- Why are half of American defined as having a mental illness at some time in their lives?
- Why have the number of children receiving SSI income for a mental disability increased by a factor of 35 over the past 20 years?
- Why do people believe in the "chemical imbalance" theory of mental disorders when there is no evidence to support it?
- Why are new-generation antipsychotics the top-selling class of drugs in the US?
- What is going on here???
- If the drugs work, shouldn't the prevalence of mental illness be falling, not rising?
- Why are illnesses that used to be episodic now chronic, never-ending conditions?
- Are our drugs actually making matters worse?
Sunday, June 26, 2011
The Epidemic of Mental Illness: Why? / NY Review of Books
This June 23, 2011 article by Marcia Angell, a former NEJM editor and a Harvard professor of medicine, is a must-read. Actually, this article is only Part 1, and the second half will come out in two weeks. Angell reviews 3 books on psychiatry, and asks all the right questions:
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The current issue of Newsweek has an article titled "Mommy, Am I Really Bipolar?"
A sample:
A Harvard child-psychiatry group led by Dr. Joseph Biederman, a prominent supporter of the diagnosis, recently insisted, “Juvenile bipolar disorder is a serious illness that is estimated to affect approximately 1 percent to 4 percent of children.”
I believe, to the contrary, that there is no scientific evidence to support the belief that bipolar disorder surfaces in childhood. In fact, the opposite seems to be the case: the evidence against the existence of pediatric bipolar disorder is so strong that it’s difficult to imagine how it has gained the endorsement of anyone in the scientific community. And the effect of this trendy thinking can have devastating consequences. Such children are regularly prescribed medications that are not effective in kids and have unwelcome side effects.
There was also a piece on TV recently about how children seem to have food allergies today that no one had just ten or fifteen years ago. The general conclusion was that kids are protected from exposure to normal germs a lot more today than in the past, and, as a result, they develop fewer immunities. The lack of immunities results in a lack of tolerance for certain foods.
According to the Mayo Clinic:
When you have a food allergy, your immune system mistakenly identifies a specific food or a substance in food as something harmful. Your immune system triggers cells to release antibodies known as immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to neutralize the culprit food or food substance (the allergen). The next time you eat even the smallest amount of that food, the IgE antibodies sense it and signal your immune system to release a chemical called histamine, as well as other chemicals, into your bloodstream.
These chemicals cause a range of allergy signs and symptoms.
It's a dilemma: Do you protect your kids from everyday diseases, or do you let them develop "normal" immunities? If they don't develop "normal" immunities, what else won't be "normal" about them? If you don't protect them from everyday diseases, how can you prevent them from getting something truly serious?
Ed
We must also consider that most children who "swing" are doing so because of normal childhood hormonal changes. We can't measure child "normalcy" in the same way we measure adult "normalcy" or even in comparison to adults.
In response to the post above on child food allergies we also have to look at the sugar connection as well as other non-food substances added to the food that play havoc on the digestive system. There is a strong connection between the digestive system and the brain.
But really let's get down to truth. The psychotropic drugging of children doesn't stem from a true believe that all these children have bi-polar but from the very ones who for wicked agenda's are attacking our children, our women, and our men.
We all need to get back to basic living, and put all populations on "High Alert" for anything "Big Pharma" being promoted. This all ties into the New World Order, but you all probably won't believe it.
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