My name is Sandra. I aspire to hopes and dreams just like everybody else. I’m a hardworking woman, taking great pride in my manual labor jobs that keep me physically fit. Because of my love for the great outdoors, my dream is to eventually work in the Parks and Recreation Department in some capacity. I highly value my integrity, honesty and creativity. I am friendly, social and active. I’m fun-loving, inheriting my father’s dry sense of humor, sense of adventure and gift of gab. I inherited my mother’s love of nature, independence and self-sufficiency. I strive to fulfill my American Dream: cherishing my children beyond words, looking forward to my life with them, them with me, settling down with a husband somewhere in a small country home with a few horses, flower beds, a vegetable garden and cats galore. I do not expect nor want anything fancy. My goal is to live a very simple life. I’m ambitious, goal driven and highly motivated, making sure I accomplish my dreams.
But, that was my previous life.
That was before my dreams were shattered by psychiatric labels and drugs. The mental health system displaced me from my normal life, forcing me to live on the other side of the tracks, pushing me to the fringes of society.
Over thirty-five years ago, at the age of 22, my local community mental healthcare system gave me a life sentence. By then, I’d been living with PTSD for years following two violent rapes. The first rape was at knifepoint when I was 13 years old, the other at 19 when I was kidnapped and taken to a cemetery for the night by two unknown men. Both experiences were terrifying. I was also trying to adjust to living with my new abusive, alcoholic husband that I did love. So, I sought out the guidance of a psychiatrist, in whom I put my utmost trust. Instead of the help I anticipated, the psychiatrist labeled me with bipolar disorder, telling me that I had a chemical imbalance in my brain. I quickly found out that the minute you sit down in the chair in a mental health professional’s office, you’re no longer seen as a person. The mental health system is incapable of seeing past the solid wall of your current label. Their only cure is drugs.
Little did I know that the drugs I was prescribed during that visit would change the entire course of my life. Due to the severe side effects, adverse effects and continuous withdrawal symptoms I experienced from at least 60 different medications and rounds of ECT doctors used to treat the ‘diseased’ mind they said I had, for decades, my entire life was stuck in the revolving door of psychiatric hospitals, intensive care units, police stations, jails, burn units, alcohol treatment centers and AA meetings. My twin sister was the only relative that ever helped me. She often flew to Michigan from Florida to help me care for my five-acre property after I became too disabled to do it myself, when I had always taken great pride in doing it myself before. Only rarely did I ever experience true peace.
During the third decade of being stuck in that unrelenting revolving door of hell, Klonopin was introduced into the mix after I developed insomnia due to the Ritalin prescribed to treat my drug-induced depressions. What I didn’t know, nor would any doctor tell me, was that my life was about to go from bad to worse. That I would be in for the fight of my life. I’d already survived two intentional drug-induced comas trying to escape my endless suffering. Into my second year of taking Klonopin, my anxiety actually increased until panic attacks set in and I was no longer able to leave my house. I developed agoraphobia, which I had never experienced before. My crippling depressions, chronic fatigue, insomnia, and suicidal thoughts and behavior intensified. I developed sinus problems, watery diarrhea, urinary problems and intense migraines, and I increased my alcohol intake to combat the side effects until I became a full-blown raging, violent alcoholic. Over these years, I was no longer a wife to my husband, but had become his patient. This eventually destroyed my eighteen-year marriage; he finally walked out and never looked back. Every day, I hated God for keeping me alive.
After eight years of suffering on my medications, along with my recent overdose, in which I emptied yet another bottle of Klonopin in combination with a fifth of vodka in an attempt to escape from the living hellish nightmare I found myself in, I decided that enough was enough. The mental health system had never addressed my suicide attempts; they just kept prescribing the drugs to do it with. So, I thought I would take things into my own hands.
I’d been attending classes at my community mental health center for exactly a year, so I knew my mental health-care workers well and had good rapport with them all. They came to my tidy, comfortable, country home weekly to refill my medication box, where we often sat at my kitchen table and chatted. It was here where my drug and alcohol addictions specialist informed me it should be “just fine” to stop taking my Klonopin if I wanted to do so, without mentioning one single withdrawal symptom I might experience. So, with his permission in addition to the blessings of my DBT teacher and my therapist, I in fact did just that. I quit my Klonopin cold turkey, and I was proud of myself for making what I believed was a positive life-changing decision to end my addiction to this drug.
Within two weeks, bizarre symptoms appeared. My anxiety levels became so high I could no longer drive. The only way I can describe this is that time and space themselves became too difficult. Severe paranoia set in, and I felt like I was high on acid. Every window in my house was covered with blankets due to my light sensitivity. I couldn’t eat, bathe or care for myself in any sense of the word. I was sweating profusely and had chills at the same time, and I experienced pounding migraines so painful it felt like my head was in a vise twenty-four hours a day. Confusion, hallucinations, vivid nightmares, delusions, obsessive/compulsive thinking and depersonalization set in. I couldn’t walk without bouncing off the walls. Panic attacks and fear of dying haunted my every waking moment.
My mind had become the enemy. I could not process any incoming information of any kind anymore. Not TV, radio or books. Therefore, I lived in torturous silence. I hid in my bedroom under the covers, hallucinating that my skin was crawling. All I could do was sit and cry. I prayed for a gun to kill myself with every second of every minute of every hour of every day until they melted into weeks.
I had no idea why I was losing my mind, going insane, and no one would tell me. I saw my workers every week, who blamed me for my symptoms: “It’s your Bipolar resurfacing,” “It’s because you’re an alcoholic,” “It’s your Borderline Personality Disorder,” “It’s because you’re not trying hard enough to be well.” Blame the patient. Always, at all costs — blame the patient.
As I became more and more psychotic, I lost my sense of what time was. It didn’t exist in my world. I no longer knew that a piece of paper was a piece of paper. I no longer knew how to empty an ashtray, eat or drink water. I no longer knew how to talk. I lost my ability to do things most people take for granted. My ongoing seizures weren’t even the worst part; my terror-stricken psychosis was. It felt as if time and space had begun crumbling in on itself, with no way out of this nightmare. I found myself living in utter panic and endless pain, alone.
I was refused access to my psychiatrist not once, but twice, by my therapist. She said, “Sandy, you have to wait until your next appointment three weeks away.” I informed her, “I’m not going to last that long.” And I didn’t. I ended up in the psychiatric hospital shortly thereafter, after repeatedly stabbing myself in the leg so I could feel something, anything, other than the mental torture I was going through at home alone.
