“Mental Illness Mostly Caused by Life Events Not Genetics, Argue Psychologists”

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According to psychologists, “mental illness is largely caused by social crises such as unemployment or childhood abuse.” If this is so, why are we spending so much money researching genetic and biological factors? “Of course every single action, every emotion I’ve ever had involves the brain, so to have a piece of scientific research telling us that the brain is involved in responding emotionally to events doesn’t really advance our understanding very much,” Peter Kinderman told the BBC.

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61 COMMENTS

  1. It is rather shocking that the majority of the mainstream medical community does not believe unemployment or child abuse can cause distress, but instead believes distress is the result of “chemical imbalances” in people’s brains.

    Especially given the reality that 2/3’s of all so called “schizophrenics” today are child abuse survivors.

    http://psychcentral.com/news/2006/06/13/child-abuse-can-cause-schizophrenia/18.html

    And the so called “gold standard treatment” for “schizophrenia,” the neuroleptics, are known to create the negative symptoms of “schizophrenia,” via neuroleptic induced deficit syndrome. And the neuroleptics can create the positive symptoms of “schizophrenia,” via neuroleptic or poly pharmacy induced anticholinergic intoxication syndrome. But the psychiatrists likely always misdiagnose these known adverse effects of the neuroleptics as “schizophrenia,” since “schizophrenia” is a a billable DSM disorder, and the neuroleptic induced syndromes are not.

    And this does imply it’s possible, even likely, that the number one etiology of “schizophrenia” today, is doctors misdiagnosing symptoms of child abuse as “psychosis” or “schizophrenia,” then profiteering off of turning child abuse victims into “schizophrenics” with the neuroleptic drugs.

    And what’s highly ironic about this is that an ethical pastor confessed to me that the religious leaders have been covering up child abuse, by having the psychiatrists misdiagnose, defame, discredit, and poison their child abuse victims, for decades. He called this “the dirty little secret of the two original educated professions.” Wonder why the religious leaders have known about this for decades or longer, but the child abuse profiteering psychiatrists are now claiming innocence or ignorance?

    “Oh, what a tangled web we weave…when first we practice to deceive.” Thank God for the web, and the brains to detangle the truth, albeit a very sad truth. And another Walter Scott quote, “Revenge, the sweetest morsel to the mouth that ever was cooked in hell.” Maybe sending people to a drug induced living hell, psychiatrists, will result in a desire for a little revenge?

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    • I used to call it “Iatrogenic Neuroleptic Pharmaceutical Cerebral Cognitive Impairment Malfunction”, but 7 words is just too long and unwieldy. So I shortened it to “Iatrogenic Neurolepsis”. That’s actually in my Medical Record, but I’m not sure the Nurse & Doc who put it there, really understood what they were doing, and what I was REALLY saying! “Iatrogenic Neurolepsis” puts the onus back on the quack shrinks, and defeats any allegations of the bogus “anognosia”, or whatever clap-trap psychobabble they call it! Because I’m admitting that I *did**take* the neuroleptic / “antipsychotic” DRUGS that they DID give me, and that they DID have a physical effect – which they DO – then how can they say I’m “in denial”? They can’t, because to do so is a logical fallacy, which is itself an irrational position, if one were to take that position! “Oh, what tangles webs…”, indeed!~B.

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      • Hi Bradford, I didn’t make up those neuroleptic induced syndromes. And the Japanese doctors are finally acknowledging the importance of recognizing NIDS.

        http://www.madinamerica.com/2016/02/researchers-call-for-reappraisal-of-adverse-mental-effects-of-antipsychotics-nids/

        And these are the central symptoms of neuroleptic induced anticholinergic intoxication syndrome, from drugs.com:

        “memory loss, disorientation, incoherence, hallucinations, psychosis, delirium, hyperactivity, twitching or jerking movements, stereotypy, and seizures.”

        Symptoms that look almost identical to the positive symptoms of “schizophrenia,” to the doctors. When I was being poisoned the worst, my psychiatrist’s medical records state he thought I had “the classic symptoms of schizophrenia.”

        And these are the drug classes known to cause anticholinergic toxidrome:

        “the four ‘anti’s of antihistamines, antipsychotics, antidepressants, and antiparkinsonian drugs[3] as well as atropine, benztropine, datura, and scopolamine.”

        Sadly, a list of drug classes almost identical to that recommended today to treat “bipolar” disorder. I’m quite certain this is why today’s “bipolar” patients are having such poor outcomes. Combining the antidepressants and antipsychotics is a dumb idea, since it’s already medically known to create “psychosis,” via anticholinergic intoxication syndrome. Which is an iatrogenic illness, not a genetic illness.

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        • Thank-you, “Someone Else”! I hope you didn’t misunderstand my comments above, to indicate that I thought you had “made up” “NIDS”.
          I’ve read many of your comments here, since I found MiA in mid-2015. You and I are pretty much in 100% agreement with how we see the pseudoscience lies of the drug racket known as “biopsychiatry”. It’s the “dirty little secret” of biopsychiatry that the DRUGS themselves cause the very “symptoms” of so-called “mental illness”. That’s what has allowed the DSM-5 to mushroom into over 300+ bogus “diagnoses”, and wrongly justify a multi-$BILLION DRUG INDUSTRY, with “Community Mental Health Centers” serving as retail-level drug distribution centers. MOST so-called “mental patients” are grossly over-drugged, on too many drugs, at too high doses, for far too long, with NO sufficient support network, or system in place. In a nutshell, that’s the racket, that’s the LIE. So-called “biopsychiatry” has done, and continues to do, far more harm than good. (Out of 35,000+ plus members, in the APA, yes, there are *A**FEW* “good” biopsychiatrists, but they’re few and far between. And, the fact that “APA” means either “Psychological” or “Psychiatric”, is just one more PROOF of this gigantic, pervasive and pernicious FRAUD.) What you call “NIDS”, and “anticholinergic intoxication syndrome”, is what I call “iatrogenic neurolepsis”. So, “Someone Else”, I’m pretty sure we’re saying pretty much the same thing, and that we’re mostly in complete agreement! Your comment reminds me that I need to buckle down, and get more “academic” in my “CME”. No, that’s NOT “coronal mass ejection”, that’s CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION! I wish you could have seen the look on my former MD.’s face, as he read the “Study 329” printout I’d just handed him! Please, please, correct me if I’m wrong here, “Someone Else”, my friend….~B./

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      • Thank you for the book recommendation, sounds interesting. Especially since the “psychosis” that resulted from my anticholinergic toxidrome poisonings were totally relevant to my life – which is the opposite of what psychiatry today claims about “psychosis.”

