In a recent study, it was found that people that engage in BDSM may be better off psychologically than those that don’t. BDSM is bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism. It was found that people who practiced BDSM seemed more secure and confident and overall exhibited a better general sense of well-being. However, it was determined that if one experiences distress over participating in such sexual practices, then that constitutes a “mental disorder.” This is just another example of psychiatry exercising mental health fraud.
Sex is a subject that psychiatry has had its nose in for a very long time. Since the days of Freud’s theories, psychiatry has failed in every way to be the expert on the mind regarding sex. Instead, they are just making a very strong attempt to be the ones to declare what is normal, or what is sick and expecting everyone else to follow their evaluations. The bad news for them is that they have no scientific evidence to back up their claims. This is mental health fraud.
No scientific evidence is the reason psychiatrists keep changing their minds as to what constitutes a “mental disorder.” As their opinions change, so do the names of “mental disorders.” In the early fifties, the first DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) listed homosexuality as a “mental disorder.” As the gay rights movement expanded and more and more people were open and content about being gay, the pressure increased to delete homosexuality as a “mental disorder.”
It was removed from the DSM in 1973.
How is this science? It’s in the DSM presumably because of “expert” knowledge, yet just because lots of people had this so-called “disorder” it’s then decided it’s not a “disorder.” They changed their “professional” opinion to if you are comfortable with being gay, then it’s not a “mental disorder.” If you have some conflict or distress about being gay, then it is a “disorder” and it’s called SOD or sexual orientation disturbance. Gays have been around for a very long time, yet the only thing that has changed here is the increased degree of social acceptance of the gay community. This is what changed psychiatric opinion as well.
This is mental health fraud because psychiatrists are not using medical tests like the ones we get to confirm diabetes, cancer, hepatitis or any other real disease. Random symptoms are all they have to go on. Yet psychiatrists continue to claim that any “mental disorder” is a medical condition. They do this to give them credibility and hope no one will discover the truth.
Without a scientific test, any psychiatric diagnosis is mental health fraud, as any opinion is just an opinion. Whereas a medical test is black and white, opinions can be gray and don’t necessarily warrant an explanation. As a result, it’s open field to diagnose sexual practices. That is, until the psychiatric field is influenced by popular opinion, as was the case with homosexuality.
In this study regarding BDSM, a questionnaire was used where the volunteers for the study only knew it was about human behavior. Twice as many people that practice BDSM answered the questionnaire than “regular” folks. This skewed the results somewhat as equal representation of each group was absent. Also, it was mentioned that perhaps those that practice BDSM could have answered to make themselves look better to avoid any stigma associated with their choice of sexual practices.
In any case, conclusions were drawn from answers given about relationships and not from any scientific test. There isn’t any test to measure one’s mental condition regarding sexual practices. There isn’t any test to measure what’s going on in your brain either regarding sexual practices, so how can this be a valid study?
The other important point is that psychiatry is currently manipulating the definition of what is normal. We all experience various behaviors and emotions as we go through life’s ups and downs. Things like grief, anxiety, anger and many other regular feelings are now being classified as “mental disorders.” Psychiatry is making normal into abnormal. This is mental health fraud.
On the flip side, sexual behavior such as sadism, bondage, masochism and the like have always been considered beyond the scope of normal, or at the minimum, unusual. Unless you aren’t at peace with your sexual practices, then these activities have now been deemed “normal.” People can debate what is normal or not concerning sexual practices, but the point is psychiatry is pushing hard to make normal a gray area. This is mental health fraud.
Never mind what psychiatry says or does. Don’t let them dictate what is normal or not normal for you. Decide for yourself as you are your own expert. Otherwise, you’ll become another victim of psychiatry and its mental health fraud.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/05/bdsm-better-mental-health-study_n_3390676.html
Mental health in America is ramping up. President Obama’s goal is to increase depression screenings for adults and behavioral assessments for kids. This is despite psychiatry’s dismal record of treatment and increased incidents involving school violence and other pharmaceutically inspired crimes.
Mental health America is anything but that. The “health” they propose to increase mentally is not only unproven, it has devastated families and communities with the disabling effects of pharmaceuticals.
According to Mr. Obama, it is important to “destigmatize” mental health. He would like to make going to your mental health care professional as ordinary and everyday as visiting the family doctor.
