OK, here it is! What everyone who ever hoped psychiatry could help them is looking for, believing in, and praying for....
Today's Chicago Tribune (Thursday, Dec. 12) contains a supplementary section called Triblocal, aimed at the northern Chicago suburbs of Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Northfield and Glencoe, and described on its masthead as "A weekly journal written by residents of your community."
On page 14 under a column titled Healthbeat an article appears with no reporter's byline, headlined "Mental illiness is not hopeless". This is an extremely interesting piece, very worthy of close notice, and I'd like to explain why.
The article is ostensibly the wonderful success story of a 20-year-old from Boise, Idaho named Eric Buckner. Mr. Buckner was diagnosed from the time he was a child with various psychiatric ills including ADHD, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and Schizophrenia. But apparently thanks to modern psychiatric medicine, he's quite well now. This is no small thing, because he really was a basket case for a long time. He was kicked out of seven schools, violent, suicidal, hopeless. Then he spent seven months in a psychiatric hospital, and he was cured.
At least, that's what whoever put this article together seems to want us to believe. That's the obvious synopsis. And so many people want so desperately to believe that this is possible, that it happens every now and then with modern best-practiced psychiatry, that if only there were enough tax money devoted to more research into the brain, this kind of result would be the rule, and mental illnesses would be as curable as tuberculosis.
Well, I think it's a fairytale. I'll bet my reputation it's a fairytale.
Find Eric Buckner. Ask him if he's cured. Ask him what those good medications are, how they helped him, and what else really helped him to become a normal, hopeful, productive and sociable young man. (There are hints in the article, actually: "good coping skills", education and "positivity" are all mentioned.) Then, follow Eric's progress for a few years.
In fact, find a hundred "Eric Buckners" (cases of severe mental illness which appear at any particular moment to have been treated with great success), and take a careful survey about the effectiveness of psychiatry. One or both of two possible facts will almost certainly become evident. Neither one is at all consistent with the slant of the story in today's Triblocal section....
The first possible fact is that the Eric Buckners of the world are not cured of any medical illness, and they know this perfectly well. They'll more correctly attribute their improved conditions in life to personal learning and personal discipline, if asked. They'll say they want to get off all the medications if and when they ever can. They'll say they kind of hate the drugs, the drugs do bad things to them. Their only real hope is to learn more -- about themselves as whole people, not about fine-tuning their brains. They'll say it's all about becoming more able -- in a psychological or spiritual sense, not as a neurological mechanism.
The second possible fact is that the Eric Buckners of the world only look good for a short time, then they go back to the nuthouse or they go out and shoot people.
Either way this article, "Mental illness is not hopeless", is a fairytale and a hoax if it means to promote, or even if it merely tolerates the current, insaity-as-brain-disease orthodoxy. It's terrible journalism, completely contrary to the public interest.
Will anyone prove me wrong?
And while I'm asking, who wrote this tripe? The only byline on the article is "McClatchy-Tribune News Service". Listed Triblocal staff include: Jane Jansen, General Manager; Kyle Leonard, Editor; Kelli Murray, Ass't Editor; Kimberley Reishus, Community Manager; Nona Willis Aronowitz, Reporter; Blair Chavis, Reporter. One of these people must know where this thing came from, what the motive was, whether Eric Buckner is even a real person.
Who wants to work on this? Let's investigate!
I agree.My experience has repeatedly shown that those I have met who have been on psychiatric medications have appeared to do worse in life not better. The degree of care for thier lives and those around them lessened. They alao seem to be less of the person that I knew and more of some new personality that I never knew and unfortunately did not want to continue to know. I guess that's why they call them mind altering drugs.
ReplyDeleteA few short years ago preeminent "experts" asserted at great cost under oath in a court that I was more mentally ill than anybody they'd ever encountered and absent their "treatment" of me I would shoot people with machine guns and wire bombs to others' car ignitions.
ReplyDeleteI escaped from these psychoquacks and their attempted "treatment" and today am a homeowner, employer, businessman, and taxpayer who does not shoot anyone with machine guns.
The Eric Buckners of the world are invariably obscenities propped up by shills for psychoquackery. Randy may be right that he doesn't even exist. His success is measured by his NOT being "violent" or "hopeless"? Everyone else is expected as a matter of course not to be "violent" or we go to jail. "Hope" is irrelevant to us busy splitting firewood or roofing houses. We simply get on with the business of life.