        While I was drugged I had, what I was later handed over medical proof, were the “voices” of the people whose lies resulted in my being drugged, in my head. I had been gas lighted by psychiatric practitioners to cover up their abuse of my children, and a “bad fix” on a broken bone, by a paranoid PCP.

        And, after been weaned from the drugs, I suffered from a drug withdrawal induced super sensitivity manic “psychosis,” which was actually an awakening to the story of my dreams. Which was a manic, but amazing tale, where I learned about the existence of the collective unconscious, how it was supposedly formed, it was an “awakening as one” story. And it continued into a tale about how I had earned eternal life, so it was a born again story, then it moved to God calling the final judgement. And to this day, my dreams are still about helping God with that, and honestly, I do hope the evil is taken off this planet, and “thy kingdom come, thy will be on, on earth as it is in heaven” soon. So I hope my dreams do prove to be prophetic some day. Who knows? Not the psychiatrists who believe in a “bible” of made up “mental illnesses.” Only God, the real Bible tells me so.

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  3. What’s easier is looking at what motivates people for what they do, rather than what they are doing. In this case its cheaper to develop a pill to deal with people who experienced abuse or unemployment, than actually address their concerns by talking to them in a compassionate by way of counselors whether professional or not.

    They just don’t want to pay for people who can’t work due to being unhappy, and want to steal their humanity with a pill. Keeping society functioning for the happiness of the rich, is better than caring about everyone else in the middle class and especially the poor.

    All these fancy words and phrases like problems with genes is a clever distraction to get away with not helping others wholeheartedly.

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  4. I somewhat agree with the above commenters on the whole “quick fix” thing for people hitting a rough patch in their lives. External causes such as neglect, abuse, poverty while they cause suffering – are things that prescription medication isn’t entirely right for. In those kinds of cases, you need non-drug therapy and counseling. HOWEVER, note that not everyone taking antidepressants, anti-psychotics, lithium for bipolar disorder, etc have been victims of physical or emotional trauma. While having a counselor or someone to talk to does help in most situations, there are plenty of legit cases where it is a chemical imbalance or something with a genetic or physiological component. I myself have long been a sufferer of depression, been clinically diagnosed for well over a decade now, and am taking medication to manage it. And I have NEVER in my life been brutally victimized in a fashion to cause trauma – ie beaten, sexually abused, raped, neglected, or living in extreme poverty conditions.

    And yet, I can hardly function in life without my meds. I will tell you right now, even still they aren’t “magical” and cure things 100%, but they definitely help for those that really need them. And I think it’s very insensitive to go around completely denying someone that has depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, etc – and god forbid telling a sufferer to “snap out of it” or something to that effect. Anyway, there are still plenty of people out there whose psychiatric condition doesn’t stem from external stress or abuse, and it is as much a disease for them as cancer or auto-immune disease is for others. I’m not trying to pick fights here, so much as saying be a little mindful, and realize that not everyone taking these drugs is on them because they “had a bum day at work”.

    But regardless, whether it is something “chemical” or because of abuse/neglect/stress, these people need our help, understanding, and love. Some may be able to heal, but others need the support to manage their conditions in the long-term – which may or may not involve prescription drugs.

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    • I agree, people who are distressed or depressed do need our help, understanding, and love. But that is not what psychiatrists tend to provide in their 15 minute med checks today, to be sure, loving compassion would hardly be possible in such a time frame. I’m glad you found something that helps you cope, Brit. However, those of us who were dealing with real life problems, not imaginary “chemical imbalances,” end up being made very sick by the stupidity fest of the “find the right drug cocktail,” “15 minute med check,” defame with an invented disease while denying and ignoring the real problem, that is today’s psychiatric protocol.

      To be certain, blaming a person’s healthy brain, then poisoning the person with mind altering drugs, while denying the root cause of any legitamate distress, is quite the opposite of behaving in a helpful, understanding, and loving manner. Turning a child abuse victim, into a “schizophrenic,” with the neuroleptic drugs, is quite the opposite of behaving in a helpful, understanding, and loving manner. Don’t you agree? But this is likely what happened to 2/3’s of all so called “schizophrenics” today, and God knows how many so called “bipolar” patients.

      The reality is the psychiatrists believe everyone needs pills, when in reality most just need to actually be treated in a helpful, understanding, and loving manner. Stigmatizing people with made up and scientifically invalid disorders, so their real concerns may be silenced, then torturing them with drugs, which is what psychiatrists do today, is 100% the opposite of treating someone in a helpful, understanding, and loving way.

      Although you are one who found a psychiatric drug helpful, and I believe most here know, some people do.

