In questioning if it is possible to remake psychiatric care, change at the top will only arise when there is a firm demand from the bottom.
The masses of psychiatric consumers who are at the very bottom are without a voice and rely heavily on those who claim to advocate in their best interest.
Unfortunately, mainstream advocacy agendas are part of the well-established pro-psychiatry movement that continues to advance and grow our drug-centered paradigm.
The pro-psychiatry movement deceptively promotes itself as a ânational alliance on mental illnessâ, legitimizes psychiatric abuse, monopolizes the mentality of our lawmakers/court systems involved in issues that impact those who are labeled âmentally illâ and turns a blind eye towards the harmful effects of psychotropic drugs.
The top search engine result for the term âmental illnessâ is the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website.
âNAMIâs top priorities is educating as many people as possible to recognize the warning signs of a mental health condition and to promote early intervention.â
âNAMI Ending the Silence (ETS): Offered in schools at no cost, ETS opens a dialogue for students, families and school staff to help them feel more comfortable talking about mental health, while destigmatizing mental illness and promoting early intervention.â
âNAMI On Campus: NAMI On Campus clubs are available on 57 university campuses and reach college-age students across the country. The program aims to raise mental health awareness and provide peer-to-peer support in educational settings.â
âNAMI Basics OnDemand: A free course for parents and caregivers that provides fundamental information about the signs and symptoms of mental illness, and how to best support a child with a mental health condition.â
The pro-psychiatry movement is comprised mainly of parental/caregiver perspectives who do not dispute the concept of âmental illnessâ, believe psychiatric treatment is evidence-based and believe psychotropic drugs are safe medicine.
The pro-psychiatry movement is also supported by non-psychiatric medical professionals who liberally prescribed psychotropic drugs to their patients without consideration of the many adverse reactions, including worsening symptoms and long-term chronicity.
Without advocates who will act in the best interest of those labeled âmentally illâ, the drug-centered paradigm of care will continue to expand and profit.
Great answer, and mine would be the same đ
Extreme states of mind, or psychotic states are very unpredictable.
Thank you for recognizing that it is sensible and humane to discount all physical causes of psychosis before labeling an individual with a mental disorder.
It is also important to recognize individuals in our mental health care system, on average, have a life expectancy 25 years less than others. In combination with the over use of harmful psych drugs, we must consider underlying medical conditions that are overlooked as a contributing factor to premature death.
The same underlying conditions that manifest as what is considered a psychiatric disorder in one person, can manifest as a physical/neurological condition in another.
Following best practice standards will create an overall healthier population.
Unfortunately, when it comes to advancing best practice standards, we are on the slow boat to China because one man’s prolonged suffering, is another man’s gain.
Frank,
I agree with you wholeheartedly and personally, I don’t have a problem with the word crazy either.
I do not approve of the schizophrenia label and I feel it should be abandoned.
Psychiatric labels are nothing more than descriptions of a broad range of thoughts, moods, behaviors, emotions, etc. perceived to be “abnormal”.
The state of psychosis is very real, and as we saw with Jason Russell, can be very extreme, happen very quickly and require intervention.
I am also speaking for individuals who were not seeking help in the first place, but found themselves locked up on psych wards anyways.
It is the state that sanctions forced treatment, not me.
Therefore, the state has a duty of care to ensure doctors providing forced treatment do so using best practice assessment standards.
Instead, the states have empowered psychiatry to advance a one-size-fits-all medication management monopoly.
This is what I am advocating against.
Thank you Steve for your answer.
If there was the possibility the cause was from a brain tumor, would you want an MRI?
Below are two cases
The first is that of a 15-year-old girl who went 2 years of her life labeled and treated for a “mental illness” before it was discovered she had lupus. Once the underlying cause was discovered and treated, she no longer needed psychiatric drugs.
The second is a 45-year-old woman who was dx with bipolar disorder but actually had Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Unlike other conditions, most individuals who enter into an extreme state, or a psychotic state, loose touch with reality and don’t have the ability to practice mindful introspection.
They end up depending on others, who become the “enablers” and in turn depend on psychiatry. And psychiatry has created a medication management monopoly.
What I advocate for, and I would think others who have integrity would do, is to ensure best practice assessment standards are used to determine underlying medical conditions, or exposure to substances.
While there are no tests to determine a person has a “mental disorder”, there are many tests that prove a person does not have a “mental disorder” but are experiencing psychosis/mania due to an underlying medical condition.
If an advocate does not support best practices, then they are not working in the best interest of the individuals they claim to represent.
1. OBJECTIVE:
The authors describe a 15-year-old African American young woman with a family history positive for bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia, who presented with symptoms consistent with an affective disorder.
METHOD:
The patient was diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder with catatonic features and required multiple hospitalizations for mood disturbance. Two years after her initial presentation, the patient was noted to have a malar rash and subsequently underwent a full rheumatologic work-up, which revealed cerebral vasculitis.
RESULTS:
NPSLE was diagnosed and, after treatment with steroids, the patient improved substantially and no longer required further psychiatric medication or therapy.
CONCLUSION:
Given the especially high prevalence of NPSLE in pediatric patients with lupus, it is important for clinicians to recognize that neuropsychiatric symptoms in an adolescent patient may indeed be the initial manifestations of SLE, as opposed to a primary affective disorder.
2 Case Report
The patient, a 45-year-old, married mother of two, was in her usual state of health, working as a secretary until about 8 weeks before admission to a short-term psychiatric inpatient facility. At that time, the patient began to have pressured, incoherent speech, with thoughtracing, and abrupt shifts of thoughts. She went on spending sprees and built up considerable credit card debt, buying unnecessary things. She had severe insomnia, sleeping only a few hours each night. She also complained of blurred vision and gait difficulty, the latter also noted by her family.
After evaluation of these complaints and a normal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain, she was given a diagnosis of Bipolar I Disorder, manic type.
Hi Steve,
Thank you for reading my comment and taking the time to reply.
What you state is true.
Unfortunately, states sanction forced “treatment” or medication management for individuals labeled with psychosis.
If our states sanction treatment, it should be under best practice guidelines.
Please read my comment above and if you are willing to answer my question, I would appreciate it.
Hi Frank,
Thank you for taking the time to read my comment.
Have you ever listened to Susannah Cahalanâs TEDxTalk?
But for her parents being strong advocates for her health care, she would have ended up labeled with schizophrenia and wasting away in a psych ward.
It was a neurologist who figured out the underlying condition of antiâNMDA receptor autoimmune encephalitis was causing her psychotic state.
For Susannah, it took only a relatively simple combination of steroids and immune therapies for her to recover from symptoms that were considered a severe mental illness.
Her doctor stated 90% of people suffering from the same disease are rotting away in psych wards and nursing homes.
Also, please take the time to listen to Robert Whitakerâs talk where he repeatedly refers to individuals suffering from what is probably psychosis as âcrazy peopleâ (starting at 23:00)
As a long-time advocate, my goal is to help all individuals considered to be societyâs âcrazy peopleâ to be helped by recognizing the fact viruses, bacteria, brain tumors, dehydration, lead poisoning, an abscessed tooth, high levels of copper, etc. are known to make people appear to others as âcrazyâ and offer them help by treating the underlying condition, not drugging them with psych meds.
In the decision of Wyatt v. Stickney 325 F.Supp. 781 (M.D.Ala. 1971), a key issue was that patients have a âconstitutional right to receive such individual treatment as will give each of them a realistic opportunity to be cured or to improve his or her mental condition.â
Because there are a diverse array of medical conditions and substances known to induce psychotic states, âmedical helpâ must be individualized.
So people who appear âcrazyâ and test positive for dehydration, should be offered fluids.
People who appear âcrazyâ and have an abscessed tooth, should be offered appropriate dental care.
People who appear âcrazyâ and have lead poisoning, should be offered Chelation Therapy.
People who appear âcrazyâ because of a brain tumor, should be offered treatment.
People who appear âcrazyâ and have high Ferritin levels, should be offered phlebotomy.
People who appear âcrazyâ after taking a prescribed medication (not just psych meds cause a person to go âcrazyâ), should be told the truth and not be given more drugs to stop the side effects of the first drug.
People who appear “crazy” because of Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease, should be offered sympathy and prayers.
Do you agree?
Would you be willing to answer my question?
If you experienced an extreme psychotic state, would you:
a) seek help through Open Dialogue or a Soteria House?
b) seek help through psychiatry?
c) seek help through medical professionals who will test for underlying medical conditions?
d) other, please explain
Hello, and thank you for taking the time to read my comment, which is not a joke.
Please take the time and listen to Susannah Cahalan’s TEDxTalk
But for her parents being strong advocates for her health care, she would have ended up wasting away in a psych ward.
It was a neurologist who figured out the underlying condition of antiâNMDA receptor autoimmune encephalitis was causing her psychotic state.
For Susannah, it took only a relatively simple combination of steroids and immune therapies for her to recover from symptoms that were considered a severe mental illness.
Her doctor stated 90% of people suffering from the same disease are rotting away in psych wards and nursing homes.
Also, please take the time to listen to Robert Whitaker’s talk where he repeatedly refers to individuals suffering from psychosis as “crazy people” (starting at 23:00)
As a long-time advocate, my goal is to help all individuals considered to be society’s “crazy people” to be helped by recognizing the fact viruses, bacteria, brain tumors, dehydration, lead poisoning, an abscessed tooth, high levels of copper, etc. are known to make people appear “crazy” and get them help by treating the underlying condition, not drugging them with psych meds.
If you experienced an extreme psychotic state, would you:
a) seek help through Open Dialogue or a Soteria House?
b) seek help through psychiatry?
c) seek help through medical professionals who will test for underlying medical conditions?
d) other, please explain
A psychotic state should be taken very seriously.
In 2013, Senator Creigh Deeds was stabbed by his son who was said to be in a psychotic state. His son then committed suicide.
Jared Loughner was considered to be in a psychotic state when he shot Representative Gabrielle Giffords in the head.
And sadly, Michael McEvoy was charged with killing Mozelle Nalan at Soteria House Alaska when he experienced a psychotic state.
