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Well, you certainly have painted a pretty picture based entirely on the psychiatric propaganda you appear to have swallowed whole without even chewing, let alone digesting it. 

Otherwise healthy? Diagnosed mentally ill people die 25 YEARS EARLIER on the average than those who don't receive this helpful "treatment." Certainly, there are other factors, but death by medication side effects, including induced suicidality, is a big part of this figure. Even if that were not the case, dying 25 years earlier does NOT reflect a healthy population. But I am sure you can find a way to blame this on their "mental illness."

As to the "properly medicated" being able to live productive lives in society, you need to read Whitaker's book. A schizophrenic-diagnosed person in 1950 had about a 12 times greater chance of living a producitve life in society, as in work, education, family, etc., than does one so diagnosed today. The drugs are not only not the cure to people living under bridges, they may in many cases be a big part of the cause. 

Medications don't create "harmonious brain chemistry." If you bothered to read ANY research on the subject, you will find this has been known for many, many years. Medications cause extreme DISTURBANCES in brain chemistry, which the brain battles to adjust to in various ways, some of which appear to be therapeutic (at least in the short term), and some of which are clearly incrediby destructive (such as diabetes and Tardive Dyskinesia). 

So believe the propaganda if you want. But don't expect any intelligent and informed person to go along with you. Most psychiatrists would even disagree with your rosy picture of mental health treatment. I would strongly suggest you at least read "Anatomy of an Epidemic" before you post on this subject again.

posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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Annet, I was just coming on to post exactly the same question! Anybody talking about hospital or mental health reform today needs to address the vital issues Whitaker raises. It's been the elephant in the room for 25 years or more, as more and more people have come to believe the oft-repeated myth that "mental illness is a disease of the brain caused by chemical imbalances, and we have amazing new drugs that rebalance your brain chemicals."

Whitaker's book solidly puts the lie to this piece of propaganda and returns our focus to where it should be: what science actually tells us about the impact of our current treatment model. And as a person who has worked in the field for many years, I can tell you that the impact is very much as Whitaker describes it. And it isn't pretty. 

Please make sure that the question of how and when and why we use psychiatric drugs, as well as what alternative methods are going to be available at OSH, takes a central place in the discussion. And Emily, if you have not read the book, you must do so. I'll be happy to buy you a copy. Maybe Robert can come on your show one day soon. That would be awesome!

---- Steve 

posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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Prozac in the water supply? You have GOT to be kidding!!!

I encourage you to read Robert Whitaker's recent book release, Anatomy of an Epidemic. He shares a volume of hard scientific research that suggest that, far from eliminating disability, our label-and-drug approach to mental illness is making MORE chronically ill people out of many who might have recovered in the pre-drug era. Over 60% of people hospitalized for schizophrenia used to recover to the point of employment, going to school, having families or otherwise being productive citizens. The figure with our new "technology" in place? More like 5%. Similar results are observed for serious depression and other mental health problems. And he provides a valid scientific explanation for why it's happening that way. 

That's not to mention the incredible range of side effects, including suicidal and homicidal behavior, that occur when some people take these drugs. And remember, nursing mothers and little toddlers will be imbibing these wonder drugs into their developing brains as well!

Mental illness, whatever that may be, is a very complicated affair, involving both who we are and what we experience in the world. There are a lot of things in this world that can be distressing or depressing, including severe or chronic exposure to trauma at home, at school, or in the workplace. How many kids who were being bullied by peers or had a cruel and unfair teacher have been diagnosed as suffering from a mental illness? How many victims of domestic violence are "treated" for their depression or anxiety without anyone even bothering to find out about their lives? 

As to the comment about people stopping their drugs because they feel better and deny their "illness," the research and my experience contradicts this. Most people appear to quit because either a) the drugs aren't working for them, or b) they have intolerable side effects. The other less obvious reason is that making someone's symptoms go away does not help them manage their lives differently. All of us need goals and activities to feel productive and useful. And we need protection and safety to function effectively. Failing to help people meet these needs, can we really say we have helped at all? 

Let's not oversimplify, folks. Instead of labeling and blaming people for their reactions, why not spend some time getting to know them and finding out why these "symptoms" are happening? You will discover that every depressed person, every anxious person, every hyperactive child, every moody teen, has their reasons and their motivations and their stories about how they got there and where they are trying to go. To try and "treat" mental illness without this context is a losing battle, as Robert Whitaker's book so clearly demonstrates. 

We can do a lot better that Prozac in the water supply!

---- Steve

posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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