Upon release from the psychiatric hospital, my withdrawal symptoms resumed full force. I went five straight days with no sleep whatsoever, after which my body began shaking uncontrollably and I couldn’t make it stop. Catatonic, I somehow drove myself to the emergency room. I now know what utter insanity feels like, and I shouldn’t. Not one worker on my team believed a single word I told them as my life slowly descended into pure hell. Not then, during or after. Especially my therapist. Her words to me were, “Sandy, you wouldn’t have experienced what you did if you wouldn’t have taken all your Klonopin in the first place.” I filed a Recipients Rights case against them for “neglect of care” for not informing me of the dangers of a cold-turkey benzodiazepine withdrawal after I’d been on it for a decade and beyond. They blatantly lied in their defense, and my case was denied, silencing me further. I was also blocked from receiving any more services from my community mental health center. In other words, the door was slammed in my face.
Eight months following my Klonopin withdrawal, I endured a Trazodone, Effexor and lithium cold-turkey withdrawal, actually telling myself if I could live through a benzodiazepine withdrawal, then how hard could it be coming off these? Keep in mind, mental health workers rarely ever inform patients of withdrawal symptoms they may experience, and they certainly did not inform me.
This withdrawal took me to new levels of utter madness for five long, excruciating months. This time I became not only suicidal but extremely homicidal as well. Every day, for months, I endured wild, unrelenting mood swings, as well as brain zaps, severe insomnia, extreme anxiety and a deep emotional pain causing uncontrollable crying, to list only a few symptoms. I experienced every mental disorder listed in the DSM, and an anger, violence and rage that I never knew before. I was now on a mission to kill everyone inside that mental health building, and I not only knew I would die in the process, but it was expected. My psychotic mind told me I was fine with that. I sought out help everywhere I could to no avail.
I was so convinced I would carry out my murderous rampage that I finally enrolled in a trauma program at a psychiatric hospital in Texas. Considering what I’d been through for the past year with withdrawals and decades of taking neurotoxic medications, I begged them to treat me without using drugs, but they didn’t see it that way. After I refused multiple drugs, the psychiatrist said, “Sandy, if you refuse one more medication, we’re going to start injecting them.” Even though I finally complied, my status went from “voluntary” admittance to “non-voluntary.” I fought as hard as I could to get out. I now knew that there wasn’t one single person on the face of this planet who was going to help me.
I eventually went home from that psychiatric hospital on my multiple “court-ordered” medications, trying to withdraw again. While sitting outside on my deck one warm summer night, I left one of my gas burners on my stove going, again. I’d done this repeatedly since my Klonopin withdrawal due to severe, permanent cognitive impairment resulting from the psychiatric drugs and withdrawal. My house burned to the ground, leaving me homeless for eight months. Who came to my aid? No one. Psychiatry certainly didn’t. Unlike me, none of my mental health professionals ever had give up their warm houses, their loved ones, their very lives, their own sanity. The Hippocratic Oath — “First Do No Harm” — are powerful words. It’s unfortunate they don’t apply to psychiatry.
In the aftermath of the fire, I went on a mission to find out exactly why I had been so sick for so long by researching psychiatric drugs and the entire mental healthcare field, only to discover that every one of my “mental health problems” was drug-induced. I accumulated over 700 pages of scientific documentation proving this. As I began digging into every corner of the world for information, the truth started unfolding before my eyes. I felt like I had opened Pandora’s Box with no end in sight of the negative, very serious, adverse reactions and often deadly consequences of withdrawal, including long-term permanent brain impairment caused by my psychiatric drugs. I was absolutely shocked by this information, which is too often kept secret from the public.
I began listening to ethical, highly accredited psychiatrists, psychologists, physicians, pediatricians, scientists and nurses who were exposing the truth about mental illness and the often deadly consequences of taking medicine to treat it. I communicated via email with countless other sufferers (psychiatric patients) from every corner of the world. I read hundreds of personal stories as they described their hell and listened to how they survived while tapering off their cocktail of toxic medications. My heart goes out to each and every one of them, as it was their stories that helped me begin my process of healing and successful withdrawal and eventually attain recovery. I could not have done this without the knowledge, dedication and compassion of Dr. Breggin, Robert Whitaker, Paula J. Caplan, James Davies, Dr. David Healy and Peter C. Gotzsche, and so many others advocating on our behalf. Their listening and believing granted me permission to heal, something I very much needed.
I no longer harbor any ill will toward my community mental health center or any worker there. Today, I pray for them. I pray that one day they will implement a psychiatric drug withdrawal program to allow patients a safe way to taper from their drugs, if that’s what they choose to do, although I highly doubt I will ever see this in my lifetime.
In closing:
While serving my life sentence, my American dream was never fulfilled: I’ve never owned a credit card, bought a shiny new car, owned my own home. I still live on $11,000 of disability payments a year. I never gained a college education, held a professional title or received any prestigious awards, yet I couldn’t be any more happy, content and serene. When the tumultuous waters calmed, when my emotions found their rightful place in my brain, I moved back across the tracks to my rightful place, where there are no labels, psychiatric drugs, pain or misery. Where peace and tranquility reside. Every single day the spirit of my soul feels itself — its true authentic self. This is a true gift. I no longer sacrifice my soul to anyone for any reason. When I was so sick for so long from taking my medicine, I rarely ever smiled. It’s hard to smile through endless tears. But what I’ve discovered since I’ve healed from my withdrawals is that when we give a smile, we get a smile, and this, my friend, is something money just can’t buy.
I will close with a poem I wrote after psychiatry stole from me everything it could steal.
God’s Little Gifts
This mask that I wear, it hides me so very well,
Harboring pain inside that no one can tell.
If it weren’t for this, I would certainly die,
How many times have I tried suicide.
Only, I have to reveal, what I’ve hidden so well,
I have to come out
I have to tell.
They say to feel human, wholesome inside,
Expel your secrets —
Do it with pride.
Let go of the guilt, overwhelming shame,
Self-hatred, self-pity —
Be proud of your name.
Embrace God’s Hand—embrace His help
And never forget to
Embrace yourself.
Be Gracious, Have Patience,
As life always Shifts—
Always be Thankful, They’re just
God’s little Gifts…
All psychiatrists that prescribe neurotoxins should be put before a court with a jury of ‘psych patients’ and sentenced to Akathisia.
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Lol, streetphoto. Great tale of the crimes against humanity that today’s psychiatrists are committing against their patients, Sandra, thanks for sharing. I lived it too, and also escaped.
Woo-who, I wanna get away
Yee-who, (get away)
Woo-who, To our sweet escape
To our sweet escape, thank God. God bless, Sandra.
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Psychiatrists know that they need to be stopped, and they will thank us for it in the end. To be totally honest, I do sometimes miss my appointments, when I had questions on brain functions that they – well – just couldn’t answer, it was enjoyable. One know-it-all started blarting on about brain derived neuotrophic factor being up-regulated by SSRI’s feeling all smug about himself. I sent him a massive study showing sun light hours up-regulates BDNF and asked him exactly how BDNF is suppose to treat depression or anxiety. No reply and a different psychiatrist turned up next appointment. This is how it went on for three years, and I won.
