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floatingleafA disturbing article on how pharmaceutical companies in the US create and "promote" new mental disorders in order to sell more drugs:
http://www.alternet.org/story/153634/7_reasons_america%27s_mental_health_industry_is_a_threat_to_our_sanity/?page=1
Ever wonder why we suddenly have so many mentally ill people in need of drug treatment, including small children?... Yeah, that would be why. If you're feeling brave, read the story of a four-year-old who died of a massive overdose. She had been diagnosed with ADHD AND bipolar disorder, and prescribed three different psychotropic drugs. Yeah, a four-year-old. Why? Because she was "hyper". And even though her parents went to jail after she died, the psychiatrist who prescribed the drugs wasn't even put on trial. She's still treating small children according to the same guidelines, "without any restrictions, penalties or supervision."
And here's the conclusion of the article, which I completely agree with:
When we hear the words disorder, disease or illness, we think of an individual in need of treatment, not of a troubled society in need of transformation. Mental illness expansionism diverts us from examining a dehumanizing society.
In addition to pathologizing normal behavior, the mental health profession also diverts us from examining a society that creates the ingredients — helplessness, hopelessness, passivity, boredom, fear, and isolation — that cause emotional difficulties. We are diverted from the reality that many emotional problems are natural human reactions to loss in our society of autonomy and community. Thus, the mental health profession not only has financial value for drug companies but it has political value for those at the top of societal hierarchies who want to retain the status quo.
In other words, apparently being human is now a disorder. We all need medication that will transform us into unfeeling, unthinking, unquestioning, docile androids. And if it kills us in the process, then oh well... accidents happen. At least someone made a profit.:/
Which reminds me of how a year ago, when I had landed myself in a nasty financial pickle and was feeling pretty crappy because of it, some people immediately suggested that I should seek "treatment for depression". Which, had I done it, would have most likely resulted in being handed a prescription for some mind-numbing pills. It kind of shocked me that this was apparently the most obvious "solution" to the problem in the eyes of those people - but perhaps I understand it better now. Not that I find it any less troubling - but at least I can see where it comes from...
http://www.alternet.org/story/153634/7_reasons_america%27s_mental_health_industry_is_a_threat_to_our_sanity/?page=1
Ever wonder why we suddenly have so many mentally ill people in need of drug treatment, including small children?... Yeah, that would be why. If you're feeling brave, read the story of a four-year-old who died of a massive overdose. She had been diagnosed with ADHD AND bipolar disorder, and prescribed three different psychotropic drugs. Yeah, a four-year-old. Why? Because she was "hyper". And even though her parents went to jail after she died, the psychiatrist who prescribed the drugs wasn't even put on trial. She's still treating small children according to the same guidelines, "without any restrictions, penalties or supervision."
And here's the conclusion of the article, which I completely agree with:
When we hear the words disorder, disease or illness, we think of an individual in need of treatment, not of a troubled society in need of transformation. Mental illness expansionism diverts us from examining a dehumanizing society.
In addition to pathologizing normal behavior, the mental health profession also diverts us from examining a society that creates the ingredients — helplessness, hopelessness, passivity, boredom, fear, and isolation — that cause emotional difficulties. We are diverted from the reality that many emotional problems are natural human reactions to loss in our society of autonomy and community. Thus, the mental health profession not only has financial value for drug companies but it has political value for those at the top of societal hierarchies who want to retain the status quo.
In other words, apparently being human is now a disorder. We all need medication that will transform us into unfeeling, unthinking, unquestioning, docile androids. And if it kills us in the process, then oh well... accidents happen. At least someone made a profit.:/
Which reminds me of how a year ago, when I had landed myself in a nasty financial pickle and was feeling pretty crappy because of it, some people immediately suggested that I should seek "treatment for depression". Which, had I done it, would have most likely resulted in being handed a prescription for some mind-numbing pills. It kind of shocked me that this was apparently the most obvious "solution" to the problem in the eyes of those people - but perhaps I understand it better now. Not that I find it any less troubling - but at least I can see where it comes from...
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(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-08 11:25 am (UTC)Sometimes I wonder that many people on my f-list suffer from different disorders, I think anxiety is the most common...that says something.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-09 12:56 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-08 11:27 am (UTC)This seems to be true these days. Why anyone would want to feel like a zombie when they could actually FEEL is beyond me.
FWIW I think the first line of treatment in most first-time temporary mental health cases, i.e. situational depression or anxiety, should be therapy, not meds. Many times the person just needs someone to listen to him or her and give a different perspective or a gentle push in the right direction. We as a society are far too quick to hand out the quick fix of drugs for just about everything.
