Mental Illness Myths!

	and other Psychiatric Unicorns! "I have tried to show that professionals in the mental health field are impostors, pretending to have expertise they cannot possess. Being an expert about mental illnesses is like being an expert about ghosts or unicorns. Not surprisingly, some or many mental health experts come to feel like impostors, like frauds." (Psychiatry: The Science of Lies, Thomas Szasz, 2008 AD, p 109)
The Chemical Imbalance Myth: Mental illnesses are not caused by chemical imbalances of the brain! There is no proof of this, only speculation based upon the theory of evolution and the denial that God exists and that man has no spirit apart from the body.
Hysteria Myth: The myth that "hysteria" is mental illness.
History of Psychiatric Myths Psychiatry has not progressed in 260 years! Bloodletting and vomiting to cure "melancholy blood". Neuroleptic drugs to cure "chemical imbalances" See the Bedlam nut house of the 1750's
deviant sex Myth: The myth that "deviant sex" is mental illness. deviant sex is a lifestyle choice with no biologic cause. Psychiatrists have it all wrong!
"Just like any other medical disease": Mental illnesses are nothing like real medical diseases! "There is nothing so absurd but if you repeat it often enough people will believe it." (David Barton, The Myth of Separation, 1991, quoting psychologist William James, p. 46)
"Low self-esteem" is bad Most mentally ill people suffer from high self-esteem, not low. The Bible commands the Christian to have low self-esteem, not high! A Biblical counselor will commend you when you tell him you have low self-esteem!
Psychiatrist buffet of quackery: Psychologists are modern "Witch prickers" Treatment type or treatment length is irrelevant Bereavement counseling is ineffective and unproven Intelligence testing (IQ testing) is junk science that led to eugenics fuelled by Darwinism. Psychologists seek credibility by deceptively fashioning themselves to appear to be another branch of medicine
Catalogue of psychiatric junk science

A. List of Psychiatry junk science Myths:

1.  Psychiatry claims a chemical cause, without scientific proof, for emotional/spiritual/non-physical problems of people who are in perfect physical health.
2. Psychiatry perpetuates the myth that one's state of mind and emotions are biologically based rather than spiritual. Everyone, including psychiatrists, knows that emotions are not chemically induced: "love potions" "aphrodisiacs" "hate chemical" "jealousy chemical". This one fact renders Psychiatry irrelevant, since it seeks physical solutions to non-physical problems. Its like taking your car in for an engine overhaul because you keep falling asleep at the wheel and driving into the ditch. The problem is not the car its the driver. Likewise mental problems are
3. Psychiatry usually claims the cause of mental illness is a broken brain with a chemical imbalance. Conversely psychiatry almost always dismisses sin, moral choices and life situations as the cause of mental illness. The entire psychiatric industry has been built by dismissing the real cause while treating with drugs a mythical cause patents that nothing physically wrong with them... if examined by a real medical doctor.
4. Psychiatry hides the fact that they have no idea what causes mental illness, but if you ask the right questions, they will admit they don't know the cause. They portray themselves as medically trained experts with a scientific foundation equal to medical doctors, when in fact they have no scientific facts for what causes mental illness.
5. Psychiatry hides the fact they have no idea how to cure mental illness, but if you ask the right questions, they will admit they will admit they don't know the cure. They portray themselves as medically trained experts with a scientific foundation equal to medical doctors, on making sick people better. In fact, psychiatrists only perform two functions: Drug the mentally ill so they do not annoy other members of society and physically confine the ones that drugs don't work on.
6. Psychiatric drugs control not cure. Psychiatry hides the fact that the drugs they prescribe do not replace the chemicals they allege are missing in the brain, but merely provide temporary relief of symptoms without affecting the cause of the problem. For the most part psychiatric drugs control, by drugging into submission, not cure.

B. The myth that medical doctors view psychiatry with respect:

1. "I view with no surprise that psychiatric training is being systemically disavowed by American medical school graduates. This must give us cause for concern about the state of today's psychiatry. It must mean, at least in part, that they view psychiatry as being very limited and unchallenging." (L.R. Mosher, Psychiatrist, resignation letter from the American Psychiatric Association, 1998)
2. This is how psychiatrists view themselves: "Psychoneuroendocrine research has played a pivotal role in the evolution of psychiatry into a legitimate medical discipline." (Textbook of Psychopharmacology, Schatzberg, Nemeroff, 2002 AD, p 115)