But a visit to a psychiatrist and the resulting prescription for depression or bi-polar or ADD is not without consequence. Many experts now question the validity of any and all psychiatric labels.
In psychiatrist Peter Breggin’s book “Medication Madness” he describes the lives of people destroyed by the effects of psychiatric drugs. According to Dr. Breggin, our society has been transformed by the tragic outcome of these incidents.
He points out that psychiatric drugs have driven some into the very depths of human behavior; violence, psychosis, suicide, and mania. Many of these unfortunate victims of these pharmaceuticals do not even realize their medications have twisted their behavior.
For those who are aware of the personal destruction antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs have caused, The New Health-Care bill’s “National Centers of Excellence for Depression” are a chilling reminder of Big Pharma’s power and lobbying excesses in Washington.
The government even plans to issue report cards from the Secretary of Health and Human Services to these new national centers. Based on these report cards, the secretary can make recommendations to the centers regarding improvements. Ultimately, he or she can also send recommendations to Congress for expanding the reach of these facilities.
Artists and their influential works can be affected and twisted by those who would use them for their own purposes. This can be as insidious as a “cute” cartoon-based commercial for antidepressants or as blatant as a Hollywood movie casting actors in sympathetic roles as psychiatrists.
Since a long track record of artists being victimized by psychiatry and pharmaceutical drugs exists, this newest trend to “de-stigmatize” mental illness is especially troubling.
Creative children are often labeled ADD or ADHD. A future Beethoven or Picasso may be stopped in his or her tracks by prescription drugs to handle a nonexistent mental illness. In fact, many gifted children exhibit these supposed characteristics of ADD:
How many gifted children have already had their future dreams and careers ruined by the side effects of psychiatric drugs? The truth is that mental health America is being destroyed by psychiatry and pharmaceutical companies, not improved by them. The term is a complete misnomer.
Our country’s future depends upon today’s young artists and thinkers making it through to adulthood with their abilities intact. This should be pointed out to the government leaders currently promoting psychiatric drugging of our youth.
http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/06/obama-destigmatize-mental-health-issues-165254.html
http://www.cchrflorida.org/healthcarebill/
http://www.breggin.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55
http://borntoexplore.org/gifted.htm
It is estimated that fifteen percent of all children have at least one “mental health disorder” per the criteria in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders). Fifty or so years ago, “mental disorders” were virtually unheard of and psychiatry was only for crazy people. Today, children are being diagnosed right and left with behavioral “disorders.” One may assume that children have changed over the years but they have not. The only thing that has changed is the strategy of psychiatry.
A visit to a psychiatrist used to bring to mind the idea of lying on a couch and examining life’s problems. Today, psychotropic drugs are quickly prescribed for children’s behavioral problems instead. Parents are told their child has ADHD, Bipolar Disorder or one of the many other “mental health disorders” listed in the DSM. They are also told mind-altering drugs are the best treatment. It is time for parents to start questioning what the diagnosis is based on and how does the drug prescribed help the child.
If a parent does ask about the diagnosis, the doctor, psychiatrist or other health care provider can only say it’s based on the child’s symptoms. They cannot confirm their diagnosis with a blood test, x-ray, urine test or any other medical test. They cannot prove a “mental health disorder” exists because they have not isolated any biological cause. A child is being diagnosed based solely on someone’s opinion.
A doctor may innocently diagnose a “mental health disorder” based on what he sees in the DSM, but one may ask how do the “disorders” get into the manual in the first place? The committee in charge of the DSM just goes by a random majority vote, not by any scientific study. A psychiatrist who served on two such committees said it’s quite nonchalant, like trying to decide where to go for dinner. Are we in the mood for Chinese or Mexican? Then they agree on Italian and a “mental health disorder” is created.
If this isn’t appalling enough, the same psychiatrist said that one time a particular behavior was being considered as a symptom to be put in the DSM. Another committee member objected because he exhibits that behavior himself, so it can’t be included because he is normal! It is crazy that this is the process in order to decide what is “normal” or not.
It is no surprise then that the number of “mental health disorders” in the DSM has increased dramatically over the years. When it was first published in the early fifties, there were only about a hundred “disorders.” That figure has tripled over time and with the new release of the DSM-V, there are probably even more. If voting is the only criteria to get a “disorder” into the DSM, of course they can put as many as they like in their manual. The main problem is there aren’t enough people questioning their validity.
