TAW122
Emissary of the right to die.
- Aug 30, 2018
- 6,820
I couldn't think of a better title, but it infuriates me whenever someone wishes to have a candid discussion about the practices of psychiatry itself, especially about the dark side of it, they are instead shunned, gaslit, and or otherwise patronized.
In another thread, I gave a short anecdote about how my experiences with psychotherapy, how I intended to expose the field itself as it being the problem and not the person themselves, only to be met with ignorance, dismissal, double-down of their stance, and just straight up gaslighting. Granted it was years ago, but my intention at the time was to get them to admit their wrongs, admit that psychotherapy and psychiatry isn't always the solution, and that other solutions exist, though that was really a fruitless endeavour. I simply just wanted some closure (which of course just wasn't going to happen) and justice at that time. (Keep in mind this was pre-SaSu days, like in 2016 or so).
Of course, it is no surprise that many MHPs (Mental health professionals include, but not limited to: psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, etc.) not only refuse to accept that perhaps they may be wrong (they believe they are unfalsifiable, infallible, and that anything that challenges the status quo, their authority, or even the field itself is not acceptable!), but also keep their superior and smug attitude throughout their interactions! It's as though they feel like they are never wrong, if they are wrong (let alone cause additional harm) and people try point it out or expose it, they "divert" and double-down on their stance and further gaslight them. There is just no win against those people since they created an unfalsifiable system (might I even add, secular religion even) and then refuse to allow even any challenge against them in which may be justified or well founded. Hence I also regard psychiatry and psychology as "pseudo-sciences" rather than a concrete science (like biology, chemistry, physics, etc.), but that would be for another thread itself.
Credit to @Forever Sleep for helping in my choosing of diction and words to help describe and convey the points that I'm trying to make in this thread.
Here is an example of what I am referring to (using person C and A for instance, where C is a complainant or critic and A is the apologist for psychiatry).
C: The harms of psychiatry done to patients outweighs the benefits of it... (more details and convo, but this is a snippet)
A: You sound like you need to seek a professional, this kind of thinking is signs of being mentally unwell. You are obsessed with the topic!
C: Wow, so I'm not allowed to speak about dark side of psychiatry? Is it so infallible that it is gospel and not allowed to be questioned or scrutinzed?
A: Yes, these are professionals and they are right, you just need to find the right therapist/counselor/psychiatrist!
In that short example below, it just shows what happens (classic example) when a patient or even a critic decides to question or otherwise challenge the field and industry itself! Also, even more insidious is how these medical "professionals" are lauded as doctors and experts, which means that what they say is automatically deemed factual and (barring really special circumstances) just accepted without question. It is an appeal to authority and also confirmation bias, especially when they just fish out success stories while ignoring the countless (more than just a minute minority!) of unsuccessful stories, which of course, most skeptics and critics acknowledge exist, but are not well represented. There are so many more criticisms of psychiatry and psychotherapy itself, but I feel like some of the prominent subreddits (and other groups, including but not limited to CCHR (Citizens Commission on Human Rights), MIA (Mad In America), AAAIMH (American Association for the Abolition of Involuntary Mental Hospitalization), MindFreedom International, etc.).
Overall, there are so many more things I can say about the ills and problems of psychiatry and psychotherapy, but I feel like I've addressed them in other threads that I've written already.
In another thread, I gave a short anecdote about how my experiences with psychotherapy, how I intended to expose the field itself as it being the problem and not the person themselves, only to be met with ignorance, dismissal, double-down of their stance, and just straight up gaslighting. Granted it was years ago, but my intention at the time was to get them to admit their wrongs, admit that psychotherapy and psychiatry isn't always the solution, and that other solutions exist, though that was really a fruitless endeavour. I simply just wanted some closure (which of course just wasn't going to happen) and justice at that time. (Keep in mind this was pre-SaSu days, like in 2016 or so).
Of course, it is no surprise that many MHPs (Mental health professionals include, but not limited to: psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, etc.) not only refuse to accept that perhaps they may be wrong (they believe they are unfalsifiable, infallible, and that anything that challenges the status quo, their authority, or even the field itself is not acceptable!), but also keep their superior and smug attitude throughout their interactions! It's as though they feel like they are never wrong, if they are wrong (let alone cause additional harm) and people try point it out or expose it, they "divert" and double-down on their stance and further gaslight them. There is just no win against those people since they created an unfalsifiable system (might I even add, secular religion even) and then refuse to allow even any challenge against them in which may be justified or well founded. Hence I also regard psychiatry and psychology as "pseudo-sciences" rather than a concrete science (like biology, chemistry, physics, etc.), but that would be for another thread itself.
Credit to @Forever Sleep for helping in my choosing of diction and words to help describe and convey the points that I'm trying to make in this thread.
Here is an example of what I am referring to (using person C and A for instance, where C is a complainant or critic and A is the apologist for psychiatry).
C: The harms of psychiatry done to patients outweighs the benefits of it... (more details and convo, but this is a snippet)
A: You sound like you need to seek a professional, this kind of thinking is signs of being mentally unwell. You are obsessed with the topic!
C: Wow, so I'm not allowed to speak about dark side of psychiatry? Is it so infallible that it is gospel and not allowed to be questioned or scrutinzed?
A: Yes, these are professionals and they are right, you just need to find the right therapist/counselor/psychiatrist!
In that short example below, it just shows what happens (classic example) when a patient or even a critic decides to question or otherwise challenge the field and industry itself! Also, even more insidious is how these medical "professionals" are lauded as doctors and experts, which means that what they say is automatically deemed factual and (barring really special circumstances) just accepted without question. It is an appeal to authority and also confirmation bias, especially when they just fish out success stories while ignoring the countless (more than just a minute minority!) of unsuccessful stories, which of course, most skeptics and critics acknowledge exist, but are not well represented. There are so many more criticisms of psychiatry and psychotherapy itself, but I feel like some of the prominent subreddits (and other groups, including but not limited to CCHR (Citizens Commission on Human Rights), MIA (Mad In America), AAAIMH (American Association for the Abolition of Involuntary Mental Hospitalization), MindFreedom International, etc.).
Overall, there are so many more things I can say about the ills and problems of psychiatry and psychotherapy, but I feel like I've addressed them in other threads that I've written already.
