses of the body would be a great mistake and lead to much harm.

The experience of “mental illness” is a natural human reaction to extraordinary and painful life circumstances. They have to do with personal, spiritual, political, economic, and existential problems. To help those who are experiencing these problems, we advocate various forms of psychotherapy, support groups, self-help programs, and help with employment, education, housing, exercise, nutrition, and other issues of living. We also urge the ruling out of real diseases that can mimic psychological problems, such as nutritional and vitamin deficiencies, sleep deprivation, and diabetes.

Sometimes the biggest form of help comes from just knowing you are not abnormal and there are others willing to help you in your struggle, understand what you are going through, and appreciate you as a fellow human being. The only way to restore one’s humanity is through humanity.

psychintegrity.org...

originally posted by: EducationSeeker
a reply to: nowayreally
Big Pharma controls medical schools and medical journals to a large extent.

I see an article posted by a Mad in America Research News Team writer today about a study that made it through that Big Pharma filter and got published in a journal. It is about a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society:

PTSD and Psychiatric Medication Linked to Dementia in Older Veterans

By Shannon Peters
May 24, 2017

. . . “Patients diagnosed with PTSD and using SSRI [selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors], NA [novel antidepressants], or AA [atypical antipsychotics] are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with dementia compared to both those with and without a PTSD diagnosis and not using any psychotropic medications.”. . .

www.madinamerica.com...

originally posted by: Blaine91555
what about him makes his point of view more valuable than nearly the entire psychiatric community resulting from actual studies and science?

Psychiatry? Studies and science?

I think you are confusing psychiatry with psychology.

Psychiatry is simply modern day voodoo witchery.

The vast majority of psychiatric problems can be addressed by proper nutrition combined with some appropriate super nutrition, but the natural methods of treatment are far superior (and do no harm) than psychotic pharmaceutical drugs that do far more long term harm than short term good.

a reply to: nerbot

I have one relative like that - nothing made him happier than being diagnosed as bi-polar. He was off the hook entirely for taking any responsibility in his life, he had this chemical imbalance! And sure he quit drinking for a while, watched his diet for a while.... To be blunt, the guy is a childish selfish asshole. His three sisters all said he was the Golden Child growing up, who could do no wrong, who never had to do chores, was fussed around as the eldest son. He was clever in school so he never developed a work ethic, and outgoing, so he could make friends easily but couldn't keep them for long.

Not to say everyone labelled bi-polar is like that- I have an inlaw who does try to work on herself and she's been pretty successful in may parts of her life. She had the opposite childhood experience, one of instability and neglect.
But there is that same extreme surge in energy followed by withdrawal. Both are of largely Irish heritage although not related to one-another. I wonder whether there could well be some poorly-understood biological component that was probably necessary for survival at some point in the past - that insane, restless energy that some "bi polar" people have that enables them to power through anything, followed by periods of protracted low energy levels or inactivity. When you consider the rhythm of agriculture life - the intense labor involved in planting and harvest and rest periods in between....

I read a lot of Erich Fromm when I was younger and tend to agree with his stance that a lot of mental illness is produced by the difficulties many individuals have with adapting to the myriad artifices modern civilization demands. I knew from a young age that the life style of long commutes between some prestige job and some massive house in the suburbs was not for me. The thought of being stuck in traffic two hours every day, the office politics, the artificial air and lighting, etc. But people just drug themselves into adapting to it - via illegal drugs, booze or psyche meds. Perhaps a for small percentage that existence suits them just fine. Others not so much, but how many of them realize that, or think they have much choice?

People who are working on reforming psychiatry participate in protests aimed at the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

Jim Gottstein, JD is an attorney based in Alaska who is associated with a non-profit, public interest law firm called The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights).

He writes articles for Mad in America:

The APA Is a Fraudulent Enterprise

By Jim Gottstein, JD
May 1, 2014

I will be traveling from Alaska to attend the protest of the American Psychiatric Association in New York, because psychiatry is a morally and scientifically bankrupt enterprise that causes great harm and must be held accountable. . .

www.madinamerica.com...

One of the most disturbing things about this subject matter is the fact that people can be institutionalized and drugged against their will. I’ve read stories of people’s own families having their loved ones committed, thinking they’re doing the right thing.

