hunger strike by psychiatric survivors to oppose human rights violations

[nofurylike]

22 August 2003 http://www.MindFreedom.org
Contact: Mickey Weinberg 626-795-5525
E-mail: [e-mail]

NEWS RELEASE:

Day Seven of the Fast for Freedom in Mental Health:

Scientific Panel Clashes With the American Psychiatric Association

PASADENA, CALIF.: On the seventh day of a hunger strike by six psychiatric survivors to oppose human rights violations in the mental health system, the American Psychiatric Association faces a direct and unprecedented challenge from a Scientific Panel of 14 academics and clinicians.

The Fast for Freedom in Mental Health had requested that the American Psychiatric Association provide any specific evidence that "mental illness is biologically based."

Last week, the APA responded with a two-page letter that simply listed several textbooks and names of journals, but the Medical Director of the APA, James H. Scully, Jr., M.D., was apparently unable to locate even one specific study. The APA letter can be viewed here:

http://www.mindfreedom.org/mindfreedom/hungerstrike14.shtml

SCIENTISTS CHALLENGE PSYCHIATRY

What happened next surprised and delighted the hunger strikers. Instead of simply rejecting the APA's letter out of hand, the mental health professionals and scientists on the Panel carefully examined the source material listed by Dr. Scully. What the Scientific Panel found were quotations in each book that backed up hunger striker accusations.

For example: "here is no definitive lesion, laboratory test, or abnormality of brain tissue that can identify (a mental) illness" and "he precise causes (etiology) of mental disorders are not known."

In their reply to the APA , the Scientific Panel expressed dismay at "the contrast between the hunger strikers, who ask clear questions about the science of psychiatry and consciously take risks in the name of protecting the well being of users of psychiatry, and the American Psychiatric Association, which evades revealing what actual scientific evidence justifies its authority."

The six hunger strikers said they felt triumphant, and look forward to media asking the APA to comment on the Scientific Panel's reply.

The fasters say they will continue to fast until they reach their goals.

Mickey Weinberg, who helped organize the fast, said, "The condescending and contemptuous letter from the APA is consistent with its historic behavior. The Panelists' response turns the screws on the APA. It's certainly the first time in my memory when psychiatry has felt forced to answer to the demands of psychiatric survivors."

Romi Sayama said: "We're pleased to see that the American Psychiatric Association has confirmed that they could not find any evidence either."

David Gonzalez said: "Dr. Scully's letter states that 'the answers to your questions are widely available in the scientific literature.' If this is so -- why did he balk at providing the requested evidence?"

Krista Erickson said: "The Panelists provided a thorough and challenging response."

Vince Boehm said: "It's the lies that bother me. What makes me unable to sleep at night is to think about the psychiatric drugging of infants, even as young as three months. It's incomprehensible."

David Oaks, director of MindFreedom, said: "The only two things missing from Dr. Scully's letter are a blatant admission that there is no evidence, and a public apology to all psychiatric survivors. The Scientific Panel's response is magnificent and historic."

For more news and photos of the Fast for Freedom in Mental Health see http://www.MindFreedom.org

MindFreedom is a non-profit that unites 100 grassroots groups working for human rights in mental health.