Unlike any other condition, individuals who experience what can be considered a psychotic state can be a danger to not only themselves, but a danger to the health, safety and welfare of the public, which is why states sanction involuntary treatment.
What is being overlooked is the fact a wide variety of medical conditions, including fatal diseases, and exposure to numerous substances, including medications, can induce a psychotic state.
Something as common as the routine use of over-the-counter cold medicine can induce a psychotic state that is clinically indistinguishable from paranoid schizophrenia.
Anytime a commercial for a pharmaceutical product states the side effect of “abnormal behavior”, means the drug can cause the user to experience a psychotic state.
The British Medical Journal published guidelines for Best Practice Assessment of psychosis.
Because is is a natural response, no one is immune from experiencing a psychotic state.
If an individual is experiencing a psychotic state, and they appear to be a danger to themselves or others, they should be entitled to best practice standards of care and not just coercive psychiatry.
In order to fix our broken mental health care system, a unified advocacy agenda that will advance best practice standards of care is critically needed.
I would like to ask Robert Whitaker and every Mad in America writer one very simple multiple choice question,
If you experienced an extreme psychotic state, would you:
a) seek help through Open Dialogue or a Soteria House?
b) seek help through psychiatry?
c) seek help through medical professionals who will test for underlying medical conditions?
d) other, please explain
If you selected “c” for your answer, then start advocating for others to get the same treatment you would want for yourself
Hi,
The British Medical Journal published guidelines for Best Practice Assessment of psychosis as there are dozens of underlying medical conditions (including fatal diseases) and substances know to induce symptoms considered to be psychosis that can be misdiagnosed as a mental disorder.
Unfortunately, most medical professionals fail to test for underlying causes and instead rely on the rubberstamp labeling process of psychiatry.
Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness is just one example of how individuals suffering from a very serious medical condition can be easily misdiagnosed by medical professionals
Very well written and such an important experience to share.
I hope this post gets the exposure it deserves.
Consumer protection and contract law also seem to argue against coercive psychiatric treatment.
Under most circumstances, individuals in the United States who are forcibly treated are also responsible to pay for the products, services and accommodations they receive and consume.
The psychiatric drugs they are forced to purchase are products the manufacturers openly admit are defective and may cause harm.
Unlike any other manufactured products, when the products don’t work and are not of any use, consumers who purchase defective pharmaceutical products are not entitled to refunds or exchanges.
The psychiatric consumer is expected to throw away defective merchandise regardless of how much it cost, perhaps hundreds of dollars for just one small bottle. Lawmakers and the so-called “mental health” advocates are OK with “mentally ill” patients and insurance companies wasting their money.
Individuals labeled “mentally ill” can be legally forced to purchase defective products and their consumer rights fail to be protected.
Consumers can be legally forced to stay at a “treatment” facility without being told how much money it will be costing them, or for how long they will be “treated”.
Although there are treatment options, consumers are not provided with them.
Individuals who become labeled “mentally ill” can be forced into blind contracts with providers and facilities.
To illustrate the point, what if medical experts had the power to label certain individuals as Walmart shoppers who could be legally forced to shop only at Walmart.
Even if other stores had better selection, better quality and lower prices, those diagnosed as Walmart shoppers, could only shop at Walmart. They will be forced into blind contracts with Walmart and have to pay whatever Walmart feels like charging them for Walmart’s one-size-fits-all selection of limited products. If the Walmart products they purchase are defective, there are no refunds, they will just have to throw the products away and they must purchase more defective merchandise from Walmart.
That is exactly what psychiatry does and the Helping Families in Crisis Act will expand coercive psychiatry while ignoring consumer protection.
In his article published in Scientific American, Dr. Insel writes:
“If you are unfortunate enough to develop acute chest pain this winter you will probably be assessed by a clinician who will order a battery of tests to determine if your symptoms result from pneumonia, bronchitis, heart disease, or something else. These tests not only can yield a precise diagnosis, they ensure you will receive the appropriate treatment for your specific illness.
If you are unfortunate enough to have a psychotic episode this winter, the process of arriving at a diagnosis will be quite different. In fact, there are not many choices. Most people with a psychotic disorder are labeled as having either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder…Sadly, there are no blood tests or scans to distinguish schizophrenia from bipolar disorder.”
While there are no tests to determine a person experiencing a psychotic/manic state is suffering from either schizophrenia/bipolar disorder, there are many medical tests that will detect underlying medical conditions and yield a precise diagnosis, ensuring patients receive the appropriate treatment for the specific illness manifesting as symptoms of a “mental disorder”.
Unfortunately, mental health professionals ignore the fact psychotic/manic symptoms are caused by many different underlying medical conditions/exposure to substances, including prescribed medications.
Even a flu shot or the routine use of over-the-counter cold medicine can induce psychotic symptoms that are clinically indistinguishable from paranoid schizophrenia.
The British Medical Journal created guidelines for doctors to follow as a best practice standard of care for individuals who present with psychotic symptoms.
Because some individuals suffering from psychosis/mania are a threat to themselves or others, the failure to follow best practice assessment is not only cruel and unethical, it jeopardizes the health, safety and welfare of the public.
Psychosis Due to a Medical Condition involve a surprisingly large number of different medical conditions, some of which include: brain tumors, cerebrovascular disease, Huntingtonâs disease, multiple sclerosis, Creitzfeld-Jakob disease, anti-NMDAR Encephalitis, herpes zoster-associated encephalitis, head trauma, infections such as neurosyphilis, epilepsy, auditory or visual nerve injury or impairment, deafness, migraine, endocrine disturbances, metabolic disturbances, vitamin B12 deficiency, a decrease in blood gases such as oxygen or carbon dioxide or imbalances in blood sugar levels, and autoimmune disorders with central nervous system involvement such as systemic lupus erythematosus have also been known to cause psychosis.
A substance-induced psychotic disorder, by definition, is directly caused by the effects of drugs including alcohol, medications, and toxins. Psychotic symptoms can result from intoxication on alcohol, amphetamines (and related substances), cannabis (marijuana), cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants, opioids, phencyclidine (PCP) and related substances, sedatives, hypnotics, anxiolytics, and other or unknown substances. Psychotic symptoms can also result from withdrawal from alcohol, sedatives, hypnotics, anxiolytics, and other or unknown substances.
Some medications that may induce psychotic symptoms include anesthetics and analgesics, anticholinergic agents, anticonvulsants, antihistamines, antihypertensive and cardiovascular medications, antimicrobial medications, antiparkinsonian medications, chemotherapeutic agents, corticosteroids, gastrointestinal medications, muscle relaxants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, other over-the-counter medications, antidepressant medications, neurleptic medications, antipsychotics, and disulfiram . Toxins that may induce psychotic symptoms include anticholinesterase, organophosphate insecticides, nerve gases, heavy metals, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and volatile substances (such as fuel or paint).
This Bill has strong support from family members who seek to advance forced treatment. Their leverage comes from the many widely-publicized mass shootings that involved individuals labeled with “serious mental illness” and they disregard the dangerous side effects of psychotropic drugs.
We need to consider why so many advocates, who are family members, push for forced treatment.
The 1927 U.S. Supreme Court case of Buck v. Bell decided the fate of a young woman who was sentenced to compulsory sterilization because she represented a âgenetic threat to societyâ. The Courtâs decision sanctioned the stateâs use of medical procedures on select individuals without their consent âfor the protection and health of the stateâ.
The association between psychotic disorders and violent criminal behavior becomes widely publicized in high-profile, mass-murder cases.
Unlike any other condition, a psychotic episode can result in violent criminal behavior against others.
The relationship between “severe mental illness” and violence has a significant effect on mental health policy, clinical practice, and public opinion about the perceived dangerousness of people with psychiatric disorders.
Violence towards others by a minority of individuals under psychotic distress is a significant public health concern which involves conflicting opinions concerning the right of the patient to treatment, and punishment for the crimes they commit.
Society has come to fear individual who are considered to be suffering from “serious mental illness”.
It needs to be recognized that a serious flaw in our mental health system exits because of the method medical and mental health professionals use to label individuals who appear to exhibit symptoms of “serious mental illness”.
Most often, the DSM-5: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is used with what professionals refer to as a “Chinese Menu” approach.
Patients are labeled with a mental disorder based on the description of their abnormal behavior, mood, emotion, actions, expressions, appearance, etc. and then prescribed dangerous drugs that will hopefully make them “normal”.
Most professionals fail to test for the many underlying conditions that are known to manifest as a mental disorder.
Dangerous psychiatric drugs are passed out like candy, while simple causes like an infected tooth, lead poisoning, B vitamin deficiency are completely ignored.
All mental health advocates should work to ensure patients receive best practice standard of care that includes thorough testing for underlying causes and individualized treatment protocols.
Our current mental health care system has created an ineffective, inefficient and dangerous, one-size-fits-all, Medication Management Monopoly.
Forced psychiatric treatment creates forced contracts between patients and their providers, treatment facilities and drug companies.
Considering the many possible drug side effects, patients should also be able to return drugs that they purchased and can no longer take because of the side effects.
Lawmakers should not be allowed to force consumers to purchase products and services.
Thank you Nancy for sharing a beautiful public tribute to an amazing woman.
Bonnie had a steadfast commitment to the well-being of others and certainly put meaning to the words of Margaret Mead.
“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.â – Margaret Mead.
I appreciate all of those who have dedicated their time, effort and energy into creating and maintaining this very valuable site where such a tribute can exist.
Bonnie,
May you rest in peace, love and light,
Maria M.
When “treatment” kills, NAMI parents are in denial.
“Zac died during his sleep. No cause has yet been reported.”
“Shortly after he was released from the Colorado State Mental Hospital at Ft Logan, John became incoherent, crawling on his hands and knees, urinating on the wall in the corner of his room…Last November 16th, John passed away. Cause: Undetermined. What killed him is not measurable.”
Kevin wanted to try alternative therapies but was discouraged by his family.
Eventually, his brother told him either take your meds, or we don’t want you around our kids.