So this is not only a medical issue; it is a legal one. It is a civil rights issue. A human rights issue.

Psychiatry and psychology is really a voodoo science. Or can it even be called science when 3 psychiatrists confronted with one serial killer give 3 different diagnosis? I used to have anxiety problems, been thru few "specialists" and all I needed was to end it all and quit their meds to leave my problems behind.
Psychiatry and psychology need to understand that every mind and every body is different. Treating everyone by the book is only destroying lifes (and make some people rich).

originally posted by: EducationSeeker
One of the most disturbing things about this subject matter is the fact that people can be institutionalized and drugged against their will. I’ve read stories of people’s own families having their loved ones committed, thinking they’re doing the right thing.

What would you do with a family member who is a threat to themselves and others? Let them wander the streets? I'd call a family who ignores it the real problem. Ignoring it and not seeking professional help for them is abuse. The streets of the inner cities are full of discarded people who need help, abandoned by families who don't give a damn, or believe mental illness is a character flaw.

a reply to: Blaine91555

Of course you don't ignore a family member in need.

You treat them with respect and you listen.

You join support groups of other families in the same position you're in.

There are psychiatrists and psychologists who are aware of the need for drug-free therapy for their clients. I've already posted on this.

a reply to: EducationSeeker

You've clearly never been exposed to a genuine schizophrenic that is no longer able to interact normally with the world?

I asked what do you do with a family member who is a danger to themselves and others? You seek qualified professional help and that often includes them being in a psychiatric institution to protect the public and them. It's often not something that can be dealt with at home and they can't be in the home because they pose a danger to their own families. Sadly way too many end up on the street because it's not something you can deal with at home.

There are issues that simply don't lend themselves to solving with a "support group".

Do you think families that are forced to, yes forced to, take the drastic step of putting a family member in an institution do it out of hate or stupidity? They do it because it's necessary and the steps you have to take to do so are extreme. By the time that happens, after a judge has issued the order, there is no question that the wrong answer is to leave them on the streets or inside a family home.

a reply to: Blaine91555

I disagree with you but I'm not going to try to change your mind. Your mind is made up.

To each his own.

In this interview, Robert Whitaker, the person behind the Mad in America website, talks about the long-term harmful effects of psychiatric drugs.

John McDougall
Published on Mar 15, 2013

www.youtube.com...

originally posted by: EducationSeeker
Another unacceptable practice in psychiatry at present is Electroconvulsive Shock Therapy (ECT); it is barbaric.

The following blog post is about a 26-year-old man who was saved from ongoing involuntary ECT and involuntary medication through legal action, and the reality of a new electrical threat that children labeled with ADHD face today. The device, called Monarch, manufactured by a company called Neurosigma, applies electricity to the child’s brain throughout the night.

In addition to ADHD, the manufacturer is marketing the device for anxiety, depression, and epilepsy. Veterans with PTSD (and overmedication) have been especially targeted.

The post is a follow-up to a previous blog post by psychotherapist and lifelong patient advocate Michael Cornwall entitled “FDA Approves Electricity All Night Long on Children’s Brains.”

A Smashing Victory — And an Insidious New Threat

By Peter Breggin, MD
June 9, 2019

. . . The manufacturer’s intention is to apply the treatment for months or years, but the controlled clinical trials for the FDA lasted a mere four weeks. Misleadingly promoted as trigeminal nerve stimulation, it is really a broad electrical assault on the frontal lobes of the brain through electrodes on the forehead; a genuine shotgun approach using electrical zaps instead of pellets.

Is it electroshock treatment? No, it’s more subtle and more sustained—several amps of electricity applied overnight to the front of the brain right into the critical and highly sensitive frontal lobes. There are seizures, but only when something goes wrong. They are not aiming at knocking out the children. Instead, it is a slow electrical erosion—or corrosion—of the highest functions of the brain and mind. . .

There Is Nothing to Fix with Electricity

ADHD is not a disease or a disorder, it is a collection of behaviors that disappoint or try the patience of teachers and parents. So-called symptoms or behaviors listed in the official diagnosis include the category inattention (fails to pay close attention to details, loses things, avoids difficult tasks, forgetful) and the category hyperactivity/impulsivity (fidgets, too often leaves seat, often “on the go,” talks excessively, interrupts, doesn’t like to wait his turn). In children labeled ADHD, there are no known physical causes for the behaviors. . .

