Re: bipolar disorder is an 'episodic' disorder...

Hi M.,

My post was actually in response to the comments by 11958, but I could not agree with you more about the points you've made in your post. And, yes, I am a psychologist (among other things) and have been appalled by what I have seen on a routine basis with psychiatrists. Unfortunately, you're experience is far from the exception...many patients are seen for 15 minute sessions during which a proper diagnostic interview cannot be performed in that little time. Rarely do they ask about what's going on in your life...they simply go down a symtpom checklist. And it is definitely about keeping them in business and pushing drugs for pharma. I worked for several years in long-term care facilities primarily with geriatric residents and, as you said, they are almost all on some type of antidepressant. Well, who wouldn't be depressed with the kind of slop that they pass off as food and the most stimulating activities being bingo!!! I can't even imagine what will shortly happen as the baby boomers are entering these facilities...people who have traveled the world, been socially and politically active, and are much more educated. My guess is there will be mayhem in nursing homes &/or a dramatic increase in geriatric suicides because these people just won't tolerate living like they are expected to in nursing homes as they are currently operated.

Without a doubt, there are bonafide mental illnesses (I've seen those when working in back wards of state hospitals during my interneships), although I disagree in the way that most of these are treated. But the vast majority of "mental illness" is the result of living an unbalanced life...poor diet, over-worked, sleep deprived, too much stress, not enough R&R, polluted air, chemicals everywhere, lack of exercise, social isolation (see the Worklife Forum for the article I posted), war and violence everywhere you look, mass fear, etc. etc. These are not individual illnesses...this is the collective illness of a sick culture, and the meds are a means of keeping us functioning in the midst of all this insanity, and keeping us numb and silent against the societal conditions that desperately need changing.

There is an excellent book by James Hillman called A HUNDRED YEARS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY AND THE WORLD IS GETTING WORSE, and he talks about how the mental health field has served to redirect societies ills onto the individual and consequently has siphoned off the collective outrage that should be directed to make social and political changes.

You are also absolutely right that 'hurts' do not equal mental illness or disease. You sound pretty damn healthy to me, M...but then again that may be what makes you seem 'strange' to some. How many people are really mentally healthy and see through the garbage we've been conditioned to believe about 'mental illness'?!! Tweet