A Big Problem for America: Transcendental Medication, Pt 2
When it was found that psychoactive drugs affect neurotransmitter levels in the brain, as evidenced mainly by the levels of their breakdown products in the spinal fluid, the theory arose that the cause of mental illness is an abnormality in the brain’s concentration of these chemicals that is specifically countered by the appropriate drug …That was a great leap in logic … It was entirely possible that drugs that affected neurotransmitter levels could relieve symptoms even if neurotransmitters had nothing to do with the illness in the first place (and even possible that they relieved symptoms through some other mode of action entirely).
Angell concludes by saying that ,using this logic, you “could argue that fevers are caused by too little aspirin!”
Other drug classes are generally developed and designed by targeting specific ailments and researching which combinations of chemicals are likely to render a particular relief of symptoms, or are proven to arrest or defeat the illness. But as Angell points out above, this is frequently not the case with many psychiatric medications.
Medical journalist and Pulitzer Prize nominee Robert Whitaker says:
Prior to treatment, patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression, and other psychiatric disorders do not suffer from any known “chemical imbalance”. However, once a person is put on a psychiatric medication, which, in one manner or another, throws a wrench into the usual mechanics of a neuronal pathway, his or her brain begins to function … abnormally.
Peter Breggin, a leading crusader against the abusive prescription of psychiatric drugs who has been called “the conscience of psychiatry,” presents a pioneering, person-centered approach to psychiatric drug withdrawal in his new book. Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal; A Guide for Prescribers, Therapists, Patients and Their Families, (Springer Publishing) is the first book to establish guidelines and assist the prescriber and therapist in withdrawing their patients from psychiatric drugs. With increasing evidence that long-term use of psychiatric drugs damages the brain and complicates withdrawal, and with the number of people on psychiatric medication higher than ever, this work comes out at a critical time. The book also anticipates controversial DSM-5 proposals which some say would medicalize normality.
Research shows long-term exposure to psychiatric drugs has proven to be far more dangerous than originally anticipated, and includes the threat of medication-induced obesity, diabetes, heart disease, irreversible abnormal movements, emotional and cognitive disability, and an overall deterioration in the patient’s clinical condition and quality of life. These dangers, among others, have compelled Dr. Breggin to argue that “Nothing in the field of mental health will do more good and reduce more harm than encouraging withdrawal from psychiatric drugs.”
How are we to function as responsible citizens entrusted with the care and maintenance of this precious form of self-governance, if our judgment is impaired and reality is elusive? There is very strong evidence of the societal impact of this problem already.
The Church ought to be considering its role in assisting individuals struggling with emotional and psychological challenges, rather than abdicate their duty to “the system”. We all need a reality check as to why such a huge portion of our society is considered to be reliant on mind-altering drugs. At the very least it should be asking these questions, and demanding answers.
Where is the hope, if no one can cope?
Images: Source: National Cancer Institute; author: J. Troha (Photographer); public domain