The “causes” of these behaviors are infinite, but there is nothing wrong in the brains of boys and girls labeled ADHD. In my private practice, I guarantee parents that if their child’s behavior looks like ADHD, the child will start doing much better after two weeks of a combination of improved and consistent discipline, unconditional love, better nutrition and daily fun exercise. At the same time, some of these kids are “cured” overnight by transferring to a better classroom or school. . .

www.madinamerica.com...

Peter Breggin’s nonprofit International Center for the Study of Patient-Oriented Psychiatry (ICSPP), is establishing a project called “Stop the Psychiatric Abuse of Children” or SPAC. Michael Cornwall is the Director.

This lady learned from her 13 year old daughter Rebecka that she sometimes cried in the bathroom for unknown reasons. Later her daughter was losing quite a bit of weight, so the mother took her to the doctor, who zeroed in on depression and referred them to a therapist or psychiatrist. The mother chose a therapist, who recommended medication, which was then prescribed by the pediatrician—Zoloft and then Prozac.

Rebecka began hallucinating and became suicidal.

Immediate hospitalization followed and with it the addition of an antipsychotic (Risperdal) and an additional prescription to deal with known side effects of the antipsychotic. This was the beginning of a year of hospitalizations and heartache. Inpatient, outpatient, inpatient, outpatient. A never-ending vicious circle. More medications. Different medications. Higher dosage. Lower dosage.

. . . And through all of this, no therapist sat us down to ask, “How are things at home?” “What can we do differently in Rebecka’s environment to make her feel better?” There was no glimmer of hope. No indication that this might be temporary distress. Situational. Part of growing up. Rather, it all felt very permanent. And on the worst days, we firmly believed that our only child would live in our basement indefinitely.

We thought we were fine. But in reality, we were not. Indeed, when I look in the rearview mirror, I realize we weren’t fine at all. I was a workaholic and also situationally depressed due to work-related stress and dissonance between my job and my value system. Todd was working in a small town four hours away and coming home on the weekends. Our future living situation was uncertain, because Todd’s teaching position at the time was not permanent. Add puberty to that.

So not really fine at all.

Not until the # hit the fan and Rebecka was hospitalized for the eighth time did the course of our lives change again. When things couldn’t get any worse, Dr. Robert Shedinger, author of Radically Open and a colleague and friend, handed us a copy of Robert Whitaker’s Anatomy of an Epidemic. Todd and I read it out loud to each other during the long drive to the nearest in-state psychiatric hospital almost two hours away.

We read the stories and recognized our daughter. Yep, she had become “bipolar” after starting anti-depressants. Yep, she had gained fifty pounds on Zyprexa. Yep. Yep. Yep. We were shocked to learn the truth about modern psychiatry and Big Pharma and angered to read about the dire consequences for millions of people.

. . . Asking the psychiatrist to discontinue medication was one of our bravest moments. It went against everything doctors had told us over the past twelve months—against Rebecka’s regular psychiatrist’s vehement opposition (“You can come back when it doesn’t work.”). It went against what we heard repeatedly in the media and in pop culture. It went against what we saw in the advertisements during the evening news.

And it was the turning point in Rebecka’s journey toward optimal mental health. . .

www.madinamerica.com...

The author goes on to talk about, among other things, a therapy called Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

There is a website about this that explains what it is and shows that dedicated professionals are getting trained in how to carry it out: What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)?

This blog post is written by a psychotherapy-based psychiatrist:

The Three Types of Psychiatric Drugs – A Doctor’s Guide for Consumers

By Lawrence Kelmenson, MD
June 9, 2019

When people call me up seeking “medication management,” I first say:

“There are three types of psychiatric drugs to choose from:

1. We’ve got placebos1 for all the suckers who bought into the idea of sadness being ‘a serious but treat-able illness caused by chemical imbalance that occurs for no reason if you’re genetically vulnerable’. This turned out to be a pure hoax.2 That’s why antidepressants’ initial benefits invariably and disappointingly fade. It’s likely why users usually worsen over time,3 as they try one after another in futile pursuit of a myth.4