BELOW IS THE REPLY OF THE "FAST FOR FREEDOM SCIENTIFIC PANEL" TO THE AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION.

~~~~~~~~~~

From: [e-mail]

MindFreedom
Support Coalition International
454 Willamette, Suite 216
PO Box 11284
Eugene, OR 97440 USA

To: [e-mail]

James H. Scully, Jr., M.D., Medical Director
American Psychiatric Association
1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1825
Arlington, VA 22209-3901


Dear Dr. Scully:

David Oaks, Executive Director of MindFreedom, has forwarded to us your reply dated 12 August 2003 to the hunger strikers involved in a "Fast for Freedom in Mental Health." We are a panel of 14 academics and clinicians who have agreed to review any such reply for scientific validity.

The hunger strikers asked your organization, as well as the Surgeon General of the United States, and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, to provide:

1. evidence that establishes the validity of
"schizophrenia," "depression" or other "major
mental illnesses" as "biologically-based brain
diseases";

2. evidence for a physical diagnostic exam that
can reliably distinguish individuals with these
diagnoses (prior to treatment with psychiatric
drugs) from individuals without these diagnoses;

3. evidence for a baseline standard of a
neurochemically-balanced "normal" individual,
against which a neurochemical "imbalance" can be
measured;

4. evidence that any psychotropic drug can
correct any "chemical imbalance" attributed to a
psychiatric diagnosis;

5. evidence that any psychotropic drug can
reliably decrease the likelihood of violence or
suicide.

In your reply, no specific studies of any kind were cited with reference to any of the questions above. You cited three general sources, including the recent Surgeon General's report on mental health and two textbooks of psychiatry.

In examining each of these sources, we found numerous statements that invalidate suggestions that behaviors referred to as "mental illnesses" have specific biological bases:

Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (1999) is explicit about the absence of any findings of specific pathophysiology:

p. 44: "The diagnosis of mental disorders is
often believed to be more difficult than
diagnosis of somatic, or general medical,
disorders, since there is no definitive lesion,
laboratory test, or abnormality in brain tissue
that can identify the illness."

p. 48: "It is not always easy to establish a
threshold for a mental disorder, particularly in
light of how common symptoms of mental distress
are and the lack of objective, physical symptoms."

p. 49: "The precise causes (etiology) of mental
disorders are not known."

p. 51: "All too frequently a biological change in
the brain (a lesion) is purported to be the
'cause' of a mental disorder ... The fact
is that any simple association -- or correlation --
cannot and does not, by itself, mean causation."

p. 102: "Few lesions or physiologic abnormalities
define the mental disorders, and for the most part
their causes remain unknown."

In the third edition of Textbook of Clinical
Psychiatry (1999), we find similar statements:

p. 43: "Although reliable criteria have been
constructed for many psychiatric disorders,
validation of the diagnostic categories as
specific entities has not been established."

p. 51: Most of these examine
candidate genes in the serotonergic pathways, and
have not found convincing evidence of an
association."

In Andreasen and Black's (2001) Introductory Textbook of Psychiatry, we find, in the chapter on schizophrenia:

p. 23. "In the areas of pathophysiology and
etiology, psychiatry has more uncharted territory
than the rest of medicine...Much of the current
investigative research in psychiatry is directed
toward the goal of identifying the
pathophysiology and etiology of major mental
illnesses, but this goal has been achieved for
only a few disorders (Alzheimer's disease,
multi-infarct dementia, Huntington's disease, and
substance-induced syndromes such as
amphetamine-related psychosis or
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome)."

p. 231: "In the absence of visible lesions and
known pathogens, investigators have turned to the
exploration of models that could explain the
diversity of symptoms through a single cognitive
mechanism."

p. 450: "Many candidate regions
have been explored but none
have been confirmed."

As you are no doubt familiar with these textbooks you cited, you will agree that such statements invalidate claims for specific, reliable biological causes or signs of "mental illnesses." In the judgment of the panel members, your reply fails to produce or cite any specific evidence of any specific pathophysiology underlying any "mental disorder."

You have also referred us to 60 volumes of Archives of General Psychiatry and 160 volumes of The American Journal of Psychiatry. The 28 July 2003 cover letter from the hunger strikers and panelists that they sent to you by certified mail stated:

"We are aware that research studies can run to thousands of pages. Therefore, please respond only with those studies that you consider the best available in support of your claims and theories in a timely way. When responding with evidence, please send citations for the original publications or copies of the publications you are citing."

Like you, we are familiar with the material found in these journals. It is understandable why you did not provide any citations. There is not a single study that provides valid and reliable evidence for the "biological basis of mental illness."

The members of the panel wish to make some further observations which we hope will assist the American Psychiatric Association to present an honest scientific stance with respect to the hunger strikers' questions.

In the panel's view, the questions posed by the hunger strikers are serious and fair. These questions are legitimate questions that any patient or family member or interested person might ask of any psychiatrist, or a student might ask of a professor. The panel was therefore quite dismayed that you, as Medical Director of the world's largest, wealthiest, and most resourceful psychiatric association, could not provide a more specific or substantial response than the equivalent of, "See our textbook."

If, as you state in your letter, "the answers to questions are widely available in the scientific literature, and have been for years," then it behooves your organization to make these answers and their specific sources -- if they differ from the quotes we present in this letter -- available promptly.

The panel members could not help but notice the contrast between the hunger strikers, who ask clear questions about the science of psychiatry and consciously take risks in the name of protecting the well-being of users of psychiatry, and the American Psychiatric Association, which evades revealing what actual scientific evidence justifies its authority. By not giving specific answers to the questions posed by the hunger strikers, you appear to be affirming the very reason for the hunger strike.


Sincerely,

Fred Baughman, MD
Mary Boyle, PhD
Peter Breggin, MD
David Cohen, PhD
Ty Colbert, PhD
Pat Deegan, PhD
Al Galves, PhD
Thomas Greening, PhD
David Jacobs, PhD
Jay Joseph, PhD
Jonathan Leo, PhD
Bruce Levine, PhD
Loren Mosher, MD
Stuart Shipko, MD


The hunger strikers endorse the scientific
panel's statement.

- end -