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Ha ha, “blarting on”…I love it. This is what they do, they blart on and on. They love to hear themselves blart. I’m reminded of a psychiatric nurse practitioner who, within 10 minutes of meeting me, was 100 percent confident that I needed to be on Latuda. Why was she so certain? Because I had told her that my previous psychiatrist, who also didn’t know me from Adam, had been 100% confident that I needed to be on Latuda. When I asked the nurse practitioner what Latuda does that was so necessary for my functioning, she said “it makes chemical changes in your brain.” Wow, I thought, that’s real freaking specific. How much schooling did you need to learn that?
Thank you for the laugh, streetphotobeing, and thank you, Sandra, for your story. I hope that someday I will have the courage to tell mine. There are a lot of parallels. I’m happy for you that you made it back to the side of the tracks where you belong. It gives me hope that someday I may join you there.
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Someone else, yoo-who is right!! And Thank you. It feels good to be human again doesn’t it.
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A horrific story! Thanks for having the courage to share it. It continues to astound me that a person under their care can deteriorate SO horribly over SUCH a long time, and yet at no time do they ever question that their “treatment” is necessary and effective, and that any “failure” that occurs is the fault of “the disease,” never their treatment at fault.
As I like to say, “Another psychiatric success story!” So glad you’ve figured out how to escape.
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Steve, I observed this from the “other side.” After 6 years observing my fellow consumers in a day treatment I noticed that:we were getting worse not better. Often rapidly so. While the “meds” caused horrible”side” effects they never silenced people’s voices for more than 2 or 3 weeks. We were almost all suicidal and depressed most of the time–because our lives were Hellish. Aside from numbing our pain the drugs did nothing.
Unaccountable as this would sound to those supporting TAC–taking massive quantities of mind altering drugs did not make us more conscientious, more considerate in our relationships, less self-centered,or better citizens. 😛
Anyone who claims that more psychiatric drugs will prevent murder is actually saying that there are pills which can magically transform Ariel Castro into Mr.Sensitivity and Charles Manson into Mother Theresa. I find Robert Louis Stevenson’s fantasy more believable.
We should call shrinks out on this bovine excrement, demanding how any medicine can transform a bad character into a good one. (Insulin can help stabilize blood sugar, but it doesn’t promote ethical behavior. So, no the brain drugs they prescribe are NOT just like “insulin for diabetes” and their own actions prove otherwise.) Then watch them hem and haw–or dig it deeper till it becomes obvious what lies they tell.
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Feelindiscouraged, I hope this blows your mind. I know it did mine. http://mentalillnesspolicy.org “The most chronic and disabling of the major mental illnesses, schizophrenia involves a chemical imbalance in the brain, alleviated in most cases by medication. Symptoms can include confusion; inability to concentrate, to variations such as paranoia. Untreated, the disease is ravaging. It’s victims cannot work or care for themselves. They may think they are other people… or otherwise lose their sense of identity. They find it hard or impossible to live with others, and they may become hostile and threatening. They can end up living in the most degraded, shocking circumstances, voiding in their own clothes, living in rooms overrun by rodents – or in the streets. They often deteriorate physically, losing weight and suffering corresponding malnutrition, rotting teeth and skin sores. They become particularly vulnerable to injury and abuse.” He goes on to say, “the cost of withholding treatment is permanent damage.” – This is quote-unquote. Can you believe this garbage? This is how this ‘reputable’ mental health website is portraying ‘schizophrenics’ to the world. And people believe it! When in fact, the psychiatric drugs will induce them all.
This article. ‘Drug manufacturers delayed reporting serious unexpected adverse events’ by Clinical Neurology News Digital Network
Key clinical point: Drug manufactures delayed reporting about 10% of serious unexpected adverse events to the FDA.
Major finding: Manufacturers broke the 15-day deadline for about 10% of such events, and those involving death were more likely to be delayed than others.
Isn’t it interesting, first mental health pushes the ‘chemical imbalance’ theory, pushes toxic drugs to treat it, and we learn that extremely serious adverse events, including death are delayed being reported to the FDA, or not even reported at all, as I discovered many times through my research. I summarized these up into an 8 page document from their extensive list: FDA ‘Warning Letters’ to pharmaceutical companies from 1997-2015 for using fraudulent/ misleading advertising, lacking fair balance, Risk information is NOT presented, minimized safety risks, failed to show ANY information in Black Box Warning. Stattera(ADHD) – False and misleading information, [Completely] omits Black Box Warning regarding Risk of suicidal ideations in children and adolescence, and the list of charges goes on & on & on. – 99% of the psychiatric drugs I’ve been prescribed are on that list for using ‘False and misleading’ advertising. And they are still misleading the American public. We are still being lied to.
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I have known those diagnosed with “schizophrenia” who couldn’t talk coherently, maintain personal hygiene, live with others outside an institution, and who voided in their clothes. Guess what? All of them were in “treatment” on lots and lots of drugs. Deliberate confusion of cause and effect.
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FeelinDiscouraged,
Write me back at marysc11 “at” yahoo.com. I may have a deal for you. I am NOT kidding. I am impressed by your remarks!
Mary Newton
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Thank you Steve McCrea. I almost didn’t make it. That c/t Klonopin withdrawal induced the worst mental torture psychosis I’ve ever imagined. It was equivalent to taking 10 hits of pure LSD. Decades of mental torture is a mighty high price to pay to be ‘mentally well’ considering there was no mental illness to begin with. Yes, we psychiatric drug survivors are very lucky to be alive. But, my heart still cries today for those who didn’t.
God Bless my friend…
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The idea has gradually come to me over the years of using niacinamide (in probably multigram, per day quantities) and magnesium salts, 750 mg./day, for withdrawing from benzos- the B3, because that version occupies the same neural receptor sites as benzos and the Mg. for additional relief from anxiety. I’ve withdrawn folks from alcohol using niacin (nicotinic acid) in their homes, but benzos have a much longer withdrawal period and I’m only a psychiatric version of medics in grunt units, devoid of office or clinic, so I’d like someone more respectable to consider this notion.
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Dear Sandra,
Thank you for writing this article.
I reckon about 50% of the “Severely Mentally Ill” have nothing wrong with them other than really excruciating Withdrawal Syndrome. I’m glad you survived.
I watched Bob Whitaker present convincing evidence of the UK Medication Epidemic Fallout, at the House of Parliament in 2016:-
https://www.madinamerica.com/2016/05/robert-whitaker-addressing-britains-parliament/
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Excruciating withdrawal syndrome and a malicious smear campaign launched against us by the”medical” profession we made the mistake of trusting. Real doctors don’t malign their patients’ characters on national television.