Not only are “new” “disorders” voted into the DSM, but symptoms have become broader and less specific. Basically this means that normal childhood behavior has been medicalised when it is not medical by nature. Anything short of being quiet and sitting still can be diagnosed as a “mental health disorder.” As a result, children are misdiagnosed as mentally ill and epidemics of “mental health disorders” ensue. In turn, millions of children are put on dangerous mind-altering psychiatric drugs when they are just being kids.
A prime example is the “epidemic” of bipolar disorder in very young children. Dr. Joseph Biederman, a Harvard psychiatrist, created such an “epidemic” accompanied with the most powerful antipsychotic drugs as treatment. Prior to 1970, bipolar in children did not exist and it was rare in adults. Being in an influential position, Dr. Biederman’s unsubstantiated theories led to many preschoolers being diagnosed with bipolar.
Court documents show that he promised Johnson & Johnson in advance that their antipsychotic drug, Risperdal, would be effective on preschoolers. He was paid $1.6 million for slanting his “research” to support the existence of childhood bipolar and Johnson & Johnson’s drugs to treat it. This man used his high position to benefit financially at the expense of many normal preschoolers. Even worse, he still has his position at Harvard and continues to collect substantial consultant fees from various drug companies.
The other result of this bipolar “epidemic” is that the hospitalization rate for children aged five to nine years old went up 696% over a thirteen year period! One can rightly assume hospitalization occurred because of taking antipsychotic drugs. Antipsychotics have severe enough side effects such as trouble breathing, kidney failure, head pain, dizziness and suicidal thoughts which would warrant hospitalization.
Often the side effects are not told to the parents and the doctor says the drug is effective. The drug is effective if you want your child to be quiet for awhile. The drug is effective if you want your child’s developing brain to be altered. The drug is effective if you want your child to not be himself and gravitate towards being an empty soul. The drugs are effective only in a destructive way!
So what are doctors supposedly treating? The chemical brain imbalance theory is popular to explain such “mental health disorders” such as ADHD. It is just that: a theory. Over fifty years of investigations have concluded that there is not one piece of solid scientific evidence that the brain theory is correct. If the drugs aren’t correcting any imbalance, then they are only putting toxins into a child’s body and numbing his central nervous system. Doctors may say drugs work, but the scientific research shows they do not.
In fact, it has been found that antidepressants are no more effective than placebo sugar pills. When one takes into account the lack of effectiveness and the host of severe adverse side effects, it is clear that putting a child on psychiatric medication is putting a child’s health at risk to say the least.
At this point, it should also be clear that “mental health disorders” are just a way to sell drugs. After all, the majority of research regarding psychiatric drugs is sponsored by the drug companies. Financial ties are rampant between psychiatrists and drug companies. Twenty-one out of twenty-nine members of the current DSM-V task force have financial ties to one or more drug companies. Between the vested interest and the manipulation of clinical trials to make drugs look effective, a child’s mental health is not even on the table. Only profits are of concern.
It would be more helpful to children to find out what is causing the “mental health disorder.” It could be sugar in his food, preservatives, allergens, or nutritional deficiencies. He could have a stressful home environment, is bored or is starving for attention. There are many causes of undesirable behavior in children to check out.
It is time that parents question those mental health diagnoses and ask what is their child doing that isn’t normal and even more importantly, what is the doctor’s definition of normal? It is time to say no to psychiatry and yes to real answers and solutions.
Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, recently phoned up Johnson & Johnson, a large drug maker, asking them to help get more people enrolled in the Affordable Care Act health insurance program.
· In 2010 A lawsuit was filed against the J&J executives in New Jersey federal court. In July 2012 Johnson & Johnson agreed to a settlement of $2.2 billion to resolve this federal investigation into the company’s marketing practices. This included “a roughly $400 million criminal fine for the illegal promotion of the antipsychotic Risperdal.” It’s been well documented that Johnson & Johnson confidentially paid psychiatrists such as Harvard’s Joseph Biederman to promote adult drugs such as the powerful antipsychotic drug Risperdal for children. The company had ghost-written at least one of the Harvard professor’s “scientific” articles.
Johnson & Johnson just keeps on paying the fines and selling the drugs.