~~~~~~~~~~

**** PLEASE FORWARD THIS ALERT TO ALL
APPROPRIATE PLACES ON & OFF INTERNET! ****

-----------------------------------------------------------
on my way to post this, i received the day 8 report. i haven't edited it, but am posting it as it came to me:

22 August 2003 http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.MindFreedom.org
Contact for Hunger Strikers: 626-795-5525
E-mail: [e-mail]


DAY 8: "Time to Move our Movement." - Romi

Fast For Freedom In Mental Health
Hunger Strikers Issue a Challenge to
Community, Supporters, Friends & Family

"TAKE ACTION: REACH THE MEDIA AND
THE AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION"

Fasters make personal plea.

PASADENA, CALIF.: This is the eighth day of a
hunger strike protesting the "takeover of the
mental health system by the psychiatric drug
industry." Today is a turning point for fasters.

The Fast for Freedom in Mental Health is issuing
a challenge today to their community, friends,
family and all supporters of human rights in the
mental health system.

REACH THE MEDIA AND THE APA!!

This is a special "MindFreedom Dendrite." Immediately
following this alert, we will e-mail out three (3) news
articles about the Fast for Freedom in Mental Health.

The hunger strikers are encouraging you to copy those
articles far and wide, ESPECIALLY TO MEDIA, and to friends,
colleagues, everyone! If you wish, add a very brief personal note.

Here are two key media. At BOTTOM are more. And
please get this to all other media -- major or independent:

~~~~~~~~

TWO MAIN MEDIA CONTACTS:

Los Angeles Times -- Headquarters
E-mail: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.latimes.com

New York Times -- Headquarters
E-mail: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.nytimes.com



~~~~~~~~~

ASK THE APA FOR A COMMENT!

The goal: For everyone -- especially the media -- to civily
ask the American Psychiatric Association this question:

"Please provide an official, meaningful comment on the
Fast for Freedom Scientific Panel's Statement to the APA."

~~~~~~~~~

TWO MAIN APA CONTACTS:

The Director of APA Public Relations
Laurie Oseran
Direct phone: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

The President of the APA Board of Trustees
Marcia K. Goin, Clinical Professor History & Education
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

Direct phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

American Psychiatric Assoociation Board of Trustees.]

~~~~~~~~~

HERE ARE HEARTFELT "DAY 8" MESSAGES FROM
THE HUNGER STRIKERS TO THEIR SUPPORTERS
ON DAY EIGHT OF THE FAST FOR FREEDOM:

Mickey Weinberg: "I'm worried and angry. I'm
worried about my 62 year old body. I'm angry
that both the APA and most of the media couldn't
care less. They couldn't care less about our
concern about folks enmeshed in the mental health
system... or about my life.

"So we need your help. The media shape public
perception. If major media cover the hunger
strike then to the public we -- and all the users
and survivors of psychiatry -- exist. Without that
coverage, then to the public none of us exists.

"The Fast for Freedom can diminsh the power of
psychiatry and enhance the reputation of people
labeled by psychiatry. LET'S NOT LOSE THAT
OPPORTUNITY!

"Demand from major media that they pressure the
APA to comment on our Scientific Panel's
brilliant refutation of the condescending letter
sent us by the medical director of the APA.

"Easier still, let the media know that YOU WANT
THE HUNGER STRIKE COVERED!

