Leading Psychiatrist Admits Normal Children Are Diagnosed With Mental Disorders

[Rufus_1611]

Leading Psychiatrist Admits Normal Children Are Diagnosed With Mental Disorders

Statement Adds to Controversy over Drugs Prescribed for Questionable Psychiatric Diagnoses

With increasing international concern about the large number of children labeled with so-called psychiatric disorders and prescribed mind-altering drugs, even the pioneer of psychiatry’s billing bible and “godfather of ADHD," Dr. Robert Spitzer, has now admitted that normal children are being labeled. Spitzer, a Columbia University psychiatrist, told BBC2 that children experiencing perfectly normal signs of being happy and sad are being labeled as mentally ill. While admitting this, he stopped short of informing BBC viewers that there is no scientific evidence that any of the millions of children so diagnosed have any physical abnormality that justifies the diagnosis. Nor that because of this, psychiatrists cannot agree on who is sick and who is well. Yet despite this fallible "science," worldwide sales of psychotropic drugs prescribed to treat "mental disorders," including stimulants antipsychotics and antidepressants, now exceed $80 billion annually.

Spitzer arbitrarily outlined many of the psychiatric labels and their symptoms found in psychiatry’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Yet, unlike medical diseases, psychiatric disorders are entirely subjective—psychiatrists at the American Psychiatric Association literally vote on which "disorders" to include in the DSM, and the disorders are removed if they are too much trouble. Such was the case with homosexuality, which, while found in earlier versions of the DSM, ceased to be called a "mental disorder" after gay activists picketed an APA conference in 1973. There are no physical tests, such as blood tests, brain scans or X-Rays that can confirm the existence of any psychiatric disorder. Spitzer’s de facto admission that psychiatric labels are unreliable, comes more than three decades after he first began working on the DSM III. Since then, psychiatrists have been using the DSM to fraudulently claim that mental disorders are the same as physical disorders, and thereby justifying the prescription of powerful, psychotropic drugs, including to very young children.

Despite FDA warnings that psychiatric drugs cause heart attack, stroke, suicidal and homicidal behavior, diabetes, psychosis and sudden death, Spitzer stated that psychiatric drugs “don’t have serious side effects.” Last year, drug regulatory and other government agencies around the world issued more than 24 warnings against psychiatric drugs. For more information on the dangers of psychiatric drugs, read The Report on the Escalating International Warnings on Psychiatric Drugs by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a mental health watchdog. To learn more about the DSM, read this publication, or click here to see what experts say about the issue. [Emphasis added]

Beware of quackery when these ducks diagnose your children and try to turn them into chemheads.

 

[James_Newman]

I still think anyone who hasn't seen it should watch this interview.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4663978141488528437&q=soma+state

 

[Bible Believing Bill]

Leading Psychiatrist Admits Normal Children Are Diagnosed With Mental Disorders



Beware of quackery when these ducks diagnose your children and try to turn them into chemheads.

Since then, psychiatrists have been using the DSM to fraudulently claim that mental disorders are the same as physical disorders, and thereby justifying the prescription of powerful, psychotropic drugs, including to very young children

First of all Mental Illnesses are the same as physical disorders! The brain is a part of the body and therefore if something is wrong with the brain it is a physical illness. If the heart can be sick so can the brain.

If you have every known and loved someone who suffers from a mental illness then you know the suffering they go through on a daily basis. Medications can and do help to control the symptoms, but they do not cure a mental illness.

I believe that medications are needed in most cases, but by no means all. Specificaly as a partent we need to be very careful of what medications our children take. Side effects should be reported to the Doctor IMMEADIATLY so that changes in dosage, or discontinuation of medication can be implimented.

There is a very real danger of an increase in suicidal behavior in children taking antidepressants, but that does not mean they can not be useful when the child is properly monitored by parent as well as the Doctor.

Some Doctors will prescribe antidepressants to people who are simply going through situational depression and do not suffer from clinical depression.

DO NOT IGNORE A MENTAL ILLNESS BECAUSE OF THE STIGMA ATTACHED. MENTAL ILLNESSES ARE REAL!

National Alliance on Mental Illness
http://www.nami.org


Bill :godisgood:

 

[2 Timothy2:1-4]

So now we know what most parents have been suspicious of for years. Of course our public school teachers want to insist that active children be put on ridilin. Very sad.

 

[James_Newman]

First of all Mental Illnesses are the same as physical disorders! The brain is a part of the body and therefore if something is wrong with the brain it is a physical illness. If the heart can be sick so can the brain.

If you have every known and loved someone who suffers from a mental illness then you know the suffering they go through on a daily basis. Medications can and do help to control the symptoms, but they do not cure a mental illness.

I believe that medications are needed in most cases, but by no means all. Specificaly as a partent we need to be very careful of what medications our children take. Side effects should be reported to the Doctor IMMEADIATLY so that changes in dosage, or discontinuation of medication can be implimented.

