TOP PSYCHIATRIST TRASHES HIS WORK
by Jon Rappoport
Headlines you won’t see:
All psychiatric drugs banned; too toxic.
Psychiatric profession judged unstable, unscientific.
Foundation of psychiatry discovered to be a fantasy.
JUNE 28, 2011. I recently learned about a teen whose life was turned inside out and ripped from him. A psychiatrist had diagnosed him at a young age with ADHD, given him Ritalin…and then the parade of newer diagnoses followed—Clinical Depression, Bipolar, Oppositional Defiance Disorder—and the boy ended up on Valproate and Risperdal, two powerful toxic drugs that dropped him over the cliff into psychosis.
Does this seem impossible?
What lies behind the story, one that is happening with increased frequency all over the world—every day.
Psychiatrists are are carte blanche members of an elite club with “diplomatic passports” of the medical variety. Protected by governments and the press. Protected by colleagues. Protected by the public, yes, who blithely accept psychiatric diagnoses as rigorous science.
So let us start here. There is a book called the DSM, and it is the bible of the profession. DSM stands for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In it are listed all the names and descriptions of these disorders. The latest edition, the DSM-4, offers no less than 297 separate psychiatric conditions.
How are the disorders discovered? Well, “discovered” is not the correct word. COMMITTEES of professionals hash over ideas and definitions and reports, and they issue the verdicts. They name the disorders. They describe them.
It’s all committee work. NO disorder finds its way into the DSM through a clear-cut organic biological or chemical test. Those tests DO NOT EXIST. The tests do not exist for ANY so-called mental disorder or disease.
Is this possible? Conceivable?
The latest edition of the DSM, the DSM-4, was led by Dr. Allen Frances. In a January 2011 article in Wired, by Gary Greenberg, Dr. Frances is quoted as saying, astonishingly:
“There is no definition of a mental disorder. It’s bullshit. I mean, you just can’t define it.”
This is on the level of stating, “You know, we were quite sure bloodletting was a wonderful way way of treating all illness, and we had all sorts of reasons for recommending the procedure, but then after we sent out the report by horseback and mule all over the land, we met again for an informal chat and realized the entire notion of draining blood from the patient was completely insane.”
But Dr. Frances is not the only psychiatrist to point out the emperor has no clothes.
The late Dr. Loren Mosher, psychiatrist, former chief of the Center for Studies of Schizophrenia at the National Institute of Mental Health, in his resignation letter sent to the American Psychiatric Association(APA), wrote:
“Finally, why must the APA pretend to know more than it does? DSM-4 is the fabrication upon which psychiatry seeks acceptance by [the profession of] medicine in general. Insiders know it is more a political than a scientific document.”
Thomas Szaz, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, State University of New York, states:
“The designation ‘disease’ can only be justified when the cause can be related to demonstrable anatomical lesion, infection or some other physiological defect. As there is no such evidence for any mental disorder, the term disease is a misnomer; in fact, it is fraudulent.”
Dr. Peter Breggin, psychiatrist, author of “Toxic Psychiatry,” former staff member at the National Institute of Mental Health and faculty at Johns Hopkins University, writes:
“No causal relationship has ever been established between a specific biochemical state of the brain and any specific behavior, and it is simplistic to think it is possible.”
Yes, people of all ages and backgrounds have problems. But recognizing that is a far cry from codifying these difficulties under titles and including them in a professional guidebook—and claiming they are actual disorders demanding powerful medication.
However, DSM-4 is out there and it is the Bible. Therefore, for example, its new and improved (and looser) definitions of ADHD, autism, and bipolar disease have allowed for many more diagnoses—and THAT means more widespread use of highly powerful and toxic drugs. Risperdal, Valproate, and yes, even Ritalin, a cheap form of speed.
And the DSM-5 is on the way. It’s due out in May of 2013. So far, the panels of deliberating committees have come up with three new suggestions for disorders:
PSYCHOSIS RISK SYNDROME (PRS). Apparently, this is a “pre” diagnosis, an early-warning signal from the inner landscape that alerts the psychiatrist to impending disaster. Of course, the very real possibility that the drugs he is already prescribing to the patient are the cause of “PRS” is out of the question—because such an admission would amount to professional suicide.