"Today, my wife cried. She's worried about me.
The physicians represented by the APA can easily
end this hunger strike. Call the media."

~~~~~~~~~

Romi Sayama, 22 years old: "I think we need to let our
supporters know that this is the time to move our
movement, not only by contacting the media, but
also by getting our issues off of the back burner
in our own lives. This a valuable opportunity to
have our voices and activism heard."

~~~~~~~~~

David Gonzalez, 45: "This is an urgent plea for support from someone
who entered a 'medical facility' 20 years ago seeking treatment for
an emotional crisis. I was re-traumatized by the very system
designed to provide that treatment. To this very day
I am still recuperating from the after effects of that
humiliating, debilitating and harrowing experience.

"If you are someone who has entered a mental health facility
and found yourself held against your will... If you are
someone who has been forced to take powerful psychotropic
drugs against your will... Or if you are someone who
has a relative who has been exploited under the guise of
mental health... I am asking for your support in contacting
the media to question the institutions that condone these
practices.

"What proof do the APA and NAMI have that emotional disorders
are biologically based? What proof do they have that
powerful psychotropic drugs alleviate, and don't, in fact,
exacerbate emotional disorders? And what authority justifies
and empowers them to routinely and unilaterally coerce and
force people into treatment?"

~~~~~~~~~

Vince Boehm, 64: "Does anyone out there give a hoot? Yes.
Support comes from unusual places. From Ausralia we
received a page of 'thank you, thank you, thank you.'
One mental health consumer was so grateful, she said
with lots of emotion, 'You're doing this for me,' and she
gave me a little hug.' That's what keeps me going."

~~~~~~~~~

Krista Erickson, 28: "I am asking everyone, especially the
disability community, to please contact the APA,
and any media -- both local and national. Please ask
the APA to provide a substantive comment on the
response from the Scientific Panel."

~~~~~~~~~

David Oaks, 47: "One of the reasons I joined the hunger
strike in the first place was to galvanize our community,
to move from patients to passion. We appreciate
every single bit of support, small and large. We are
asking for something much more: To dig deep down
inside ourselves, and challenge all media -- mainstream
and independent -- to do their job: Ask the APA about
the Scientific Panel's statement! Also, in the era of
the Internet, we are our own media. Break the silence!"

~~~~~~~~~

WEB SITES FOR MORE INFO & TO HELP
THE FAST FOR FREEDOM:

For the latest news releases, daily updates, solidarity strikers,
articles, etc. check http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.MindFreedom.org.

For the latest photos, message board, etc. see
http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.cinemaniastigma.com/pages/13/index.htm

~~~~~~~

CONTACT MORE MAJOR MEDIA

Chicago Tribune -- Headquarters
E-mail: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.chicagotribune.com

Boston Globe -- Headquarters
E-mail: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.boston.comcom/globe/

USA Today -- Headquarters
E-mail: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.usatoday.com

Washington Post -- Headquarters
E-mail: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.washingtonpost.com

Washington Post -- LA Bureau
Phone: [phone] - Rene Sanchez
Fax: [phone]
Reporter e-mail: Rene Sanchez [e-mail]

Wall Street Journal -- Headquarters
E-mail: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]
News phone [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.wsj.com

ABC News -- Headquarters
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: abcnews.go.com

CBS News -- Headquarters
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.cbsnews.com

CNN News Group -- Headquarters
E-mail: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.cnn.com

Fox News Channel -- Headquarters
E-mail: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.foxnews.com

MSNBC -- Headquarters
E-mail: [e-mail]
Website: msnbc.com
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

NBC News -- Headquarters
E-mail: [e-mail]
Website: http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.msnbc.com/news
Phone: [phone]
News phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) -- Headquarters
E-mail: [e-mail]
Website: http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.pbs.org
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

National Public Radio - How To Pitch a Story
http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.npr.org/about/pitch/

Remind the national office that NPR-LA's
Rachel Myrow is covering the story locally. To hear it:
http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.scpr.org/play/audio.php?media=/news/features/2003/08/20030818_features1

