Posted by mino --Previous Message--
on May 24, 2004, 1:15 pm, in reply to "Re: The good, the bad, and the ugly"
81.196.249.106
: Great post!
: I have manic depression, and like you believe
: that advocates are not only a good idea
: but a necesity at all psyciatric
: hospitals,
: I'll go ya one further, I think they should
: be peer advocates, because we have been
: there and know how we need to be treated.
: As for the overblown hype regarding media
: coverage and violent crime commited by
: persons with brain disorders: it is
: because they are so rare that they get all
: that attention, and the media loves to
: sensationalize us ever so. However, they
: always fail to mention the rarity of these
: events!! Defamatory portrayals and
: inaccurate depictions of us will not stop
: until we make them stop. Until WE start
: doing more than writing letters to the
: media and all that. We need to organize
: and begin doing what was done during the
: civil rights movement, because that is
: what we need, we need to start picketing,
: and filing defamation suits.
: The faliure of people to recognize, or
: "believe" in mental illness or
: brain disorders is a direct result of
: stigma, and a major reason we must do
: everything in our power to educate
: everyone we can about the nonesense of it
: all.
: As for treatment, there are many kinds of
: treatments and whatever works for a person
: is what they should do, choice is key.
: Handing out meds as if they were magic
: candy solutions has become a very
: lucrative business for the pharmacutical
: companies, and a very dangerous situation
: for so many that truly do not need them!
: Even for those of us that chose to try the
: medications, what was thought to be the
: new miracle yesterday is found to have
: been put out to soon, and now discovered
: not to be so effective! At least that is
: the situation developing for manic
: depressives. The anti-convulsives such as
: depakote, then, the newer ones like,
: topamax, lamictal, and gabitril are now
: being shown not to work as they once
: believed. Why? Because in a rush to get
: these new meds on the market, the
: pharmacutical companies did not do long
: term trials, that would accurately show
: the true effectivenss of these
: medications. Why did the FDA approve them
: for phsyciatric use? cha-ching, cha-ching.
: They now believe that a-typical
: anti-psychotics are going to be the front
: line mood stabalizers for us,no matter
: that the vast majority of us have no
: psychotic features what-so-ever, for some
: unkown reason they just seem to work, on
: the mania at least. Depression
: well,actually none of the so called mood
: stabalizers actually do much for the
: depression, jone needs anti depressants
: for those times, and they have even gone
: so far as to tell us that electic shock
: therapy is back and really is very
: effective, new improved and ever so
: humane, for depression!!
: It is indeed a good news, bad news, and some
: ugly as we persevere. In the end I believe
: that it is a battle of coping skills, self
: education, some "experiments in
: chemistry" as far as medication if
: you are willing, which I am to a certain
: point (no way on the E.S.T.!!) more self
: education, and the strengh of spirit and
: humour so many of us seem to be gifted
: with.
: --Previous Message--
: The good news : 90% of violent crimes are
: committed by people who do not have
: schizophrenia. In fact, people with
: schizophrenia who are taking medicine for
: it are far less likely to commit violence
: than the average person.
: The bad news : While people with
: schizophrenia make up only 1% of the
: general population, they account for 10%
: of violent crime. This means some aspect
: of being diagnosed with schizophrenia
: makes a person 10 times more likely to
: commit a violent crime than the average
: person. Of course, most of these crimes
: are linked to concurrent medication
: non-compliance and/or illicit drug use, so
: it isn't like anyone need fear the
: normally-functioning person with
: schizophrenia who works at the desk next
: to them.
: The ugly news : The very irrationality and
: outlandishness of certain crimes committed
: in the midst of medical psychosis garners
: a lot of undue media attention. This
: fixes in the public's mind the IGNORANT
: belief that schizophrenia is related to
: scores of unpredictable violent acts. The
: public hears the bad news rather than the
: good.
: Frustratingly, I find that almost no one is
: really concerned with facts - everyone has
: an agenda. Here are some of them: : Some
: people who've been diagnosed want to
: dispute that mental illnesses even exist
: so they don't have to take treatment; this
: despite the fact that others are
: desperately seeking care for their
: illnesses so they can resume a productive
: place in society. I say, stop disputing
: that the illnesses exist because that just
: ain't true. But do fight against
: unecessary or inhumane forced treatment.
: Psycho-analysts are still pushing the notion
: that schizophrenia is your own fault, or
: your mother's fault, or society's fault -
: it is a good financial move for them;
: similarly, general practitioners with
: almost no training in psychiatry are
: tapping a goldmine by prescribing
: psychiatric drugs to people who don't need
: them - also a good financial move. I say,
: hold psychoanalysts to the same scientific
: standards as other disciplines - don't
: allow imaginative "theories of
: mind" to dictate treatment
: principles. Also, make it a crime to
: casually dispense psychiatric medications
: for minor difficulties - the industry
: needs to police itself much more
: carefully.
: Psychiatrists are committing people who don't
: need it and shooting them up with haldol,
: while turning away people who are begging
: for help in fear their symptoms might
: cause them to harm someone. I say, every
: involuntarily committed patient should be
: met at the hospital by an independent
: observer and advocate who is trained to
: fight for good humane treatment when
: needed, and against treatment that isn't
: needed. I also say that anyone begging
: for help with psychosis should not be
: turned away.
: The media and tons of famous people are
: focusing on everyday depression, anxiety,
: and mild "witness" trauma and
: calling them "mental illnesses".
: Give me a break! These are NORMAL
: experiences not even approaching the
: cognitive, physical, and perceptual
: difficulties caused by schizophrenia,
: bipolar disorder, and major depression.
: These red herrings trivialize the real
: issue and distract us from helping those
: who really need it. Frankly, if one more
: successful female celebrity confesses her
: own depression as a way of becoming a
: spokesperson for the "mentally
: ill" I am going to pop! It doesn't
: help the cause! It just makes people with
: real illnesses look stupid and weak. I
: say, focus on clear-cut illnesses that
: have major negative impact and also have
: proven treatments. Stay out of the
: quagmire of minor/short-term life
: difficulties and vaguely defined
: illnesses.
: In summary, let's focus on the facts. Have
: treatment available for those who need it,
: use coercion where true danger exists but
: not where it doesn't, and stop trying to
: do social engineering through psychiatry
: or anti-psychiatry.
:
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: :
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