There is a very real danger of an increase in suicidal behavior in children taking antidepressants, but that does not mean they can not be useful when the child is properly monitored by parent as well as the Doctor.

Some Doctors will prescribe antidepressants to people who are simply going through situational depression and do not suffer from clinical depression.

DO NOT IGNORE A MENTAL ILLNESS BECAUSE OF THE STIGMA ATTACHED. MENTAL ILLNESSES ARE REAL!

National Alliance on Mental Illness
http://www.nami.org


Bill :godisgood:

Well, at least you are fervent in your faith.

 

[2 Timothy2:1-4]

I do not have such faith in these drugs.

 

[tragic_pizza]

Well, at least you are fervent in your faith.

What's more, James, BBB is absolutely right. As in not a thing he said was inaccurate or purposely omitted.

The difficulty is that we Americans are too lazy to put up with kids who act out normally but overly much. We'll stuff them full of Ritalin and bless the peace that results from making our kids zombies.

At the other end of the spectrum are kids with very real, very dangerous, and very treatable disorders. It is a parent's job to know the difference, act, and actively participate in the treatment.

 

[James_Newman]

"Mental illnesses are the same as physical disorders!"
If mental illnesses means brain tumors and strokes, I can agree with this. If it means 'mood diseases' like depression, well now we just have an opinion with a scientific sounding name. If BBB is intending to implicate the parents of children who end up committing suicide because of the drugs the doctors prescribed for them, I would agree in so far as they should have been more vigilant against allowing them to be placed on the drugs in the first place. But in most cases, parents believe the have already done the right thing and when they report side effects the response from the doctors is to prescribe more drugs. Did either of you happen to watch the video I posted?

 

[tragic_pizza]

"Mental illnesses are the same as physical disorders!"
If mental illnesses means brain tumors and strokes, I can agree with this. If it means 'mood diseases' like depression, well now we just have an opinion with a scientific sounding name.

Wrong, and pretty impressively so.

Depression, for example, is very often caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. When that happens in your body, that's a physical disorder, and in the brain it is a physical disorder which causes a mental disorder. Bipolar disorder is most often caused by an imbalance of lithium in the brain - again, a physical disorder which causes a mental disorder.

Shall I go on?

 

[James_Newman]

Even if a chemical imbalance can cause a change in mood, that does not make it a disease, nor does it commend the use of mind-altering toxic chemicals.

 

[EdSutton]

So now we know what most parents have been suspicious of for years. Of course our public school teachers want to insist that active children be put on ridilin. Very sad.

I believe you mean Ritalin[SIZE=-1]®, here.

Ed
[/SIZE]

 

[Rufus_1611]

I believe you mean Ritalin[SIZE=-1]®, here.

Ed
[/SIZE]

Go language Cop! Now if you would please get on some of the recent thread titles.

 

[Bible Believing Bill]

Even if a chemical imbalance can cause a change in mood, that does not make it a disease, nor does it commend the use of mind-altering toxic chemicals.

Diabetes is our bodies inability to use insulin properly. In effect the chemical (insulin) is in a state of imbalance. Does this mean that a diabetic should not take insulin, because his disease is caused by a chemical imbalance?

Anemia is our body not having enough iron in our blood. The mineral iron is in a state of imbalance. I guess we shouldn't take iron pills since the condition is caused by an imbalance.


I believe you get my point.

Yes the drugs given for mental illnesses do effect the mind, just as drugs given for pain effect the body, drugs given for a heart condition effect the heart, antibiotics effect the immune system, etc. A mental illness is an illness of the brain therefore the drugs used to treat it will effect the brain.


James....yes I watched the video you posted. I happen to disagree with allot, not all, but allot of what was said.

I do not intend to implicate any parents of children who commit suicide. These parents are guilty of nothing when it comes to a child committing suicide.

What I intend is that parents, spouses, children, brother, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. of people who have a mental illness need to be involved in the care their loved ones are receiving. This isn't any different than being involved in the care of a diabetic or heart patient.

Keep in mind that yes children and adults on antidepressants commit suicide. Also keep in mind that most people who commit suicide are depressed. You see the disease they have is the root cause not the medication.

James and Rufus......Have you ever personally known someone who suffered from a mental illness. If not you really don't know the pain and suffering they go through every day.

tragic pizza......thanks for the support. Not to be a nit picker, but an imbalance of lithium does not cause bipolar disorder.

lithium is a drug used to help correct part of the chemical imbalance in bipolar disorder. Specifically lithium will help to stabilize the manic phase of bipolar disorder. The imbalance of Serotonin is believed to be the cause of most of the mood disorders, i.e. depression, bipolar, and schizo affective disorder.


Bill :godisgood:

 

[tragic_pizza]

Ah, my mistake. Thanks for the gentle correction.

 

[Pastor Larry]

Haven't we been around this tree before?

Does anyone disagree with the OP article, that says that normal children are diagnosed with mental disorders wrongly?