Kevin is a peer counselor and advocates for the use of psych meds. Pete employs his other son to manage his websites/blog and his daughter became a mental health professional.
“My brother came to me in 2008. He was about to have his first child, making me a first time uncle. He told me that if I wanted to be a part of his childâs life, I would have to take my medicine. I made a promise to him, for the sake of my niece, that I would do such a thing. Nowadays, I take my medicine religiously.”
Hi Sera,
When I have a bit more time, I will write a better response.
I have been writing to Pete since I first came across his book at the library in 2008.
Although I make very respectful comments, both Pete and Congressman Tim Murphy have deleted all of my comments from their Facebook Fan page and have blocked my ability to post comments.
For Pete, it is sadly a matter of job security, not only for him but many of his family members who also profit from the Medication Management Monopoly.
One glaring flaw in Pete’s book “Crazy” involves Florida plaintiff Deidra Sanbourne.
Deidra spent over 20 years warehoused in a state psychiatric facility being “treated” for “mental illness”.
Pete does not care that her death was more than likely caused by the “treatment” that he advocates for.
Very sad that he and our lawmakers can turn a blind eye and there are ways that we can get them to listen.
I enjoyed reading your post as the NAMI advocacy agenda has such a powerful influence in our society and on our lawmakers.
Advocacy is a very profitable business and the magic bullets, psychiatric drugs, the astonishing rise of “mental illness” in America and the enduring mistreatment, provides job security for many of the self-appointed representatives of those living with “severe mental illness”.
Are you familiar with NAMI advocate and author Pete Earley?
Pete’s post, “Why Wonât You Take Your Medication?”, speaks volumes.
âWhy wonât you just take your medication? I take pills for my cholesterol every night and its no big deal?…â
“It often is frustrating for us â parents â to understand why our children will not take anti-psychotic medication or take it only until they get better and then stop. The remedy seems so clear-cut to us, so simple â and watching them experience the mania, depression, and delusions that happen when they become psychotic is heartbreaking and horrific…..So why do persons with mental illnesses refuse to take their medication or stop taking them as soon as they become stable?
I am asked that question more than any other after I give a speech.
Letâs skip the obvious reasons âthat some anti-psychotic medications can dull a person, make them feel physically lousy, kill their sex drive, cause them to gain weight or send them to bed exhausted even though they are already sleeping for 16 hours a day. Letâs ignore the fact that no one really knows the long term health impact that medication can cause on a personâs body.”
SKIP THE OBVIOUS REASONS???
IGNORE THE FACTS???
Perhaps if Pete’s cholesterol pills made him sleep 16 hours a day and sacrifice having a normal life, he would seek alternative methods of controlling his cholesterol.
What right does this man, who is careless and inconsiderate of what others go through, have advocating on the behalf of all those considered to be “mentally ill”?
What are his credentials?
How much money does he make as an advocate?
As ignorant as he is, Pete is invited to speak around the world and to our lawmakers on a topic he has no formal education/training in, or personal experience with and had no tolerance for his own son, who at one point he told that he wished he had “ânever been born.”
How can he be fired?
Hi Dr. Steingard,
Admittedly, I am very thankful that I was under the care of a skilled psychopharmacologist when I suffered acute mania/psychosis and in the moment, I did need to be slowed down with medications.
The insomnia was unbearable and the health impact of lack of sleep must be considered as a critical condition that needs to be treated.
Medications can be effective in slowing a person’s mental state down/helping insomnia but why do medical professionals fail to question what is causing the mental state to speed up?
As a best practice standard, our medical professionals must consider testing for and treating the underlying medical conditions that are known to cause a person to suffer mania/psychosis.
After several years of repeated bouts of manic/psychotic episodes requiring hospitalization, I was blessed to find an MD who uses Functional Medicine/Orthomolecular Concepts.
Tests revealed past exposure to lead/other toxins related to long-term chemical exposure in the work environment. Chelation and other therapies helped to reduce levels, symptoms subsided, meds were tapered off and eventually I received a worker’s comp settlement after supportive depositions for the dx of toxic encephalopathy.
In this 2013 TEDxTalks, journalist Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, shares her experiences of being misdiagnosed with severe mental illness.
Susannahâs talk reveals the serious flaw in our mental health care system of how patients suffering from psychosis and mania are simply labeled with generic DSM5 diagnoses using with what is referred to as a âChinese Menuâ approach.
Susannah claims her parents were adamant that her treatment take place in a hospital setting and they fought to keep her from being admitted into a psychiatric facility. She now believes her familyâs advocacy to keep her out of a psychiatric hospital is what saved her life.
During her talk, Susannah states to the âuntrained eyeâ she would have been considered a schizophrenic. She even reads out loud the DSM5 criteria for schizophrenia which matched up to her symptoms.
Susannah explained that her treating psychiatrists considered her to be an otherwise healthy, normal 24-year old woman. In some of her interviews she claims, the first neurologist she saw told her there was nothing wrong with her.
A psychiatrist told her she had bipolar disorder and prescribed antipsychotic medications.
A second neurologist diagnosed her with âalcohol withdrawal syndromeâ and prescribed different psychiatric medication.
While hospitalized, her psychophamacologist diagnosed her with schizoaffective disorder, what she describes as a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Susannah admits that she was extremely lucky to come under the care of a neurologist with an excellent reputation. Her doctor, Dr. Souhel Najjar, is a Neurologist, Neurophysiologist, Epileptologist and a Neuropathologist at NYU Langone Medical Center. He is also the Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at the NYU School of Medicine.
While the other doctors and psychiatrists ignored many of Susannahâs physical manifestations, which included seizures and high blood pressure, Dr. Najjar took that information seriously and spent a considerable amount of time obtaining information about her case from her parents.
After a month-long hospitalization and very costly testing, a very simple âDraw a Clockâ test put Dr. Najjar on the path to making the correct diagnosis. This no-cost test alerted the neurologist to Susannahâs underlying condition of antiâNMDA receptor autoimmune encephalitis
For Susannah, it took only a relatively simple combination of steroids and immune therapies for her to recover from symptoms that were considered a severe mental illness.
Susannah now believes it is exceedingly important for psychiatry to adopt a greater vigilance in diagnosing patients to rule out possible neurological causes of behaviors that can be misdiagnosed as severe mental illness.
Dr. Najjar estimates that nearly 90 percent of those suffering from autoimmune encephalitis go undiagnosed.
âItâs a death sentence when youâre still alive,â Najjar said. âMany are wasting away in a psych ward or a nursing home.â
Below is another case of misdiagnosis. Two years of a young girl’s life wasted because of the “Chinese menu” approach.
Does it really matter how rare a condition is?
If it is a possibility, it should be ruled out.
Very sad to know so many are refused accurate assessment.
Kind Regards,
Maria M.
Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus presenting as bipolar I disorder with catatonic features.
Posted on November 25, 2012
Psychosomatics. 2009 Sep-Oct;50(5):543-7.
Alao AO, Chlebowski S, Chung C.
SOURCE
Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate, NY 13210, USA. [email protected]
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The American College of Rheumatology has defined 19 neuropsychiatric syndromes associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems. Neuropsychiatric manifestations of lupus (NPSLE) have been shown to occur in up to 95% of pediatric patients with SLE.
OBJECTIVE:
The authors describe a 15-year-old African American young woman with a family history positive for bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia, who presented with symptoms consistent with an affective disorder.
METHOD:
The patient was diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder with catatonic features and required multiple hospitalizations for mood disturbance. Two years after her initial presentation, the patient was noted to have a malar rash and subsequently underwent a full rheumatologic work-up, which revealed cerebral vasculitis.
RESULTS:
NPSLE was diagnosed and, after treatment with steroids, the patient improved substantially and no longer required further psychiatric medication or therapy.
CONCLUSION:
Given the especially high prevalence of NPSLE in pediatric patients with lupus, it is important for clinicians to recognize that neuropsychiatric symptoms in an adolescent patient may indeed be the initial manifestations of SLE, as opposed to a primary affective disorder.
Sean,
I’ve been a big fan of your videos for many years and am thrilled to see your presence on MIA.
My first psychotic episode occurred on March 23, 1996 and it was not until I sought help through an MD who practices Orthomolecular/Functional Medicine that I found a path to recovery through detoxing and a multimodal use of complimentary therapies.
The underlying encephalopathy was linked to past exposure to lead/chemical exposure in the work environment and an abscessed tooth.
As a mental health advocate, I focus on drawing attention to the many underlying medical conditions and substances that can induce psychosis and be misdiagnosed as bipolar/schizophrenia.
While the spiritual components of psychosis were truly something incredible to experience and process as a gift, my connections felt the extreme pain and suffering of others that results in harm to our society.
Recently, there were three tragic incidents here in the Tampa, Florida region involving young men between the ages 23-25 who had a “history of mental illness”.
These cases included a man who brutally killed his mother and 9-year-old niece, a man who threw his 5-year-old daughter off a bridge and another who decapitated mother.
We can not turn a blind eye to the harm caused by individuals who are in a psychotic state and we must recognize there are many medical conditions/substances, including psych meds, that induce psychosis.
Widely-publicized cases like these support main stream mental health advocates who push an agenda that supports the current Medication Management Monopoly. Because mental disorders can involve public safety, psychiatry has become an unregulated power-base of authority in our country.
A best practice standard of care that focuses on testing for and treating underlying causes will help to dismantle the power-base of psychiatric authority that controls and undermines the spiritual-based components involved in experiencing an unexpected altered state of mind.
I hope that more individuals involved in MIA will support a unified advocacy agenda that supports Best Practice Assessment of Psychosis.
As you are well aware, individuals suffering from symptoms described as “severe mental illness” are among the most stigmatized, discriminated against, marginalized, disadvantaged and vulnerable members of society.
The horrific crimes committed by individuals while in a psychotic state of mind become widely-publicized and proliferate not only the stigma of “mental illness” but also hatred of the “mentally ill”.