2. We’ve got drugs that really do lift you up — at first. But unfortunately they’re all addictive.5 6 Thus, with daily use, not only do you develop a tolerance, but you suffer horrible withdrawals if you try to stop them. Ultimately you need increasingly higher, impairing, and dangerous dosages in order to avoid withdrawals.7

3. And we’ve got sedatives that ensure that you’ll never again have any feelings, thoughts, or complaints, since they can’t selectively numb just your unpleasant sensations — they numb all sensations. They can be used to zombify your kids to make them instantly manageable, so you don’t need to raise them. But then they’ll never mature or reach their potential, and will likely continue using drugs as their only coping tool as adults.“

Usually people either hang up on me before I finish this speech, or let me finish and then politely request the name of another psychiatrist who’s more gung-ho about my field’s miracle pills. Occasionally they take me up on my offer to instead look into whatever is upsetting them (relationship troubles, losses, fears, life pressures, etc.).

Those psychiatrists who do push the medical model profit from it easily and greatly, since health insurers pay for these scams and since people trustingly line up to see them. Clients faithfully stay with them despite faring poorly, since they’re convinced it’s due to their ‘chronic illness’. Many must return religiously, due to becoming drug-addicted and/or needing ongoing medical documentation of permanent disability.

Psychiatrists are seen as hard-working, caring, understanding healers, but they’re really snake-oil sales-men, drug-dealers, and master-sedaters. What they do should be illegal. Someday everyone will realize that not only do psychiatrists not heal anything, they’re a major contributor to the recent rise in suicides and overdoses.

They say little in their brief sessions. But if you take the few things they do say, read between the lies and boil them down to their essence, you’ll be left with this message: “Whatever is upsetting you is not worth listening to — just shut up and take one of these shut-up pills.” (Isn’t that the gist of “Your painful feelings are mere symptoms of depression — a medically treatable illness,” for example?) It’s the essence of psychiatry’s role — the goal of all its treatments. So there’s really just one type of psych drug, not three, and just one type of medication management session, which I’ve summarized below:

“Shut up and take your pills,

And don’t forget to pay your bill.

Take one or take ‘em all, but please move it along,

‘Cause I’ve got an important meeting with a drug rep… Next!”

1. Kirsch, I. The Emperor’s New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth. Basic Books, 2010. ↩
2. Kapur, S, et al “Why Has it Taken So Long for Biological Psychiatry to Develop Clinical Tests?” Molecular Psych, 2012, 17, 1174-9. ↩
3. Whitaker, R. Anatomy of An Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America. Random House, 2010. ↩
4. Kaitrin ”How Many Antidepressant Meds Have You Tried?” Depressionforums.org, Aug 15, 2004. ↩
5. National Institute on Drug Abuse “Well-Known Mechanism Underlying Benzodiazepines’ Addictive Properties” April 19, 2012. ↩
6. National Institute on Drug Abuse “Prescription Stimulants: Drug Facts” June, 2018. ↩
7. Weich, S. “Effect of Anxiolytic and Hypnotic Drug Prescription on Mortality Hazards: Retrospective Cohort Study” BMJ 2014; 348: g1996.

www.madinamerica.com...#

Well said.

The following blog post is about a German lady who after three rough years due to a separation from her cheating husband, which left her to care for her two small children alone, a severe hand injury threatening her career as a portrait artist, and the stress of moving cities with her family, began having severe mood swings.

After not sleeping well for weeks, having visions of an evil, black shadow hovering over her and feeling suicidal, she was hospitalized and diagnosed with“Bipolar Disorder II, type Rapid-Cycling.”

My hospitalization was the beginning of a real odyssey of searching for the right medication to stabilize me, since I had strong reactions to the drugs they tried. Most of the medication either caused severe side effects (which were life-threatening on two occasions) or they made me feel dull, which I could not accept because I enjoy being an active person. So I was in and out of the hospital and day clinic for nine straight months. The drugs simply could not get a hold of my rapid cycling in a way that I could live with.

The depressions were strong, but once I regained my sleeping pattern, my determination to heal this ‘disorder’ became stronger. Being a born competitor and former Karate world champion, I was never going to give up this fight. I was desperate to get off the medication. I wanted to be in control of myself again; independent and capable. The label of Bipolar Disorder made me feel like I was seen as a crazy person who did not fit into society. I wanted my dignity back!

www.madinamerica.com...

