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Posted

 

I stumbled on this by accident.  This is a link to the documentary Red Cry, about the horrific ongoing struggles the Lakota people face today.  It mentions all kinds of problems including the reality that a good portion of their land has been contaminated by radioactivity thanks to mining operations. The whole movie is incredibly upsetting, but what happened to catch my eye was something that apparently was missed completely by the documentary makers, a mention midway through (around minute 47:00) that a girl on a reserve died of cancer after being misdiagnosed as "depressed" on three separate occasions.

 

The movie talks about how deplorable their health care is.  What isn't mentioned is the horrible reality that if there was no concept of "depression" as a physical illness for doctors to label people with, it would then have likely forced them to do the proper medical evaluation this girl required and her cancer then might well have been treated..and she might then still have lived.  A long list of medical conditions which are well known cause the issues which get labeled as "depression", among them any condition that causes fatigue.  

 

I presume what I read onscreen at minute 47:37 is accurate.  I feel horrible for the people involved as they seem to think it was to some degree a mistake if you read the screen at that point. But it's not; this is a systemic issue.   There is no need for a secondary label of "depression" when physical problems that cause the issue are known and acknowledged.  And by creating that label what has happened is a good number of people have been diverted away from discovering the real causes of their problems, in order that they be shunted onto psych drugs.  These drugs will never solve the problems as they were designed to target chemical imbalances which don't actually exist.

 

And particularly egregious in this case is the fact that the girl lived in an area of high radioactivity, so should have definitely been checked for cancer.  And of course it is beyond ridiculous that people who face such severe struggles are being told that their problems come down to brain diseases caused by chemical imbalances.  What exactly are antidepressants going to do for you if you are starving and living on land that is radioactive??? 

 

 

 

I am not a medical professional and nothing I say is a medical opinion or meant to be medical advice, please seek a competent and trusted medical professional to consult for all medical decisions.

 

  • 2 months later...
Posted

Sadly, that is not the first time I have heard of someone who had cancer being misdiagnosed with depression.   How sad this happened to this woman.

 

I swear, if the great depression occurred today, everyone who was victimized, which would have been most of society, would have been diagnosed with depression and prescribed SSRIs.

 

CS

Drug cocktail 1995 - 2010
Started taper of Adderall, Wellbutrin XL, Remeron, and Doxepin in 2006
Finished taper on June 10, 2010

Temazepam on a PRN basis approximately twice a month - 2014 to 2016

Beginning in 2017 - Consumption increased to about two times per week

April 2017 - Increased to taking it full time for insomnia

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