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Fiachra, thank you for the kind words. What’s so funny is that after being heavily drugged for so long, including ECT’s, that after withdrawing from all my medications (unfortunately cold-turkey) and healing for 4 years I looked all over the place for that ‘chemical imbalance’ Doctors said I had. I searched high & low for my Bipolar/mental illness they were so sure I had – and it was nowhere to be found! Imagine that…
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Thank-you, Sandra. I’m very glad you survived. And of course there’s some differences between our stories, but what most strikes me, is how the same they are. We’re about the same age, and I’ve been “shrink-proof” longer, but the basic themes are the same. We’ve had very similar experiences. So I bet you’d agree with what I always say:
“Psychiatry is a pseudoscience, a drug racket, and a means of social control. It’s 21st Century Phrenology with potent neuro-toxins.”
Welcome to MadinAmerica! BTW, I first read Dr. Peter Breggin’s “Toxic Psychiatry” in the early 1990’s.
That’s what got the ball rolling for me, and saved my life. And yeah, klonopin(clonazepam) withdrawal is *HELL*!…. *smile*….
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Bradford, Your words tickled my heart. Still heavily medicated I was convinced I had the worst case of Bipolar doctors had ever seen. Especially the last five years constant Psych hospitalizations, Police contact, and endless suffering (all drug induced as I’m completely mentally fine today.) But I had a copy of Dr. Breggin’s ‘Toxic Psychiatry’ sitting on my coffee table for the longest time, and I have no idea to this day where I got it from, but when I began reading it boy-oh-boy did the light bulb go off. That too was my beginning. It was also other survivors that I talked to from all over the world that helped me heal the most. When I learned that what I’d experienced during my K-pin c/t withdrawal that I was not alone, after my own Mental Health agency completely abandoned me, it showed me a side of humanity I hadn’t seen in 35 years from any of my Psychiatrists’. It was the sharing of their pain that helped heal me the most. Thanks! *smile* it does the soul good doesn’t it!
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There is no one in any branch of the “helping” professions who has any personal integrity whatsoever. Psychiatrists are the worst probably, but I don’t know… The so-called therapists are maybe even worse. Psychotherapy is also an invention of psychiatry from arrogant narcissists like Freud. The therapist pretends to be your friend, but really they collaborate with the psychiatrists behind your back and secretly believe in the evil DSM fake bible of insulting labels. I heard that Freud had bipolar disorder too and was awake snorting cocaine for weeks on end. What’s more psychotic or “manic” than coming up with these absurd and disgusting ways of torturing vulnerable people.
I got so mad about the ripserdone they gave me that I tracked down my psych at home with their family, should have seen the look on his face when they saw me through the kitchen window. Serves him right, now he knows the terror that they inflicted on my when I took that so called medicine. I heard the voices for weeks before they gave me that poison and it wasn’t til they tricked me into taking it that I ever became angry in any way. Even though the psycho MD psych torturer gave me the poison, they had the audacity to call law enforcement that night. That was just the start of the torture they put me through.
My therapist supported the forced hospitalization, saying since I was dirty or wasn’t eating or something that somehow justified jailing me. I couldn’t go home because my family was supporting the drugging and I had to sleep in the woods, but so did cavemen. I wasn’t hurting anyone or using illegal drugs. The social workers at the hospital were even worse and the non-psych doctors also supported this charade. The ER doctors force injected me with 5 different sedatives at once, only because I was trying to escape that hell house.
My point is that no one is on the side of those of use ordained as victims of psychiatry, psychology, etc. Now I’m broke and homeless, my body is a shell of its former self and I haven’t slept in weeks. Amazing that only a couple months of ripserdal toxin could cause so much brain damage. Now only street drugs like crystal gives me any clarity to get my life straightened out and it’s been over 9 months. When does this get better? I would never give them the satisfaction of hurting myself, but enough is enough, there must be a part of the FBI that can deal with the crimes committed against myself and others. Please tell me who I can report this to, there should be a tribunal and the penalties should be severe and archaic to match how I was treated.
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‘Everyone’s a star, it’s just that some people haven’t been put in the dipper and poured back on the world. That’s what the answer is.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHlRa-RPjWE
“Now only street drugs like crystal gives me any clarity to get my life straightened out and it’s been over 9 months.”
When you are ready to be put in the dipper, this might help:
https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/
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Now only street drugs like crystal gives me any clarity to get my life straightened out and it’s been over 9 months. When does this get better?
Certainly not while you’re using meth.
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Slip a little extra crystal in your “therapist’s” coffee so he can think he’s severely mentally ill! Then he’ll see you all over when you aren’t there and know the joys of psychiatric “treatment” first hand. 😀 NO, DON’T REALLY DO THAT.
That would be illegal and wrong. But it’s a hysterically funny revenge fantasy. Might make a good short story.
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jfreedom, yes, I cringe today every time I hear someone praise psychiatric drugs. The fraudulent psychiatry industry has everyone of my family members on psychiatric drugs, including my grand daughter. My heart goes out to you at the damage and injustice done to you. What I discovered, in time, was that my brain did heal once the drugs were gone. Only, once we’ve had our central nervous system rammed through the meat grinder, my brain healed in it’s time, not mine. I had to be ever so patient. And most days I just didn’t want to hang on any longer. Yet, I found hope from others (all strangers) that gave me the strength just for that day. Your name says it all – Freedom. One day you will be Free. May peace always be with you jfreedom…
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Sandra,. I am so so sorry you were tortured by a medical practice. I have a very similar story. Bipolar with 30 kinds of meds from age 15 to 47. Medication induced torture. Now I too am free but I have just learned about this 2 months ago and instead of being mentally I’ll I am in some kind of shock. In today’s language and to keep it short WTF!!
I so hope you find joy and peace in your life from now on. Lori Costanzo
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Thank you so much Lori. It was only after listening to other psychiatric drug survivors share their personal stories with me via emails on how they coped, how they suffered, even while standing at suicides door, and how they survived gave me one thing that none of my mental health care workers, therapists or Psychiatrists ever did, and that was HOPE. You summed it up perfectly. It is Medication induced torture. I do have joy, peace & happiness today and I pray that you do too. God Bless you Lori.
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Sandra, congratulations on escaping the Madhouse Without Walls.
You forgive more easily than I do. I have promised myself to do those who damaged me good instead of evil if I get the chance. I have quit praying for them to develop terminal brain cancer.
Someday all the wrongs they inflicted on us will be righted. But not this side of Eternity. Sigh…. 🙁
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FeelinDiscouraged, I always love your posts. You never mince words! It has taken me a very long time to let go of my anger. The level of hatred I had toward my Mental Health agency for what they did actually scared me, and it was infecting me like a bad cancer and it was hindering my healing. But, I sure admire your choice of words. Thank you for them FeelinDiscouraged.