They are no longer the friendly Bandaid brand of the 1950’s medicine closet. J&J has become a serious marketer of deadly psychiatric drugs while creating a façade of beauty and compassion on their website. It is the height of hypocrisy for Johnson & Johnson to market their products “For All You Love” using wonderful photos of mothers, grandmothers and babies. Risperdal has nothing to do with love.
Kathleen Sebelius either doesn’t know the history of Johnson & Johnson in the courts or doesn’t care. Apparently, Obamacare and its mental health “benefits” must be implemented at any cost.
http://www.naturalnews.com/029790_Johnson_&_guilty.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-peter-breggin/psychiatric-drugs_b_1693649.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/04/jnj_omnicare_suit.html
http://www.rotlaw.com/risperdal/
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/09/business/johnson-johnson-reserves-funds-for-settlement.html
http://www.jnj.com/connect/caring/initiatives/forallyoulove
Many doctors and nutritionists are finding that anxiety attack symptoms and some
types of depression are the result of food allergies. Correct the diet and the
person’s unwanted mental and emotional symptoms disappear.
This research flies in the teeth of psychiatric claims that only anti-depressant drugs can
address these anxiety attack or depression symptoms.
Anxiety attack symptoms, often called “Panic attacks” can cause someone to feel he’s going to die from lack of oxygen or that he’s having a heart attack. They can be frightening and
last up to 30 minutes. Common symptoms are:
. Pounding heartbeat
. Chest pains
. Shaking, trembling
. Dizziness, lightheadedness
. Difficulty breathing
. Flushes or chills
. Fear of losing control and
doing something embarrassing
. Fear of dying
Taking a variety of drugs doesn’t seem to help. One patient reported taking many different drugs prescribed by psychologists before getting addicted to Ativan. (This substance
is in the same drug class as Xanax – benzodiapines.) Ativan’s side effects
include depression or severe confusion and trouble breathing – not things one
would want to experience during an anxiety attack.
After going through rehab to get off the drug and a decade of searching, this patiient found a book called “The Missing Diagnosis” by Dr. Orion C Truss. She was able to trace the
source of her anxiety attack symptoms to disrupted neurotransmitters caused by
Candida overgrowth and sugar addiction. . By handling food allergens she found
total relief and has had no more panic attacks.
Stephen Gislason MD believes knowledge once known by physicians has been lost. He writes that Dr. Water Alvarez, who worked at the Mayo Clinic and wrote medical articles for many years there, knew about allergies of the nervous system. He and his colleagues
knew that allergies were implicated in depression, anxiety, and a host of other
emotional problems.
The Mayo Clinic defines Anaphylaxis as “a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. It can occur within seconds or minutes of exposure to something you’re allergic to, such as a peanut or the venom from a bee sting.
The flood of chemicals released by your immune system during anaphylaxis can cause you to go into shock; your blood pressure drops suddenly and your airways narrow, blocking normal breathing.”
Today this medical condition will be labeled an anxiety attack symptom
or a panic attack and could land a person in the psychiatric department with a
drug prescription.
Types of “depression”, another psychiatric label, are definitely relieved when food allergies that cause the depression are located and handled.
Theron G. Randolph, M.D., and Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D have written a book called “An Alternative Approach to Allergies” Dr. Randolph states depression when accompanied with allergy symptoms may indeed be caused by the food allergy. He has worked with patients having various types of depression since the 1950′s and has seen cases who suffered from depression their whole life be totally cured of it once the allergens were found and removed from their diet and environment.
Another M.D., Abram Hoffer states that he often finds depression and allergy together and that “When one is relieved, so is the other. Treatment of the allergy will, in most cases, ‘cure’ the depression. I have seen this in several hundred patients over the past six years and can no longer doubt this conclusion”.
The Journal of Biological Psychiatry published a report from a study of 30 patients suffering from anxiety, depression and other symptoms. A placebo controlled trial was done. They learned that certain foods created mental symptoms: severe depression, nervousness, anger, loss of motivation and severe mental blankness. The placebos, however, did not create any of these conditions.
The foods and allergens found to be the culprits were wheat, milk, cane sugar, tobacco, smoke and eggs.
Over in the UK, Patrick Holford is the President, of the Institute for
Optimum Nutrition and also is the Director of the Mental Health Project. In his
article called “Brain Allergies” he describes a patient who at age 15 was
labeled manic-depressive and put on a cocktail of three drugs – Lithium,
Tegretol and Zirtek.
