btdt Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 http://www.behaviorismandmentalhealth.com/2014/06/30/the-propaganda-is-everywhere/ I recently came across the May 2014 issue of The Costco Connection, which is published by Costco Wholesale. This is the first time I’ve seen a copy of this magazine, and I would describe it as a catalog/lifestyle periodical. There are lots of ads for Costco’s own products, and the articles are wide ranging, topical, and easy to read. This particular issue was drawn to my attention because on page 57, there’s an article titled Blues Clues. The subtitle is: “Physical pain is one of the unexpected signs of depression.” The author is Jodi Helmer, a freelance journalist. Here’s the opening paragraph: “Debilitating back pain led Kristin Bower to make an appointment with her doctor. She assumed he would prescribe pain meds, and send her home to rest. Instead, Bower left the office with a diagnosis of depression.” The author goes on to cite the NIMH estimate of 15 million American adults who “suffer from depression”. She also draws attention to an unnamed study that reportedly found that “…up to 76 percent of those with depression experienced physical and emotional symptoms.”. We then have a quote from Ken Duckworth, MD, Medical Director of NAMI: “The biology of the brain impacts the biology of the body.” which is fairly non-contentious, and: “There is a biological connection between pain and mood. The neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine regulate both, which, according to Duckworth, is the reason ‘it’s common to experience depression as a psychological and physical illness.’” This sounds awfully like the old chemical imbalance theory of depression, which the eminent psychiatrist Ronald Pies, MD, assures us was never promoted by any well-informed psychiatrist. The author discusses the link between depression (the “illness”) and pain, and is clearly promoting the notion that the latter is often a manifestation, or symptom, of the former. This contention is supported by another quote from Dr. Duckworth, in which he reportedly noted that pain can be “…a somatic expression of distress”. The general theme is further reinforced by Jonathan W. Stewart, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, who is quoted as saying: “The brain is terrific at rationalizing the pain…A mental health clinician can help decipher whether there is a connection.” Then the article gets to the point: “If pain and depression are linked, a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, can be an effective form of treatment. The drugs help increase the production of serotonin and norepinephrine, easing both depression and pain.” This passage, which is also an endorsement of the chemical imbalance theory, is not attributed to Dr. Stewart, but is sandwiched between two of his quotes, and the impression is given that it is his message. The article concludes by harking back to Kristin Bower, the lady with the back pain. “For Bower, a combination of antidepressant medication and regular appointments with her doctor help keep her depression and pain in check. When she starts to notice twinges in her back or an uptick in migraine headaches, she recognizes that her depression is about to flare, too.” I think it’s fairly obvious that what’s going on here is old-fashioned psychiatric “disease-mongering.” For decades, psychiatrists have been spreading their message that people who are depressed have chemical imbalances in their brains that can be treated with psychiatric drugs. The “symptoms” of this so-called illness are feelings of depression, loss of interest in activities, insomnia (or, amazingly, hypersomnia), feelings of guilt, etc… And now, through a cozy little article in the Costco Connection, they’re adding physical pain to the “symptom” list. In a sidebar to the article, there is a list of the “top somatic complaints associated with depression”: Headaches Muscle aches and joint pain Back pain Upset stomach, diarrhea Acid reflux Heartburn Dizziness Chest pain It doesn’t take too much imagination to see how this might increase the numbers of people asking their GP’s to screen them for depression. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AND INCIDENTALLY Kristin Bower, who is introduced to the reader simply as a 44-year-old corporate recruiter who went to her doctor with back pain and came away – surprise, surprise – with a “diagnosis” of depression, is also, according to her Twitter page, a “… mental health advocate/speaker/blogger…” She is also, according to sidebar information on her blog Adventures of a Survivor! A Community Correspondent for Partners For Mental Health, and a volunteer for the Canadian Mental Health Association. It is also clear from her blogs that she has carried a “diagnosis” of depression for quite some time. On her blog posts she describes depression as an illness and as “…a disability for which there is no cure.” Partners for Mental Health, according to its own website, is a Canadian charitable organization that is “…supercharging a ground-breaking social movement that will transform the way we think about, act towards and support mental health in Canada.” One of their stated goals is: “More funding for programs and services,” and they strive for a “new norm” where there is “acknowledgement and understanding that there is no health without mental health.” Lundbeck, the maker of Celexa and other psychiatric products, is one of their two founding sponsors. As mentioned earlier, Ken Duckworth, MD, is the Medical Direct of NAMI, teaches at Harvard Medical School and the Boston University School of Public Health., and is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Jonathan Stewart, MD, is a Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University. He hasreceived research support from Pfizer, Alkermes, Forest Pharmaceuticals, and Shire Pharmaceuticals. Jodi Helmer, the author of the article, is a freelance writer. Her work has appeared in a wide range of magazine and periodicals, and she has written articles for NAMI (e.g. here and here.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . So, what appears on the surface to be a nice, personalized healthcare advice article, turns out, with a little research, to be another part of the widespread and well-orchestrated media blitz that psychiatry has launched to drown its opposition, promote its products, and continue the expansion of its turf. Psychiatry is morally and intellectually bankrupt. It has no logical or scientifically-founded response to its critics. So instead, with the help of its loyal supporting organizations and pharma money, and a major PR/marketing firm, it has launched this tawdry, deceptive PR campaign. They are flooding the media with their false and destructive message, and then they wonder why they are not given the respect afforded to real doctors. I can’t even imagine a real medical specialty engaging in something so shabby. Last updated by Phil at June 29, 2014. 17 comments which I read of course ... I am really liking this guy think he is doing what I would do if I could make my brain work every day. I see it too on the news we have olympic athletes pushing how she is working hard to get rid of the stigma of mental health disorders... lord I am sick to death of this ...but I do love kids and would not want any seriously ill child to be stigmatized... I am not a monster I don't think. Yet if I were to speak against this program I had better have the knowledge of Phil to back me up the memories of all those thousands of articles and be able to quote the books I have read to recall it all.. and I CAN"T! That bothers me more than anyone can know so I will quietly boycott costco... their cleaners all have too many chemical smells that make me sick anyway. So while I see it everywhere and it makes me want to scream... I will just post this and hope Phil get a large following and that some who read him believe him and have a memory to quote all Phill writes. peace all WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG Had a car accident in 85 Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89 Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above. One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking. As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/ There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsports Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 A commentator on the MIA site said when he complained to his physician about back pain, once the guy looked up his medical history, attributed it to depression. This crap never ends. Not that I wish it on anyone but I hope to heck that the next person who is misdiagnosed as having depression wins a big time lawsuit against the doctor. Hopefully, they aren't injured too seriously but I fear the worst. 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btdt Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 I won't be in Canada that is for sure it our system sucks here for that sort of thing WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG Had a car accident in 85 Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89 Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above. One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking. As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/ There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compsports Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Our system sucks too and I don't see it getting any better. 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btdt Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 Really I thought the USA had huge payouts for "winning a big time lawsuit" it is the lawsuits we don't have...nobody wins here... if they do the amounts are capped to a point lawyers win not injured... lawyers doctors they win ... maybe they all made a pact when they went to school together... we will put the screws to them suckers as soon as we get a chance...and make a killing and have great life..not many working for us here are there... they are in the corporate world where the money is... but after all who wants to be on the losing team not me.. I don't like it here neither do you I know peace WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG Had a car accident in 85 Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89 Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above. One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking. As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/ There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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