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Sandra, Thank you. I am profoundly moved by your narrative .
I have spent the last six years observing and studying the devastation – of the hopes, dreams and aspirations –
imposed upon indefensible “patients” – detained and abused in the perverse name of “Psychiatry”.
Whist still perhaps incredulous that such evil passes for “medical practice”, I believed that by now, I could no longer experience the overwhelming anguish, despair and disbelief which almost overwhelmed me as I gradually began to comprehend the scale of this evil with its arrogance and absolute absence of empathy.
(Absence of empathy believed by some to be the root cause of evil).
Reading your powerful account of: “LIFE BEHIND THE BARS OF THE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM” lead me to
re-experience my initial anguish despair and disbelief.
If it is so painful for this doctor to read, it must indeed have been arduous to write?
I am left wondering how much bullying, cruelty, contempt, scorn and additional suffering you were subjected to by those who staff these institutions, and who regard psychotropic drug toxicity as proof-positive of both severe and newly emerging psychiatric “co-morbidities”.
Mis-labellers who are wilfully blinded to the reality of iatrogenic, prescription drug induced “pseudo-psychosis”, “pseudo-bipolar”, toxic delusion, akathisia, akathisia induced violence as well as suicidality, tardive dyskinesia, emotional blunting, memory loss and body disfigurement.
Professionally blind to the common, severe neurotoxicity, endocrine, metabolic, cardiac, skin, and other systemic toxicities.
Blind to the destruction of enchanting pre-drugging personality and humour. Blind to emotional, behavioural and psychological adverse drug reactions.
Appalling, life changing irreversible drug injuries denied and/or unrecognised by both “trained nurses” as well as by psychiatrists.
Injuries exacerbated by contempt, deprivation of liberty, loss of all human rights and the inevitable, subsequent, self-righteous patient punishment inflicted by these staff for arrogantly assumed: “Attention Seeking Behaviour”.
Staff who routinely blame the patient for every adverse drug reaction, then add falsified, additional life-destroying labels – aka “diagnoses”.
If the now toxic and brain-injured patient tries to alert these abusers to an accurate insight and awareness of drug toxicities, the labelling is extended to include “Anosognosia”.
That is: Their superiority, and your inferiority, as well as your defencelessness, allow the inevitable case entry recording that:
“This patient is incapable of accepting and understanding the intensity, severity and seriousness of their (frequently misdiagnosed) mental illnesses”.
Labels masquerading as meaningful diagnoses, however erroneous, are irreversibly documented.
They are as visible to all as if they were facial tattoos, fixed and impossible to correct for all time.
Society does not place much value on those with SMI labels. Nor will those defined by such alleged “Serious Mental Illness” be afforded the attention previously received from other doctors prior to this categorisation.
Psychiatric diagnoses inevitably identify an absence of worth to society for the rest of that persons life, but psychiatry is also wilfully blinded to this inescapable reality.
Condemnation by false “diagnosis” when the enforced cascade of psychotropic drug toxicities has never been considered in their differential diagnosis.
Labels for life which for so many lead to guilt, shame, deletion of any residual self-esteem, in addition to rejection and exile from society.
Medically induced, devastating, lifelong, soul destroying stigma which psychiatry constantly and vociferously blames upon the attitudes of others.
Psychiatry means “Never Having To Say You’re Sorry”.
In addition to disowning “First Do No Harm”, it appears that they have abandoned their Duty of Candour.
(Sandra – Is it possible that the craving for alcohol might have been induced by SSRIs? – Ref. “Driven to Drink: – Antidepressants and Cravings for Alcohol. RxISK Blog. October 15th. 2012).
When I read and re-read the appalling sufferings identified in the personal stories and experiences of those detained and forcibly drugged, and otherwise “treated” in medical custody, two quotations dominate my thinking.
Firstly:
“THE DEGREE OF CIVILISATION IN A SOCIETY CAN BE JUDGED BY ENTERING ITS PRISONS”.
(Fyodor Dostoyevsky).
For those who write on MIA this might be paraphrased?
“THE DEGREE OF CIVILISATION IN PSYCHIATRY CAN BE JUDGED BY ENTERING ITS PRISONS”.
Secondly:
The words of Robert Oppenheimer after the first atomic explosion at Los Alamos in 1945.
Words that are perhaps the best descriptor of drug-dependent psychiatry and its terrible outcomes:
“I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture – the Bhagavad-Gita”…
“NOW I AM BECOME DEATH, THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS”.
How could psychiatry have become so blinded, so anaesthetised to each individual patient’s WORLD?
Blinded to their psychiatric-drug induced outcomes as THE DESTROYERS of our WORLDS.
So oblivious to their annihilation of our dreams and hopes, our futures, our aspirations and expectations: –
or those of our own devastated, ever-loved lost souls who have been stolen from us?
Were it not for the courage, wisdom and humility of those psychiatrists and internationally recognised experts in the toxicity and adverse drug reactions of psychiatric drugs, those who have challenged the wretched outcomes of current “treatments” – (and whom you have listed above) – so very many more would have suffered even greater harm.
TRM 123. (Registered Medical Practitioner and Retired Consultant Physician).
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TRM123, quite profound words my friend. Your very articulate. I’m going to comment on one statement you made, although I admire them all. (Sandra – Is it possible that the craving for alcohol might have been induced by SSRIs? – Ref. “Driven to Drink: – Antidepressants and Cravings for Alcohol. RxISK Blog. October 15th. 2012). When I was on my usual devils cocktail of psychiatric drugs, I turned into an extremely violent, raging, psychotic maniac. Yes, I drank heavily to combat side effects, adverse effects and continual withdrawal symptoms when doctors would ‘play’ with our prescriptions with no regard to withdrawal symptoms. Three drinks and I was in a black-out always waking up the next day full of bruises, broken glasses, and a deathtifying hangover that took days to recover from. After being drug free I no longer feel that ‘need’ to drink. There’s no more drug induced suffering. Although I still occasionally drink today, since my withdrawal, I have not had ONE black-out. There’s no more adverse reactions from mixing toxic drugs w/alcohol. Today, I’m far from being alcoholic. Yes, when I was researching psychiatric drugs I came across that article by the magnificent Dr. David Healy. It’s keeping company with over 700 pages of other documents, articles, and research I came across. So yes, my drugs drove me to drink. There’s no doubt about it. Thank you again.
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Thank you for this valuable, additional insight into SSRI/psychiatric drug toxicity Sandra.