~~~~~~~~~~~

To e-mail all the above, use bcc to: [e-mail],
[e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail],
[e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail],
[e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail],
[e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail]

~~~~~~~~~~~

CONTACT MORE MEMBERS OF
THE APA BOARD OF TRUSTEES:

APA President-Elect
Michelle B. Riba, M.D., M.S.
Dept. Psychiatry
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI

Office: 734-764-6879
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.med.umich.edu/psych/ribaapa.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~

APA Vice President
Pedro Ruiz, M.D.
Prof & Vice Chair, Clinical Affairs
Dept. Psych & Behav Sci., U Texas Med. Sch.
Houston, TX

Office: 713-500-2799
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

~~~~~~~~~~~

APA Secretary
Nada L. Stotland, M.D., M.P.H.
Chicago, IL

Office: 773-667-6329
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://hometown.aol.com/nadast/myhomepage/politics.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~

APA Trustee-at-Large
Tanya R. Anderson, M.D.
Dept. of Psychiatry
Univ of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL

Office: 312-355-4337
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.psych.uic.edu/faculty/anderson.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~

APA Area 1 Trustee
Donna M. Norris, M.D.
Wellesley, MA

Office: 781-237-1778
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.pipatl.org/donnanorris

~~~~~~~~~~~

APA Area 4 Trustee
Sidney H. Weissman, M.D.
Chicago, IL

Office: 312-781-1144; 708-202-8419
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

~~~~~~~~~~~

APA Area 7 Trustee
Albert V. Vogel, M.D.
Univ New Mexico, HSC
Office of Assoc Dean for Clinical Affairs
Cancer Center Rm B-30
Albuquerque, NM

Office: 505-272-0738
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

~~~~~~~~~~~

To e-mail all APA officials above use bcc to: [e-mail],
[e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail],
[e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail],
[e-mail], [e-mail]