Here are just a few of the homicide cases that occurred in Florida involving individuals considered to be suffering from “severe mental illness”:
Christian Gomez, 23, charged with first-degree murder after deputies found the decapitated body of his mother 48-year-old Maria Suarez Cassagne alongside garbage cans outside of the Tampa-area home,
John Jonchuck Jr, 25, faces first-degree murder charges after a St. Petersburg police officer said he watched Jonchuck throw his 5-year-old daughter over the railing of the Dick Misener Bridge on Florida’s west coast Jan. 8.
23-year-old Jason Rios faces two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder after he killed his own mother and 9-year-old niece in Pasco County, FL.
I am heartbroken every time I hear of cases like these.
It pains me to know how a serious flaw in our mental health system leaves patients who are suffering from underlying medical conditions that manifest as psychosis at risk of being misdiagnosed and mistreated.
Most medical and mental health professionals use the DSM5 with a “Chinese Menu” approach. Patients are simply rubber-stamped with psychiatric labels and commonly treated with a one-size-fits-all medication management regime.
Individuals suffering from symptoms of psychosis are in need of strong advocates.
This agenda must include Best Practice Assessment of psychotic symptoms, as published in the British Medical Journal and supported by Functional Medicine.
I do not know how anyone could challenge, or argue against, testing for and treating underlying conditions that can manifest as psychotic symptoms.
Fixing our broken mental health care system will only be accomplished when challenges are laid to rest and a unified advocacy agenda based on best practice standards of care can be advanced.
Hi Duane, I like the approach of the Peaceful Warrior
my personal battle ended a long time ago and I feel at peace knowing that I have put out as much information I can to the people with the power to inform others
it just makes it impossible to watch the news, hear tragedy after tragedy, know the “paradigm shift” is taking the slow boat to China and not feel heartbroken, so every now and then I try to post a comment on this site
I know I’m wasting my time, you are right, I should just let it go but in the work environments I’ve been in, we don’t waste time, we fix things that are broken right away, that is how we stay profitable, how can so many be ok with profiting off of the suffering of others????
I just can not comprehend it
I think I will go eat some cake, maybe that is the answer after all
Unfortunately, my wealth doesn’t seem to do much good.
For the past 4 years I have engaged in a lot of community volunteerism supported by my part time employer.
It has been a great way to connect with our local community through schools, nonprofits, hospitals, universities, law enforcement, politicians, government agencies and attend lectures/events/public forums.
In addition to feeling good about contributing to our community, I am able get the “inside scoop” on the true impact main stream psychiatry and their Medication Management Monopoly has on so many aspects of our society as a whole.
A few month ago I heard Congressman Tim Murphy speak as a guest at one of our public forums and I recently saw Kevin Miller at the Adlerian Society’s Annual Conference .
While I do know of many wonderful stories and I see very small glimpses of hope here and there, in reality, this is a loosing battle.
If I had to come up with an analogy I would say,
imagine an Olympic-size swimming pool
to measure the collective impact on our society that every person involved in the anti-psychiatry movement, the survivors movement, the alternatives movement, CCHR, PsychRights, ISEPP, ICSPP, MIA, etc., etc., has had, imagine we have been filling our Olympic-size swimming pool using whatever tool we have available, whether it is an eye dropper, or a 5 gallon bucket, everyone has been filling the same pool using the same source of water
the pool is looking pretty full and we all feel very hopeful that soon the tables will turn, the scale will tip, the paradigm will shift
now, imagine going down to Miami beach and take a good, long look at that vast ocean and realize
this is our source of water
can you see the difference we made?
Psychiatry will always have the upper hand
What makes this a loosing battle is the fact parents of children labeled with “severe mental illness” are buying into
“the idea that serious mental illness can be a terminal illness, and that this battle wasnât winnable in the first place,”
I have the privileged to get to know parents who will never give up on their children battling cancer, everyday they fight and miracles beyond belief do happen
In general, our society just gives up on those labeled with “severe mental illness”
Along with our lawmakers, they put all of their faith and hope in psychiatry
For many, mental illness = job security
so it is a loosing battle
I should really just spend my time at the gym and forget about trying to educate others on the causes of “severe mental illness”
Peace-out, Maria
Hi Duane,
18 years ago the word encephalopathy first came into my vocabulary and since then I have grown to appreciate knowing that an underlying brain disease is what led me to experience psychosis.
From Wikipedia: “The hallmark of encephalopathy is an altered mental state.”
Providing “talk” therapy alone to someone who is in an altered state of mind because of encephalopathy is not only cruel, but is jeopardizes the health, safety and welfare of the public.
As always, thank you for calling attention to the BMJ’s Best Practice assessment of psychosis protocol.
I only wish a united advocacy agenda would support ensuring patients are provided this standard of care.
Encephalopathy /ÉnËsÉfÉËlÉpÉΞi/ means disorder or disease of the brain.[1] In modern usage, encephalopathy does not refer to a single disease, but rather to a syndrome of global brain dysfunction; this syndrome can have many different organic and inorganic causes.
Terminology
In some contexts it refers to permanent (or degenerative)[2] brain injury, and in others it is reversible. It can be due to direct injury to the brain, or illness remote from the brain. In medical terms it can refer to a wide variety of brain disorders with very different etiologies, prognoses and implications. For example, prion diseases, all of which cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, are invariably fatal, but other encephalopathies are reversible and can have a number of causes including nutritional deficiencies and toxins.
Types
There are many types of encephalopathy. Some examples include:
Mitochondrial encephalopathy: Metabolic disorder caused by dysfunction of mitochondrial DNA. Can affect many body systems, particularly the brain and nervous system.
Glycine encephalopathy: A genetic metabolic disorder involving excess production of glycine
Hepatic encephalopathy: Arising from advanced cirrhosis of the liver
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy: Permanent or transitory encephalopathy arising from severely reduced oxygen delivery to the brain
Static encephalopathy: Unchanging, or permanent, brain damage
Uremic encephalopathy: Arising from high levels of toxins normally cleared by the kidneysârare where dialysis is readily available
Wernickeâs encephalopathy: Arising from thiamine deficiency, usually in the setting of alcoholism
Hashimotoâs encephalopathy: Arising from an auto-immune disorder
Hypertensive encephalopathy: Arising from acutely increased blood pressure
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: Progressive degenerative disease associated with multiple concussions and other forms of head injury
Lyme encephalopathy: Arising from Lyme disease bacteria, including Borrelia burgdorferi.
Toxic encephalopathy: A form of encephalopathy caused by chemicals, often resulting in permanent brain damage
Toxic-Metabolic encephalopathy: A catch-all for brain dysfunction caused by infection, organ failure, or intoxication
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy: A collection of diseases all caused by prions, and characterized by âspongyâ brain tissue (riddled with holes), impaired locomotion or coordination, and a 100% mortality rate. Includes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease), scrapie, and kuru among others.
Neonatal encephalopathy: An obstetric form, often occurring due to lack of oxygen in bloodflow to brain-tissue of the fetus during labour or delivery
Salmonella encephalopathy : A form of encephalopathy caused by food poisoning (especially out of peanuts and rotten meat) often resulting in permanent brain damage and nervous system disorders.
Encephalomyopathy: A combination of encephalopathy and myopathy. Causes may include mitochondrial disease (particularly MELAS) or chronichypophosphatemia, as may occur in cystinosis.[3]
Signs and symptoms
The hallmark of encephalopathy is an altered mental state.
Depending on the type and severity of encephalopathy, common neurological symptoms are loss of cognitive function, subtle personality changes, inability to concentrate, lethargy, and depressed consciousness. Other neurological signs may include myoclonus(involuntary twitching of a muscle or group of muscles), asterixis (abrupt loss of muscle tone, quickly restored),[citation needed] nystagmus (rapid, involuntary eye movement), tremor, seizures, jactitation (restless picking at things characteristic of severe infection),[citation needed] and respiratory abnormalities such as Cheyne-Stokes respiration (cyclic waxing and waning of tidal volume), apneustic respirations and post-hypercapnic apnea..
Diagnosis
Blood tests, cerebrospinal fluid examination by lumbar puncture (also known as spinal tap), brain imaging studies, electroencephalograms and similar diagnostic studies may be used to differentiate the various causes of encephalopathy.
Diagnosis is frequently clinical. That is, no set of tests give the diagnosis, but the entire presentation of the illness with nonspecific test results informs the experienced clinician of the diagnosis.
Therapy
Treatment varies according to the type and severity of the encephalopathy. Anticonvulsants may be prescribed to reduce or halt any seizures. Changes to diet and nutritional supplements may help some patients. In severe cases, dialysis or organ replacement surgery may be needed.
Prognosis
Treating the underlying cause of the disorder may improve or reverse symptoms. However, in some cases, the encephalopathy may cause permanent structural changes and irreversible damage to the brain. These permanent deficits can be considered a form of stable dementia. Some encephalopathies can be fatal.
In questioning if it is possible to remake psychiatric care, change at the top will only arise when there is a firm demand from the bottom.
The masses of psychiatric consumers who are at the very bottom are without a voice and rely heavily on those who claim to advocate in their best interest.
Unfortunately, mainstream advocacy agendas are part of the well-established pro-psychiatry movement that continues to advance and grow our drug-centered paradigm.
The pro-psychiatry movement deceptively promotes itself as a ânational alliance on mental illnessâ, legitimizes psychiatric abuse, monopolizes the mentality of our lawmakers/court systems involved in issues that impact those who are labeled âmentally illâ and turns a blind eye towards the harmful effects of psychotropic drugs.
The top search engine result for the term âmental illnessâ is the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website.
âNAMIâs top priorities is educating as many people as possible to recognize the warning signs of a mental health condition and to promote early intervention.â
âNAMI Ending the Silence (ETS): Offered in schools at no cost, ETS opens a dialogue for students, families and school staff to help them feel more comfortable talking about mental health, while destigmatizing mental illness and promoting early intervention.â
âNAMI On Campus: NAMI On Campus clubs are available on 57 university campuses and reach college-age students across the country. The program aims to raise mental health awareness and provide peer-to-peer support in educational settings.â
âNAMI Basics OnDemand: A free course for parents and caregivers that provides fundamental information about the signs and symptoms of mental illness, and how to best support a child with a mental health condition.â
The pro-psychiatry movement is comprised mainly of parental/caregiver perspectives who do not dispute the concept of âmental illnessâ, believe psychiatric treatment is evidence-based and believe psychotropic drugs are safe medicine.
