Posted by Christ_empowered on June 15, 2010, at 22:43:49
In reply to Rejection of Meds Gives me Hope, posted by Huxley on June 15, 2010, at 22:27:04
not so much b/c I'm "in denial", but rather because it seems to me that psychiatry is in denial. The Mental Health Industry seems convinced that the right drug(s), the right amount of electroshock, the right talk therapy, the right mental hospital can fix all these so-called "mental illnesses." These "mental illnesses" attack our brains, but no one has spotted them. They cannont be diagnosed through a brain scan or blood test. They have yet to be found at autopsy (although the ill-effects of long term psychiatric treatment WILL show up on brain scans and at autopsy). From what I understand, the few studies that have looked at how effective treatments for "mental illness" are have been rather unimpressive. Antipsychotics didn't return psychotic people to jobs and school; whether the drug is Haldol or Geodon, it seems the result is a lethargic, docile person who is cared for by the government, family, or is possibly minimally employed. Antidepressants didn't fix depression, after all; suicide rates seem to be more affected by macro- and micro-social factors (macro: economy, war; micro- marital status, level of social integration, religious involvement) than by use of pills.
Maybe we should look at it from a Sociological perspective. What is going on? I think maybe the shrinks themselves are being deceived. They seem to think they actually do something that's useful, or important, or at least somewhat helpful. They are, of course, wrong; it would appear that shrinks head up a system that wastes money, wastes time, and destroys lives. So who benefits?
I'd say...people in power. Turning discontent into "illness" makes the discontent person unable to effect change in his/her life. The problem is a brain disease or a personality problem; drug it, talk it away. Whatever you do, don't: question what society considers "normal"; stop to think about forms of oppression (poverty, racism, homophobia, sexism) that could be part of your "illness"; don't think for 1 minute that unhappiness and stress are a normal part of life that should be handled through family, friends, and possibly religion (no, no; you need pros and pills, not friends and God). And for the love of God, do not think for yourself, or have religious experiences, unusual ideas, or strange insights.
Kinda long, sorry, but I'm glad to find someone else on the board who has tossed out their pill bottle(s) in search of something greater.
poster:Christ_empowered
thread:951199
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100615/msgs/951202.html