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    • Welcome to madinamerica, “BritW88”, and that’s an excellent first comment from you, to give us regular commenters here plenty of juicy material to sink our verbal teeth into. Your comment shows just how pervasively you’ve been brainwashed, and hoodwinked by the lies of the marketing arm of the Pharmaceutical industry, that old pseudoscience pack of lies known as “biopsychiatry”. Many of the statements you make – and which you assert to be true – are in fact false, and falsifiable. That is, they can be proven wrong. First, “lithium for bipolar disorder” has no confirmatory clinical research base to support it. (The whole argument about lithium carbonate vs. lithium citrate is too granular to go into here.) So-called “bipolar disorder” is an imaginary disease. It has no more legitimate reality existence than does Santa Claus, or the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy. It’s only an excuse to sell drugs, make money for PhRMa, and enforce the power and control of psychiatrists. And, you claim that there are “plenty of legit cases where it is a chemical imbalance or something with a genetic or physiological component”. Again, that’s a load of horse feathers, a bunch on ridiculous nonsense, and pure clap-trap gobbledygook. And psychobabble. There is NO such thing as “chemical balance” which can be measured by ANY chemical test. And “chemical imbalance” is equally BOGUS. OH? What’s the chemical test? There is none, is there? As for “genetic”, again, sorry, genes don’t work that way, and the new science of Epigenetics proves that daily. As for “physiological”, well EVERYTHING human has a physiological basis, so what’s your point? Your point is word games and nonsense. And as for “those out there” who “suffer” from a “psychiatric condition”, well, that’s an easy cure. Stop believing in the lies of the pseudoscience known as “biopsychiatry”, and your imaginary “mental illness” will BEGIN to be CURED.
      I’m so glad you ended your comment with a whole bunch of weasel words, conditionals, modifiers, and qualifiers. You’re as “depressed” as you are, because it serves some purpose for you. And the DRUGS you take, those little “antidepressant pills”, do more to maintain you as a sick person, than they can ever do to make you a whole, healthy, happy person. Go take a walk, or something. I can hardly wait for the rest of the crowd to chime in on the lies of the pseudoscience drugs racket known as “biopsychiatry” and it’s poison pills.
      (c)2016, Tom Clancy, Jr., *NON-fiction

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        • Thank-you, Robert. I do appreciate the validation. And, especially the links you’ve been posting. I only found MIA last year, but I got away (mostly) from the clutches of the pseudoscience lies of the drugs racket known as “biopsychiatry” over 20 years ago. As much as I try, it’s still difficult to express my thoughts here in simple, clear words. I’m aware that there are MANY folks reading here, and I’m trying to be as clear as possible for each of them. I eschew semantics-based arguments, and over-intellectualising. This was a particularly difficult post to reply to. I’m wondering if “somebody” a few comments above might actually be *paid* to post here, or if they are just a “true believer”. It’s looking more and more to me, that “biopsychiatry” is in reality a multi-leader CULT. I already KNOW that it’s a DRUGS RACKET. And the DSM-5? *D.ESIGNED**(to)**S.CAM**M.ONEY*…. LOL…..gimme 5/

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          • Just saw the comment suggesting that I may have been paid to post here. Haha, I WISH! On a more serious note, if any of you fine ladies and gentlemen can tell me how to actually delete my account, i’d be eternally grateful. Seems I can’t make a smooth exit from the site….

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      • You know I didn’t really have any plans to stick around here, except as a sufferer of so-called “fake illnesses” to drop off my internet two cents and leave. I found this article via the Yahoo front page, and read it because the topic is something very close to home for me. I most certainly did not come here to start a flame war or stir-the-pot, despite having the minority view.

        While I may not agree 100% with the comments so far, I at least appreciate that the other contributors to the discussion have been understanding enough to someone in need. So to those, thank you. As for the person telling me to “go take a walk” or that I actually GAIN something from my suffering? First off, THAT’s complete bullshit. Tell me, what DO I gain from this? Second, oh how I wish simply taking a walk, taking up macaroni art, or crossword puzzles would instantly “cure me of my “pseudo-illness”. I can though, however, say with honesty it is better than doing absolutely nada. Still, it’s not that simple, my friend.

        Third, completely overlooking the ass-backwards philosophy that used to leave people such as myself with 0 help of any kind – and often taking their own lives (and in some cases, the lives of others even), I am most definitely not brain-washed. No one forced, coaxed, or managed to convince me to take the medication. I can make informed decisions on my own, and am neither an idiot nor an infant, thank you very much.

        But you know, I can sit here all day arguing and/or trading blows with you, but what would that accomplish? Instead, I say this. God forbid you do become seriously ill – whether mental or physical, that you have a wide network of loved ones, friends, family, careworkers, etc for support in your darkest hours and times of need. And hopefully they don’t go about “spitting” on you for your illness, and attacking your intelligence and basic common sense while they’re at it. If it already has happened, then my heart goes out to you. Truly, it does.

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        • I absolutely AM going to reply and respond to you, “BritW88”. Based on your comment above, I was correct in assuming that you linked here from seeing this article posted on Yahoo!. And, I invite you to click on MY name, and read the short book which I’ve written in the forms of MANY comments here on “madinAmerica” the past few moths. That will give you a more fair and balanced perspective on my work here. Yes, WORK. I get “paid” by Social Security Disability, “EBT”/Food Stamps, and and it works out to almost a minimum-wage job with 40+years direct experience on my part. But enough about me. You can’t “start a flame war” with me, because I refuse to engage in verbal combat. I DO enjoy a vigorous discussion, but that’s different. Rest assured, your “minority view” is welcome here, but it will most likely be challenged. I can safely speak for most of the “regular crowd” here on MiA, that we DO value your input, and DO respect your experience. And, your characterization of me “telling you to go take a walk” is an incorrect interpretation of what I’m saying. One key MISTAKE in the so-called “medical model” of so-called “mental illness”, and even so-called “depression”, is that it’s some kind of BOGUS “brain disease”, or “chemical imbalance”. Both of those misunderstandings from the pseudoscience of biopsychiatry are LIES solely designed to SELL DRUGS. My suggestion of “walking, bicycling, swimming, Yoga, Tai Chi, Vipassana-style mindfullness meditation”, is meant to convey the larger TRUTH that most folks who “suffer” from “depression” CAN, and SHOULD be supported an encouraged to engage in deliberate physical activity, as part of an overall healthy lifestyle. ANYBODY who plays couch potato too many days, weeks, and months in a row is gonna get “depressed”, and become self-dis-empowered. “Antidepressants” will NOT fix that. And, in closing, I’d be glad to ramble on about the several near-death iatrogenic pharmacologic experiences, and the forced-drug TORTURE, the fraudulent criminal charges, the intentional infliction of emotional distress, the wrongful incarecerations, the abuse, the trauma, etc.,etc.,etc., that was inflicted on me by the LIES of the PSEUDOSCIENCE DRUGS RACKET known as “biopsychiatry.” But that would be redundant. Please accept my welcome invitation to enjoy your time here on MiA, to continue to read and post, or to go away and not come back. I want you to be a FREE, WHOLE, HEALTHY, and HAPPY PERSON. But all I can do now is click “Post Comment”….
          (c)2016, Tom Clancy, Jr., *NON-fiction

