A rational argument against psychiatry

Jemini,

Thank you for your long, detailed post. I have read a lot about treatments for mental illness and agree with your ideas. If one looks, there is a lot of references to back up your ideas.

We are all different. Our world contains a some percentage of well-functioning people, but it also contains a small percentage of people who can't seem to handle life. Drug companies have a product to sell. They would like us to believe that just about everyone needs their medicines. They would not make much money if only a very small number of people took their meds.

However, one has to understand that inside of most people is a desire to find an easier, softer way to happiness. We can work at a good life and confront our problems--but that is hard. Taking a pill is simple and easy.
James

Good post, and good replies.

I actually think it is a bit scary the people who go into mental heatlh. Mostly, they seem nuts.

In my only experience which I had to make a doctor happy the guy spoke with a weird fake affected accent. He said that his parents were from Latvia. I had a degree in linguistics so I knew this - having your parents be from Europe does NOT give you an accent. People learn the language of their peers.

He didn't like that, and tried to argue about it. I asked him if he spoke his LATVIAN with an accent. Of course not, he spoke Latvian fluently! There you go dude. Why would you speak English with an accent when you grew up here and speak Latvian fluently after having only gone there once?

Weird dude, and his wife, who was his partner at the clinic... sings her name. SERIOUSLY. Youcal their machine you will hear her singing her name and his fake acent.

Tome this kind of paralleled the narcisism that is required to think that you have advice for people that need help. It is not like there are proven therapies out there. Some of them like hypnosis are not documented in any way much less proven. Anyone in the world can practice hypnosis without a license. Your manicurist can do it, though she will need a license for the manicure. That's why they do it on the stage in Las Vegas. It is a side show for freaks and those who believe in freaks.

I read your post and sure, there are problems with drugs. Thanks for writing it.

I don't doubt that there are problems with prescription drugs. But there are a few points in your note that need some correcting.

You said "Otherwise you're just another drug addict..." Most drugs prescribed aren't addictive. Antidepressants being just one example - so this is kind of an 'unkind' attack and quite unfair.

You've neglected to mention the thousands of controlled studies that test various drugs and their effectiveness.

Lithium, is one example of a drug that's been terribly effective. The latest generation of antidepressants is another. I'm not going to search out citations for you, as they're well established in the literature.

Don't forget - drugs get tested by independent sources too - Universities and the like - by people who have no vested interest in supporting a particular drug. The USFDA and other standards bodies also evaluate the claims of drugs manufacturers - you've kind of neglected that component to the checks and balances.