~~~~~~~~~~

**** PLEASE FORWARD THIS ALERT TO ALL
APPROPRIATE PLACES ON & OFF INTERNET! ****

~~~~~~~~~~

DONATIONS ARE ENCOURAGED TO SUPPORT
HUNGER STRIKE COSTS...

BEGIN OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP IN
MINDFREEDOM TODAY!

IF YOU ARE IN LA AREA, VOLUNTEERS
ARE NEEDED. Phone [phone]. Check web for
free lecture series on Saturday, Monday & Wednesday. Volunteer and
community meeting at 6 pm daily at Hunger Strike Headquarters:
277 North El Molina Ave., Pasadena, Calif., USA.

MindFreedom Support Coalition International
is a non-profit uniting 100 grassroots groups,
and is independently funded by group and
individual members like you who support human rights.

Find out more, and join and/or donate today at
http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://www.MindFreedom.org. Click on join/donate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For occasional updates like this, you may join this
dendrite MindFreedom announcement list here for free:

http://mail.peoplepc.com/jump/http://mailman.efn.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/dendrite

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*** PLEASE COPY THIS NEWS ***
TO ALL APPROPRIATE PLACES
ON & OFF THE INTERNET NOW!

[nofurylike]

1. i'm sorry so much reading, but important!

also, i tried to get the links to come out right. the email address wouldn't correct on there, leaving off the o in office each time.

address is [e-mail]

please do whatever you can.

they are starving for this and the media doesn't care at all. these are crucial u.s. human rights issues.

the rapid and insidiously disinformation-riddled descent into biological psychiatry is a return to that old disreputed school of sociobiology - including today's seemingly cleaned up versions of eugenics.

thank you for reading!
and for acting if you possibly can!

Peace!

[Occulus]

2. Hmm.

I didn't wade through your entire post, but I read the pertinent portions, and I must say this raises some very disturbing questions.

1) This brings into question the entirety of the APA's assertions, from schizophrenia to ADD. WHY do they feel there must be a pill for every mind "disease"?

2) Both the USA and the USSR have performed actual intel ops involving "remote viewing" and other so-called 'wild talents'. Given the historical fact that these abilities have been successfully used by both governments- and again, this is historical data, they confirmed their respective successes, and have proven insofar as it is possible to do so that these abilities actually do exist and are so verifiable as to be used in government intel opserations- it is only natural to conclude that the respective governmental institutions would not repeat NOT want it known that these abilities exist.

Someone who hears voices might well be disgnosed as being schizo. That person also would exhibit the same symptoms as a person who has untrained and unrecognised telepathy.

Discuss.

[nofurylike]

3. i hear you

what is most important, i think, is that such a powerful industry learns how to say "we don't know" rather than needing to discredit what they don't fully understand and control.

and yes, o yes, what you say about a pill for everything.
infants being drugged?!

now, THAT'S crazy!

if they could just humble out, admit that "we don't know", we'd be safer, at least.

[cosmicaug]

4. Historical facts

Both the USA and the USSR have performed actual intel ops involving "remote viewing" and other so-called 'wild talents'. Given the historical fact that these abilities have been successfully used by both governments- and again, this is historical data, they confirmed their respective successes, and have proven insofar as it is possible to do so that these abilities actually do exist and are so verifiable as to be used in government intel opserations- it is only natural to conclude that the respective governmental institutions would not repeat NOT want it known that these abilities exist.

Yeah, it's simultaneously both a historical fact and top secret knowledge that the gubmint wants to keep from the people. That makes a lot of sense. The fact that the government has wasted a lot of your money on such nonsense in no way proves that it is anything other than nonsense (no more than all of Trofim Denisovich Lysenko's claimed successes prove that evolution is of a Lamarkian character). It only proves that people who should know better (particularly if they work for government agencies that use the word "intelligence" in their names) don't actually know better. Just like Michael Drosnin claims that he's briefed top military intelligence officials on his "Bible code" (does this prove that his "Bible code" is legitimate? no, it proves that at least some top military intelligence officials are idiots). Just like Jack van Impe claims the Bush administration has seeked his insight into Biblical prophecy (and this I truly hope is nothing more than the product of Jack van Impe's delusional mind --if you want proof that mentall illness is a real entity then that is your man). In other words, idiots abound even at the highest levels of government (in fact, the guy at the top right now pretty clearly seems to be one).

[nofurylike]

5. yes, and reducing everything to brain troubles

to be drugged, shocked, or sliced out, is a very effective end run round such possibilities.

thank you for the fascinating links.
just skimmed for now, but must read.

in the immediate circumstances i just posted about, these survivors, who see through like you describe seeing, are going to starve till the media hears them.

anything anyone can do is urgent.

[nofurylike]

6. a media report on the hunger strike, day 6

EXTRA!

August 22, 2003

http://www.redflagsweekly.com/extra/2003_aug22.html

SECOND OPINION

A FAST FOR FREEDOM IN MENTAL HEALTH

A hunger strike is challenging international
domination by biopsychiatry and the forced
drugging of patients

A MINDFREEDOM SCIENTIFIC PANEL SOCKS IT TO THE
ARROGANT AND EDUCATIONALLY-CHALLENGED APA

Second In A Series (first is BELOW)

By Nicholas Regush

Day Six. He sounds a little lightheaded and
wired. That's what a hunger strike does to you.
David Oaks, having had a restful day at hunger
strike headquarters in Pasadena, is feeling
"jazzed" because the scientific panel established
by MindFreedom, the organization he heads, has
produced a stunning rebuttal to an extremely
arrogant memo from the American Psychiatric
Association. When MindFreedom asked the APA to
provide evidence that "emotional and mental