We cannot yet know how many “pseudo-alcoholics” may be demonised, vilified, exiled and ruined: socially, financially, physically, emotionally – and in their relationships because prescribers are unaware of this recently reported, potential, additional life-threatening adverse reaction to neurotoxic-psychiatric drugging?
“There are few problems in life that psychiatry can’t make a great deal worse”.
(Dr.Philip Hickey).
It would be my expectation regarding the “Duties of a Doctor” that anyone prescribing a “therapeutic” drug is responsible for understanding the adverse outcomes of that drug, and is also responsible for long term detrimental outcomes.
However, how can such a professional responsibility be delivered when ADRs such as SSRI induced akathisia are now documented as having been withheld and concealed from prescribers by means of pharmaceutical marketing policy, and by the “regulators” for so many years?
TRM 123.
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Here’s that magnificent article by our beloved Dr. David Healy: C:\Users\sanderella\Documents\On Babies Given Antipsychotics – The New York Times_files\Antidepressants and alcohol cravings _ RxISK.htm
Driven To Drink: Antidepressants and Cravings for Alcohol October 15, 2012
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I am someone who bristles at the words “our beloved David Healy”. This is an individual who promotes and administers ECT, something that causes more serious and permanent brain damage than psychiatric drugs.
Yes, he has been absolutely correct about the damage caused by psych drugs, drug withdrawal. Unfortunately, people suffering from the neurotoxic effects of psych drugs and drug withdrawal often are directed to ECT. It causes cares strophic damage and it continues to be used bc of ppl like David Healy. Unconscionable given what the science and the anecdotal testimonies of thousands of victims have revealed about shock.
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truth, Yes, I too was given ECT’s and damaged by them. What I’ve seen is all the psychiatrists who advocate our truth, who become our voice after we’ve been silenced, and they’re all different from one another. It’s hard for all of them to always be on the same page. Dr. David Healy has made many wonderful contribution’s to the truth about psychiatry regardless of whether he believes in ECT’s or not. In my little world, Dr. David Healy will always be ‘my beloved Dr. Healy’. So point well taken, and thank you for it.
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What will prove that a massive crime has/is happening is Pharmacogenetics plus all the known inhibitors of Cytochrome P450. I don’t know why you people are not on it ?
This evidence given in court before a judge and jury will prove it beyond reasonable doubt that neurotoxic druging is responsible . They can no longer say a person committed suicide or homicide because they were mentally ill.
This is the test, the full implications of this need to be understood. This is how we hold psychiatry and pharma to account, placed in the context of a court :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnNI6JEFf38
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This story has many similarities to mine…a sh*tshow of labels, drugs, addictions, overdoses, suicide attempts, institutionalizations, poverty, isolation, and serious medical problems and surgeries…which I plan to write for MIA at some point. I also lost 30 years (and i entered the system with an MSW, no less)…and I’m here to tell you, it’s not an unusual story for trauma survivors, especially if they entered the system in years past. The unusual part is that we made it out and are able to speak about it…or that we are alive at all.
I don’t attribute everything that happened to me to the meds., but also to how we fail to meet (in my case) severe developmental traumas, and poor early attachments, as they need to be met. I could also add to that, the lack of understanding of highly sensitive people. They mostly saw “borderline”, and life was never the same for me.
I’m sober now from opiates, Klonopin/benzos., and alcohol. I’m still detoxing off multiple, long-term meds., still healing…with some good trauma care, that I’m able also to afford, for the first time. I feel like it’s “too soon” to write…but maybe not? There are a lot of people like this, who have no voice or support at all, whose healing is so prolonged and gut wrenching, that few if any stand by their side with hope. Personally, my higher power has held my hand most of the way, as well as a few treasured practitioners.
Bless you, Sandra.
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ingriddheiner, It’s amazing to me how so many are diagnosed ‘mentally ill’ due to trauma in our lives. And I believe – deliberately. Oh yes, I not only received the Bipolar diagnosis, but BPD as well, and few more as I kept becoming more iatrogenically sick from taking my ‘medicine’ which prompts yet more drugs, more suffering, more permanent cognitive impairment, memory loss, sleep deprivation, deep depressions & suicidal attempts.
I’m so proud of you for already coming off the opiates, K-pin, and alcohol. And I’m grateful you have good quality care to help with the rest. I have faith that when your ready, you will write your story. I wrote a complete memoir but have no one to edit or money so it sits on the back burner for now. I had to expel my gut-wrenching life story on paper so I could finally put it to rest. Writing about my children was the hardest. Thankfully, the human heart does heal, and I couldn’t have done it without the caring words from other psychiatric drug survivors. God Bless you too…
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Sandra Villarreal, let me start off by saying how sorry I am for what happened to you… The doctor who “diagnosed” you was clearly a profoundly dangerous incompetent who got his MD in a soapbox! A perfect example of a “pill-pusher”. Having PTSD ≠ bipolar disorder!! Any idiot should realise that. The simple fact is there is an unfortunate tendency in some branches of psychiatry (and in particular American psychiatry) to overlook environmental and psychological factors in a person’s well-being/suffering/illness (WHATEVER you want to call it).
Now, the rest of this comment is addressed to subscribers in general. This website is obviously virulently anti-psychiatry. Fair enough. I myself am not “pro-psychiatry”. I would say I am a “traditional-psychiatry-sceptic”. I suffer from mental illness/suffering/unease/despair/whatever term you wish to use, yet I am continually disappointed by the system and the current methods of care available. I have quit two of my medications, and am very happy for doing so. I am extremely wary and suspicious of Big Pharma, and I am placing my hope in the research currently being done with psychedelic psychotherapy. Make of that what you will.
Now, I think it’s a bit childish and reductive to accuse all psychiatrists of being torturers and of committing crimes against humanity. I mean, seriously? Without them, I’d be dead by now. My personal hell started when I was 12 years old. I was UNABLE to go to school and wanted to DIE. And guess what, I was NOT put on ANY medication. Therapy and alternative schooling options were suggested. And it did help. I was able to go back to my regular school and graduated with high marks. I was a cutter for the whole of my teenage years, was not followed by any doctor and did not take any medications. I also had an eating disorder. Clearly the self-harm had nothing to do with psychiatry!!! So no, in Europe at least, not all shrinks are blood-thirsty monsters. Even my current psychiatrist, who did prescribe medications, is mostly a lovely woman who SUPPORTED ME when I told her I wanted to shove my anti-depressants (and a weight-gaining anti-psychotic before that). She’s extremely critical of benzos and refuses to prescribe them long-term (and she’s right about that). She respects my opinion, my intelligence and the fact I am very critical of psych drugs and psychiatry in general. We can disagree and still have a very good doctor-patient relationship. The point is she HAS helped me. And I know others who have been HELPED by competent and compassionate doctors. Not all of them are pill-pushers.