Fortunately this patient found a nutritionist who discovered a wheat allergy and some nutritional deficiencies including zinc. With wheat out of her diet and proper nutrition she quit all medications and took her final degree exams. No more manic attacks. Only when she inadvertently eats some wheat does she experience a shadow of her depression for a few days before returning to normal.
Holford writes that both early studies, as well as current research, have found that allergies can affect any system of the body, including the central nervous system. “Allergies to food can upset levels of hormones and other key chemicals in the brain, resulting in symptoms ranging from depression to schizophrenia. They can cause a diversity of symptoms including fatigue, slowed thought processes, irritability, agitation, aggressive
behaviour, nervousness, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, hyperactivity and
varied learning disabilities.”
Persons with anxiety attack symptoms and types of depression can benefit from allergy tests and nutrition analysis first and save themselves the agony of mind altering and addictive drugs.
http://denver-nutrition.com/panic-attack.htm
http://www.holistichelp.net/holistic-treatment-for-anxiety.html
http://www.personadigital.net/Persona/HumanBrain/BrainAllergy.htm
http://www.wholeapproach.com/newsletter/archives/2003/04_April.html
http://healinggourmet.com/article/are-food-allergies-causing-your-depression-846/
http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/brainallergies.htm
Mentally ill people, or those who have been branded as such, may take heart from a book exposing most psychiatric diagnoses as fraudulent. Author James Davies’ research shows clearly that the majority of those with supposed mental illnesses are the victims of an enormous psychiatric and pharmaceutical swindle.
Davies, by the way, is a psychological therapist who has worked for the National Health Service in Great Britain.
What makes this swindle much, much worse than a Bernie Madoff financial scheme is that the sanity, the health and the future of our children and young adults is at stake worldwide.
Yet psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies with questionable ethics think nothing of inventing mentally ill classifications that can ruin and even take lives. They admittedly have no tests to determine mental illness. Their science is laughable. Here is one example, exposed by psychologist Dr. Renee Garfinkle:
“On one occasion there was a discussion about whether a particular behaviour should be classed as a symptom of a particular disorder.
“To my astonishment, one committee member piped up: “Oh no, no, we can’t include that behaviour as a symptom, because I do that.”
“So it was decided that behaviour would not be included because, presumably, if someone on the committee does it, it must be normal.”
Even Allen Frances, who led DSM-IV’s compilation, agonizes over the resulting potential disaster of labeling everyday human emotions as mental illness in DSM-V (due to come out this month).
Some of the changes in this edition of the psychiatric bible will falsely label such normal human responses such as grief due to the death of a loved one as “depression,” requiring the administration of debilitating antidepressant drugs.
Frances says, “DSM-5 is suggesting changes that will dramatically expand the realm of psychiatry and narrow the realm of normality — converting millions more people from being without mental disorders to being psychiatrically sick.
“It will have many unintended consequences, which will be very harmful. I am particularly concerned about those that will lead to the excessive use of medication.”
Even worse is a condition also presumably voted into existence known as “generalized anxiety disorder,” which could be a catchall for any humdrum disappointment or upset.
And how many of us have dealt with childhood temper tantrums with a bit of tough (or not so tough) love? Certainly throughout the ages temper tantrums have been endured as a common part of childhood, eventually to be outgrown.
But that was before the psychiatrists invented a condition known as “disruptive mood dysregulation disorder.” Perhaps the longer the invented words, the more convinced psychiatrists become of their own importance and infallibility.
Or could it be something else?
Drug profits from the diagnosis of these (and other) psychiatrically invented conditions have soared. Psychiatrists and pharmaceutical executives are becoming wealthy on the backs of helpless children who have no personal say in whether or not they wish to play Russian roulette with their lives and future.
Armed with the truth, parents can stand up to those who have no qualms about abusing their children with pharmaceutical drugs for profit. If the drugs are not purchased, the profit (and the drugs themselves) disappear.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently did a study on military families. They found that one in four children had symptoms of depression. One in three worried excessively and half of the children in the study had trouble sleeping. It goes on to stress that pediatricians or other health care providers must be aware of the mental health needs of these children whose parent(s) are on active duty in the military. Anyone reading about this study needs to read between the lines and see what is really being put forth.