TEMPER DYSFUNCTIONAL DISORDER (TDD): A child blows up now and then. Could this have something to do with the pound of sugar he’s ingesting every day with his his high-speed sports drink? Could he be reacting to the load of artificial colors and dyes in his processed meals? Couldn’t be the kid’s alcoholic father who beats him once a week—certainly not. Or any of a hundred other reasonable causes. A TDD diagnosis simply means he’s very angry, so medicate him to within an inch of his life.
In fact, if PRS and TDD are listed in the new DSM-5, untold numbers of new children will be on heavy drugs every day.
MINOR NEUROCOGNITIVE DISORDER (MND). This one is for the old folks. Well, probably anyone over 50. Find yourself failing to remember a detail here and there? Can’t find your keys? Boom. You could be at risk for Alzheimer’s. And even though there are no meds that can cure the big A, we’ll give you drugs for MND, and we’ll say this will delay the onset of Alzheimer’s. Although we have no idea whether that’s true. In fact, we have no idea whether you are going to experience senility and dementia at any point in your life. But just to be on the safe side…
Adverse effects of Valproate (given for a bipolar diagnosis) include:
acute, life-threatening, and even fatal liver toxicity;
life-threatening inflammation of the pancreas;
brain damage.
Adverse effects of Lithium (also given for a bipolar diagnosis) include:
intercranial pressure leading to blindness;
peripheral circulatory collapse;
stupor and coma.
Adverse effects of Risperdal (given for “bipolar” and “irritability stemming from autism”) include:
serious impairment of cognitive function;
fainting;
restless muscles in neck or face, tremors (may be indicative of motor brain damage).
In 1986, The International Journal of the Addictions published a most important literature review by Richard Scarnati. It was called “An Outline of Hazardous Side Effects of Ritalin (Methylphenidate)” [v.21(7), pp. 837-841].
Scarnati listed a large number of adverse affects of Ritalin and cited published journal articles which reported each of these symptoms.
For every one of the following (selected and quoted verbatim) Ritalin effects, there is at least one confirming source in the medical literature:
Paranoid delusions
Paranoid psychosis
Hypomanic and manic symptoms, amphetamine-like psychosis
Activation of psychotic symptoms
Toxic psychosis
Visual hallucinations
Auditory hallucinations
Can surpass LSD in producing bizarre experiences
Effects pathological thought processes
Extreme withdrawal
Terrified affect
Started screaming
Aggressiveness
Insomnia
Since Ritalin is considered an amphetamine-type drug, expect amphetamine-like effects
Psychic dependence
High-abuse potential DEA Schedule II Drug
Decreased REM sleep
When used with antidepressants one may see dangerous reactions including hypertension, seizures and hypothermia
Convulsions
Brain damage may be seen with amphetamine abuse.
A recent survey revealed that a high percentage of kids diagnosed with bipolar had first received a diagnosis of ADHD. This is informative, because Ritalin and other speed-type drugs are given to kids who are slapped with the ADHD label. Speed, sooner or later, produces a crash. This is easy to call “clinical depression.” Then comes Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft. These drugs can produce temporary highs, followed by more crashes. The shrink notices this up and down pattern—and then comes the diagnosis of bipolar (manic-depression) and new drugs, including Valproate and Lithium.
In case you hadn’t noticed, the profession of psychiatry has recruited numbers of celebs and politicians who are dedicated to “removing the stigma attached to a diagnosis of a mental disorder.” These supporters frankly have no idea what they’re talking about. In love with the idea of appearing to do good, they go on and on about how mental illness is no different from diabetes, and we should all give great amounts of love and support to those who…well, you know the script. Some actual knowledge might help everybody concerned.
In the US alone, there are at least 300,000 cases of motor brain damage incurred by people who have been prescribed so-called anti-psychotic drugs (aka “major tranquilizers). Risperdal is one of those drugs. (source: Toxic Psychiatry, Dr. Peter Breggin)
This psychiatric drug plague is accelerating across the land, and gullible adults and children under their roofs are taking the pills.
Where are the mainstream reporters and editors and newspapers and TV anchors who should be breaking this story and mercilessly pounding on it week after week? They are in harness.
JON RAPPOPORT
An investigative reporter for 30 years, Jon is the author of an 18-lesson course, LOGIC AND ANALYSIS. To learn more about the course, click here.
Jon is the associate producer on a film in progress, American Addict, detailing the effects of pharmaceuticals on the US population.