I feel like a lot of you basically agree with mainstream society’s assessment that people who are SUFFERING, in massive amounts of mental pain and anguish, are just creating it out of thin air and can wish it away if they just exercised their willpower. Guess what, a lot of us are trying to do just that. And I can tell you it’s exhausting. The willpower I have to use to go exercise, to not take something in order to sleep, to go outside for fear of having a panic attack, to not succumb to the death urge. To not cut myself when I am overwhelmed with despair. You’re not being revolutionary by being anti-psychiatry. You’re just saying what most people already think. And just like core mainstream psychiatry, you’re not actually helping anyone. You’re not actually addressing the problem. You’re just one extreme end of the spectrum, with hardline “pro-drug DSM-defined psychiatrists” being on the other.
I don’t care about the term “mental illness”, call it mental anguish, suffering. Whatever. The fact is that not everyone reacts to society’s and personal ills in such a way that death seems like the only reasonable option. That leaving one’s house and seeing people freaks them out so much as to cause massive anxiety and fits of tears. That they feel so depressed they can’t get out of bed. Every other day, or even every day!! That the pain is such a deep pit in one’s chest everything is leeched of colour and flavour. And all of this, as a reaction… to nothing special. No trauma. No major life loss. (Maybe there was one, in childhood, or even later, but the point is the reaction continues all of your life for no outstanding reason).
Doesn’t mean the answer are pills. Or that our societal structure isn’t completely fucked and needs to change. I completely agree with those two statements. But if you feel like crap all of the time and don’t have any motivation, energy or drive left in you, you won’t be able to change ANYTHING. Either way, you’re screwed. You’re screwed because you’re outside of conformity, and it makes you hopeless. And because you’re hopeless, you can’t find a way to change the world so it has a place for you in it.
Maybe psychiatry in America believes “mental illness” (let’s use that term for whatever it’s worth) is a purely biological problem (although even that concept in and of itself is flawed), worthy then of neurologists. But I’ve mostly heard from doctors in England and continental Europe that it’s a multi-factorial issue: some biological, some genetic for certain people, some psychological, some environmental. Which is what makes it so complex and sets it apart in the world of medical science.
And as the concept of mind… This whole mind/brain binary touted by both anti-psychiatrists and pro-psychiatrists is such BS. It’s not ALL about the Brain (pro-psychiatry), or ALL about the Mind (anti-psychiatry). It’s BOTH. The mind alters brain connexions, shapes them, perverts them. And vice versa. Brain alterations have been observed in severely depressed patients. Doesn’t mean it can be used as a diagnostic criteria, though. Anyone with a moderate understanding of neurology knows the strongest learned associations are the ones made with strong emotions: fear, pleasure, the whole dopamine complex. You can’t just “wish” them away. However, the good news is that brain plasticity “is a thing”, so there is some hope at least for reversing the damages. Sadly, a lot of psych drugs inhibit said plasticity which is what makes them so dangerous on the long-term… The neurotransmitter model of neuro-psychatry is incredibly flawed (I’m more interested in the neural pathways model myself), and has never been proven anyway. But it doesn’t mean the field of psychiatry as such doesn’t have any value. As with the rest of medicine, and society as a whole, it needs to CHANGE.
The “mental illness” definition or debunking issue doesn’t ultimately matter. It’s recognising the fact that a lot of “outside-the-box” thinkers, potentially revolutionary, maybe, and simply good people are incapable of feeling happiness, freedom, or drive to make worthwhile changes in this broken world because they are hindered by extreme sensitivity (which one day might be celebrated) and “coping mechanisms” (to use a term I’ve seen in another article on this site). Helping us doesn’t have to mean hammering us into fitting the life script, or zapping us into becoming a mindlessly productive member of a capitalist and consumerist society, as is expected (I certainly wouldn’t want that). In fact, a lot of psychiatrists probably wouldn’t fit those categories either (mine doesn’t)!!
Not everyone in the mental health care world believes the DSM is the Bible. Maybe that’s, again, an American thing. Or perhaps more generally an anglo-saxon thing. I’m not sure. But it should be bloody obvious that the DSM was originally meant to be a set of GUIDELINES. And now it’s been co-opted by Big Pharma. Extreme categorisation and pathologizing are bound to lead to abuse and absurdity. But again, doesn’t mean you need to burn down psychiatry completely and declare all psychiatrists war criminals. At the very least, if you’re going to burn it down, build something new and better, instead of saying there wasn’t anything supposed to be there in the first place… You’re just basically spitting in the face of those of us who are suffering, and were suffering long before the meds showed up in our systems. Talk about a lack of compassion…
In fact, Sandra Villarreal mentioned she suffers from PTSD (my heart goes out to you, I can’t imagine what you’ve been through). Last time I checked, it’s in the DSM and is classified as a “mental illness”. Did any of you suggest she should just wish the memory of her trauma away? Or that her pain is just a construct of the mind she can fix with a little effort and willpower…? Hmm?
When the pendulum swings, it never stops in the middle (well, it does, but only after an excruciatingly long time). But it’s exactly what we need!!! It’s sad, really. That a comment on an anti-psychiatry website basically reflects a review I did of a book clearly drinking the drug-pushing psychiatry kool-aid. Same shirt, different colour.
PS: I have stayed in a psychiatric hospital, twice. No, it wasn’t a hellish nightmare. A large majority of the staff were nice, compassionate and caring individuals. I’ve lived with anorexics, women with severe anxiety and depression. I dare anyone to tell me they weren’t suffering from poor mental health and suffering. Most of them had been battling their conditions for YEARS. Some since early adolescence. They weren’t tied up or drugged out of their gourds. I’m not saying it actually solves any of your problems (although it does for some people). It didn’t for me. But it did allow me to rest in a neutral environment, to be taken care of and put some order in my thoughts. What’s wrong with that?
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Mslilith,
I agree with you on several key points:
1. Psychiatrists are not generally trying to torture people, or because they are evil.
2. Without offering alternatives, simply dismantling psychiatry services could strand many people in the short-term.
3. Alternatives have to be widely available and affordable to those of us who have profound struggle. I am such a person. Mine is the residue of profoundly severe trauma. I’m counting on neuroplasticity. But the helpers I need and use (and will for some time) are expensive. If I did not unexpectedly find available funds a couple of years ago, I’d be dead. Unlike the author, my struggles do not all go away as I’m coming off these medications.
4. I think one’s experience with psychiatry varies with money, geographical location, and lots of other things.
I don’t think trauma and it’s effects are diseases, though…just injuries. I refuse to ever say again that i was the ill one. I never was. And unfortunately, psychiatry was no different than my family, in convincing me that I was.
I feel the pain and heart in your letter, and your passion as you write. I’m glad you opened this conversation.
