Dear Rachel,
This story is so difficult and yet so common that there is no doubt that this field needs to undergo a profound and comprehensive revision.
Besides, if you’re pseudo-science, causing so much damage and your ability to help is so poor – at least be kind and nice. Everyone who is looking for a psychiatrist pleads: “but please someone nice”. There is no such problem with dentists, for example. The lovable ones among psychiatrists are so rare. This issue is worth scientific study. There is a chance it will help more than studies on drugs…
It’s very late here and I had a long day. In short, if I thought only of myself and people like me, I would burn down the club, but there are many people in difficult situations who still use these services and my husband and I are working for them.
OK. I will write briefly that I know most of the names you mentioned, and I wrote a master’s thesis in cultural studies on the subject: Models of Psychiatric Hospitalization – from Philippe Pinel to Franco Basaglia. In my heart I am very radical but I try to soften myself in order to be in a position of a certain influence to obtain very necessary changes without being considered as someone whose only desire is to burn down the club.
Shalom and thank you,
I believe you can read in Hebrew. Here’s an article published today https://alaxon.co.il/article/לא-תקבעו-לנו/
You’ll find there the answers to your questions.
I have read all your words with great reverence, although you have one mistake (which I know of). You wrote: “but that is because neither Belmaker nor most of the others who make this case have ever been on the receiving end of the euphemistically named ‘antipsychotics.'”
Belmaker actually tried it on himself in the early 1980s, suffered from it a great deal and even published the matter in a scientific journal. Whitaker mentioned this in the above article as a sign of Belmaker’s open mind. The problem is only with the conclusion that Belmaker came to after of this experiment: what destroys healthy people is useful and important in the case of people like us.
Thanks! I will always do everything in my power to stay out. Last time I got hospitalized was 20 years ago. when I’m down I do not take anti-depressants because it can make me go too high. when I am getting high and afraid of mania I take medicine just to get back to myself. I am 59 so by now know pretty well how to take care of myself.
All the best 🙂
Dahlia
Thanks but all this is true until you become psychotic and sink inside yourself to a nightmare. Then it’s not really possible to follow all these good advices.
Thanks. I managed to do just that for 17 years. In the last 3 years I had to face harsh experiences Which were imposed on me from the outside, so now – sadly – It’s easier said than done.
I was psychotic. The quiet kind. Lost and helpless in my inner world that felt like a nightmare. My older brother did not live with us and my good late mother was frightened and was unable to deal with the situation. She believed in medical treatment and there wasn’t any other alternative. Nowadays we have here a few Soteria houses, but there is no public funding and unfortunately not everyone can afford it.
Agreed
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Dear Rachel,
This story is so difficult and yet so common that there is no doubt that this field needs to undergo a profound and comprehensive revision.
Besides, if you’re pseudo-science, causing so much damage and your ability to help is so poor – at least be kind and nice. Everyone who is looking for a psychiatrist pleads: “but please someone nice”. There is no such problem with dentists, for example. The lovable ones among psychiatrists are so rare. This issue is worth scientific study. There is a chance it will help more than studies on drugs…
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It’s very late here and I had a long day. In short, if I thought only of myself and people like me, I would burn down the club, but there are many people in difficult situations who still use these services and my husband and I are working for them.
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OK. I will write briefly that I know most of the names you mentioned, and I wrote a master’s thesis in cultural studies on the subject: Models of Psychiatric Hospitalization – from Philippe Pinel to Franco Basaglia. In my heart I am very radical but I try to soften myself in order to be in a position of a certain influence to obtain very necessary changes without being considered as someone whose only desire is to burn down the club.
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Shalom and thank you,
I believe you can read in Hebrew. Here’s an article published today
https://alaxon.co.il/article/לא-תקבעו-לנו/
You’ll find there the answers to your questions.
Report comment
I have read all your words with great reverence, although you have one mistake (which I know of). You wrote: “but that is because neither Belmaker nor most of the others who make this case have ever been on the receiving end of the euphemistically named ‘antipsychotics.'”
Belmaker actually tried it on himself in the early 1980s, suffered from it a great deal and even published the matter in a scientific journal. Whitaker mentioned this in the above article as a sign of Belmaker’s open mind. The problem is only with the conclusion that Belmaker came to after of this experiment: what destroys healthy people is useful and important in the case of people like us.
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Thanks. Right on time.
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Thanks! I will always do everything in my power to stay out. Last time I got hospitalized was 20 years ago. when I’m down I do not take anti-depressants because it can make me go too high. when I am getting high and afraid of mania I take medicine just to get back to myself. I am 59 so by now know pretty well how to take care of myself.
All the best 🙂
Dahlia
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Thanks but all this is true until you become psychotic and sink inside yourself to a nightmare. Then it’s not really possible to follow all these good advices.
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Thanks. I managed to do just that for 17 years. In the last 3 years I had to face harsh experiences Which were imposed on me from the outside, so now – sadly – It’s easier said than done.
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Many thanks. 🙂
Agree with you about “taken over by the wrong people.”
I wish your prayer would come true. We definitely need it.
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I was psychotic. The quiet kind. Lost and helpless in my inner world that felt like a nightmare. My older brother did not live with us and my good late mother was frightened and was unable to deal with the situation. She believed in medical treatment and there wasn’t any other alternative. Nowadays we have here a few Soteria houses, but there is no public funding and unfortunately not everyone can afford it.
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In my opinion it is very difficult to defeat Abarbanel but in some cases it may be so.
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sure…
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I definitely see your point…
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Thanks.
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