The pro-psychiatry movement is also supported by non-psychiatric medical professionals who liberally prescribed psychotropic drugs to their patients without consideration of the many adverse reactions, including worsening symptoms and long-term chronicity.
Without advocates who will act in the best interest of those labeled âmentally illâ, the drug-centered paradigm of care will continue to expand and profit.
Great answer, and mine would be the same đ
Extreme states of mind, or psychotic states are very unpredictable.
Thank you for recognizing that it is sensible and humane to discount all physical causes of psychosis before labeling an individual with a mental disorder.
It is also important to recognize individuals in our mental health care system, on average, have a life expectancy 25 years less than others. In combination with the over use of harmful psych drugs, we must consider underlying medical conditions that are overlooked as a contributing factor to premature death.
The same underlying conditions that manifest as what is considered a psychiatric disorder in one person, can manifest as a physical/neurological condition in another.
Following best practice standards will create an overall healthier population.
Unfortunately, when it comes to advancing best practice standards, we are on the slow boat to China because one man’s prolonged suffering, is another man’s gain.
Frank,
I agree with you wholeheartedly and personally, I don’t have a problem with the word crazy either.
I do not approve of the schizophrenia label and I feel it should be abandoned.
Psychiatric labels are nothing more than descriptions of a broad range of thoughts, moods, behaviors, emotions, etc. perceived to be “abnormal”.
The state of psychosis is very real, and as we saw with Jason Russell, can be very extreme, happen very quickly and require intervention.
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/kony-2012-creators-meltdown-caused-directors-outburst-15977342
I am also speaking for individuals who were not seeking help in the first place, but found themselves locked up on psych wards anyways.
It is the state that sanctions forced treatment, not me.
Therefore, the state has a duty of care to ensure doctors providing forced treatment do so using best practice assessment standards.
Instead, the states have empowered psychiatry to advance a one-size-fits-all medication management monopoly.
This is what I am advocating against.
Thank you Steve for your answer.
If there was the possibility the cause was from a brain tumor, would you want an MRI?
Below are two cases
The first is that of a 15-year-old girl who went 2 years of her life labeled and treated for a “mental illness” before it was discovered she had lupus. Once the underlying cause was discovered and treated, she no longer needed psychiatric drugs.
The second is a 45-year-old woman who was dx with bipolar disorder but actually had Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Unlike other conditions, most individuals who enter into an extreme state, or a psychotic state, loose touch with reality and don’t have the ability to practice mindful introspection.
They end up depending on others, who become the “enablers” and in turn depend on psychiatry. And psychiatry has created a medication management monopoly.
What I advocate for, and I would think others who have integrity would do, is to ensure best practice assessment standards are used to determine underlying medical conditions, or exposure to substances.
While there are no tests to determine a person has a “mental disorder”, there are many tests that prove a person does not have a “mental disorder” but are experiencing psychosis/mania due to an underlying medical condition.
If an advocate does not support best practices, then they are not working in the best interest of the individuals they claim to represent.
1. OBJECTIVE:
The authors describe a 15-year-old African American young woman with a family history positive for bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia, who presented with symptoms consistent with an affective disorder.
METHOD:
The patient was diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder with catatonic features and required multiple hospitalizations for mood disturbance. Two years after her initial presentation, the patient was noted to have a malar rash and subsequently underwent a full rheumatologic work-up, which revealed cerebral vasculitis.
RESULTS:
NPSLE was diagnosed and, after treatment with steroids, the patient improved substantially and no longer required further psychiatric medication or therapy.
CONCLUSION:
Given the especially high prevalence of NPSLE in pediatric patients with lupus, it is important for clinicians to recognize that neuropsychiatric symptoms in an adolescent patient may indeed be the initial manifestations of SLE, as opposed to a primary affective disorder.
2 Case Report
The patient, a 45-year-old, married mother of two, was in her usual state of health, working as a secretary until about 8 weeks before admission to a short-term psychiatric inpatient facility. At that time, the patient began to have pressured, incoherent speech, with thoughtracing, and abrupt shifts of thoughts. She went on spending sprees and built up considerable credit card debt, buying unnecessary things. She had severe insomnia, sleeping only a few hours each night. She also complained of blurred vision and gait difficulty, the latter also noted by her family.
After evaluation of these complaints and a normal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain, she was given a diagnosis of Bipolar I Disorder, manic type.
Hi Steve,
Thank you for reading my comment and taking the time to reply.
What you state is true.
Unfortunately, states sanction forced “treatment” or medication management for individuals labeled with psychosis.
If our states sanction treatment, it should be under best practice guidelines.
Please read my comment above and if you are willing to answer my question, I would appreciate it.
Hi Frank,
Thank you for taking the time to read my comment.
Have you ever listened to Susannah Cahalanâs TEDxTalk?
But for her parents being strong advocates for her health care, she would have ended up labeled with schizophrenia and wasting away in a psych ward.
It was a neurologist who figured out the underlying condition of antiâNMDA receptor autoimmune encephalitis was causing her psychotic state.
For Susannah, it took only a relatively simple combination of steroids and immune therapies for her to recover from symptoms that were considered a severe mental illness.
Her doctor stated 90% of people suffering from the same disease are rotting away in psych wards and nursing homes.
https://psychoticdisorders.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/susannah-cahalans-revealing-tedxtalks-do-generic-psychiatric-labels-deprive-mental-health-patients-their-rights/
Also, please take the time to listen to Robert Whitakerâs talk where he repeatedly refers to individuals suffering from what is probably psychosis as âcrazy peopleâ (starting at 23:00)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAy8IVvS_wA
As a long-time advocate, my goal is to help all individuals considered to be societyâs âcrazy peopleâ to be helped by recognizing the fact viruses, bacteria, brain tumors, dehydration, lead poisoning, an abscessed tooth, high levels of copper, etc. are known to make people appear to others as âcrazyâ and offer them help by treating the underlying condition, not drugging them with psych meds.
In the decision of Wyatt v. Stickney 325 F.Supp. 781 (M.D.Ala. 1971), a key issue was that patients have a âconstitutional right to receive such individual treatment as will give each of them a realistic opportunity to be cured or to improve his or her mental condition.â
Because there are a diverse array of medical conditions and substances known to induce psychotic states, âmedical helpâ must be individualized.
So people who appear âcrazyâ and test positive for dehydration, should be offered fluids.
People who appear âcrazyâ and have an abscessed tooth, should be offered appropriate dental care.
People who appear âcrazyâ and have lead poisoning, should be offered Chelation Therapy.
People who appear âcrazyâ because of a brain tumor, should be offered treatment.
People who appear âcrazyâ and have high Ferritin levels, should be offered phlebotomy.
People who appear âcrazyâ after taking a prescribed medication (not just psych meds cause a person to go âcrazyâ), should be told the truth and not be given more drugs to stop the side effects of the first drug.
People who appear “crazy” because of Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease, should be offered sympathy and prayers.
Do you agree?
Would you be willing to answer my question?
If you experienced an extreme psychotic state, would you:
a) seek help through Open Dialogue or a Soteria House?
b) seek help through psychiatry?
c) seek help through medical professionals who will test for underlying medical conditions?
d) other, please explain
Hello, and thank you for taking the time to read my comment, which is not a joke.
Please take the time and listen to Susannah Cahalan’s TEDxTalk
But for her parents being strong advocates for her health care, she would have ended up wasting away in a psych ward.
It was a neurologist who figured out the underlying condition of antiâNMDA receptor autoimmune encephalitis was causing her psychotic state.
For Susannah, it took only a relatively simple combination of steroids and immune therapies for her to recover from symptoms that were considered a severe mental illness.
Her doctor stated 90% of people suffering from the same disease are rotting away in psych wards and nursing homes.
https://psychoticdisorders.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/susannah-cahalans-revealing-tedxtalks-do-generic-psychiatric-labels-deprive-mental-health-patients-their-rights/
Also, please take the time to listen to Robert Whitaker’s talk where he repeatedly refers to individuals suffering from psychosis as “crazy people” (starting at 23:00)
As a long-time advocate, my goal is to help all individuals considered to be society’s “crazy people” to be helped by recognizing the fact viruses, bacteria, brain tumors, dehydration, lead poisoning, an abscessed tooth, high levels of copper, etc. are known to make people appear “crazy” and get them help by treating the underlying condition, not drugging them with psych meds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAy8IVvS_wA
Would you be willing to answer my question?
If you experienced an extreme psychotic state, would you:
a) seek help through Open Dialogue or a Soteria House?
b) seek help through psychiatry?
c) seek help through medical professionals who will test for underlying medical conditions?
d) other, please explain
A psychotic state should be taken very seriously.
In 2013, Senator Creigh Deeds was stabbed by his son who was said to be in a psychotic state. His son then committed suicide.
Jared Loughner was considered to be in a psychotic state when he shot Representative Gabrielle Giffords in the head.
And sadly, Michael McEvoy was charged with killing Mozelle Nalan at Soteria House Alaska when he experienced a psychotic state.
Unlike any other condition, individuals who experience what can be considered a psychotic state can be a danger to not only themselves, but a danger to the health, safety and welfare of the public, which is why states sanction involuntary treatment.
What is being overlooked is the fact a wide variety of medical conditions, including fatal diseases, and exposure to numerous substances, including medications, can induce a psychotic state.
Something as common as the routine use of over-the-counter cold medicine can induce a psychotic state that is clinically indistinguishable from paranoid schizophrenia.
Anytime a commercial for a pharmaceutical product states the side effect of “abnormal behavior”, means the drug can cause the user to experience a psychotic state.
The British Medical Journal published guidelines for Best Practice Assessment of psychosis.
Because is is a natural response, no one is immune from experiencing a psychotic state.