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Thank you for taking the time to reply to my comment, I appreciate your input! 🙂
Just to clarify, I don’t have any particular attachement to the term “illness”, in fact I do believe it is inadequate, while recognising that it’s had its limited use as well. And I certainly don’t subscribe to the idea that, in any case, illness = “there is something wrong” with you in any moral or societal sense. That you suffer from trauma does absolutely not mean there is anything wrong with you, I apologise if it came across that way! 😉 Injury is probably a better term for it, and in that sense it deserves to be treated (by whatever means are right for you)! 🙂
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Yes, we need a conversation concerning this topic. You’re very fortunate to have caring healthcare professionals on your side. I didn’t experience that at any stage. I refer to my so called ‘care’ as torture because as I’m exhibiting 99% of these symptoms listed below while taking my medication, and while withdrawing from it, I was always blamed, prescribed more drugs, or given a new diagnosis. And it was nothing short of MENTAL TORTURE.
ANTIDEPRESSANT WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS (SSRI/SNRI)
1. Crying spells
2. Worsened mood
3. Low energy (fatigue, lethargy, malaise)
4. Trouble concentrating
5. Insomnia or trouble sleeping
6. Change in appetite
7. Suicidal thoughts
8. Suicide attempts
9. Anxious, nervous, tense
10. Panic attacks (racing heart, breathless)
11. Chest pain
12. Trembling, jittery or shaking
13. Irritability
14. Agitation (restlessness, hyperactivity)
15. Impulsivity
16. Aggression
17. Self-harm
18. Homicidal thoughts or urges
19. Confusion or cognitive difficulties
20. Memory problems or forgetfulness
21. Elevated mood (feeling high)
22. Mood swings
23. Manic-like behavior
24. Auditory hallucinations
25. Visual hallucinations
26. Feeling detached or unreal
27. Excessive or intense dreaming
29. Flu-like aches and pains
30. Fever
31. Sweats
32. Chills
33. Runny nose
34. Sore eyes
36. Vomiting
37. Diarrhea
38. Abnormal pain or cramps
39. Stomach bloating
40. Disequilibrium
41. Spinning, swaying, lightheadedness
42. Hung over or waterlogged feeling
43. Unsteady gait, poor coordination
44. Motion sickness
45. Headache
46. Tremor
47. Numbness, burning or tingling
48. Electric shock-like sensations in the brain
49. Electric shock-like sensations in the body
50. Abnormal visual sensations
51. Ringing or other noises in the ears
52. Abnormal smells or tastes
53. Drooling or excessive saliva
54. Slurred speech
55. Blurred vision
56. Muscle cramps, stiffness, twitches
57. Feeling of restless legs
59. Uncontrollable twitching of mouth
Benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms (not inclusive):
• Electric shock sensations
• Muscular spasms, cramps or fasciculations
• Insomnia
• Blurred vision
• Dizziness
• Dry mouth
• Aches and pains
• Hearing disturbances
• Taste and smell disturbances
• Chest pain
• Flu like symptoms
• Impaired memory and concentration
• Increased sensitivity to light/sound
• Increased urinary frequency
• Numbness and tingling
• Hot & cold flashes
• Headache/migraine
• Rebound REM sleep
• Stiffness
• Fatigue and weakness
• Hypersomnia
• Metallic taste
• Photophobia
• Paranoia
• Hypnagogia-hallucinations
• Nausea and vomiting
• Nightmares
• Agitation and restlessness
• Anxiety, possible terror and panic attacks
• Hypochondriasis
• Impaired concentration
• Elevation in blood pressure
• Tachycardia
• Hypertension
• Postural hypotension
• Depression (can be severe), possible suicide ideation
• Tremor
• Perspiration
• Loss of appetite and weight loss
• Dysphoria
• Depersonalization
If I, with barely a 10th grade education can find the truth about the dangers of my psychiatric drugs why can’t a Doctor or Psychiatrist so we can be better informed (rather than blamed?) Absolutely, everyone’s case is different but we all still deserve to be treated with respect, dignity, and provided the best/safest care available by our Psychiatrists & GP’s. Not pumped with more neurotoxic drugs then ECT’s to treat the drug induced crippling depressions then left to fend for ourselves. Never offered alternatives. I believe healing emotional trauma using genuine care, love, empathy, and understanding is much more effective than using neurotoxic drugs for decades. I now have extensive permanent cognitive impairment as a direct result of taking my ‘medicines’. I don’t consider this ‘care’. We all deserve happiness and I thank you for your post. Yes, we need a conversation. We can not keep sweeping this under the rug.
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mslilith13 – As far as I’m concerned, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in not a mental illness, and should never be classified as such. What I experienced following my two violent rapes was the normal reaction to trauma that my mind was unable and could not comprehend. Paula Caplan said it best regarding our returning soldiers from war. No one knows the absolute horror they saw and experienced during live combat out there on the war field but them. My 92 year old WWII Veteran Father tells me the exact same things, as he’s describing his atrocious war experiences to me of his life out there on the battle field, where he had to witness everyone of his buddies in his fox hole killed, he had to go back to his commanding officer and when asked where the troops were, my Dad’s only response to him was, “There all gone sir – they’re all gone.” This is traumatic shit, but he’s far from being mentally ill because of it. Was it traumatic to him? Absolutely, it still effects him today, but Thank God he doesn’t take any psychiatric medications to treat it, and never has. Soldiers then carry that trauma home with them and labeled ‘mentally ill’ for it, and heavily drugged with the most toxic medications on the planet. This is an injustice and a travesty to all of humanity to treat our soldiers this way. It’s an injustice and travesty to treat anyone like this.
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As I’ve said in a previous reply, I don’t actually care about the term “illness” as such. I do in fact believe it is inadequate. I honestly didn’t mean to invalidate your terrible experience with psychiatry, I’m really sorry if that is how it came across!
My comment was addressed more generally towards the people I consider to be extreme anti-psychiatrists (which I feel are just as bad as the DSM-worshipping pro-traditional-psychiatrists).
I am as angry at them as I am at the “doctors” who display the kind of harmful behaviour and/or the gross lack of intelligence/critical thinking/unbiased practice that you seem to have, unfortunately, been exposed to. And I know you are not the only one. But nor am I the only one to have had a positive or neutral experience with psychiatry.
To paint the issue as purely black or white seems a bit simplistic, even dangerous, as it ultimately leaves the people who suffer (which I think is a more inclusive term than ” the people who are ill”) like you and I out in the cold. At least, that is the way I see it.
I have limited knowledge of PTSD, but I think the injury analogy another commenter suggested might be more relevant? In any case, I sincerely hope you’ll be able to find your path to health and wellness, and again I’m sorry you had to go through the hell of forced chemical “therapy”.
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