First of all, there is no need to be aware of any mental health needs of a military family. A child with a parent overseas on military duty would be expected to worry about his parent. The child probably knows that the mom or dad is in a dangerous place and that there is a chance that he or she may not come home alive. Worried, sad and trouble sleeping would be perfectly normal for a child in this situation. In fact, having no concerns or worries at all would be unusual.
Of course some kids cope quite well and others do not. Some military families are under stress in varying degrees when someone is on a tour of duty. Some families are also under stress for different reasons that have nothing to do with the military. Perhaps someone is very sick, perhaps someone lost their job, perhaps the parents aren’t getting along very well. These examples all affect a child’s well-being. This does not mean that the ones that cope well are normal and the ones that don’t cope well have a mental health issue.
However, the message from the field of psychiatry these days is that what most would consider normal behavior is now named as a “mental disorder.” Children that argue with adults have Oppositional Defiant Disorder. If you shop too much or use the internet a lot, then those actions are official “mental disorders.” If that’s not far-fetched enough for you, then how about Caffeine Induced Sleep Disorder? If you drink coffee and then have trouble sleeping, obviously the caffeine is keeping you awake. However, psychiatry says it’s a “mental disorder.” It wouldn’t be surprising if some “military disorder” was named in the near future catering to those military families.
Instead of saying that children may need some extra love, understanding and support when a family member is on active duty, the American Academy of Pediatrics is suggesting via their study that mental health treatment may be needed. They have put forth that various behaviors are warning signs of mental health conditions when sadness, anxiety, fear and worry are typical emotions for this situation. Their advice is that health care providers need to be aware of the military family’s stressful life so that they can guide them appropriately.
In the field of mental health, to guide appropriately means to diagnose a “disorder” and then prescribe psychotropic drugs to treat it. These drugs interfere with the functions of the brain. There are serious adverse side effects such as agitation, hostility, anger, mood instability, tics, violence and even suicide. Some side effects such as depression, sleep disturbances and anxiety are some of things one would be trying to potentially treat in military families, but the drugs only make the symptoms worse.
The biggest problem with all this is that these drugs are not treating any biological condition. They are not treating real medical conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart disease or anything else because they have no scientific test to locate and identify the problem. Instead, “mental disorders” are voted into existence to sell psychotropic drugs. This is called diseasemongering and is a typical tool of pharmaceutical companies.
Drug companies need to sell drugs, so if a new “disease” or “disorder” is “discovered,” then obviously there are more opportunities to sell people drugs. According to this study by the American Academy of Pediatrics, military families are on the verge of being good customers.
At this point, one may wonder why the American Academy of Pediatrics is sending the message that military families may need mental health services. The American Academy of Pediatrics supports the criteria for the “mental disorders” listed in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) that is used by psychiatry and other health care providers to diagnose. The field of psychiatry has created a relationship with this kind of group in the medical establishment in order to look more credible. The American Academy of Pediatrics and psychiatry have joined forces to push mental health services onto children. Obviously, this has financial benefits for both.
Whether part of a military family or not, it would be wise to do your own research and see how psychiatry is unnecessarily medicating all walks of life. If you find you or your family’s mental health being questioned, ask for the scientific test that supports the evaluation or diagnosis given. Don’t fall for the opinions regarding “mental disorder” symptoms. Ask for the science.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/128/5/1007.full
Thomas Power from director of the Center for Management of ADHD at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and US NEWS writes, recent findings that 11 percent of children have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder raise legitimate concerns about over diagnosis, leading to questions about possible overuse of medication. This is a concern particularly in affluent communities, since rural and some inner-city communities are often underserved and underdiagnosed.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/04/29/overdiagnosis-of-adhd-must-be-prevented
Natural News says: In one school in San Diego, 65 percent of fifth graders had been diagnosed with ADHD and put on medications. Even “normal” kids are subject to random drugging so they act like the adults in charge of them want them to… dull, placid, and compliant.
The fact is that up to 20% of American school-aged children are now on behavioral medications, according to child neurologist, Fred Baughman, Jr. MD. Parents are told to place their children on poisonous medications or their child will be refused attendance at school and have even been threatened with charges of “medical neglect.”