C. The myth that psychiatry fixes people:

1. Psychiatry doesn't cure or fix anybody! They just drug you. Psychiatry has hurt and harmed people both today and historically with brain damage by neuroleptics drugs, electroconvulsive shock treatments and surgery though a lobotomy.
2. "In an effort to appear humane, courts have moved towards referring for psychological treatment not only crime victims but also those who have been convicted of a crime in which "psycho logical problems" are identified as a factor. in some jurisdictions, employers are also mandated to provide treatment for employees with psychological problems, such as alcohol and substance abuse or sexual disorders. Similarly, workers' compensation programs now include provisions for job-related stress, and stress debriefings are required for both victims of trauma and emergency personnel. While these treatments generally lack any proof of their long-term effectiveness, they have become legally sanctioned, publicly endorsed and accepted, and are widely used. in referring to publicly accredited psychological services as "sanctified snake oil," Susan Sarnoff, professor of Social Work at Ohio University, states that government support and funding of "junk social science" creates an implied approval of these bogus methods that is unwarranted and wasteful of tax dollars. She warns that what is truly dangerous, at this time in history, is not the sale of "snake oil" but rather that it is legitimized by these official stamps of approval" (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p 276)

D. List of myths believed by the general public:

1. The general public just blindly believes everything the mental health industry tells them. Psychiatrists are fully aware of the shaky and unscientific foundation their incomes are based upon, but they do not take any steps correct any of these myths that the general public believe.
2. A good example of this is when Brook Shields said that a man could not understand postpartum depression (PPD) any more than childbirth. All the women of the world rose up in solidarity with Brook for a point well made. As the PPD poster child for the chemical psychiatry industry, they never rose up and corrected Brooks facts. They knew what Brook did not: for every 14 new mothers diagnosed with PPD, there are 10 new fathers diagnosed with PPD.
3. Medical doctors are better informed and are more inclined to view psychiatry as quackery. They have seen how psychiatry has taken actions to place itself directly inside and beside the practice of legitimate medicine and the real doctors don't like it.
4. Then there are the poor hopeless courts, judges and lawyers who are blindly use the psychiatry industry as mere pawns to make them money. Since psychology has not tangible foundation in science, but purely subjective, they can bring an "expert" in and get them to testify what they want the jury to hear. "My poor client was forced to eat his peas by an overbearing mother who spanked him. Add this to the fact that he has suffered from postpartum depression ever since the birth of his first daughter... He is sick, he is not responsible, he needs love, coddling and reassurance. Let's all give him a group hug right now! He must really need one since this is the third time he has chain sawed people in half and eat them." And the guy gets off for "reasons of insanity".
5. The Media, like the public just fall in line and advertise all the myths. Even warrior for righteousness Bill O'Reilly has been blindly sucked in by the chemical psychiatry industry. He regularly brings on his show psychologists and psychiatrists who openly advertise these myths to legitimize the mental health industry. After some tragedy they talk about critical incident debriefing, post Traumatic/Stress Disorder (PTSD) etc. The general public watches and are unknowingly imprinted with the false notion that there is some legitimate science behind psychiatry.

"Stopping psychologists from influencing the justice System: Bogus psychology is often used to fuel "dueling experts," who mislead the courts daily, deluding judges and juries into believing that their procedures and opinions are uncontroversial and based on responsible, scientific research. This activity has become so rampant that the proposed Truth and Responsibility in Mental Health Practices Act would require "all psychotherapists and social scientists to tell the truth in American courts of law." (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p 276)

Myths of psychiatry	General public believe myth?	Psychiatrists believe myth?	Medical doctors believe myth?	Courts believe myth?
Chemical imbalances that cause mental illness are a myth.	All	Some	Some	Most
Anti-psychotic drugs cure mental illness	All	No	No	Most
Anti-psychotic drugs supply chemicals the body lack	All	No	Some	Most
Anti-psychotic drugs do not harm the body	All	Some	Some	most
12 step programs like AA work.	All	Some	Most	All
Multiple Personality Syndrome (MPS) is well documented and scientifically proven.	All	Some	Most	Most
Repressed memory syndrome (RPS) is well documented and scientifically proven.	All	Many	Most	Most
Mentally ill patents rarely get cured except with psychiatric treatment.	All	Most	Most	Most
The type of treatment you receive from a psychiatrist is critical to being cured.	All	Most	Most	Most
The longer you are in therapy sessions, the better you will get.	All	Most	Most	Most
Bereavement counseling by professionals is critical to the survivor's mental health.	All	Most	Most	Most
Post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) is well documented and scientifically proven.	All	Most	Most	Most
Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) is well documented and scientifically proven.	All	Most	Most	Most
Courts are scientifically well informed about the value of the assessments they order people to undergo.	All	Most	Most	Many
Medical doctors generally view psychiatry as a valid branch of medicine.	All	Few	Few	Most

E. Psychology doesn't work and has no scientific research to prove it is effective:

1. The only evidence that makes mental illness a disease "are the symptoms used by professionals to label someone mentally ill. But the symptoms used to diagnose someone as mentally ill (despair, hopelessness, sadness, anger, shame, guilt ...) are not biological markers. There is no evidence that these expressions are physical in nature. They all point to a hurting soul." (Ty C. Colbert, Rape of the Soul, How the Chemical Imbalance Model of Modern Psychiatry has Failed Its Patients, 2001, p. 237-238)
2. "Freudians cannot point to unambiguous evidence that psychoanalysis works, but neither can proponents of more modern treatments, whether Jungian analysis, cognitive-behavioral therapy or even medications. Indeed, claims about the 'wonder drug' Prozac notwithstanding, numerous independent studies have found that drugs are not significantly more effective than 'talking cures' at treating the most common ailments for which people seek treatment, including depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic attacks." Scientific American, 12/1996, p.106
3. "The success of the Freudian revolution seemed complete. Only one thing went wrong. The patients did not get any better." (Zilboorg, G., in Mowrer, The Crisis in Psychology and Religion (Princeton: Van Nostrand, 1961; H. J. Eysenck, Director of the University of London's Department of Psychology)
4. "If an 'illness"' is to be "scientifically meaningful, it must somehow be capable of being approached, measured or tested in a scientific fashion, as through a blood test or an electroencephalograph. If it cannot be so measured-as is the case [with] ... 'mental illness'-then the phrase 'illness' is at best a metaphor ... and that therefore 'treating' these 'illnesses' is an ... unscientific enterprise." (Richard E Vatz, Lee S. Weinber & and Thomas S. Szasz, "Why Does Television Grovel at the Altar of Psychiatry?," The Washington Post, 15 Sep. 1985, pp. Dl-2.)
5. "Unlike medical diagnoses that convey a probable cause, appropriate treatment and likely prognosis, the disorders listed in DSM-IV [and ICD-10] are terms arrived at through peer consensus"-a vote by APA committee members. (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p. 86)
6. The altruistic appearance of the services offered by psychologists is dangerously misleading. People need to recognize that the Psychology Industry thrives by promoting its services and expanding its market, and that psychologists are selling the public a bill of goods, making promises about happiness, health and safety which they cannot fulfil. Psychologists are in the business of posing as experts in living, claiming for themselves the ability to divine right from wrong and cause from effect. The Psychology industry has persuaded society that the "good life" is possible through the guidance and assistance of psychologists.
7. "We cannot consider psychology ... a scientific discipline ... the therapist and psychiatrist [can] not objectively measure and analyze the causes and cures of anxiety with statistical repeatability as a doctor and patient could measure and analyze the causes and cures of a broken ankle." (Lisa and Ryan Bazler, Psychology Debunked Revealing the Overcoming life, 2002, p 11)
8. "The success of the Freudian revolution seemed complete. Only one thing went wrong. The patients did not get any better." (Zilboorg, G., in Mowrer, The Crisis in Psychology and Religion, 1961, H. J. Eysenck, Director of the University of London's Department of Psychology)
9. "The ministry makes a tremendous mistake when it swaps what it has for psychoanalytic dressing.... Where will psychoanalysis be even 25 years from now? ... I predict it will take its place along with phrenology and mesmerism." (Leo Steiner in November of 1958, "Are Psychoanalysis and Religious Counseling Compatible?" Paper read to Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Harvard University).
10. In an effort to appear humane, courts have moved towards referring for psychological treatment not only crime victims but also those who have been convicted of a crime in which "psychological problems" are identified as a factor. in some jurisdictions, employers are also mandated to provide treatment for employees with psychological problems, such as alcohol and substance abuse or sexual disorders. Similarly, workers' compensation programs now include provisions for job-related stress, and stress debriefings are required for both victims of trauma and emergency personnel. While these treatments generally lack any proof of their long-term effectiveness, they have become legally sanctioned, publicly endorsed and accepted, and are widely used. in referring to publicly accredited psychological services as "sanctified snake oil," Susan Sarnoff, professor of Social Work at Ohio University, states that government support and funding of "junk social science" creates an implied approval of these bogus methods that is unwarranted and wasteful of tax dollars. She warns that what is truly dangerous, at this time in history, is not the sale of "snake oil" but rather that it is legitimized by these official stamps of approval" (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p 276)
11. Pretending to have discovered the psychological equivalent of penicillin but unable to demonstrate comparable shifts in disease and death rates, it continues to applaud itself for its essential contribution to health care. (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p 90)
12. One would assume, considering the use of psychological services by millions each year, that indisputable evidence exists proving the effectiveness of psychotherapy. But most of the information about therapy's usefulness comes from those who buy and sell the services rather than from scientific research. (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p 112)
13. Early in the twentieth century, Freud argued against scientific evaluation of psychoanalysis, stating that only the patient could accurately assess its effectiveness, a view that was supported and restated more recently in the American Handbook of Psychiatry: "For the patient, his immediate knowledge of the effect of analysis is Sufficient evidence of its worth, however skeptical the outside observer may be and however lacking the statistics to "prove" its usefulness. Perhaps its effectiveness can never be shown by scientific methods... Perhaps the experience of analysis is like that of beauty, of mysticism, of love - self-evident and world-shaking to him who knows it, but quite incommunicable to another who does not." (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p 113)
14. The Psychology industry had always concluded that psychotherapy was effective despite the lack of research evidence to support this assumption. Outcome evaluations and cost-benefit studies suggested, at best, that psychotherapy was somewhat effective with some of the clients some of the time. Parloff, in reviewing nearly 500 rigorously controlled studies, concluded that "the research evidence... has not met the needs of the policy makers and does not greatly enhance the credibility of the field of psychotherapy. While there may have been scientific literature to support the efficacy of psychotherapy in very well-controlled laboratory contexts, there was no evidence of efficacy in the real world. (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p 255)
15. While the controversy continues, it remains the case that "There is not good evidence that the therapy as delivered in the community is effective. (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p 256)
16. Psychologists in White Coats: Psychology (in the 50's) hoped that if it could associate itself with the strong and established profession of medicine, it could, by alliance or by default, gain the credibility it could not attain through research. "(Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p 256)

