Posted by RH on November 9, 2004, at 18:27:33
In reply to Re: Does Mental Illness Exist? - Yes, encore!, posted by dj on October 30, 2000, at 23:01:34
This study (below), cited by a member of this discussion board who believes that mental illness does exist, actually proves very little if anything, except that it shows how constrained thinking allows individuals to form conclusions that they "beleive" to be based on the evidence, when in fact they are not.The nature of the discussion in the article referenced betrays the constrained thinking. Here's the problem: No mention is given as to the exact series of events that lead to depressed type inattention. Someone reading the article from another galaxy would be led to beleive that the depressed persons mind is intermittantly turning on and off, literally going from thought to non-thought, while the "normal" persons mind is always on.
(It is almost impossible to turn off thinking. It is the goal of Zen meditation to acheive this state. Few Zen practitioners actually achieve this, (if they can do it with regualirty they are a Zen master) although the striving in Zen for such levels of mind control seems to be very beneficial to it's practitioners)
No mention is made of what we actually know, namely that the depressed person's mind is spinning, devoting most of it's processing time to things in the category of worry, self-doubt and resentment. These are psychodynamic issues.
The various anti-depressants achieve their effects of relieving symptoms by retarding spinning thoughts. Then the mind has more processing time to devote to will directed tasks, which usually are tasks performed in compliance with someone else's will (like your boss, or your annoying spouse, or your domineering manipulative mother, or some aspect of the capital/industiral system that values you only for your labor and directed attention)
Just because a neurotoxin can retard some negative thoughts, in no way does that suggest a cure. The causes of the doubt, worry and resentment are still "in there". Your pleasure seeking and pain avoidance are still operating to help generate confusion in your mind. All the literature, philosphy and art of the world has not been automatically instilled in you with your favortie psychotropic, which is not unlike marijuana or heroin. If you were an ignorant fool before you saw a pdoc, you are still one after you start your prescription.
So by the non-inclusion of the psychodynamics of the situation in the referenced article, we can conclude some kind of hidden agenda, as all deception has a hidden agenda. The hidden agenda may also be hidden from the researchers themsleves, especially if they don't question the validity of the capitalist/industrialist organization of society, and also if they are enjoying a certain amount of pleausres by their participation in the "system". (Yes, people are not all that more complex than lab rats, ask any advertising exec)
In fact, note the choice of balancing a checkbook as a "theme" of the research. Do I need to elaborate?
Then there is the ubiquitous claim that mental illness is not a character flaw, or weakness. In fact, the article claims to prove that statement, when in fact it did no such thing. For instance, no definition of character or strength was given, which would have to be established in order to show that something was or was not flawed or weak.
An objective view shows that what some call "mental illness" is a weakness of the mind - just as diabetes is a weakness of the pancreas. The word "weak" has to do with power, and with will. So to even begin to understand the concept of "weakness" one has to underestand power and will. I can't take the time now to explain these things.
But here's an example that may help: In a power hierarchy, like Western society, individuals and organizations are constantly vying with each other, to take things from each other, and to get others to do things for them. When you can't balance your checkbook, you will likely have NSF charges imposed by your bank when a check bounces. In that case, your bank has taken something from you. The amount they collect on an NSF does not just cover their expenses for handling your bad check, it also includes a profit. Thus, you lost the tug of war because you were weak. Does anyone really think that biologic psychiatry will ever convince the banking industry to refund such charges because you had a chemical imbalance? (Of course, some of you will fantsize that his may one day come to pass. Fantasy is another sign of weakness)
As far as the term "character flaw" goes, well, that is a value judgement. There is no ablsolute definition of "character". Thus, anyone who applies the phrase "character flaw" to another is niether right, nor wrong, excpet within that person's own context. If you need that person, or they exert some control over your life, then the label sticks to you. If you are independent of that person, the label bounces off.