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          • Robert, I only pushed, because he pushed me. I have had no issues with anyone else here, despite not having an identical viewpoint. I don’t appreciate someone attacking me personally. I have no trouble reading between the lines at all with his post to know that that was what he was doing.

            Anyway, maybe I can take some of the blame – maybe I haven’t been clear enough thus far. But as I have stated, I agree with others and believe like they do that it is wrong to put someone on prescribed meds because they have been abused, lost their job and/or home, went though a nasty breakup/divorce. If someone is depressed, upset, distraught because of external forces such as those, they are NOT ill or with disorder. Those are natural things for folks to feel that way over. And I think any prescribing doctor that does is in the wrong. Yes, there are bad doctors out there, inattentive to patients, lazy, no real sense of empathy. It’s horrible that many here have had those kinds of experiences.

            But what i’m saying there are those of us out there (myself included) that have uncontrollable mood-swings, depression, hallucinatory episodes, what have you – that don’t come from any identifiable external sources such as the above. They’re not easy at all to pin-point, and often can lead to over or incorrect diagnoses. Maybe it’s genetic, maybe it’s chemical, or perhaps it stems from something else entirely. The field of psychiatry is not perfect nor infallible. I have never claimed otherwise in my posts.

            As for the prescribed meds, I can tell you from my personal experience that they do help me manage a bit better than if I were taking absolutely nothing. I have actively questioned my own meds at times, and have even gone off them experimentally to see if they were making any real difference. So it’s not like I’m an addict that couldn’t quite them or anything like that, or as Bradford probably pictures me “a junkie cult member”. I do think (not a brain-washed drone), and I do apply skepticism to both sides of this issue.

            As it stands, I do firmly believe that there are such things as mental illnesses and mood disorders. As someone with one, it sounded a lot like Bradford was being insensitive, and regressive-thinking as far as mental health issues go versus progressive. He was essentially telling me to “snap out of it”, which is not okay. Hence why I get upset with him.

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          • BritW88, for some reason the site is not letting me reply directly to your last comment (5:15). Thanks for your thoughtful clarification. As I said before, “snap out of it” is the worst thing one can say to someone suffering from emotional pain of any sort.

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          • To “Robert D. Stolorow”, and “BritW88”, thank-you BOTH. First, Robert, while I can respect your views and words, I can neither accept, nor claim, that “BritW88” either “trivialized”, or “caricatured” my words, or views. That’s not how I see it, anyway. But i *think* I get what you’re saying – I just wouldn’t put it in those words, myself. And, “BritW88”, I’m actually replying to your post below, but this was a s close to your post as I could post. OK, if you were “pushing back”, then I guess I have to admit that I DID give a GENTLE, careful little nudge! There’s PLENTY of ROOM for EVERYBODY here, let’s not get “pushy”, ok? ( lol )… And, please drop the whole “blame game”. I don’t “find fault”, or “blame”. Both lead to toxic guilt, and toxic shame, and neither are healthy. And, whatever it was that you “read between the lines” in my comments, was your own creation. Yes, I am challenging your *WORDS*, but I’m supporting YOU. See the difference?
            And, please do what I did earlier today, to clarify some points in another reply to another writer, on another website blog. Please go to (wikipedia), and carefully read the entry on “cognitive dissonance”. THAT is what I believe you may be experiencing. there are many ideas here on MIA, that, if I had encountered them 30 years ago, I would resist and reject them. Sadly, my own lived experience – and that of many of my friends, some of whom DIED, – has PROVEN to ME, that there is more truth here, than you will find from a psychiatrist, NIMH, or “N.A.M.I.”. Go to NIMH.gov, and read Dr. Thomas Insells’ final blog entry. There are NO “biomarkers” for ANY so-called “mental illness”. So-called “mental illnesses” are imaginary diseases, that were invented as excuses to sell drugs, and act as agents of social control and oppression.
            No, I’m not saying that you don’t suffer from serious distress, or that your concerns aren’t real, and I certainly don’t “picture you as a junky cult member”. I have far too much respect for you, to do that. Yes, If I DID think your’re a “junky cult member”, I’d come out and say so! Remember what I said about “cognitive dissonance”? I DO think that is SOME of what you’re experiencing. So, I’d ask, “What happened to you?” (You don’t need to give me an answer, I’m only GIVING YOU that question, to help you think about yourself, and hopefully arrive at some answers and conclusion, and UNDERSTANDINGS. Because, I do sense that to some extent, your distress is caused by your not fully understanding what’s going on with you. So please feel as safe as you can. You say that you needs “meds”, and that you find them helpful. Maybe so, and I won’t tell you otherwise. If you’re taking “SSRI’s”, they are alike enough chemically, to discuss as a group. PhRMa *LIED* about the “SSRI’s”, and you can google “Study 329”, when you feel up to a challenge to what your Doc. has probably told you. There are several types of “atypical” “anti-depressants”, also, and they DO have complicated effects profiles. And, the “extra-pyramidal” symptoms are part of that. I’m suggesting that your Doc. has not fully informed you, because your Doc. has not been fully informed. For you to be FULLY informed means that you will need to take responsibility, and seek out many sources of information, and make the best decisions you can. I want to EMPOWER, and EDUCATE you, as much as I can, here in these few words! You are certainly worth THAT! You’re free to believe in “mental illnesses”, and “mood disorders”, if you find that helpful. To me, those are just IDEAS, and CONCEPTS. They have subjective reality, but not objective reality. Also, it’s almost never a good idea to abruptly stop a drug you’ve been taking. The usual suggestion is to taper off, to avoid something like a “shock” to your system. What’s often happened, myself included, is we “go off our meds” abruptly, and a TOXIC WITHDRAWAL REACTION occurs, which can result in exactly the same “symptoms” as you’ve described. Dr. Kelly Brogan has an excellent site called “beyondmeds”, and a new book, and I can recommend BOTH. I’m sorry that you took my words to mean that I was “telling you to snap out of it.” That was NOT where I was coming from, and that’s not at all what I intended. But, yes, you do need to take some responsibility for your misunderstanding. Try the “mindfreedom.dot.org” website, also. You’ve stumbled upon enough reading material here, to keep you awake late at night for MONTHS, so don’t overdo it! I’m also a Buddhist who follows the Dalai Lama, so I DO HAVE a DEEP and abiding COMPASSION for you, and I only want you to be happy, and not suffer! Easier said, than done, right? I truly believe that you CAN find a life that is at least MORE FREE of whatever suffering you’ve experienced so far. Now, haven’t you been sitting staring at that little screen for maybe too long? Don’t you think you’d feel a little better if you stood up and did some gentle stretches, and got a glass of water, or herbal tea? Or called a friend? Or even took your meds? Yes, I mean what I say, and I’m serious about it, but I’m smiling because I DO CARE about you! ~B./

