Failing Education

At annual convention, psychiatrists collaborate on mental disease mongering to boost profits

beststartforkids Failing Education

by Monica G. Young

While sipping drinks from coconut shells, psychiatrists from around the world recently met in Honolulu to discuss more ways to capitalize on human behavior and promote drug dependency. The occasion was the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), held in a Hawaiian convention center lined with mental disorder displays and pharmaceutical booths.

“Hot” topics (potential markets for social control and drug pushing) included:

1) Mental health issues during a woman’s reproductive cycle, such as “treating” pregnant women for bipolar – a disorder said to cause unusual shifts in mood and energy levels. In speaking to Medscape News, an APA committee co-chair, Dr. Don Hilty, called this “a really nice-growing area.”

Yet most every woman experiences mood and energy shifts duringpregnancy. Despite this, it is not uncommon for pregnant women to be diagnosed as bipolar and prescribed antipsychotics, some of the most powerful drugs on the market. Even the FDA website alerts doctors to “be aware of the effects of antipsychotic medications on newborns when the medications are used during pregnancy.” The site warns of abnormal muscle movements and withdrawal symptoms, and the FDA’s adverse effects reporting program (Medwatch) includes cerebral hemorrhage, heart malformations and death as documented reactions in newborns. Similarly, studies show birth defects and other serious risks for infants whose mothers took antidepressants while pregnant.

2) Childhood disorders were a particularly popular issue at the convention. But they didn’t stop there – prenatal and newborn genetic screening for mental illness has taken on new emphasis in the psychiatric world. “It’s also trying to understand how genetics predict what medications can be used,” stated APA’s Dr. Hilty.

Having already labeled millions of kids “abnormal” and drenched their brains in toxic substances – a multi-billion dollar business – apparently they aren’t satisfied. They aim to brand children as mental patients and destine them for drug-dependency before they’re even born.

The conference even touched upon electroconvulsive shock therapy (ECT) for children – sending electric volts through their heads. That will teach ‘em to shut up and sit still! It will also cause permanent brain damage.

3) ADHD is usually promoted as a childhood disorder but a team ofpsychiatrists proposed a new definition to make it easier to diagnose (and drug) older teens and adults. They claim people who tend to miss work deadlines and interrupt others deserve this label.

This would surely lead to millions more on daily meds. Who doesn’t know co-workers who miss deadlines or even friends who interrupt you? Not emphasized however is that, per a study published in The Clinical Neuropsychologist, one in four adults seeking an ADHD diagnosis fake it to obtain stimulant drugs.

4) Capitalizing on America’s service men and women was another hot one: diagnosing and drugging the military for post-traumatic distress disorder,depression and anxiety.

Did they mention that 18 U.S. veterans commit suicide daily, largely due topsychiatric drugs? Not likely. As reported by Neev M. Arnell in NaturalNews, “the increasingly high number of deaths among both veterans and active duty soldiers-including suicides, accidental overdose, and lethal drug interactions-have now been linked to the exponential increase in the prescribing of drugs for post traumatic stress disorder, depression and other psychological illnesses.” (http://www.naturalnews.com/032598_v…)

5) Anticipating the “silver tsunami” as the Baby Boomer generation moves into the over-65 bracket, psychiatrists stressed the need for more psychiatric services for the elderly.

Not stressed, if mentioned at all, is the rampant over-use of psychiatric drugs in nursing homes. Elderly patients’ reactions to physical ailments are often squelched with mind-altering drugs. And a recently released government audit shows nearly one in seven elderly nursing home residents are given antipsychotics – nearly all of them dementia patients for whom the drugs can be lethal. Many lawsuits and settlements have revealed that drug companies have falsely promoted these drugs to doctors and nursing homes for years.

6) While not on the “hot” list, another issue that bit was bedbugs. A New Yorkpsychiatrist and his colleagues presented a detailed study showing bedbugs can trigger anxiety.

What a remarkable – and potentially profitable – discovery! Gee, with the rise in bedbug infestation in New York City, maybe Bedbug Anxiety should be included in the next edition of the DSM (psychiatry’s diagnostic and billing bible).

Father of psychiatry – the bloodletter

The American Psychiatric Association calls itself “the voice and conscience of modern psychiatry.”

Adorning the convention hall was the APA logo which enshrines Dr. Benjamin Rush (1746-1813) as the father of psychiatry. A very influential doctor, teacher and statesman of his time, Rush propagated his theory that Blacks suffered from an inherited disease called “Negritude.” The only evidence of acure, he said, was the skin turning white. He warned, “whites should not intermarry with them, for this would tend to infect posterity with the ‘disorder.’” Whites, seeking not to be “infected,” used this fabled disease to justify segregation.

Rush was also a chief proponent of bloodletting as a cure-all for mental and physical illnesses. Widespread in America in those days, he made lots of money at it. One of Rush’s students applied his teachings to a patient who complained of a sore throat: nine pints of blood were removed from the man’s body in twenty-four hours and he died. That patient was George Washington, the first President of the United States.