If an individual is experiencing a psychotic state, and they appear to be a danger to themselves or others, they should be entitled to best practice standards of care and not just coercive psychiatry.
In order to fix our broken mental health care system, a unified advocacy agenda that will advance best practice standards of care is critically needed.
I would like to ask Robert Whitaker and every Mad in America writer one very simple multiple choice question,
If you experienced an extreme psychotic state, would you:
a) seek help through Open Dialogue or a Soteria House?
b) seek help through psychiatry?
c) seek help through medical professionals who will test for underlying medical conditions?
d) other, please explain
If you selected “c” for your answer, then start advocating for others to get the same treatment you would want for yourself
https://psychoticdisorders.wordpress.com/bmj-best-practice-assessment-of-psychosis/
Hi,
The British Medical Journal published guidelines for Best Practice Assessment of psychosis as there are dozens of underlying medical conditions (including fatal diseases) and substances know to induce symptoms considered to be psychosis that can be misdiagnosed as a mental disorder.
Unfortunately, most medical professionals fail to test for underlying causes and instead rely on the rubberstamp labeling process of psychiatry.
https://psychoticdisorders.wordpress.com/bmj-best-practice-assessment-of-psychosis/
Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness is just one example of how individuals suffering from a very serious medical condition can be easily misdiagnosed by medical professionals
https://psychoticdisorders.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/susannah-cahalans-revealing-tedxtalks-do-generic-psychiatric-labels-deprive-mental-health-patients-their-rights/
Very well written and such an important experience to share.
I hope this post gets the exposure it deserves.
Consumer protection and contract law also seem to argue against coercive psychiatric treatment.
Under most circumstances, individuals in the United States who are forcibly treated are also responsible to pay for the products, services and accommodations they receive and consume.
The psychiatric drugs they are forced to purchase are products the manufacturers openly admit are defective and may cause harm.
Unlike any other manufactured products, when the products don’t work and are not of any use, consumers who purchase defective pharmaceutical products are not entitled to refunds or exchanges.
The psychiatric consumer is expected to throw away defective merchandise regardless of how much it cost, perhaps hundreds of dollars for just one small bottle. Lawmakers and the so-called “mental health” advocates are OK with “mentally ill” patients and insurance companies wasting their money.
Individuals labeled “mentally ill” can be legally forced to purchase defective products and their consumer rights fail to be protected.
Consumers can be legally forced to stay at a “treatment” facility without being told how much money it will be costing them, or for how long they will be “treated”.
Although there are treatment options, consumers are not provided with them.
Individuals who become labeled “mentally ill” can be forced into blind contracts with providers and facilities.
To illustrate the point, what if medical experts had the power to label certain individuals as Walmart shoppers who could be legally forced to shop only at Walmart.
Even if other stores had better selection, better quality and lower prices, those diagnosed as Walmart shoppers, could only shop at Walmart. They will be forced into blind contracts with Walmart and have to pay whatever Walmart feels like charging them for Walmart’s one-size-fits-all selection of limited products. If the Walmart products they purchase are defective, there are no refunds, they will just have to throw the products away and they must purchase more defective merchandise from Walmart.
That is exactly what psychiatry does and the Helping Families in Crisis Act will expand coercive psychiatry while ignoring consumer protection.
In his article published in Scientific American, Dr. Insel writes:
“If you are unfortunate enough to develop acute chest pain this winter you will probably be assessed by a clinician who will order a battery of tests to determine if your symptoms result from pneumonia, bronchitis, heart disease, or something else. These tests not only can yield a precise diagnosis, they ensure you will receive the appropriate treatment for your specific illness.
If you are unfortunate enough to have a psychotic episode this winter, the process of arriving at a diagnosis will be quite different. In fact, there are not many choices. Most people with a psychotic disorder are labeled as having either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder…Sadly, there are no blood tests or scans to distinguish schizophrenia from bipolar disorder.”
While there are no tests to determine a person experiencing a psychotic/manic state is suffering from either schizophrenia/bipolar disorder, there are many medical tests that will detect underlying medical conditions and yield a precise diagnosis, ensuring patients receive the appropriate treatment for the specific illness manifesting as symptoms of a “mental disorder”.
Unfortunately, mental health professionals ignore the fact psychotic/manic symptoms are caused by many different underlying medical conditions/exposure to substances, including prescribed medications.
Even a flu shot or the routine use of over-the-counter cold medicine can induce psychotic symptoms that are clinically indistinguishable from paranoid schizophrenia.
The British Medical Journal created guidelines for doctors to follow as a best practice standard of care for individuals who present with psychotic symptoms.
Because some individuals suffering from psychosis/mania are a threat to themselves or others, the failure to follow best practice assessment is not only cruel and unethical, it jeopardizes the health, safety and welfare of the public.
https://psychoticdisorders.wordpress.com/bmj-best-practice-assessment-of-psychosis/
Psychosis Due to a Medical Condition involve a surprisingly large number of different medical conditions, some of which include: brain tumors, cerebrovascular disease, Huntingtonâs disease, multiple sclerosis, Creitzfeld-Jakob disease, anti-NMDAR Encephalitis, herpes zoster-associated encephalitis, head trauma, infections such as neurosyphilis, epilepsy, auditory or visual nerve injury or impairment, deafness, migraine, endocrine disturbances, metabolic disturbances, vitamin B12 deficiency, a decrease in blood gases such as oxygen or carbon dioxide or imbalances in blood sugar levels, and autoimmune disorders with central nervous system involvement such as systemic lupus erythematosus have also been known to cause psychosis.
A substance-induced psychotic disorder, by definition, is directly caused by the effects of drugs including alcohol, medications, and toxins. Psychotic symptoms can result from intoxication on alcohol, amphetamines (and related substances), cannabis (marijuana), cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants, opioids, phencyclidine (PCP) and related substances, sedatives, hypnotics, anxiolytics, and other or unknown substances. Psychotic symptoms can also result from withdrawal from alcohol, sedatives, hypnotics, anxiolytics, and other or unknown substances.
Some medications that may induce psychotic symptoms include anesthetics and analgesics, anticholinergic agents, anticonvulsants, antihistamines, antihypertensive and cardiovascular medications, antimicrobial medications, antiparkinsonian medications, chemotherapeutic agents, corticosteroids, gastrointestinal medications, muscle relaxants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, other over-the-counter medications, antidepressant medications, neurleptic medications, antipsychotics, and disulfiram . Toxins that may induce psychotic symptoms include anticholinesterase, organophosphate insecticides, nerve gases, heavy metals, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and volatile substances (such as fuel or paint).
This Bill has strong support from family members who seek to advance forced treatment. Their leverage comes from the many widely-publicized mass shootings that involved individuals labeled with “serious mental illness” and they disregard the dangerous side effects of psychotropic drugs.
We need to consider why so many advocates, who are family members, push for forced treatment.
The 1927 U.S. Supreme Court case of Buck v. Bell decided the fate of a young woman who was sentenced to compulsory sterilization because she represented a âgenetic threat to societyâ. The Courtâs decision sanctioned the stateâs use of medical procedures on select individuals without their consent âfor the protection and health of the stateâ.
The association between psychotic disorders and violent criminal behavior becomes widely publicized in high-profile, mass-murder cases.
Unlike any other condition, a psychotic episode can result in violent criminal behavior against others.
The relationship between “severe mental illness” and violence has a significant effect on mental health policy, clinical practice, and public opinion about the perceived dangerousness of people with psychiatric disorders.
Violence towards others by a minority of individuals under psychotic distress is a significant public health concern which involves conflicting opinions concerning the right of the patient to treatment, and punishment for the crimes they commit.
Society has come to fear individual who are considered to be suffering from “serious mental illness”.
It needs to be recognized that a serious flaw in our mental health system exits because of the method medical and mental health professionals use to label individuals who appear to exhibit symptoms of “serious mental illness”.
Most often, the DSM-5: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is used with what professionals refer to as a “Chinese Menu” approach.
Patients are labeled with a mental disorder based on the description of their abnormal behavior, mood, emotion, actions, expressions, appearance, etc. and then prescribed dangerous drugs that will hopefully make them “normal”.
Most professionals fail to test for the many underlying conditions that are known to manifest as a mental disorder.
Dangerous psychiatric drugs are passed out like candy, while simple causes like an infected tooth, lead poisoning, B vitamin deficiency are completely ignored.
All mental health advocates should work to ensure patients receive best practice standard of care that includes thorough testing for underlying causes and individualized treatment protocols.
https://psychoticdisorders.wordpress.com/bmj-best-practice-assessment-of-psychosis/
Our current mental health care system has created an ineffective, inefficient and dangerous, one-size-fits-all, Medication Management Monopoly.
Forced psychiatric treatment creates forced contracts between patients and their providers, treatment facilities and drug companies.
Considering the many possible drug side effects, patients should also be able to return drugs that they purchased and can no longer take because of the side effects.
Lawmakers should not be allowed to force consumers to purchase products and services.
Thank you Nancy for sharing a beautiful public tribute to an amazing woman.
Bonnie had a steadfast commitment to the well-being of others and certainly put meaning to the words of Margaret Mead.
“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.â – Margaret Mead.
I appreciate all of those who have dedicated their time, effort and energy into creating and maintaining this very valuable site where such a tribute can exist.
Bonnie,
May you rest in peace, love and light,
Maria M.
When “treatment” kills, NAMI parents are in denial.
“Zac died during his sleep. No cause has yet been reported.”
http://www.peteearley.com/2015/01/20/zac-pogliano-dies-sleep-mother-son-spoke-frankly-struggles/
“Shortly after he was released from the Colorado State Mental Hospital at Ft Logan, John became incoherent, crawling on his hands and knees, urinating on the wall in the corner of his room…Last November 16th, John passed away. Cause: Undetermined. What killed him is not measurable.”
http://www.peteearley.com/2013/04/29/a-father-responds-when-mental-illness-claims-his-son/
Kevin wanted to try alternative therapies but was discouraged by his family.
Eventually, his brother told him either take your meds, or we don’t want you around our kids.