As I understand it, that isn't saying that all diagnoses are incorrect, but only that some are. Can we really disagree with that?

 

[Lagardo]

The problem here seems to be that people want to always apply a physiological solution to a sometimes physiological problem.

As a teen, I didn't grow. They had to run test after test after test to figure out what exactly was imbalanced before they could prescribe the right treatment. That's pretty much par for the course for endocrinology.

Actually, its par for the course for most fields of medicine, until we get to psychiatry. Then the drug is applie to the symptoms rather than the cause.

Of course, its hard to blame the psychiatrists. In most cases I've seen where the school initiates the process that leads to a prescription, it's the school counselor or nurse (niether of which hold much qualifications for even mental disorders) tell a parent to go get the drugs or else the child will be put into special ed. The parent then goes to the family doctor (or common in these parts) the nurse practioner, and Viola, the kid goes on the pills.

Someone please tell me any other disease diagnosed by an LPN or school counselor.

 

[mnw]

We cannot forget that we are spiritual beings and much more than just a mass of cells.

Now, if the spirit is not right then it can manifest itself physically. But to simply treat the physical is to bypass the spiritual.

Granted, sometimes it is a chemical thing, but very often it is probably the spiritual problem manifesting itself in a physical way.

 

[2 Timothy2:1-4]

Things like depression can be genetic. I have suffered from it my whole life. Stress seems to exacerbate it at times. I've never gone on any drugs to manage it. I may not be as symptomatic as others but it is very managable. I have learned to do a few things to keep myself in check. I do not avoid negative situations but I do avoid people who are always negative everytime you see them. I have to take them in small doses. I do not allow pitty parties. I watch myself for selfcenteredness. I follow Philippians 4:4-8.

While some of us may have a chemical imbalance it is not always the best thing to fill our bodies with chemicals. Many of the Psychiatrists are involved in programs they do not tell you about. The Pharmisutical companies use the Doctors research for their products. The doctors do not tell you they don't really know this will work. They prescribe it and when symptoms get worse they either change doses, add another prescription to the mix, or change prescriptions all together. 100% of the time it is a guessing game for the doctors. Long term use of these drugs often makes the problems worse. In the mean time we put our trust in these doctors when they do not have clue how you will react to the drugs. They can tell you what is expected of the drugs but cannot promise serious adverse effects from any of them.

If you were to do a check on many of these Psychiatrists involved in these drug studies programs that they never disclose to their patients you will find that they have serious complaints made against them that go unresolved. There is a facility in Orlando Fl that houses a good number of them (I worked there for a time). I believe a supportive family can do more for true chemical imbalances than these shot int he dark doctors.

 

[Bible Believing Bill]

Haven't we been around this tree before?

Does anyone disagree with the OP article, that says that normal children are diagnosed with mental disorders wrongly?

As I understand it, that isn't saying that all diagnoses are incorrect, but only that some are. Can we really disagree with that?

I would say the OP does say that normal children are misdiagnosed. However the tone seems to indicate that medications should not be used ever, weather the diagnoses is correct or not. That is the part I disagree with.


Bill :godisgood:

 

[Bible Believing Bill]

The problem here seems to be that people want to always apply a physiological solution to a sometimes physiological problem.

As a teen, I didn't grow. They had to run test after test after test to figure out what exactly was imbalanced before they could prescribe the right treatment. That's pretty much par for the course for endocrinology.

Actually, its par for the course for most fields of medicine, until we get to psychiatry. Then the drug is applie to the symptoms rather than the cause.

Actually it seems most fields of medicine will immeadiatly prescribe something. Sometimes this is based upon the Doctors experience,sometimes it is simply to treat the symptoms, and sometimes it is because the patient saw an ad on TV anc come in asking for the drug.

Of course, its hard to blame the psychiatrists. In most cases I've seen where the school initiates the process that leads to a prescription, it's the school counselor or nurse (niether of which hold much qualifications for even mental disorders) tell a parent to go get the drugs or else the child will be put into special ed. The parent then goes to the family doctor (or common in these parts) the nurse practioner, and Viola, the kid goes on the pills.

Someone please tell me any other disease diagnosed by an LPN or school counselor.

And that is the problem with most of these misdiagnoses. The qualified specialist isn't the one making the diagnoses. While school counselors and nurses may see something that needs to be checked out further, they should not be suggesting treatments.

Health Insurance is also part of the problem. Many Health Insurance plans require us to see a Primary Care Doctor. As a strating point this is a good thing, however the insurance plans put preassure on the Primary Docs to NOT refer the patient to the proper specialist and treat them himself. A Primary Doc is not a psychiatrist, just as he is not a cardiac specialist. Because of the preasure of the insurance company the Primary Doc is not diagnosing and treating illness for which he has only minimal training. As patients and parents that is where we need to be an advocate and make sure we and/or our children are seeing the proper doctor and getting approiate treatment.


Bill :godisgood: