Discussion Questions for those who are against modern psychiatry

[Oblivion Lover]

Disclaimer: This thread and any of the questions on it are not intended to attack the points of view of any person. I'm just trying to understand what's going on the minds of people who oppose psychiatry for the sake of a meaningful discussion on the matter. I'm trying to be as unbiased as possible with those questions and looking forward to see the answers.

1. Do you believe that mental disorders are real in the traditional sense?

2. Do you believe that medication can work for some people or is medication useless for everyone?

3. Do you believe that all mental disorders can be treated without medication?

4. Do you believe that mental disorders can be caused by factors other than trauma (genetics for example)?

5. Do you believe that psychiatry does more harm than good for everyone?

6. Would you trust psychiatrists if there was more research on mental disorders available?

7. Are people being misdiagnosed more frequently to increase profit with selling medications?

8. How should mental disorders be treated in your opinion?

9. Can a patient benefit from mental healthcare in any way?

10. Do you have any hope that mental healthcare will improve in the next decades?

Edit: Changed question 8 because the wording was incorrect and changed the meaning of my question.

 

[Empty Smile]

1. Yes

2. Works for some, but not everyone.

3. Yes and no

4. Yes

5. Yes

6. Not a chance

7. Yes

8. By giving us a choice to choose our own fate without risks of repercussion.

9. No. They drug us and send us on our way, which does nothing to resolve the issues at hand.

10. Doesn't matter to me. I'll be gone before they figure it out.

 

[Divine Trinity]

Disclaimer: This thread and any of the questions on it are not intended to attack the points of view of any person. I'm just trying to understand what's going on the minds of people who oppose psychiatry for the sake of a meaningful discussion on the matter. I'm trying to be as unbiased as possible with those questions and looking forward to see the answers.

1. Do you believe that mental disorders are real in the traditional sense?

2. Do you believe that medication can work for some people or is medication useless for everyone?

3. Do you believe that all mental disorders can be treated without medication?

4. Do you believe that mental disorders can be caused by factors other than trauma (genetics for example)?

5. Do you believe that psychiatry does more harm than good for everyone?


6. Would you trust psychiatrists if there was more research on mental disorders available?

7. Are people being misdiagnosed more frequently to increase profit with selling medications?

8. How should people with mental disorders be treated in your opinion?

9. Can a patient benefit from mental healthcare in any way?

10. Do you have any hope that mental healthcare will improve in the next decades?

1. Yes I suppose I do, if by traditional you mean the non-psychiatric analysis done centuries before "mental illness" was manufactured. Èmile Durkheim, the Karl Marx of sociology, work on what he called social pathology I think is a much more in-depth, insightful, academically rigorous, and practical take on the behavior of people. The idea of people being mentally ill stems from the concept of social pathology, of which the concept pre-dates Durkheim himself.

2. It's not a matter of belief, the studies consistently show these psychiatric drugs are no better than placebo for the vast majority of people, in reality they're worse since placebos don't have side-effects.

Now the caveat is that we're talking about a constant or chronic state of mind or behavior/habits, not relatively short term conditions such as post-mortem depression. That is a real chemically-induced state of depression that has an identifiable cause, ie child birth. I won't pretend I know all, certain conditions I'm ignorant of, however conditions such as scyzophrenia may well be a genetic defect or mutation caused by some sort of mutagen.

3. Well, I don't believe in the idea of an illness of the mind so no. The brain can get sick, there's alchohol, lobotomies, school, propaganda, torture, etc. These can physically alter the brain which we can measure and diagnose a cause. But to answer the question, drugs won't solve our problems, I believe #1 is prevention, #2 community, #3 lifestyle choices.

4. Yes, but mainly from birth defects, I assume you mean "psychological" trauma, in which case I'll add in "physical" trauma as well.

5. As of right now, an overwhelming yes. A field mainly founded and developed through torture and Nazi Germany is bound to hold a dark history.
6. No, at least not any conventional PhD psychologist.

7. Of course, though I think that's a fragment of the larger issues.

8. The same way we ought to treat any other person; empathy, solidarity, dignity, and courtesy.

9. No not really. ig it can help drive the point that the system is broken.

10. N O

 

[Soul]

Very interesting questions and answers. Go on!

 

[Dead Horse]

I am not exactly against psychiatry, but I think it is generally considered more advanced and helpful than it actually is. I believe it is at the point that medicine was maybe 150 years ago.

1. Yes (although I'm not sure what you mean by "traditional sense")

2. I believe it can work (not always), but I think it treats the symptoms, not the cause, like paracetamol treats the pain or fever but not the actual cause of them.

3. No, most of them cannot, actually, but that doesn't mean thay can be treated with medication.

4. I think in most cases it's a combination of both.

5. I think for most people, it just doesn't do much, good or harm. But it can be really harmful for a small portion of people.

6. Not until we have a better understanding of the pathophysiology of mental disorders and about how the brain works, in general. I believe psychiatry will be very useful and will help (or even save) many people in a distant future we won't get to see.

7. Yes, I believe so, but I don't know to what extent.

8. I think in terms of research and medication, we do what we can, generally. It's just that we can't do much, and we should be more honest about this fact.

9. Yes, I think it can moderate the extremity of the symptoms in many cases.

10. More like next centuries, really.

 

[Intelligent_Lobster]

Disclaimer: This thread and any of the questions on it are not intended to attack the points of view of any person. I'm just trying to understand what's going on the minds of people who oppose psychiatry for the sake of a meaningful discussion on the matter. I'm trying to be as unbiased as possible with those questions and looking forward to see the answers.

1. Do you believe that mental disorders are real in the traditional sense?

2. Do you believe that medication can work for some people or is medication useless for everyone?

3. Do you believe that all mental disorders can be treated without medication?

4. Do you believe that mental disorders can be caused by factors other than trauma (genetics for example)?

5. Do you believe that psychiatry does more harm than good for everyone?

6. Would you trust psychiatrists if there was more research on mental disorders available?

7. Are people being misdiagnosed more frequently to increase profit with selling medications?

8. How should mental disorders be treated in your opinion?

9. Can a patient benefit from mental healthcare in any way?

10. Do you have any hope that mental healthcare will improve in the next decades?

Edit: Changed question 8 because the wording was incorrect and changed the meaning of my question.

1. It depends on what you mean by *traditional sense*. I'd have to say that I do, probably regardless of how you answer that question.

2. I do believe it works, just not in a healthy way. People that rely on pharma drugs are also, 9 times out of ten, not actively helping themselves. Out of everyone's I know that takes medication, I can list one that I know actually tries to alleviate their condition, outside of the medication. This is a problem.

3. No, I don't believe so. For example, transgender people require hormones to alleviate gender dysphoria, which is a mental disconnect that occurs with the brain and physical body.

4. Yes.

5. For everyone? No. I use psychiatry to my benefit, because I have an understanding of what's my body and brain are telling me I need. People that lack that understanding, do not benefit from psychiatry.

6. No, not definitively.

7. Not quite. I think that doctors "suggest" diagnosis and medication to us, and it's ultimately our decision to start these medications. Sometimes, they push, but their underlying diagnosis always ha something's to do with the information you've provided them.

8. I think that we're currently trying our best. Idealistically? We'd all get to experience ego death(as many times as it takes), come to a universal understanding with ourselves, and be able to navigate the psychiatry system with finesse.

9. Of course.

10. No, not really. I think that because people are becoming more knowledgeable, and the internet is providing a bigger database on mental health, the gatekeeping will go through the roof. I narrowly escaped with my prescription for ambien, something that helps me in moderation, when I need it to.

 

[Orin]

1. Do you believe that mental disorders are real in the traditional sense?
-- these are merely labels society stamps on people disrupting its agenda. Like for instance, being pro-life doesn't associate you with having a mental disorder but it goes against the idea of pro-choice. If this was a bizarro world where everything was reversed, the pro-lifers would be considered disruptive.

2. Do you believe that medication can work for some people or is medication useless for everyone?
-- can work to make life a bit more bearable? Sure. But as a permanent cure? I doubt it.

3. Do you believe that all mental disorders can be treated without medication?
-- i've been off psych meds for years and i feel more sane than ever. Though it depends on the severity of the condition i suppose. So i don't know the answer to this.

4. Do you believe that mental disorders can be caused by factors other than trauma (genetics for example)?
-- i heard that concussions can cause brain damage which can lead to depression, etc.

5. Do you believe that psychiatry does more harm than good for everyone?
-- i think psychiatry can help to a certain extent (i.e. just talking helps. It also is huge if your doc isn't a condescending a-hole) but the meds right now are more like band aids rather than cures. And they won't sell actual cures because only sick people will buy meds.

6. Would you trust psychiatrists if there was more research on mental disorders available?
--the only psychiatrist i would trust is someone who has felt suicidal in the past. And with regards to meds, pharma companies can manipulate research so as not to disrupt their sales.

7. Are people being misdiagnosed more frequently to increase profit with selling medications?
--yeah.

8. How should mental disorders be treated in your opinion?
--less people will go "insane" if society was more accepting of differences (in everything: race, sexuality, lifestyles, beliefs, etc.)

9. Can a patient benefit from mental healthcare in any way?
--yeah for sure. I consider communicating on this forum as us caring for each other's mental health.

10. Do you have any hope that mental healthcare will improve in the next decades?
-- difficult to have hope if it's linked with drug sales. Pharma survives from the continued misery and dependence of the populace. You take away the misery and dependence, you take away their profits.

 

[Shamana]

I feel there is a lot of bias in these questions in the sense that it seems to be all or nothing. I think we can all agree that meds help certain people sometimes, but when you look at the over statistics meds seem to cause chronicity of mental illnes and worsen prospects long term. It's also clear that big pharma does everything in it's power to hide the harmfull side effects of it's drugs. People are well within their rights to harbour ill will towards psychiatry and big pharma.