Kevin is a peer counselor and advocates for the use of psych meds. Pete employs his other son to manage his websites/blog and his daughter became a mental health professional.
http://www.peteearley.com/2011/06/01/another-earley-advocates/
Kevin is an artist and rapper. He uses his music to promote drug treatment for recovery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Bti4Ey2yyE
“My brother came to me in 2008. He was about to have his first child, making me a first time uncle. He told me that if I wanted to be a part of his childâs life, I would have to take my medicine. I made a promise to him, for the sake of my niece, that I would do such a thing. Nowadays, I take my medicine religiously.”
Hi Sera,
When I have a bit more time, I will write a better response.
I have been writing to Pete since I first came across his book at the library in 2008.
Although I make very respectful comments, both Pete and Congressman Tim Murphy have deleted all of my comments from their Facebook Fan page and have blocked my ability to post comments.
For Pete, it is sadly a matter of job security, not only for him but many of his family members who also profit from the Medication Management Monopoly.
One glaring flaw in Pete’s book “Crazy” involves Florida plaintiff Deidra Sanbourne.
Deidra spent over 20 years warehoused in a state psychiatric facility being “treated” for “mental illness”.
Pete does not care that her death was more than likely caused by the “treatment” that he advocates for.
Very sad that he and our lawmakers can turn a blind eye and there are ways that we can get them to listen.
https://isepp.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/florida-plaintiff-deidra-sanbourne-was-her-death-caused-by-clozipine-induced-bowel-obstruction-readers-of-the-book-crazy-deserve-to-know-about-the-harm-psychiatric-drugs-can-cause/
Hi Sera,
I enjoyed reading your post as the NAMI advocacy agenda has such a powerful influence in our society and on our lawmakers.
Advocacy is a very profitable business and the magic bullets, psychiatric drugs, the astonishing rise of “mental illness” in America and the enduring mistreatment, provides job security for many of the self-appointed representatives of those living with “severe mental illness”.
Are you familiar with NAMI advocate and author Pete Earley?
Pete’s post, “Why Wonât You Take Your Medication?”, speaks volumes.
http://www.peteearley.com/2010/03/12/why-wont-you-take-your-medication/
âWhy wonât you just take your medication? I take pills for my cholesterol every night and its no big deal?…â
“It often is frustrating for us â parents â to understand why our children will not take anti-psychotic medication or take it only until they get better and then stop. The remedy seems so clear-cut to us, so simple â and watching them experience the mania, depression, and delusions that happen when they become psychotic is heartbreaking and horrific…..So why do persons with mental illnesses refuse to take their medication or stop taking them as soon as they become stable?
I am asked that question more than any other after I give a speech.
Letâs skip the obvious reasons âthat some anti-psychotic medications can dull a person, make them feel physically lousy, kill their sex drive, cause them to gain weight or send them to bed exhausted even though they are already sleeping for 16 hours a day. Letâs ignore the fact that no one really knows the long term health impact that medication can cause on a personâs body.”
SKIP THE OBVIOUS REASONS???
IGNORE THE FACTS???
Perhaps if Pete’s cholesterol pills made him sleep 16 hours a day and sacrifice having a normal life, he would seek alternative methods of controlling his cholesterol.
What right does this man, who is careless and inconsiderate of what others go through, have advocating on the behalf of all those considered to be “mentally ill”?
What are his credentials?
How much money does he make as an advocate?
As ignorant as he is, Pete is invited to speak around the world and to our lawmakers on a topic he has no formal education/training in, or personal experience with and had no tolerance for his own son, who at one point he told that he wished he had “ânever been born.”
How can he be fired?
Hi Dr. Steingard,
Admittedly, I am very thankful that I was under the care of a skilled psychopharmacologist when I suffered acute mania/psychosis and in the moment, I did need to be slowed down with medications.
The insomnia was unbearable and the health impact of lack of sleep must be considered as a critical condition that needs to be treated.
Medications can be effective in slowing a person’s mental state down/helping insomnia but why do medical professionals fail to question what is causing the mental state to speed up?
As a best practice standard, our medical professionals must consider testing for and treating the underlying medical conditions that are known to cause a person to suffer mania/psychosis.
After several years of repeated bouts of manic/psychotic episodes requiring hospitalization, I was blessed to find an MD who uses Functional Medicine/Orthomolecular Concepts.
Tests revealed past exposure to lead/other toxins related to long-term chemical exposure in the work environment. Chelation and other therapies helped to reduce levels, symptoms subsided, meds were tapered off and eventually I received a worker’s comp settlement after supportive depositions for the dx of toxic encephalopathy.
In this 2013 TEDxTalks, journalist Susannah Cahalan, author of Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, shares her experiences of being misdiagnosed with severe mental illness.
https://youtu.be/oqrzvYnrI9A
Susannahâs talk reveals the serious flaw in our mental health care system of how patients suffering from psychosis and mania are simply labeled with generic DSM5 diagnoses using with what is referred to as a âChinese Menuâ approach.
Susannah claims her parents were adamant that her treatment take place in a hospital setting and they fought to keep her from being admitted into a psychiatric facility. She now believes her familyâs advocacy to keep her out of a psychiatric hospital is what saved her life.
During her talk, Susannah states to the âuntrained eyeâ she would have been considered a schizophrenic. She even reads out loud the DSM5 criteria for schizophrenia which matched up to her symptoms.
Susannah explained that her treating psychiatrists considered her to be an otherwise healthy, normal 24-year old woman. In some of her interviews she claims, the first neurologist she saw told her there was nothing wrong with her.
A psychiatrist told her she had bipolar disorder and prescribed antipsychotic medications.
A second neurologist diagnosed her with âalcohol withdrawal syndromeâ and prescribed different psychiatric medication.
While hospitalized, her psychophamacologist diagnosed her with schizoaffective disorder, what she describes as a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Susannah admits that she was extremely lucky to come under the care of a neurologist with an excellent reputation. Her doctor, Dr. Souhel Najjar, is a Neurologist, Neurophysiologist, Epileptologist and a Neuropathologist at NYU Langone Medical Center. He is also the Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at the NYU School of Medicine.
While the other doctors and psychiatrists ignored many of Susannahâs physical manifestations, which included seizures and high blood pressure, Dr. Najjar took that information seriously and spent a considerable amount of time obtaining information about her case from her parents.
After a month-long hospitalization and very costly testing, a very simple âDraw a Clockâ test put Dr. Najjar on the path to making the correct diagnosis. This no-cost test alerted the neurologist to Susannahâs underlying condition of antiâNMDA receptor autoimmune encephalitis
For Susannah, it took only a relatively simple combination of steroids and immune therapies for her to recover from symptoms that were considered a severe mental illness.
Susannah now believes it is exceedingly important for psychiatry to adopt a greater vigilance in diagnosing patients to rule out possible neurological causes of behaviors that can be misdiagnosed as severe mental illness.
Dr. Najjar estimates that nearly 90 percent of those suffering from autoimmune encephalitis go undiagnosed.
âItâs a death sentence when youâre still alive,â Najjar said. âMany are wasting away in a psych ward or a nursing home.â
Below is another case of misdiagnosis. Two years of a young girl’s life wasted because of the “Chinese menu” approach.
Does it really matter how rare a condition is?
If it is a possibility, it should be ruled out.
Very sad to know so many are refused accurate assessment.
Kind Regards,
Maria M.
Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus presenting as bipolar I disorder with catatonic features.
Posted on November 25, 2012
Psychosomatics. 2009 Sep-Oct;50(5):543-7.
Alao AO, Chlebowski S, Chung C.
SOURCE
Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate, NY 13210, USA. [email protected]
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The American College of Rheumatology has defined 19 neuropsychiatric syndromes associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems. Neuropsychiatric manifestations of lupus (NPSLE) have been shown to occur in up to 95% of pediatric patients with SLE.
OBJECTIVE:
The authors describe a 15-year-old African American young woman with a family history positive for bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia, who presented with symptoms consistent with an affective disorder.
METHOD:
The patient was diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder with catatonic features and required multiple hospitalizations for mood disturbance. Two years after her initial presentation, the patient was noted to have a malar rash and subsequently underwent a full rheumatologic work-up, which revealed cerebral vasculitis.
RESULTS:
NPSLE was diagnosed and, after treatment with steroids, the patient improved substantially and no longer required further psychiatric medication or therapy.
CONCLUSION:
Given the especially high prevalence of NPSLE in pediatric patients with lupus, it is important for clinicians to recognize that neuropsychiatric symptoms in an adolescent patient may indeed be the initial manifestations of SLE, as opposed to a primary affective disorder.
Sean,
I’ve been a big fan of your videos for many years and am thrilled to see your presence on MIA.
My first psychotic episode occurred on March 23, 1996 and it was not until I sought help through an MD who practices Orthomolecular/Functional Medicine that I found a path to recovery through detoxing and a multimodal use of complimentary therapies.
The underlying encephalopathy was linked to past exposure to lead/chemical exposure in the work environment and an abscessed tooth.
As a mental health advocate, I focus on drawing attention to the many underlying medical conditions and substances that can induce psychosis and be misdiagnosed as bipolar/schizophrenia.
While the spiritual components of psychosis were truly something incredible to experience and process as a gift, my connections felt the extreme pain and suffering of others that results in harm to our society.
Recently, there were three tragic incidents here in the Tampa, Florida region involving young men between the ages 23-25 who had a “history of mental illness”.
These cases included a man who brutally killed his mother and 9-year-old niece, a man who threw his 5-year-old daughter off a bridge and another who decapitated mother.
We can not turn a blind eye to the harm caused by individuals who are in a psychotic state and we must recognize there are many medical conditions/substances, including psych meds, that induce psychosis.
Widely-publicized cases like these support main stream mental health advocates who push an agenda that supports the current Medication Management Monopoly. Because mental disorders can involve public safety, psychiatry has become an unregulated power-base of authority in our country.
A best practice standard of care that focuses on testing for and treating underlying causes will help to dismantle the power-base of psychiatric authority that controls and undermines the spiritual-based components involved in experiencing an unexpected altered state of mind.