But ADD and ADHD are not medical conditions. There is no X-ray, brain scan, blood test, or any other medical test that a doctor can look at and say “yep, that’s ADHD alright. Just look at this X-ray. ADHD, right there, plain as the nose on my face.”. But with just 5 minutes at the right doctor’s office a parent can walk out with a deadly schedule I or II pharmaceutical prescription and a permanent medical record of ADD/ADHD diagnosis for their child.
http://www.naturalnews.com/036056_ADHD_overmedication_children.html#ixzz2Uh7gwTfR
Another fellow writes, Figures released last week showed prescriptions of Ritalin have quadrupled in the last decade — from 158,000 in 1999 to 661,463 in 2010 — with children as young as three taking the powerful medication. This massive growth comes despite warnings from experts that the more children take ADHD drugs, the more ‘rare’ but lethal side-effects, such as suicidal thoughts and psychosis, become common.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2141044/ADHD-Ritalin-prescriptions-soaring-experts-warn-effects.html
Side effects of ADHD drugs shock parents
Concerned parents weigh in following a Star investigation that found nearly 600 cases of Canadian kids suffering serious, sometimes fatal side effects suspected to have been caused by ADHD medications in the past 10 years.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/09/26/side_effects_of_adhd_drugs_shock_parents.html
Peter Kinderman, a chair of the BPS, says: ‘Children are being prescribed medication as a quick-fix rather than being given full assessments and psychological therapies, which may take longer and cost more but ultimately are better in the long run.’
Indeed, recent research proves that drug-free approaches can dispel the symptoms of ADHD.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2141044/ADHD-Ritalin-prescriptions-soaring-experts-warn-effects.html
Children on ADHD medication can be exposed to serious risks. Suicidal thoughts are among a battery of known side-effects of Ritalin-type drugs. Others include stress and anxiety, cardiovascular complaints, decreased appetite, stomach problems, dizziness, tics, skin problems and bruising. In 2009, the EU regulator, the European Medicines Agency, said all patients should be monitored for psychiatric symptoms during treatment. The agency added that, given the lack of information on the long-term effects of Ritalin, children should have treatment stopped once yearly to see if it is still needed.
‘Children who are anxious may misbehave and be fidgety, but those symptoms must not be mistaken for ADHD’
But experts say the rules are being widely ignored, often because healthcare professionals’ workloads are already too heavy to take on the job of monitoring children regularly.
Dave Traxson, an educational psychologist who works across schools in the West Midlands, adds that psychiatrists are also flouting NICE guidelines, which stress that children who show evidence of anxiety should not be put on Ritalin-type stimulant drugs.
‘Children who are anxious may misbehave and be fidgety, but those symptoms must not be mistaken for ADHD,’ he says. ‘The last thing you want if you are feeling anxious is to take a stimulant drug.’
The guidelines also advise that children on these drugs be weighed every six months, as the medication can severely shrink their appetites.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2141044/ADHD-Ritalin-prescriptions-soaring-experts-warn-effects.html
How do we prevent misdiagnosis and overmedication?
Thomas Power, US NEWS, writes that a highly successful treatment for children who are inattentive and/or disruptive (regardless of whether they have ADHD) is behavioral parent training. Many studies have demonstrated that such training is effective with children between 3 and 11 years. Less research has been conducted with adolescents and adults, but cognitive-behavioral therapy strategies have been shown to be highly promising.
Behavioral parent training tries to change environmental conditions that trigger and sustain inappropriate behaviors. This approach emphasizes the use of positive reinforcement (rewarding) for responsible or adaptive behaviors. Punishment can be appropriate when delivered less often than positive reinforcement and in a calm, non-physical manner (e.g., loss of privileges). Similar strategies can be applied in school.
Carrie Demers, MD writes; From a holistic point of view, chemical overstimulation of the nervous system isn’t healthy. Fortunately, there are many natural treatments that are effective both alone and in conjunction with drug therapy. Although my answers here are framed by the case of a child, they are applicable to teens and adults as well.
Diet and Nutrition
Despite multiple studies in the last 20 years suggesting that diet and food additives can exacerbate hyperactivity; the current medical stance is that there is no causal link between food and ADHD. In my own practice, parents who have reduced their child’s intake of sugar, refined foods, and foods with chemical additives (food dyes, preservatives, MSG, etc.) report significant improvement in their child’s behavior over four to eight weeks. These children are also less disruptive and more focused when they eat plenty of cooked vegetables and whole grains, along with moderate amounts of protein and organic unrefined oils.
Board-certified in internal medicine, Carrie Demers, MD, is the director of the Himalayan Institute Total Health Center.