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      • I have a question, Bradford (and anyone else who wants to answer) do you think the rise in bipolar diagnoses is because of mood swings brought on by iatrogenic poisoning? Or is it profit motivated–you can sell more drugs for a “bipolar” cocktail than 1 or 2 antipsychotics for schizophrenia? Or maybe some other reason/s?

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        • Dang, “FeelinDiscouraged”, that’s a difficultly-worded question! I’m not 100% sure exactly what you’re asking, but I’d say the answer is *YES*. OK, yes what, right? Well, it’s complicated. There’s more diagnoses, because that’s what diagnosers do – they diagnose. And, new people get diagnosed faster than the older diagnosed folks die off, so over time, there’s more diagnosed folks. Yes, this is driven by GREED, and the profit motive. And a desire to control people. Label people. Hurt people. The pharmaceutical industry itself is a form of chemical warfare against a civilian population. Because the drugs are so widely, and negligently prescribed, we’ve got a lot more folks having various toxic reactions to their over-medication, which makes them look crazy, which re-enforces the whole scam…. Here at the local college, for example, recently they hosted a black, “bi-polar” lesbian, who shot out her girlfriends’ car windows with a gun, and she was also a fairly well-known professional women’s basketball player. Think about that. Never mentioned specifically what drugs she was given, or when, but alcohol and “drugs” were a central part of her story. And, from what I’ve seen, it’s fairly rare for a person to only get *ONE* prescription at a time. Regardless of the bogus DSM “diagnosis”. Does that answer your question?
          (Yes, sometimes some people do better on some small dose of some drug for some relatively short period of time. Normal human variability, and the vast array of drugs means, yeah, sometimes some is ok, for some. Sometimes….) The psych drugs are far more dangerous – and profitable, – than folks want to admit…. And far more dangerous than the quack shrinks & PhRMA *WILL* admit! ~B./

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    • Regarding “go around completely denying someone that has depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, etc”
      Yes people have profound sadness that can be called depression.
      Yes people can have rapid mood changes know as bipolar disorder, that may be due to the environment,hormones and what the eat.
      Yes people can have too much fear or too much worry otherwise know as anxiety.

      Yes people can seek legal drugs for these problems.

      The Nazis killed people in the belief their genome was defective. The only thing that can manifest from a genetic problem is a physical problem , not a mental problem.

      The current psychiatric belief of drugs for life is wrong and killing people, and shortening millions of peoples lives.

      The Nazis of today are looking for, but can not find, mental illness in the genome.

      It is all about following orders. If you are following orders, you are not mentally ill.

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    • When my beloved wife died in 1991, I medicated my overwhelming grief with vodka. The vodka eased my unbearable emotional pain, but a lack of vodka was certainly not the cause of it. Unbearable emotional pain is often wrongly equated with psychiatric disorder and then medicated.

      You are right about one thing: “Snap out of it” is the very worst thing one can say to someone suffering from overwhelming emotional pain!: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/feeling-relating-existing/201110/trauma-and-the-hourglass-time

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      • Unfortunately some “anti-psychiatry” people treat unhappy or grieving people that way.

        The only effective treatment I can think of for someone mourning the loss of a partner or child is to be allowed a full year to grieve openly with a good social support system set up (not some NAMI or day treatment/clubhouse nonsense.) To only allow someone to grieve for 2 weeks maximum shows a bizarre lack of empathy or compassion.

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    • I most definitely appreciate your perspective and do not want to in any way invalidate your personal experience. That being said, I think it’s important to remember that brutal trauma in the form of overt abuse is far from the only causal factor in the psycho-social arena. There are many, and I’d be one of them, who view our society itself as “diseased” and peoples’ reactions to the stress and insanity of modern society to be actually very normal and understandable given the craziness of modern life. For instance, the fact that we live in isolation from each other and are constantly moving away from our extended families and support systems and have no sense of connection to community is very unhealthy, even for those from a healthy family background. Having to work at a job away from your family, doing something relatively meaningless 8-10 hours a day in order to ‘earn’ a two-week vacation in the summer is not healthy. Expecting 5-year-old children to be separated from their parents and sit in a classroom with other 5-year-olds being “taught” things that may be of no interest and expected to behave in ways that are not appropriate to expect of a 5 year old is not healthy. These things lead to distress and ultimately to “mental illness” as defined by our current psychiatric community.

      There is solid research showing that people coming to the USA from another country have a wide range of varying health issues when they arrive, but within three generations, their offspring move solidly toward “American” health outcomes, including increasing diabetes and heart disease, and yes, increasing anxiety and depression.

      My big problem with the mental health system today is that such psycho-social stressors are not considered a valid topic for discussion. If a child can’t sit still in a standard Kindergarten classroom, s/he is diagnosed with “ADHD” and given stimulants to “help” him/her adapt to these abnormal circumstances, instead of altering the environment to meet the needs of the child in question. Similar comments can be made regarding “depression” as an adult. Are there kids who are genetically programmed to be more active? I’m sure there are. Are there people whose psyches are more attuned to the pain and oppression inherent in modern society? Absolutely, and I am one of them. I suffer bouts of depression, and they have been fairly severe at times in the past. I have attributed these to the poor “fit” between what society expects of me and who I really am. My solution has been to live my life in a way that gives me a maximum sense of purpose, while using meditation and other means to re-center myself when I am going down the depressive tubes. And I still suffer times of depression. Yes, I do. I don’t consider that a sign that my brain doesn’t work right, but more that I am aware of many things that others are able to more effectively pretend don’t exist, and that awareness is at times exquisitely painful.

      Again, that doesn’t mean your view of depression as inherent in your brain is wrong. What it means is that the psychiatric view that depression is inherent in anyone’s brain that “has depression” is not founded in science, and denies the huge impact of large-scale social forces that have been proven scientifically to induce depression in immigrant populations, as well as denying the impact of the individual severe trauma that you mention in your post. That’s what this forum is really about. Personally, I think everyone is entitled to define their problems in the way that makes sense to them, and to seek whatever solutions seem to work, including drugs if that’s part of your worldview. But that’s the exact opposite of what the “mental health” industry is doing. That industry has a vested interest in minimizing the impact of abuse, neglect, and social oppression and blaming individuals’ brains for every kind of mental/emotional distress that occurs. They do this will little to no evidence that their story is remotely true, and in contravention of good evidence that it’s a crock of hooey. Their story is only “true” because it’s been told over and over again, by people who have a vested interest in profiting from other peoples’ misery and in maintaining the current oppressive power structure that keeps us peons in our places.

      And yeah, that’s a depressing outlook. But that’s what I see as the current situation. Being cheerful about it would seem irrational to me. I see depression as a message that something needs to change, and the large number of depressed people in Western countries suggest that our society is in need of radical changes. Medicating large swathes of the population because they find modern society excessively burdensome is not a real solution, even when individual people may themselves find benefit in the drug options that are offered up.

      I hope that helps understand that the issues at stake here are much larger than the question of whether you or any other particular individual find antidepressants beneficial or even essential to your survival. We’re talking about a massive social mythology designed to disguise the real causes and possible solutions to the problems that plague our modern world. It is a very important issue that transcends any of our individual needs and feelings.

      —- Steve

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      • Thank-you, Steve McCrea, for a very powerful and well-written piece. And like you, I want to affirm all the other serious posts here, and the guts it takes to write from a person’s painful and difficult personal experience. there’s a couple of good points that you mentioned, that I want to add just a bit to. As for DRUGS, or “meds” for “depression”, that old LIE about the so-called “mental illness” of depression being “caused by a chemical imbalance of serotonin in the brain” is just that – a LIE. It was fabricated by the marketing arm of the drug companies, to go along with the so-called “medical model” of biopsychiatry. The whole point was to SELL DRUGS, and get people HOOKED on DRUGS for LIFE. That’s how ANY good drug racket works. Hook ’em while they’re young, and keep ’em hooked for life. There is no, repeat NO valid clinical evidence showing ANY “chemical imbalance”, and there’s no way to measure that “chemical imbalance”, anyway. If what I’m saying were not true, then some legitimate doctor would come on here and prove me wrong, with valid clinical studies. But such studies literally do not exist. The few studies that do, show that “anti-depressants” are rarely much better than placebos. A good strain of medical cannabis is a more effective short-term depression treatment than SSRI’s, which DO cause long-term changes to brain chemistry. And, there’s another reason that school kids are being put on methamphetamine-like stimulants such as Adderall and Ritalin.
        As demographics change, folks are having smaller families, with fewer kids. As jobs are shipped overseas, and good-paying factory and business jobs disappear, there’s less $$$$ in the economy for school budgets, and poorer taxpayers. Also, more school choice takes kids out of government monoploy public schools, leaving the poorer kids. These factors and more mean school budgets are stretched thin. What’s the solution? LABEL common childhood behaviors as ADD / ADHD, and DRUG them. Label them as “DISABLED”. Then, Federal $$$$ kicks in, and the schools can justify hiring more tutors, and “specialists”, and “support workers”. And, some parents are blatantly using drugs
        as BEHAVIOR CONTROL. Anybody else notice how in the past few years, we’re hearing new “weasel words” / psycho-babble about “behavioral health”? Have you heard the exact definition of this mysterious “behavioral health”? Me either….Why don’t the schools let the kids run around on the playground a little more? Wouldn’t THAT be better?
        To wrap up MY essay, let me share something that has helped me tremendously.
        Walking. Bicycling. Swimming. A LOT. A good long walk, especially in a park, or in the woods, is great stress relief, and has been PROVEN to release the brain’s “feel-good” chemicals, endorphins. It’s FUN, too, especially with friends or family members. And Yoga, which works with “Prana”, or breath energy, and Tai Chi, which works with “Chi”, or the physical nerve / muscle / electrical energy, are also BOTH excellent forms of self-therapy. But of course, the pharmaceutical industry, and medical industry, can’t sell you *EXERCISE*.
        As I write this, this post has almost 13,000 views, so a lot of people are reading about the BETTER TRUTH here, that so-called “mental illnesses” are NOT what you’ve been led to believe, and that there ARE better ways to live, than popping expensive, dangerous pills, and believing that your brain is “diseased”….
        Yes, your pain and distress is VERY REAL, but that doesn’t mean you have a bogus “brain disease”!…..
        (c)2016, Tom Clancy, Jr., *NON-fiction

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    • I certainly don’t support denying someone with a broken leg a crutch to walk on, or pain medication which is a whole other debate.

