Posted by hyperfocus on August 25, 2010, at 1:37:11
In reply to Lou's reply-chemlobo » hyperfocus, posted by Lou Pilder on August 24, 2010, at 17:10:07
http://www.newswithviews.com/Ellison/shane161.htm
"Antidepressants strive to increase the levels of a coping molecule known as serotonin in the brain. It supposedly helps us find happiness when its covered in an avalanche of nastiness. But, its never been proven. Still, the drugs attempt to boost serotonin by selectively stopping the reuptake among brain cells. This is where the whole SSRI acronym came from selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Its a slick name, but a stupid idea. Nothing is selective in the body"
"Psychiatrists prescribe antipsychotic meds such as Zyprexa and Seroquel, for anything from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, delusional disorder, psychotic depression, autism or anything else they can think of, even pervasive developmental disorder, which is perfect for boosting sales because it targets children who suffer from irritability, aggression, and agitation. Its a shame cause these drugs are good for nothing but sedating irate elephants, not curing psychiatric disease."
"While people can suffer miserably from emotional or mental duress that can hinder their lifestyle, the pseudo-science of psychiatry has yet to solve any of these problems, and in fact only contributes to poor health as seen by the wide array of side effects."
Shane Ellison might be a chemist but it's pretty clear he has a very superficial undestanding of psychiatric illness and psychiatric medication. Mental illness does not "hinder" anybody, it completely shuts down a person's mental functioning to the point where the most basic and primal instinct - self-preservation - is overriden. The idea that happiness can be found in a pill and that antipsychotics are merely heavy-duty tranquilisers is the same drivel that any layman with his own agenda would spout. Ellison is basically in the same camp as Lehmann - he refuses to allow that psychiatric diseases are just as real as cancer or HIV and posits that psychiatric treatment is some kind of sham - pursuing some other agenda. Is this your view also Lou? Do you believe that all the folks on PB can just snap-out of it, pull up on their bootstraps or think positively?
The points I'm making Lou are:
1)Psychaiatry is devoted to treating a real and very serious illness. Without treatment, sufferers of major depression, psychosis, bipolar, anxiety...are reduced to shells of human beings and and a great many will take their own life. Lifestyle changes and counseling can help some but many they cannot. For these people, drugs are a major component of treatment. I'd think spending all this time on PB would have shown you that.2)Psychiatric treatment is very immature, but it is getting better. The superfical descriptions of what psych drugs are provided by Ellison and Lehmann are incredibly shallow and completely wrong. Ellison's dire warnings can be cut out and applied to drugs which treat pretty much any major chronic disease. If you can, find me a drug for cancer or HIV which don't have at least as many side-effects and warnings as Ellison condemns psych drugs for.
3)Let's assume that your figure of deaths "from psychiatirc medicine" is true. Then how many hundreds of thousands of people all over the world will die if no psychiatric treatment were available? I know I would be in that figure.
4) I still don't know what this has to do with supercessionism and faith :) Could you clarify ?
hf
poster:hyperfocus
thread:958978
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20100403/msgs/959738.html