I've been in therapy for most of the last 11 years and on meds part of that time due to bipolar II disorder (mostly depression with a brief hit of hypomania now and then). I'm finally getting my life back but it's been a long haul. Therapy has helped when I felt no one else was listening to what I needed to say. Meds have helped my brain get back in the game but it's time for them to go.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-09 01:10 am (UTC)I totally agree. I had a sort of nervous breakdown in my early twenties, and initially I was prescribed some pills, which I took for about a year - but I didn't really get better until I started therapy. All the pills did was dull down the anxiety a tiny bit, instead making me numb and lethargic. If I'd gone into therapy earlier, I might not have needed them at all...
(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-08 11:50 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-09 01:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-08 12:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-09 01:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-08 01:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-09 01:28 am (UTC)My thoughts exactly.
I just don't understand how it helps anyone to make people even more distant from their true emotions with medicine instead of offering tools to deal with the hardships of life
Perhaps it helps those in power, who are very much invested (quite literally) in maintaining the status quo. A society preoccupied with day-to-day hardships and distanced from deeper reflection is easier to control. Sounds creepy, I know - but the longer I live in the US, the more I am convinced it must be true...
(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-08 04:30 pm (UTC)Therapy most emphatically helps as well, but I would not have been able to take advantage of it without the meds stabilizing the underlying chemical problem.
Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater, please.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-09 01:55 am (UTC)But I see a marked difference between her and a distracted kid who can't sit still in class, or someone who is simply going through a tough life experience. In other words, I believe that the over-diagnosing and over-prescription phenomenon actually trivializes the plight of people who are truly suffering from mental illness. It is also effectively destroying people's trust in the credibility of mental health professionals. For example, if I ever need to see a psychiatrist, I will be in an agony of doubt over whether this person is actually interested in helping me, or merely in pushing the next prescription out.
That's all I'm saying.
Also, I definitely didn't mean to upset you, but in a way I am glad that this post provoked a reaction, since I hadn't heard from you in ages...;)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-08 07:43 pm (UTC)Have a child that is running around in exhuberance? Drug them into a more passive state. Have a child acting out in school? Drug them into submission instead of going back to find the point at which the kid first didn't understand what was being taught or a word that was not defined. If a student becomes confused on a subject and it is not handled, they will lose interest, can become emotional and a discipline problem.
Drug companies are first and foremost corporations for profit. That alone is what drives their business, despite any feel-good ads or noble statements they may place in the media. They rush medications to the market as soon as some sort of benefit can be claimed for a particular drug, despite any side effects that are worse than the problem the drug is designed to handle.
In my earlier days, one was never prescribed a pill for say, sleeping or blood pressure or an antibiotic or anything else that would make one feel nervous, depressed, suicidal and so on. Nowadays, many ordinary drugs for other conditions have side effects that cause anxiety and other mental distress. My personal theory is that it is done purposely, in hopes that the patient will then get additional prescriptions to handle the mental side effects.
I never had panic attacks before taking a certain prescription antihistamine some years ago. At least one other person I have spoken to had the same reaction. Neither of us suspected until much later that we were experiencing a side effect not listed in the possible drug reactions. The panic attacks did not stop though when the drug was stopped.
You should know if you don't already that doctors, at least here in the U.S., get a commission from the drug companies for many medications each time they write a prescription. The drug companies pay your doctor a sizeable bonus for drugging you.
Please note: The below is not aimed at any individual here. Just my thoughts and observations on the matters mentioned.
Unfortunately, there is no actual laboratory test that the pharmaceutical companies or doctors have invented/discovered yet to prove the "brain chemical imbalance theory" is real. It is yet another condition cooked up by the drug industry with their cronies to convince people that they must have drugs because the patient is physically defective somehow. A patient takes a pill, feels better, so they must be right.
You wouldn't take your doctor's word for it if he just suspected you had breast cancer and wanted to operate, right? You get a mammagram or a biopsy.
A person who is seeking treatment needs first a properly balanced diet, need to be checked for any real chemical imbalances like low hormones or vitamins, and needs to get light exercise, have a safe space to exist in, and receive productive counseling. I fully believe that such matters are essentially spiritual in their nature, coming from the being who uses the mind to operate the body.
Now, off to lunch and finish reading the article. Yes, read whatever makes you feel better after reading it (I've read part of it now), but don't forget what you read. Vigilance is the price of freedom.
Yes, I am highly opinionated on this particular matter and do not expect all to agree with me.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-09 02:30 am (UTC)I fully believe that such matters are essentially spiritual in their nature, coming from the being who uses the mind to operate the body.
Yes. Absolutely. I believe that medications should only be used if all else fails to improve a person's condition, and if they are truly suffering. Medicating someone to dull the symptoms, without addressing the underlying cause, is careless and irresponsible. Unfortunately, that seems to be the standard these days...