I hope that more individuals involved in MIA will support a unified advocacy agenda that supports Best Practice Assessment of Psychosis.
https://psychoticdisorders.wordpress.com/bmj-best-practice-assessment-of-psychosis/
Kind Regards,
Maria M.
Dear Bob,
As you are well aware, individuals suffering from symptoms described as “severe mental illness” are among the most stigmatized, discriminated against, marginalized, disadvantaged and vulnerable members of society.
The horrific crimes committed by individuals while in a psychotic state of mind become widely-publicized and proliferate not only the stigma of “mental illness” but also hatred of the “mentally ill”.
Here are just a few of the homicide cases that occurred in Florida involving individuals considered to be suffering from “severe mental illness”:
Christian Gomez, 23, charged with first-degree murder after deputies found the decapitated body of his mother 48-year-old Maria Suarez Cassagne alongside garbage cans outside of the Tampa-area home,
John Jonchuck Jr, 25, faces first-degree murder charges after a St. Petersburg police officer said he watched Jonchuck throw his 5-year-old daughter over the railing of the Dick Misener Bridge on Florida’s west coast Jan. 8.
23-year-old Jason Rios faces two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder after he killed his own mother and 9-year-old niece in Pasco County, FL.
I am heartbroken every time I hear of cases like these.
It pains me to know how a serious flaw in our mental health system leaves patients who are suffering from underlying medical conditions that manifest as psychosis at risk of being misdiagnosed and mistreated.
Most medical and mental health professionals use the DSM5 with a “Chinese Menu” approach. Patients are simply rubber-stamped with psychiatric labels and commonly treated with a one-size-fits-all medication management regime.
Individuals suffering from symptoms of psychosis are in need of strong advocates.
This agenda must include Best Practice Assessment of psychotic symptoms, as published in the British Medical Journal and supported by Functional Medicine.
I do not know how anyone could challenge, or argue against, testing for and treating underlying conditions that can manifest as psychotic symptoms.
Fixing our broken mental health care system will only be accomplished when challenges are laid to rest and a unified advocacy agenda based on best practice standards of care can be advanced.
https://psychoticdisorders.wordpress.com/bmj-best-practice-assessment-of-psychosis/
Hi Duane, I like the approach of the Peaceful Warrior
my personal battle ended a long time ago and I feel at peace knowing that I have put out as much information I can to the people with the power to inform others
it just makes it impossible to watch the news, hear tragedy after tragedy, know the “paradigm shift” is taking the slow boat to China and not feel heartbroken, so every now and then I try to post a comment on this site
I know I’m wasting my time, you are right, I should just let it go but in the work environments I’ve been in, we don’t waste time, we fix things that are broken right away, that is how we stay profitable, how can so many be ok with profiting off of the suffering of others????
I just can not comprehend it
I think I will go eat some cake, maybe that is the answer after all
Unfortunately, my wealth doesn’t seem to do much good.
For the past 4 years I have engaged in a lot of community volunteerism supported by my part time employer.
It has been a great way to connect with our local community through schools, nonprofits, hospitals, universities, law enforcement, politicians, government agencies and attend lectures/events/public forums.
In addition to feeling good about contributing to our community, I am able get the “inside scoop” on the true impact main stream psychiatry and their Medication Management Monopoly has on so many aspects of our society as a whole.
A few month ago I heard Congressman Tim Murphy speak as a guest at one of our public forums and I recently saw Kevin Miller at the Adlerian Society’s Annual Conference .
While I do know of many wonderful stories and I see very small glimpses of hope here and there, in reality, this is a loosing battle.
If I had to come up with an analogy I would say,
imagine an Olympic-size swimming pool
to measure the collective impact on our society that every person involved in the anti-psychiatry movement, the survivors movement, the alternatives movement, CCHR, PsychRights, ISEPP, ICSPP, MIA, etc., etc., has had, imagine we have been filling our Olympic-size swimming pool using whatever tool we have available, whether it is an eye dropper, or a 5 gallon bucket, everyone has been filling the same pool using the same source of water
the pool is looking pretty full and we all feel very hopeful that soon the tables will turn, the scale will tip, the paradigm will shift
now, imagine going down to Miami beach and take a good, long look at that vast ocean and realize
this is our source of water
can you see the difference we made?
Psychiatry will always have the upper hand
What makes this a loosing battle is the fact parents of children labeled with “severe mental illness” are buying into
“the idea that serious mental illness can be a terminal illness, and that this battle wasnât winnable in the first place,”
http://www.peteearley.com/2015/01/20/zac-pogliano-dies-sleep-mother-son-spoke-frankly-struggles/
http://www.peteearley.com/2015/03/06/god-winks-a-baltimore-police-officers-loving-gift/
I have the privileged to get to know parents who will never give up on their children battling cancer, everyday they fight and miracles beyond belief do happen
In general, our society just gives up on those labeled with “severe mental illness”
Along with our lawmakers, they put all of their faith and hope in psychiatry
For many, mental illness = job security
so it is a loosing battle
I should really just spend my time at the gym and forget about trying to educate others on the causes of “severe mental illness”
Peace-out, Maria
Hi Duane,
18 years ago the word encephalopathy first came into my vocabulary and since then I have grown to appreciate knowing that an underlying brain disease is what led me to experience psychosis.
From Wikipedia: “The hallmark of encephalopathy is an altered mental state.”
Providing “talk” therapy alone to someone who is in an altered state of mind because of encephalopathy is not only cruel, but is jeopardizes the health, safety and welfare of the public.
As always, thank you for calling attention to the BMJ’s Best Practice assessment of psychosis protocol.
I only wish a united advocacy agenda would support ensuring patients are provided this standard of care.
Kind Regards,
Maria
https://psychoticdisorders.wordpress.com/2015/03/09/encephalopathy-is-it-the-cause-of-severe-mental-illness/
Encephalopathy /ÉnËsÉfÉËlÉpÉΞi/ means disorder or disease of the brain.[1] In modern usage, encephalopathy does not refer to a single disease, but rather to a syndrome of global brain dysfunction; this syndrome can have many different organic and inorganic causes.
Terminology
In some contexts it refers to permanent (or degenerative)[2] brain injury, and in others it is reversible. It can be due to direct injury to the brain, or illness remote from the brain. In medical terms it can refer to a wide variety of brain disorders with very different etiologies, prognoses and implications. For example, prion diseases, all of which cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, are invariably fatal, but other encephalopathies are reversible and can have a number of causes including nutritional deficiencies and toxins.
Types
There are many types of encephalopathy. Some examples include:
Mitochondrial encephalopathy: Metabolic disorder caused by dysfunction of mitochondrial DNA. Can affect many body systems, particularly the brain and nervous system.
Glycine encephalopathy: A genetic metabolic disorder involving excess production of glycine
Hepatic encephalopathy: Arising from advanced cirrhosis of the liver
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy: Permanent or transitory encephalopathy arising from severely reduced oxygen delivery to the brain
Static encephalopathy: Unchanging, or permanent, brain damage
Uremic encephalopathy: Arising from high levels of toxins normally cleared by the kidneysârare where dialysis is readily available
Wernickeâs encephalopathy: Arising from thiamine deficiency, usually in the setting of alcoholism
Hashimotoâs encephalopathy: Arising from an auto-immune disorder
Hypertensive encephalopathy: Arising from acutely increased blood pressure
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: Progressive degenerative disease associated with multiple concussions and other forms of head injury
Lyme encephalopathy: Arising from Lyme disease bacteria, including Borrelia burgdorferi.
Toxic encephalopathy: A form of encephalopathy caused by chemicals, often resulting in permanent brain damage
Toxic-Metabolic encephalopathy: A catch-all for brain dysfunction caused by infection, organ failure, or intoxication
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy: A collection of diseases all caused by prions, and characterized by âspongyâ brain tissue (riddled with holes), impaired locomotion or coordination, and a 100% mortality rate. Includes bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease), scrapie, and kuru among others.
Neonatal encephalopathy: An obstetric form, often occurring due to lack of oxygen in bloodflow to brain-tissue of the fetus during labour or delivery
Salmonella encephalopathy : A form of encephalopathy caused by food poisoning (especially out of peanuts and rotten meat) often resulting in permanent brain damage and nervous system disorders.
Encephalomyopathy: A combination of encephalopathy and myopathy. Causes may include mitochondrial disease (particularly MELAS) or chronichypophosphatemia, as may occur in cystinosis.[3]
Signs and symptoms
The hallmark of encephalopathy is an altered mental state.
Depending on the type and severity of encephalopathy, common neurological symptoms are loss of cognitive function, subtle personality changes, inability to concentrate, lethargy, and depressed consciousness. Other neurological signs may include myoclonus(involuntary twitching of a muscle or group of muscles), asterixis (abrupt loss of muscle tone, quickly restored),[citation needed] nystagmus (rapid, involuntary eye movement), tremor, seizures, jactitation (restless picking at things characteristic of severe infection),[citation needed] and respiratory abnormalities such as Cheyne-Stokes respiration (cyclic waxing and waning of tidal volume), apneustic respirations and post-hypercapnic apnea..
Diagnosis
Blood tests, cerebrospinal fluid examination by lumbar puncture (also known as spinal tap), brain imaging studies, electroencephalograms and similar diagnostic studies may be used to differentiate the various causes of encephalopathy.
Diagnosis is frequently clinical. That is, no set of tests give the diagnosis, but the entire presentation of the illness with nonspecific test results informs the experienced clinician of the diagnosis.
Therapy
Treatment varies according to the type and severity of the encephalopathy. Anticonvulsants may be prescribed to reduce or halt any seizures. Changes to diet and nutritional supplements may help some patients. In severe cases, dialysis or organ replacement surgery may be needed.
Prognosis
Treating the underlying cause of the disorder may improve or reverse symptoms. However, in some cases, the encephalopathy may cause permanent structural changes and irreversible damage to the brain. These permanent deficits can be considered a form of stable dementia. Some encephalopathies can be fatal.