      Everything in life is about balance, as opposed as I am to anti depressants I still think they have a legitimate purpose for those in dire situations of abuse, unemployment, and even in your case where you’re just sad and have no reason for it. Maybe you look at all the horrible things and lack of compassion going on in the world and can’t be happy, and I understand that…

      That said today anti depressants are used exactly how you describe why you’re taking them, to ‘function’. I think if there was adequate resources (money), time (money), and most of all compassion (love) invested in people who can’t function they would eventually learn to function on their own.

      Unfortunately we live in an inpatient society where sadness is treated as a broken leg that will never repair itself, and will require a crutch immediately and for life in the form of anti depressants.

      Depression is not cancer or diabetes, and even those illnesses are treated rather than cured, because you can’t make money curing sickness.

      I’ll never tell you to get off anti depressants especially after you have become accustomed to the peace and safety they provide, but never give up on trying to find out what will bring you true happiness for your own humanity and soul, even if it means making a few people mad.

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      • I still think they have a legitimate purpose for those in dire situations of abuse, unemployment, and even in your case where you’re just sad and have no reason for it

        There’s always a reason for sadness. These seem like bad reasons to take drugs,

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        • There is always a reason for sadness or depression, but like I said many aren’t aware of the reason until someone with compassion talks to them about it.

          It may take a long time to find out whats causing deep sadness, in the meantime as the poster said she needs to ‘function’. Bills have to be paid, education has to be learned, imperfect relationships have to go on, life happens, and an anti depressant pill is the cheap fix in the absence of an adequate social safety net, for middle class and poor alike.

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          • I have no problems with using drugs to function. I do have a problem with posing that kind of solution as a medical treatment. Lots of people smoke dope or head down to the bar for a few brewskis after work as a means of improving their functioning. I don’t think they are receiving medical treatment, even if their “dosage” of beer were carefully controlled.

            Making ourselves feel better through substance use is as old as humanity. But it ain’t doctorin’. And pretending it is medicine is dangerous and diminishes the legitimate practice of medicine in other arenas.

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          • I think you are missing that all of medicine is treating illness, not curing it.

            Many illnesses are treated rather than cured, because that is how the medical community makes money or functions.

            Depression is just another illness as many others, that keeps society from functioning and is treated just the same.

            My point is insurance doesn’t cover alcohol or marijuana, even if used in moderation in a healthy way. The people who don’t treat their sadness that way, need to function with an anti depressant granted its a cheap fix that doesn’t cure their unhappiness..

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          • What is the difference between drinking as Robert did or using psych drugs to cope with emotional pain?

            My mom would have gone crazy if I had used beer or whiskey for my depression and anxiety in college. Looking back, I doubt getting drunk every other evening would have been worse for me than being drugged up continually. Yet the one was “evil” and the other “life-saving medication.”

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  5. From my forty years as a therapist here are my anecdotal views of the major causes of psychological distress:

    1. Loss
    of a loved one, of a job, of a house, of a lot of money, of your pet

    2 Loneliness
    see the article for which there is a link above. Also, loneliness leads to a lot of ruminations, self-incriminations, often a bit of paranoia

    3. Illness
    from a cold to cancer, if you don’t feel well, you don’t feel well. That’s also true if someone in the family is sick.

    4. Conflict
    in the family, in the neighborhood, in a war. Chronic fear and anger are never helpful

    5. Victimization
    Prejudice of any kind, racial, sexual, religious, gender, height, weight, being bullied for anything, for nothing,
    rape, molestation, abuse, any kind of trauma

    6. Stress
    It doesn’t have to be so dramatic, especially if it’s chronic. Having a bad boss, many deadlines, being late with the rent, your girlfriend is pregnant, your failing in school, you kid won’t go to sleep

    But it is also true that different people respond to these kinds of events differently. To a large extent that depends upon their previous experiences. Do they have successful coping skills? Do they have a solid support system? Have they recovered from these kinds of happenings before?

    Still, all people have different bodies, brains and minds, and some are just genetically stronger, both physically and psychologically. All of these factors interact, and the intensity of all of them varies from time to time.

    That’s what makes treatment so difficult. The underlying causes of the things we label as depression, anxiety, bipolar, etc. are all the result of complex interactions : What happens around you changes not only your behavior, but your brain, Those brain changes affect how you behave in different circumstances: fight or flight, go to work or go to bed, think fast or slow. Your behavior then alters the environment as others react to you, and so it continues.

    Will it be a problem if you stay our of work the day your dog dies? That depends upon your job, your boss, your mother, if you will get paid, or if you need the money. But if you go to work, and cry in front of customers, you will get fired. Then you will be unemployed, and stress about your bills, and soon you will be labelled as depressed.
    Someone may give you a therapist or a pill, but what would help most is someone who you can cry with, getting a better job, and a new dog.

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    • Other factors which might trigger a depressive episode include:
      * having either too much or not enough of something;
      * being trapped in an utterly hopeless situation with no way of escape;
      * remorse, guilt, shame, failure, disappointment, frustration, grief, heartache, pain or loss of some kind;
      * infestation of household pests such as termites or rodents;
      * omega-3 deficiency from not eating sufficient quantities of cauliflower and other vegetables;
      * leaky faucet, clogged drain or similar plumbing problem;
      * global economic collapse, thermonuclear war, mass starvation, genocide, etc.

      http://www.bonkersinstitute.org/asymptomatic.html

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    • I wouldn’t say the people who can function despite depression or sadness are genetically stronger, they are just better at ignoring their own humanity.

      I don’t say this to respond to an insult with an insult, but the truth is people who are sad and can’t function are just more emotionally aware of their own soul or humanity, than those who can function without real meaning in life.