problems are primarily a biologically-based brain
disease," Dr. James H. Scully, Jr., the APA
Medical Director suggested that Oaks, his fellow
hunger strikers, group members and supporters
read a report from the Surgeon General of the
United States and an introductory "user-friendly"
textbook of psychiatry -- just perfect for those
"being introduced to the field of psychiatry."

Big mistake. Though Scully is on vacation, the
APA will shortly be receiving the MindFreedom
report that suggests to me -- and it comes as no
surprise -- that the APA is educationally
challenged on the key issues of what constitutes
a mental illness. In fact, the APA is so out of
touch with the science that there should be a
Congressional investigation to determine the role
the drug industry has had in shaping uneducated
viewpoints and policies at APA central. I'm not
kidding. There is such a lack of fit between what
the established agenda has going for it and the
available neuroscience that this is no longer
just a matter of tweaking the so-called experts
to get their house in order; no, it is now a
matter requiring a high-level investigation.
Lives are at stake; they always have been, and
the situation has gone totally out-of-control.
The kind of psychiatry supported by big drug
money and its associate, the APA, has more to do
with profit and career enhancement than it has to
do with patient care. And I'm being very nice.

The panel that MindFreedom set up has 13 PhDs and
MDs. This is no B-team. I'd put these people up
against anything the APA would have to offer in
the way of an actual debate. In fact, it already
seems at this very early point in the hunger
strike that the panel has scored a major coup,
revealing how absolutely ridiculous Scully's
reading recommendations turned out to be. Again,
I say, "Big Surprise."

The panel decided to look at the Report of the
Surgeon General on mental health and notes that
the report is explicit when it comes to
discussing specific pathophysiology. For example,
"few lesions or physiologic abnormalities define
the mental disorders, and for the most part their
causes remain unknown." I wonder if Scully knows
this. Or does Scully know that, "the diagnosis of
mental disorders is often believed to be more
difficult than diagnosis of somatic, or general
medical, disorders, since there is no definitive
lesion, laboratory test, or abnormality in brain
tissue than can identify the illness?"

Does Scully know that, "the precise causes
(etiology) of mental disorders are not known?"
The mantra for MindFreedom should be: Does Scully
Know? I mean, didn't he read the Surgeon General's
Report?

On to that "user-friendly textbook." Here's a
good one from the panel's report:

"Although reliable criteria have been constructed
for many psychiatric disorders, validation of the
diagnostic categories as specific entities has
not been established."

I suppose we can go on. But let's put a stop to
the carnage for the moment. Tomorrow, I'll take a
closer look at the response to MindFreedom from
the National Alliance For The Mentally Ill.
That's worth waiting for.

TO BE CONTINUED

[nofurylike]

7. sorry, again, it's so much reading! but please

do send this info to the media on the list given in the first post.
the email addys are there, and you are welcome to simply copy any part of this to send.

the more they get, the more chance they'll care and get what is being said.

this is crucial, as the bush admin has begun implementing a new national mental health policy that is entirely biopsychiatry, including some frightening theories discredited and exposed for the racism and sexism they are, back when they were called eugenics. and including psychoactive drugging of months old infants!

please just send even one email to media somewhere.

thank you!

Peace

[nofurylike]

8. WHAT'S the big deal, right?

from: Pathologizing Life, by Gary Null 2002

http://www.garynull.com

-snip-
Dr. Julie Zito, an associate professor at the University of Maryland's School of Pharmacy, was especially skeptical of the use of Ritalin to combat attention-deficit disorder in two-year-olds. "What is abnormally inattentive in a two-year-old?" she asked.
It was Dr. Zito who, along with colleagues from the University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins, and Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research, authored a study on "Trends in the Prescribing of Psychotropic Medications to Preschoolers." (14) Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study contained some unsettling findings concerning very young children and psychotropic drugs. The researchers found that poor-and particularly black-children are being prescribed Ritalin at younger and younger ages. A 300-percent increase in prescriptions to the very young between 1991 and 1995 was cited. The study also mentioned Prozac being given to children younger than one year of age, to the tune of some 3000 prescriptions in 1994.
-snip-


Comedian-turned-activist Dick Gregory once said that in the US, "where more people die from
overeating than under eating," almost nothing will "get the attention of the masses faster than
fasting."

[nofurylike]

9. big deal yet?

from: Pathologizing Life, by Gary Null 2002
http://www.garynull.com


-snip-
In 1970, when approximately 150,000 students were on Ritalin, America was alarmed enough to get the Drug Enforcement Agency to classify Ritalin and other amphetamine-type drugs as Class II substances, a category that includes cocaine and one that indicates significant risk of abuse. Despite this apparent safeguard, the number of children taking psychiatric stimulants today has risen over 40-fold; current estimates are that between 6 and 7 million children are taking them.
-snip-
As a Wall Street Journal article reported, the use of prescription drugs to control toddlers' behavior has increased dramatically in the past decade.
-snip-
The boom in psychiatric drug sales has been helped along by a vigorous marketing campaign. Psychiatrist Loren Mosher reports that at meetings of the American Psychiatric Association, drug companies "basically lease 90 percent of the exhibition space and spend huge sums in giveaway items. They have nearly completely squeezed out the little guys, and the symposiums that once were dedicated to scientific reports now have been replaced by the pharmaceutical-industry-sponsored speakers."
-snip-

please just copy and paste any part of this and send it to any one of the media whose addresses are in the opening post here.

thank you!

Peace