Note that much of the money that pays for anti-depressants and mood stabilizers comes from the insurance companies and government. It is money that is redistributed from the general population to the "mentally ill". All those who "like" these drugs, including psychiatrists, will see this as morally correct. But this is simply "Slave morality", as in the final analysis all morality is concerned with power, actually Will To Power. You think it is "morally correct" that you should ("should" is a guilt word) get your various drugs, and that others should pay for them. Of course you think that , because it is self-serving. (The psychiatrists like you on these drugs as well, becuase then you are not so intolerable to be around.) "Slave morality" descibes how a group posits good and evil to serve their own needs/desires. To understand this, read Friedrich Nietzsche's "Geneolgy of Morals" and "Human, All Too Human" and his unfinished work "Will To Power".
I have yet to meet anyone who has been "cured" by their psychotropic drugs. They continue to struggle, and become dependant on the drugs. Those of you who are in such a condition are "the weak", by definition. You are easier to take advantage of by those with the will to do so. For instance, it is easier to induce most of you to consume more sugar, fats and alcohol. You will buy something to make yourselves feel better - why shouldn't you treat yourself, after all? Many of you have debt problems. Thus you are parted from your money and you recieve nothing of value in return. See how it works? Now, on the count of three, Wake up. One...two...
> July 27, 2000 (35)
> Nursing study: depression inhibits memory, concentration
>
> ANN ARBOR---New research by a team of researchers from the University of Michigan School of Nursing confirms what health-care professionals suspected about depression: it inhibits short-term memory and directed attention, or concentration.
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> Up until now, researchers who study depression, and therapists and physicians who treat people with depression, did not have a sensitive measure to assess the subtle changes in memory or attention in the early stages of depression in patients. Yet patients regularly complain of having memory problems and having difficulty concentrating. U-M researchers were interested in learning more about memory and attention impairments in depressed patients. When do the symptoms strike? What are the early signs?
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> "Prior to this study, my colleague Bonnie Hagerty and I conducted a study that examined the early signs of depression. We were struck by the number of people who said that one of their earliest symptoms was lack of concentration. One of the clients said that she knew she was getting into trouble with another episode of depression when she began to make a lot of errors in her checkbook," said Reg. A. Williams, a U-M associate professor of nursing who is senior author of the study that appears in the May issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research. The study is co-authored by Hagerty, a U-M associate professor of nursing who specializes in depression.
>
> The research is based on a series of computer-based and written tests. The tests measured directed attention---which is the ability to focus on the task at hand---and short-term memory, the ability to recall an event that happened within two minutes.
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> The researchers studied 52 people over a 10-week period. There were 25 people in the group diagnosed with depression and 27 in a comparison group of people without depression. They took five written tests and six computerized tests that were given three times over the course of the study.
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> Of the 25 in the depressed group, 12 were receiving drug therapy and counseling, while 13 managed their symptoms by relying on self-administered stress reduction techniques, such as yoga or an herbal remedy.
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> Some of the test results clearly showed memory and attention impairments.
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> In a computer-based test that measured ability to balance a checkbook, 67 percent of the depression group made errors at the start of the study compared with 48 percent in the comparison group. By the end of the study, both groups made the same number of errors, which, Williams said, clearly indicated progress.
>
> All test scores for those in the depression group improved over time, which Williams attributes to the lifting of depression under drug therapy and counseling. However, he also noted that depressed clients worked harder to compensate for memory and attention impairments. Their desire to succeed---even under the cloud of depression---didn't affect their desire to perform well.
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> In scientific terms, having difficulty with short-term memory and concentration are often considered prodromal signs of depression, or early signs of depression. The symptoms can suddenly creep up on people, most of whom don't recognize them as precursors of depression.
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> "Our findings reinforce the fact that depression is an illness and not a character flaw or a weakness. It affects your ability to think. When you suffer from depression, people think it just affects your mood. Our study clearly shows it does more than that: It affects your cognitive ability," said Williams.
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> The study was funded by the U-M's Center for Enhancement and Restoration of Cognitive Function and the U-M School of Nursing.
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> Other co-authors include:
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> Bernadine Cimprich, Ph.D., R.N., associate professor of nursing who specializes in directed attention.
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> Barbara Therrien, Ph.D., R.N., associate professor of nursing specializing in neuroscience.
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> Research assistants Esther Bay, M.S.N., R.N., and Hiroaki Oe, M.S.
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>
>
poster:RH
thread:47722
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041108/msgs/413975.html