Is Psych Forums Unfairly biased?

The mind is powerful and can be a double-edged sword.

Yeah I think physics and chemistry and neurosciences, and philosophy and medicine and ...they're all a bunch of BS too!

lol

People here are transmitting knowledge about the psych as we know and understand it today.

Do people make money off mental illness? Sure they do. People also make money when you put out your garbage, or drive on the highway, or use your kitchen sink. Surely nobody here is suggesting we should stop these activities too just because someone makes money.

Seantal said "I feel that ALL information is good " That's open minded and great - I just fear that many folks take canned information from pop culture and take it as real knowledge.

Tree rings inform us of growth patterns across years. But even tree rings can misrepresent the age of a tree if you interpret them to mean 'tree age' and count them up.

So even true information misinterpreted can be a problem.

I think the anti psych movement is accepted by some people almost wholeheartedly and that's potentially dangerous.

i've read this entire forum, all eleven pages... and it justs strikes me as kind of ridiculous. in order for this site to be FREE, sponsors are required. manufacturers of medicine will naturally sponsor a site about mental health. i can only speack for myself, but i've NEVER clicked on an add link for any site i don't know.

Meds work for some people and don't for others. i'm on prozac, and if i wasn't i probably would have hurt someone by now. but i know a guy who got into a deep depression from prozac. EACH CASE NEEDS TO BE VIEWED AS JUST A CASE AND NOT A UNIVERSAL TRUTH!!!

there are bad shrinks (i've certainly had afew) and bad sideffects (i've had a few of those too). but there are good shrinks and helpful medicine. but its different for every person, so it can be hard to find.

This is a forum. USERS start threads here, and all the mods started out as plain members. since many people here are voccally pro-psych, it may have driven anti-psych people away; but the site was not started for that. it was created, and remains, a place where people can anonumausly discuss their problems with people like them. its not some sort of online clinic, its a place where people can talk to their peers.

everybody seems to be getting pretty defensive here. i can't say that i haven't done the same thing before, but lets settle down and discuss this like civil people. it may be youthful naiivity, but i think its possible to hold a debate without verbally slaughtering each other.

finally, by posting this I AM NOT TRYING TO ATTACK ANYONE OR ANY VIEW. i just think that everyone is getting a bit too riled up and needs to cool their heads abit.

Right on!

This thread has wandered and I was confused about the poll and the email stuff at the beginning. But to the question it asks, I will argue no.

Bias is a problem when someone appears objective, not when they state an opinion. If this is an ANTI SHRINK forum, then it is not biased if the posts are ANTI SHRINK.

If it were just the main forum and all the posts were ANTI SHRINK, then there would be a problem in my opinion. I think biases become less dangerous if they are admitted, which this whole forum does.

This thread is full of so much garbage. I've had alot of bad run-ins with psychosis but even how incompetent some doctors seem most of the time if you don't want to take medication they will try their best to accomadate you. I have been over-medicated and I hold some resentment against pyschs for doing that but at least once you get on the road to recovery they start to lower your medication.

Medication is proven to help people in 99% situations. Here in Canada medication is free for me at a low income.

My psychs don't ever try to push drugs on me, I've been asked to try medication and usually I will say yes because it's most likely going to get my out of the hospital and keep me in a calm mood.

Shrink resistant wrote:I certainly threw the cat amongst the pigeons with the "no chemical imbalances" thread. Wow, what a reaction!

The culture of psych forums is pro psych, pro drugs and I don't expect any support from anyone here regarding my views.

Well, I'm off to fight psychopharmacology in the real world now. Thank you all for your comments over the past 12 months or so, I now know what sort of debates (ha ha) to expect in the future. Its given me great deal of confidence to know the advocates of psychopharmacology haven't got a leg to stand on.

Please note, I wont come back here, I have no need to. BYE

Guess you have to expect people like this at a psych forum. lmao

The two statements A & B are typical of people promoting a singular view of their own. I find statement B hypocritical because it promotes a belief without respect for others views. I do not believe in life after death.

I have been at psych forums for approx, no idea, but a while. lol Never have I considered the forum pandering to psychiatry and medicating as an absolute. I'm not keen on medicating for mental health issues such as depression and anxiety until CBT is firstly attempted. I believe drug companies co-erce Govt and medical practitioners into approving medications in off topic uses for profit.
Some people need medication to function, I was called to domestic where a schizophrenic attacked his mother with a small axe. He was off his medication and believed she was the devil, so sad!!

Truly enjoy the psych forums and the intellectual comment at times. Perhaps your detractors are off their meds for paranoia. lol

whero wrote:Medication is proven to help people in 99% situations. Here in Canada medication is free for me at a low income.
.

Umm where are you getting your information?

http://www.psychiatry.info/psychiatric- ... a-failure/

3 out of 4 people taking anti psychotics stop taking the medication due to side effects. Thats only a 25% success rate.

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/358/3/252

According to the FDA SSRI's and other antidepressants only have a 51% success rate compared to placebos. So in other words, SSRIs are about as effective as a placebo. Amazing.

So explain to me where you get the 99% success number?

I realize this thread has taken a few turns but I'm responding to the main question of the post.

Is Psych Forums unfairly biased?


...probably!

And, honestly, so what? What place isn't?
This isn't a democracy. This isn't a place where you vote on the rules/regulations/policies and pay a fee for the upkeep of the site. [I mean as far as I know. If I'm wrong please correct me. Yes, I'm aware of the donate button.]

YES, you can give feedback but if you are hoping to change the main viewpoint of the site, good luck. They actually have an anti-psychiatry forum, which I think is sort of gutsy on their part and I applaud them for it but it's not something I would do.

I admin on a mental health site and we are definately pro-psychiatry and pro-meds and make that pretty clear. And if you do come on the site and start bashing meds, it's not a guarantee that you'll get booted, but if you are encouraging people to behave unhealthily, THAT will be a cause for action by the admin/mod team. Because it goes against seeking treatment. And we encourage people to seek treatment: Healthy lifestyles, therapies, medications where appropriate.

Now, if you feel that the main viewpoint of a site that you frequent is at odds with your beliefs, maybe you should take a look at why you go there.

Vote with your mouse.

Don't go there anymore!

I disagree with both statements.....A&B

_Girl_ wrote:of a site that you frequent............maybe you should take a look at why you go there.

Ditto. Yeah........I stumbled up on some of these various psych sites because I was looking for help, trying to get answers to what makes me tick, why I'm way I am.........
If I felt really well rounded in life & happy, I'd probably be off somewhere fishing instead.

I feel PsychForms attempts to let both sides be presented......pro & cons. Matter of fact, I kind'a like coming to all these Forums on PsychForums. Besides that, when I come in here thru the door, I find lots & lots of folks that look JUST LIKE ME!!!!!:D

I always wondered why, that in school, teachers were always "so dumb" when students caught teacher in mistake. Maybe the students should have been running their own school????

I have had employees, as well as worked on jobs with employees, & always wondered why "the bossman was so damn dumb & stupid, & not running the business way employee thought it should be."
Maybe there is reason boss owns business instead of employee......?????? Dunno.

Some earlier posters suggested that if we didn't like it here we could go off somewhere & open up our own site.....& pay for it too!!!! Could be your own boss too!!!!

As far as meds, therapy, shrinks......if it works, fine. I no longer care it it's sugar pills, sugar water, palm reading.......I no longer care! As long as it works I simply do not care, even if it's all in my head!
no pun intended....

just my $.02 cents........