G. Studies put forward by Mental Health associations merely ask the patients to rate effectiveness of treatment. Actual clinical studies that have been done indicate 85% would get better without any professional help:

1. Rather than being the best suited to evaluate therapy, psychologists and their clients are the least able to answer the questions: Is therapy effective? Is it any better than friendship? Do high-paid professionals do a better job than minimally trained counselors? Does training and experience improve a therapist's skill? Is therapy always safe? Do professionals know more about human nature than the rest of us? Would people naturally get worse without professional treatment? They say yes to all of these questions while scientific studies that address them are coming to a resounding NO! ... This "NO" is a warning - an invitation to look more closely at the claims that psychotherapy works. (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p 114)
2. "Factors for Change" percent of improvement: spontaneous improvement: 40%. Common non-specific factors: 30%. Placebo effect: 15%. Specific treatment: 15%. ... Based on this, one could conclude that 85 per cent of clients would improve with the help of a good friend and 40 per cent without even that. Many similar studies have supported the overall conclusion that most of the improvement attributed to psychotherapy is due to the general effects of talking to a warm, kind person and the effect of just naturally eventually feeling better anyway. (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p 117)
3. "Surveys show that of patients who spend upwards of 350 hours on the psychoanalyst's couch to get better-two out of three show some improvement over a period of years. The fly in that particular ointment, however, is that the same percentage get better without analysis or under the care of a regular physician. As a matter of fact, that same ratio-two out of three people-got better in mental hospitals a hundred years ago. . . . Patients get better regardless of what is done to them. Unfortunately the analyst often interprets improvement as a result of his treatment. It does not bother him that other people use other methods with equal effect-hypnosis, electric shock, cold baths, the laying on of hands, the pulling out of teeth to remove foci of infection, suggestion, dummy pills, confession, prayer." (Dr. H. J. Eysenck, 1n Time Magazine, February 14, 1964, p. 43.)
4. "Once bright with promise, psychoanalysis today seems hardly worth the millions we are lavishing on it each year. In the U. S. there are approximately 18,000 psychiatrists-as against about 484 in France and l,000 in Italy. And about nine per cent at their couch-side listening posts throughout this great land are psychoanalysts.... Many of these doctors and patients have begun to take stock: have the benefits of psychoanalysis justified the hours of torturous self-examination, the years of painfully slow probing, the $25,000 or so spent for the complete "treatment"? In short, are psychiatry and psychoanalysis worth the millions-a-year Americans lavish on it? . . . The truth is that not only is the dramatic breakthrough and cure almost nonexistent, but thousands upon thousands who have spent millions upon millions aren't at all certain whether they are one whit less "neurotic" than before they began their five-times-a-week, $25-a-session trudge to the psychoanalyst's couch... But much more significant than the gradual disillusionment of patients is the wholesale defection of analysists themselves from the Freudian fold. Many doctors are now sharply challenging the need for long-drawn-out excavations of the subconscious.)" (Dr. H. J. Eysenck, Time Magazine, February 14, 1964, p. 43)

By Steve Rudd: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections.

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