Psychiatric failure and "success" stories are media staples. After reading ten stories about how some asswipe "off his meds" stabbed/shot/strangled someone else and how this proves the necessity for MORE psychiatry we get treated to a schmaltzy tale of an Eric Buckner and his supposed "success".
Incidentally, my "success" follows my rejection of psychiatry and taking drugs. My single biggest obstacle in life at this point is the prejudice and discrimination I endure as the result of psychiatrists having called me mentally ill and having "treated" me.
Here's the author freom the Idaho Statesman:
ReplyDeleteKnow someone living "from the heart"? Idaho Statesman photojournalist Katherine Jones spotlights someone in the Treasure Valley who influences our lives not only by what they do, but how and why they do it. Do you know someone we should know? Call 377-6414 or e-mail kjones@ idahostatesman.com.
Hey Rodney, thanks for looking this up. So Eric Buckner is a real person. But now I can't help wondering: If Triblocal is a weekly journal written by residents of my community, how did it end up publishing an article by someone in Boise, ID in its Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Northfield, Glencoe (Illinois) edition???
ReplyDeleteIt ran in numerous papers owned by McClatchy. Buckner's mommy and daddy and their pals at their NAMI-type outfit probably pimped their story to the press. I wouldn't be surprised to find one or two dope salesmen in the woodpile too.
ReplyDeleteHello. It's a bit on the awkward side because I feel like I just walked in on a conversation about myself. I'm Eric Buckner. Yes, the one from the article. I wasn't aware that the article had posted anywhere else but in Idaho. The articles original purpose is not to promote anything specifically in regards to psychiatric help. In fact the photojournalist who did my article, did it in her column titled, "Heart of the treasure valley". It is a community "spotlight" which depicts members of local communities, who have had a positive influence on the community.
ReplyDeleteI didn't just get better from staying in an institution, and it didn't state that within the article. It was a significant point in my life, where things started getting better. I don't believe there is a "cure-all" to mental illnesses or other issues. Mental illnesses can occur for countless reasons: Trauma, genetics, environmental, etc. What worked for me won't work for everyone. If anyone has any particular questions I'd be happy to answer them, although I will have to check back in manually I don't have an account to subscribe to this page if there is a comment after mine. Good luck to anyone who pursues their happiness, despite the hardships of their lives.
Eric
Thank you for writing Mr. Buckner, your perspective is more than welcome! I admire your success, and I hope that the conversation you suddenly walked in on has not caused any offense.
ReplyDeleteI especially appreciate your apparent sense of the complexity and individuality of human emotional and behavioral problems. If modern psychiatry could face that reality, relinquish its usurped police powers, and service its willing customers completely without coercion or fraud, I would have no arguments with it.
Hello again. No, I didn't take offense to the conversation. I merely thought that providing my views and my thoughts might provide possibilities to view a unique perspective on the topic. I see your point on using psychiatric rehabilitation to facilitate police or judicial issues could pose serious civil risks. I honestly don't know enough about the processes in regards to court matters with mental illnesses to comment further on the specifics of the topic. There are a lot of people who have legitimate mental health concerns who have found a way to be happy and healthy with the help of mental health professionals, but for some understandably it doesn't work or help. All in all, a person must be willing to help themselves and get better, and if they are forced to try by a court, I don't know how well that would work without personal motivation.
ReplyDeleteEric
I have to agree with all of the above, but add even more emphasis.
ReplyDeleteI have been researching psychiatrists, psychoanalysis and the pharmaceutical industry for some time.
The amount of real success stories in psychiatry is almost none. And this seems to be because these are not real illnesses. Psychiatrists and psychoanalysis admit that there is no way for them to prove these "diseases".
I have also been researching about a book called the Diagnostics and Statistics Manual which is the guidebook to "mental illnesses" for these industries, and the diseases are manufactored and created instead of found! It is only by subjective interpretation that psychiatrists "diagnose" patients.
In my studies, I found this site to be very revealing of the real meaning of psychiatry and the connections it holds to an industry that generates more money than all of the entertainment industry: http://www.cchr.org/
I highly suggest you check out the above.
Tidus Spoot