      The world is a pretty sad place with wars, hunger, poverty, etc.. and you have to make yourself pretty inhuman to accept it and focus on just the good, much less not contributing to changing the bad.

      When I say people with depression can learn to be functional in society, I mean they can understand their humanity and bring it into society to make it their passion for living.

      People often forget their meaning of life, and just accept its about going through the motions of making money, paying bills, fostering traditional relationships, etc… without really looking deep into what is the meaning of their life and why they want to live.

      All those triggers for depression you mention are things that no one should be disabled from, unless you understand its much deeper than it appears.

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  6. I think this is going in the right direction. Painful and traumatic life experiences are par for the course. I’ve never known anyone to not have tough times to get through.

    I think that sometimes, like with childhood abuse, it’s not just the physical and emotional pain of the abuse that affects people. I believe on a deeper level, at the root of it all, are the underlying beliefs that are created from going through our early stages of human development in the position of family victim. Betrayal and sabotage are devastating feelings we carry around until we wake up to them and tell ourselves another story. Perspective is important to how we feel about ourselves, in our own skin.

    From the childhood trauma of growing up in a chronically unsafe and negatively mirroring environment, these feelings can become deeply embedded in our belief system, the neural pathways created from chronic invalidation and boundary invasion, which leads to feelings of powerlessness and utter lack of confidence, translating to despondence and rage. Indeed, this can haunt profoundly later in life, and most likely will. That would be our opportunity to heal it, rather than to continue repeating it. People do develop strong defenses, but they don’t hold forever. Eventually, our soul truth demands recognition, one way or another.

    So, depending on the example of our earliest caregivers, our ability to deal with crises as adults can vary quite a bit. Some are better prepared and can get through tough times with less angst than others, because they were raised with confidence, perspective, and permission to self-care. That is not universal in the slightest.

    We are born with inherent trust in our environment and intuitively seek good mirroring, support, and nourishment. When we do not get this, and instead become our parents’ emotional caretakers and the target of their frustrations in life, then we develop neural pathways which guide us to repeat these patterns later in unhealthy relationships, along with carrying around feelings of being unworthy and unsafe in the world. We also tend to self-punish a lot, there can be an inordinate amount of very toxic guilt to address and transmute.

    That can be extremely painful in our hearts, lots of anxiety from guilt that I feel we can release when we get a handle on our center, and know there is nothing about which to feel guilty. That’s a powerful double-binding tool used by abusive parents. Deep self-compassion is the best anecdote I know for this.

    These kinds of chronic underlying emotional burdens are the perfect recipe for mental confusion and emotional turmoil, what many people call ‘mental illness.’

    Thankfully, our neuroplasticity allows us to re-write this all in order to align with more affirming and self-validating beliefs. That’s good and hardy healing, and it significantly shifts our self-perception, so that we don’t repeat those early patterns, which always wind up being self-defeating. This is heart healing.

    I’m sure most of us know Einstein’s definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

    I like the idea that regardless of past abuses we tolerated, we can change all that in present time by being aware of our self-beliefs, and our choices.

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    • I agree wholeheartedly. Adults often don’t give kids credit for being able to make decisions about what things mean, but they do, and often very early, and we take these beliefs and assumptions forward with them into adulthood. Often we don’t remember WHY it is that we know something to be true, we just know that it is and that our survival depends on remembering this belief. We are often trying to prevent the recurrence of a dangerous situation from our early lives and are very committed t0 a particular way of acting that we think worked at the time. Of course, each person may respond differently to the same kind of stressors, so some decide that “you have to be careful around adults” while others decide that “you have to connect with a lot of different people, because you can’t count on any one person” while others may decide that “you have to attack anyone who crosses you.” But the common thread is that they have decided these things based on their early experience, and it is very difficult to change these deeply-held certainties that once might have meant life and death to us, or at least seemed to do so at the time.

      The more we recognize the NORMALCY of having behavioral and emotional defense mechanisms to fend off a difficult childhood environment, the easier it is to actually be helpful to someone who is trying to sort out what of their primitive defenses are still needed and when, vs. what they can now safely let go of as an adult who can fend for him/herself.

      Thanks as always for your insightful comments!

      —- Steve

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        • I agree, Steve, letting go of primitive defenses would be what I’d call maturing. Although I do think it’s important to feel permission to have them if they pop up, perhaps as a reminder that we’re human. Perfectionism is a huge chronic stressor, and so is pretending we’re perfect. No one will believe it, anyway, because it is unrealistic, so that’s one good way to end up with egg on your face, making it a good defense to drop right off the bat.

          Robert, I’ve been checking out your articles online. Your work is great, filled with compassion in addition to great insights. I will look at these more this weekend.

          Thinking about all of this has made me realize the one big shift in belief from childhood that distressed me on a core level more than anything, a real game changer. A big part of my stress, worries, and anxieties that at one point felt crippling to me, was the belief that I had to be some major recognized important successful person in the world to be worthy. No mystery to me where that came from. That was a lot of pressure, constantly buzzing in my consciousness, wondering at all times if I was ‘measuring up,’ by these arbitrary and artificial standards that had nothing to do with who I was as a creative being. It was programmed into me, as is often the case. The alternative was shame and feelings of failure, no middle ground.

          My healing was based on a new goal–to be HAPPY in life, to feel relaxed and at peace. Well, from where I was coming, that was no easy feat, but I did make it my goal. It’s not always easy to feel happy, or even centered, as we all know, but at least these goals seemed so much more appealing and realistic to me than needing to “be somebody.”

          I think when we are ok with ourselves, in general, we don’t need glory and constant outside validation, that can be a trap. It is relieving and self-soothing to self-validate in such a chronically negative and invalidating society. We just need to be at peace with ourselves, regardless of anything. Something I never learned until I was in my 40s, this is not the example shown to me. Yet to me, that is personal security and well-being.

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