Sources for this article include:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle…

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle…

http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/…

http://healthland.time.com/2011/04/…

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/h…

http://www.jstor.org/pss/985399

http://www.websters-online-dictiona…

http://www.cchr.org/cchr-reports/cr…

About the author:
Monica G. Young is a human rights investigator and educational writer with a purpose to expose the truth about the pharmaceutical and psychiatric industries and safeguard human liberty. She encourages non-drug alternative approaches based on healthy lifestyles and human decency. She supports the Citizens Commission on Human Rights and like-minded groups.

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Madness: These statistics could qualify tantrum-throwing children as mentally ill

beststartforkids Failing Education

In an effort to help parents “take the guesswork out of when to worry” about their children and rush them in for screening and treatment, researchers are ready to tell you that your tantrum-throwing kid is mentally ill. To “characterize the emergence of mental health problems” and “chart the progression from normal to abnormal” behavior, a National Institute of Mental Health sponsored study offers the following pathetically weak statistics.

In an effort to help parents “take the guesswork out of when to worry” about their children and rush them in for screening and treatment, researchers are ready to tell you that your tantrum-throwing kid is mentally ill.

To “characterize the emergence of mental health problems” and “chart the progression from normal to abnormal” behavior, a National Institute of Mental Health sponsored study offers the following pathetically weak statistics.

These stats are intended to suggest that your child may be developing a mental disorder. I couldn’t help but insert my own commentary in italics after each one.

If your child throws tantrums:

…with an adult who was not their parent, such as a babysitter or teacher (36 percent of tantrum-throwing children)

Really? More than one third of tantrum-throwing kids do this and you are calling it abnormal? Sounds pretty desperate.

…during which they broke or destroyed things (28 percent)

I remember becoming so angry once when I was five that I punched a window and it shattered. After my mother checked to see if I was OK, she informed me that I would be paying for the window by doing chores around the house. Took me a month to pay it off. I never punched a window again.

I guess these old school solutions won’t do anymore. Better to take your kid off to a psychiatrist for meds. He might have a window punching disorder.

…”out of the blue,” or for which parents could not discern a reason (26 percent)

Yeah, parents failing to understand why a child is upset means the child has a mental disorder. This is just sick.

…that lasted an unusually long time (26 percent)

Vague. Come on, guys. 15 seconds is a long time to deal with a screeching child.

…during which they hit, bit, or kicked someone else (24 percent).

Seriously? Children hitting, kicking and biting can be considered a mental disorder? I remember our twins, now 12, used to bite each other like a couple of puppies. Now, they are happy, well-adjusted, straight A students. We dealt with the biting by intervening as best we could. They grew out of it.

By the way, kids naturally grow out of things, even without psychiatric intervention. Imagine that!

“Our goal was to provide a standard method that would take the guesswork out of ‘when to worry’ about young children’s behavior and to provide a more developmentally sensitive way of characterizing the emergence of mental health problems, moving away from traditional approaches emphasizing extreme clinical distinctions to a dimensional approach that charts a progression from normal to abnormal,” said Lauren Wakschlag, one of the principals in the study.

Yes, they want to ensure you watch your child progress from normal to abnormal. The problem is, they have clearly labeled normal behavior as abnormal.

If your child throws tantrums, consider the following:

Maybe it’s you, the parent

In 20 years as a coach and counselor, I’d say only 5% of parents come in and present the following:

My child is misbehaving and I am concerned that I may not be adequately meeting his needs, so I’d like to discuss how I might become a better parent.

95% of parents present something like:

Here’s my kid – please fix him. When should I come back?

Sorry, this is not an automobile repair shop. You can’t drop your kids off for a tune up while you head over to Starbucks. I always required my parents to be the center of their children’s counseling process.

Maybe its just life

Think for a moment about something that the vast majority of mental health professionals do not understand.

From the womb onward, life is a series of challenges. In the womb, we experience warmth and security and oneness. The universe is us and we are the universe. Fetuses are true (and innocent) megalomaniacs.

From there on, separation and loss is the name of the game. We separate from the womb. We lose our inherent sense of oneness by learning that others and the world exist apart from us. We lose instant gratification when we don’t get fed right when we are hungry, or get what we want when we want it. We lose control – other people tell us when to eat, sleep and even when and where to poop. Lines are drawn. Punishments are given for crossing them.

Ultimately, we separate from our families, fantasies, some of our dreams, and eventually, our own lives. Life is tough.

This is all normal, though. It is just life.

So are childhood tantrums. In fact, they make perfect sense, all things considered. As parents, let’s help children through the tough spots, no matter how tough they are. It is part of life. Psychiatric drugs do not need to be.

Mike Bundrant is co-founder of the iNLP Center and host of Mental Health Exposed, a Natural News Radio program.