Here’s how she got well:

1. A variety of different therapies.
2. Reading the book Am I Bipolar Or Waking Up? by Sean Blackwell.
3. Being inspired by the videos on Sean’s YouTube channel.
4. A private, two-week retreat with Sean Blackwell where she was able to release trauma from her past. After the retreat she was able to get off the drugs.

She did a second retreat after a year off medication, just to be sure. At the second retreat, she released even more unprocessed subconscious material.

You know those stories about when someone was off meds, and acted crazy or violent?

Then one thinks, frigging crazies, why cant they just keep up with their meds, when they forget to take them, their insanity takes over, right?

Wrong, a person who has a small problem with depression, can turn to a psychotic murderer because of the WITHDRAWAL symptoms, NOT because of the original psychological problem.

In some places in this world, the crazies are, and were, shamans, witches, wizards, this is their function in society, not wandering the streets, not locked up in an institution to be experimented on, its all abandonment.

But in modern society, things will only get worse. Disgusting to even think how we will manage this growing problem,

Philip K Dick wrote an interesting book that touches this subject,

-Clanes of the Alphane Moon-

Psychedelics will revolutionise mental health. Problem is, pharmaceuticals cannot Patten that! More and more clinical trials are being done regarding Psychedelics. And the reports so far are amazing!

Link

New trials have shown the drug psilocybin to be highly effective in treating depression, with Oakland the latest US city to in effect decriminalise it last week. Some researchers say it could become ‘indefensible’ to ignore the evidence – but how would it work as a reliable treatment?

originally posted by: EducationSeeker
Another unacceptable practice in psychiatry at present is Electroconvulsive Shock Therapy (ECT); it is barbaric.

This attorney:

www.madinamerica.com...

is working to bring reform to psychiatry.

ECT Litigation Update: Are Patients Being Warned of Brain Damage Risk?

By David Karen, Esq.
June 13, 2019

. . . In October of 2018, in Riera v. Somatics, LLC, the United States District Court for the Central District of California ruled that there was sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find that the prominent manufacturer of ECT devices, Somatics, LLC, caused brain injury in the plaintiffs by failing to warn their treating physicians of the risk of brain injury associated with ECT, and also through a failure to investigate and report to the FDA complaints of brain damage and death resulting from ECT. . .

www.madinamerica.com...

ECT can be compared to the bogus “biochemical imbalance” claim used to "educate" psychiatrists and dupe psychiatric patients into taking neurotoxins as “medicine.”

Let me tell you something I've been living with schizophrenia and bi polar for over 20 years. Psychiatry isn't witchcraft and mental illness isn't make believe.

I got hit with schizophrenia in my late teens early 20's. I went from having a normal life to not being able to tie my own shoes.

I had severe psychosis and it wasn't a pleasant experience. The only thing that brought me out of it was an injection of haldol. Which is a anti-psychotic medication developed in the 1950's.

In the 1990's they came out with a new class of anti-psychotic drugs called A typical anti-psychotics. The newer drugs had a lot less side effects.

Schizophrenia is a neurobiological illness. People with schizophrenia have normal brains until the illness is triggered. For men it hits in their late teens early 20's and for women it usually hits in their mid 20's. It starts in the back of the brain near the cerebellum and spreads throughout the brain like a wild fire causing brain damage. The longer is left untreated harder it is to recover from it. They've caught the progression of the illness using MRI's. People that get the illness their brains shrink. They lose grey matter.

Anti-psychotic medication blocks dopamine in the brain. People that take anti-psychotics long term experience an illness called tardive dyskinesia. People with Pakinsons their brains can't produce dopamine. People that take anti-psychotics long term end up with tardive dyskinesia which has Parkinson like symptoms.

Schizophrenia causes you to hear and see things that don't exist. It's a bombardment on your senses. You don't know whats real and whats not because your mind is playing tricks on you. With psychosis you're not talking someone out of it. They're seeing things that you don't and to them it is real.

I've been to the furthest reaches of insanity and back. If it weren't for modern day medicine I wouldn't be here typing this. I'd be locked away in a padded cell. The medications I take stop the hallucinations. Not fully but enough that I can function. If I stop the medication it comes back. It takes years to recover.

I've been taking medication for 20 years and the side effects are killing me. This is some nasty stuff but I'll do what ever it takes not to have psychosis.