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Akst: Overdiagnosis can make you crazy
Originally published: January 20, 2012 6:26 PM
Updated: January 23, 2012 12:01 AM
By DANIEL AKST

To a hammer, everything looks like a nail. To a mental health professional, evidently, an awful lot looks like mental illness.
The latest scary story on this front came to us last week from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which finds that each year 20 percent of American adults suffer some form of mental illness.
If it's any consolation, things are even worse in Europe, where a similar survey, published in September, found 38 percent of the entire population suffering each year from mental or brain disorders.
Then again, a decade ago, a survey by the National Institute for Mental Health found that 46 percent of Americans met the criteria for at least one mental illness at some point in their lives.
Should we be worried about this? Of course we should -- because what's crazy are these numbers, which call into question what is meant by "mental illness," and why anyone would think it so widespread.
Then again, it's hardly surprising that the latest U.S. survey found a lot of mental illness, given the questions it contained. For instance, it asks that you pick "one month in the past 12" when you were "the most depressed, anxious, or emotionally stressed." During that month, it wants to know, "how often did you feel nervous?" Other questions include: "During the past 30 days, how often did you feel restless or fidgety?" and "How often did you feel that everything was an effort?"
The real problem is that too many people have too great an interest in medicalizing normal life -- in turning sadness into depression, or shyness into social anxiety disorder. For drug companies and providers of mental health services, this can be quite profitable. The NSDUH survey found that prescription drugs were the most commonly used "mental health service" in 2010 and were given to 26.5 million adults -- a remarkable one of every nine..................>>>>..........................>>>>.........................http://www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/akst-overdiagnosis-can-make-you-crazy-1.3468000

Using their own studies it would indicate that many of those in Congress also are suffering from mental illness.

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the National Survey on Drug Use and Health  finds that each year 20 percent of American adults suffer some form of mental illness.

Want proof?
That same 20% of Americans vote Republican!  

The prescriptions of controlled drugs is rampant.....and the diagnosis of depression, suddenly becomes a mental illness and

the drugs begin.....a pill will cure all....but, many times it leads to a worsen condition of anxiety, nervousness, acod,

and more drugs are prescribed.   The Mental Health in this country is ruled by the pharmasuidical companies and doctors.

If you ever watched a documentary on PBS you would find out the truth of the matter....it's big business...

And actually seeing an out-patient mental clinic and its patients, would give you a better understanding  of this problem.

Bi-polar, scizo, and all the rest of mental conditions is widely overplayed ...therapy can be the answer but only those with the right

insurance can get the right treatment.   The caseloads at clinics is something to behold....Can it be that all these patients are

actually mentally ill???.....or given controlled drugs to have them become "mentally ill" for the sake of profit?

If you haven't walked in these shoes or know someone who has, you haven't seen the true picture of what mental illness  is.

and leads to addiction which is a worse problem.

Unfortunately the drug companies rule a great deal of mental health care. That is why the increase in diagnosing just about everyone with some kind of mental illness.  What will be interesting to watch will be to see how during the next 10 years the evidence based "Recovery" treatment approach to mental illness effects the use of medications.  I also believe there will be a decrease in the number of folks diagnosed with a "mental" illness.  It is going to be some battle.

Drug companies are getting concerned at how using this different approach in treatment is effecting their profit margins.  I believe that is why they are now using a hard sell advertising on TV etc. to tell folks every little ache and pain is due to having a mental illness like depression, a serious mood disorder.

The "Public" mental health system is sorely behind in NYS but there is now a trend to change from a "Medical" model where medications and authority are the foundation to changing to the "Recovery" approach..  Self-determination, Focus on strengths, Empowerment, Healthy life styles treating the whole person etc.  The push behind it is not concern for the individual with the mood disorder depression but totally money based. Medicaid is out of control.

A "Recovery" evidence based approach has shown an increase in the numbers of individuals taking back the control of how an illness impacts their lives.  Has shown a decrease in the use of medications. It is decreasing the use of Emergency rooms and being Hospitalized.  Folks on SSI and SSDI are now going back to work.  It is a win win situation for the person and the state. The drug companies don't like this.

Mood disorders are real.  Based on biological changes in the brain.

What is ticking me off is the push from the drug companies to have "everyone" diagnosed with that, have more people take medications. Claiming a symptom a person is experiencing is a serious persistent mental illness and the person must be on medication. They push the "Medical" model where treatment is focused on reducing the symptoms by the use of medications.

It is shocking to see how a 9 year old and 10 year old is now being put on anti-psychotics just because their behaviors are out of control.  No one looks at the fact they come from single parents homes, from parents with drug addictions, a house full of domestic violence and mood altering substances. They are sexually abused by those around them.  They are living with little food because the parents are not capable of providing food, they lack proper nutrition.  They are not learning a healthy life style.  Of course the kid will be acting out.  So what do they do they send him out to a "private" profit making hospital paid for by Medicaid because that is the only hospital that treats kids.  After a two week stay for evaluation and they come home on Abilify and Risperdal powerful psychiatric medications all paid for by NYS Medicaid. This has got to stop.  Not because it cost NYS so much but because it is a human life.  Makes you wonder if the drug companies and these private hospitals are in cahoots.

I personally know of two children this is happening to.  They are on NYS Medicaid.  It is sad, they are unable to function now no kidding.  Sure they have quieted down. The old "Medical" approach, squash the symptoms any way you can with no regard to the whole person.  Things like environment....unhealthy home environment and a healthy life style are not taken into consideration at all and private hospitals are getting away with it big time.  Wonder what the private hospital's relationship is with the drug companies?  This is happening right here in our county. Between the incompetence of staff and a overwhelming work load it can found at child services.

Now you look at the average Joe who is not on the public mental health system.  Good health insurance that will pay for the private hospital where a person comes in with suicidal behaviors and serious depression.  Not because they have a "serious persistent mental illness" based on a chemical condition in the brain but because they are under the constant stress and pressure that they will loss their job, won't find another, the bank may take the house.  A situational issue. Yes, brain chemistry can be changing due to the stressors but once that is reduced the depression goes away.  A real issue that cannot to be ignored, they are seriously depressed and are suicidal they really are at that moment but not for their whole lives.  What happens medications, medications and more medications to counteract the side effects from the first two are prescribed at this private hospital.  The drug companies thrive on this.

Now take the anxiety part, the panic attacks that many times can come with depression and out comes the Xanax and the circle continues.

Everyone is going to be diagnosed with a hangnail, the economy demands it.  Profit, the foundation of this country.

IT'S VERY VERY VERY SAD........

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The furthest out planet in the system, Miranda was right at the edge of the Burnham quadrant, embedded deep into Reaver territory.

Once thought only to be fictional, Miranda in fact was an experimental colony where the Alliance tried to chemically modify its populace to be peaceful. This worked perfectly; it eliminated violence, but in the process it had a fatal side effect. The inhabitants lost all ambition—they stopped doing any work, stopped talking to each other, stopped reproducing and eventually stopped even feeding. For 0.1% of the population it had the opposite effect and caused extremely violent behavior, beyond mere psychosis but animalism. The "survivors" of Miranda were the Reavers who started to menace the Rim planets.

The Alliance managed to cover up their mess fairly well, erasing all official records of the planet. Those who had heard talk of Miranda heard false tales that terraforming was attempted but ultimately failed, and that the planet was an uninhabitable black-rock. Of course, being in the heart of what was to become Reaver space, not many people made the trip to see if it was true or not.

River Tam had knowledge of Miranda through gleaning it from the mind of one of Alliance Parliament officials who surveyed her during her training, which was one of the reasons the Alliance sent the Operative to retrieve her. When the Alliance recording was discovered, it became the perfect example of what would happen if the Alliance sought to interfere with self-determination. At risk of their lives from both the Reavers and the Operative, the crew of Serenity used Mr. Universe's broadwave equipment to transmit a recording of what the Alliance did on Miranda to every planet and moon in the system.

We live in a 'feel good' society. They have a pill for everything.
Unhappy at your job....here's a pill.
Kids drivin' ya nuts......here's a pill.
Don't have enough energy....here's a pill.
Have too much energy.....here's a pill.
Too fat.....here's a pill.
Too skinny....here's a pill.
Did you cry.....here's a pill.
Can't sleep.....here's a pill.
Sleep too much....here's a pill.
Going through life's 'normal' issues.....here's a pill.
................We live in a pill pushing, feel good pill pushing society!! We are suppose to feel 'good' 'all the time'! That is how they 'created' a dumbed down society! DEAL WITH LIFE!!! Our ancestors who came before us did!

I can tell you where else 'mental illness' is over diagnosed AND promoted by the government via MDS.....

here's a question for everyone: if you were elder and living in a nursing home or home for that matter, would you be just oh-so-jolly because all your bones hurt, your eyesight sucks, and maybe your hearing does to. Not
to mention you have to remove your teeth to clean them and the orafices that once held in all your bodily fluids have little leaks and maybe you had a stroke, heart attack etc etc, OR, would you have 'bad days',,,that
are NORMAL?

yeah, well the government NEVER NEVER NEVER wants you to express your sadness/anger/dislike or ANYTHING that appears negative to them....label label label label

toss the drugs in.....zippity-do-dah.....now everyone on the outside of your head can feel better about THEMSELVES because you now dance like a marionette for them.....BAD BAD BAD.....and be very very careful and mindful of medical
visits for those so called bad days....HIPPA has you coming and going....

The increase in suicides among our elderly is increasing 10 fold.  They are living longer, they lose all their friends to death, many times outliving their children.  They get to a point that they need constant 24 hr health care so off to the nursing home the person goes where all dignity and respect is lost.  Not because the staff doesn't care but they are under staffed and the wages are low for the difficult jobs they do.

I would see and feel the pain at the nursing homes.  Folks crying out their loved ones names wondering how did I get here?  I hear folks... "I worked so hard for I brought into this world and now it is striped away from me why?"

Depression among our elderly is becoming more and more common.  The person visits their doctors for a routine visit and exclaims in reply  "oh doc I am doing just fine while inside their heart is bleeding and in need of care.  They feel hopeless, helpless they want out of their pain.  They don't want to die, just want out of the pain.  Depression to the max.  Wouldn't you be depressed?

There are situations that medications can sometimes help. There is room for medication use at all levels of mental health whether the mood or the thought disorder.

But...is it kind to use medications to help bring a nursing home resident back from a depression for them to only see and feel the pain even greater? The lose of all control.  

The drug companies love this captive audience.

It was not uncommon for me to see the new comer to the home crying out their loved ones names many times at the top of their lungs then slowly they settle down.  Wonder if it is depression or the introduction of a psych medication.  Which came first the chicken or the egg.

The first video is powerful.  I experienced it as a person's mind living through depression. Pay close attention to the scenes and what is being said.  Now I have to wait till tomorrow to see the rest of it.

I don't agree with the advertisement.  Sites like those that offer mental health counseling should be steered clear of for sure.  I didn't go to the lik it I am assuming from the one for counseling shown at the top is related to mental health.  I would never recommend medical treatment be done over the internet.  Sure peer support can be done over the internet, whether a group of folks helping each other to quit smoking or sharing ideas how to live with a mental illness it is a wonderful tool.  It is part of that new approach to wellness called "Recovery".

The profit makers love to feed on the vulnerable within the health field, those impacted by an illness no matter what the illness is, who the audience is.

There is a place for the use of medications in regards to mental health Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia but it is being abused to the max.  The best way is an approach using all of the following together at the same time...Medical intervention, talk therapy, educational and skill building work, medications and peer support.  But most times all the person gets is the medication. Not a healthy approach.  The drug companies love it.  The person is now a captive for ever.

Not uncommon to find a person only getting the meds to take their lives.  I have witnessed it.

Elllis

Crisis Intervention Services are available through the "Crisis Information and Referral Hotline" at 243-3300  24 Hours, 7 Days a week.
These services are available for in-person mental health assessments in the Emergency Room, for telephone counseling, referral and to aid in psychiatric emergencies.

National Suicide Hotline 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Sometimes emotional pain can be overwhelming. The pain and hopelessness of depression can sometimes make it seem like there is no use in going on. Volunteers on the crisis hotline are available mornings, afternoon, and evenings every day to listen and provide support. A compassionate, nonjudgmental, listening ear can be helpful in a time of crisis when there is no one else to turn to. Samaritans Crisis Hotline is anonymous and confidential.

http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Are you feeling desperate, alone or hopeless? Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), a free, 24-hour hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Your call will be routed to the nearest crisis center to you.

    * Call for yourself or someone you care about
    * Free and confidential
    * A network of more than 140 crisis centers nationwide
    * Available 24/7


Peer Support Warm Line (518 ) 268-1663
"Peer"  any one living with a mental illness
The Empowerment Exchange
You do not have to live in Renselear to use this service.

The "Empowerment Exchange" is a not-for-profit agency affiliate of the "Mental Health Empowerment Project" a peer run initiative

Family supports:

Ellis Hospital Support and Education Group:
(518 ) 243-4255
For parents and relatives of someone with mental illness meets every Wednesday at 6 PM  You don’t have to have a child or other relative hospitalized in Ellis psychiatry department to join the support group. Kevin Moran, Facilitator.

CDPC 24-Hour Telephone Helpline for Family members and Friends

(518 ) 447 - 9611 EXT. 6640

NAMI NYS helpline 800 950 3228

NAMI-NYS is the state organization of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots organization for people with mental illness and their families. NAMI-NYS advocates, educates and fights to eliminate the stigma often attached to mental illness.

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The increase in suicides among our elderly is increasing 10 fold.  They are living longer, they lose all their friends to death, many times outliving their children.  They get to a point that they need constant 24 hr health care so off to the nursing home the person goes where all dignity and respect is lost.  Not because the staff doesn't care but they are under staffed and the wages are low for the difficult jobs they do.

I would see and feel the pain at the nursing homes.  Folks crying out their loved ones names wondering how did I get here?  I hear folks... "I worked so hard for I brought into this world and now it is striped away from me why?"

even if there was more staff or they were paid more....it doesn't reverse end of life or those thoughts and feelings that come with it.....

and society isn't meant to actually do the 3 legged race with elders......

comfort and support for our loved one's are what we can do....using anti-depressants/appetite stimulants etc change nothing and may allow them to live longer to face more debilitation.....

I'm NOT for euthanasia but straight talk is good for the soul....not mumbo-jumbo mind voodoo......that was for the WWII era, but seems it hasn't left and is just repackaged and sold as a palatable meal for the masses...