60 Minutes excerpt about antidepressants: "Is There A Placebo Effect?"

[[La...]]

Hope you got some sleep, my friend! "The Antidepressant Era" has some great visuals too, so when you're more awake, it's worth watching. I certainly noticed that all of the psychiatrists and "experts" in the video are older, white men. Not one woman. Not one person of any other skin colour.

 

 

[Guest [Mi...]]

Hope you got some sleep, my friend! "The Antidepressant Era" has some great visuals too, so when you're more awake, it's worth watching. I certainly noticed that all of the psychiatrists and "experts" in the video are older, white men. Not one woman. Not one person of any other skin colour.

 

You are spot on when you say this lacks diversity. Isn't it interesting that our main source of benzo information is Dr. Ashton, a woman?

[[La...]]

Omigosh, we gals could really discuss this issue! We ALL know that men and women think and relate differently. If men assess women and deem them "depressed" or "anxious", is it right? There are cultural issues too, where, in one culture, sadness might be considered normal and a reason to rally around someone while in another, it's a reason to give someone a pill.

[Guest [Mi...]]

Omigosh, we gals could really discuss this issue! We ALL know that men and women think and relate differently. If men assess women and deem them "depressed" or "anxious", is it right? There are cultural issues too, where, in one culture, sadness might be considered normal and a reason to rally around someone while in another, it's a reason to give someone a pill.

 

Good point about differences in cultures:

 

What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital.

 

If only we'd been treated like shamans. . . we'd have lived completely different lives.

[[co...]]

I get a lot from the Mad in America site; sharing an article I found in the archives...

 

 

A Look at Madness Through the Lens of Culture

 

 

 

Phil Borges

 

June 17, 2014

 

 

The Medium (known in Tibet as the Kuten) preparing to go into trance in order to ‘channel’ the protector spirit of the Tibetan people known as the Nechung Oracle.

Twenty years ago, I was invited to watch a young monk named Thupten Ngodrup go into a trance and ‘channel’ the State Oracle of Tibet (The Nechung Oracle).  It took place in a small monastery next to the Dalai Lama’s residence in the little Himalayan town of Dharamsala, India.  As the monks began to chant and beat their drums, Thupten’s eyes rolled back, his face flushed and he began to speak in a high-pitched voice.  A few monks gathered around him and began writing down everything he said.  After a few minutes, he collapsed and had to be carried from the room.  At the time, I didn’t know what to think of what I had seen.  Was this a dramatization?

 

 

Thupten Ngodrup the current Kuten of the Nechung Oracle photographed in Dharamsala, India in 1994 near the Dalai Lama’s residence.

Two days later, my friend Mick Brown, a journalist for The Daily Telegraph in London, invited me to sit in on an interview with Thupten.  When Mick asked him how he became the medium (or kuten), he described having a mental-emotional crisis that included severe anxiety, hearing voices and electrical jolts through his body.  He said he was terrified and even thought he was dying until an older monk took him aside, told him he had a gift, became his mentor and over time taught him how to enter and return from the trance state.

 

 

Sukulen, a respected “predictor” and healer in the Samburu tribe of Northern Kenya, began having dizzy spells and hearing voices as a young girl. Her grandmother mentored her through her crisis and introduced her to her spirit guides.

As I continued my work documenting human rights issues in indigenous and tribal communities, I started seeking out the individuals we call Shamans–people who go into non-ordinary states of consciousness to act as healers or seers for their community.  I was fascinated to learn that many of them, like Thupten, were identified in their late teens or 20’s by having what we in our culture would call a nervous breakdown or psychotic break.

 

 

Morgan Yazzie, a Navajo medicine man, started having hallucinations and feeling he was dying. An older medicine man, Sam Begay, was called to do ceremony for Morgan and continued to mentor him in the medicine ways.

Just two years ago, I met Adam Gentry, a sensitive and bright 26-year-old employee of Whole Foods grocery store in Redmond, Washington.  He, like many young men his age, had experienced a psychological crisis in his early twenties and was hospitalized and put on medication.

 

 

Adam Gentry was extremely athletic as a child and popular in high school. He became a black belt in Karate at age six and was becoming a professional wakeboard champion when he had his first psychological crisis.

After four years of severe side effects, Adam quit his medication and decided to attend a ten-day meditation retreat.  It helped him so much that he did two more retreats.  He started working at Whole Foods and began to settle into a more normal existence.  At that time, I was doing a film on meditation, and my producer sent Adam to me for an interview.  When Adam told me his story, I couldn’t help but think of the Shaman’s ‘calling’ and how differently Adam’s crisis was defined and treated in our culture.

 

 

Adam attended several meditation retreats and found relief until it was discovered he had been diagnosed as bipolar. Because of liability issues Adam was turned away from further retreats.

I began interviewing Adam every three to four weeks.  On his third interview, Adam told us he had gone to do another meditation retreat. But when the retreat center learned of his previous mental diagnosis, they turned him away.  Shortly afterwards, he found it difficult to do his work, and Adam quit his job. He soon became homeless and moved into his car.  When winter set in, he sold his car and bought a ticket to Maui.  While living on the beach, he was beaten by a gang, lost many of his teeth, had his jaw broken in three places and was almost killed.

 

 

Adam’s home and shelter is now a car that no longer runs. Twenty-five percent of the homeless in the US suffer from a mental illness according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Adam is not alone.  While documenting his story, I became increasingly aware of the severity of the mental health crisis in America.  Today, 25% if the homeless and 56% of those in prison have been diagnosed with a mental illness.  In the last 20 years, the number of individuals on mental disability insurance (SSDI) has almost quadrupled. Paradoxically, in this same period of time, the amount Americans spend on medications to treat their mental conditions has increased 80-fold.  Clearly our mental health system is not functioning effectively.

 

 

Will Hall, ‘a person with lived experience’, is just one of the leaders of the survivor movement who are advocating for a change in the way mental illness is defined and treated.

While doing research for the film, I also discovered a grassroots movement of survivors of severe mental illness supported by a passionate group of renowned mental health professionals, activists and scholars who are advocating for alternatives to the biomedical based standards by which most mental illness is currently defined and treated.  These movements include successful treatment approaches like Open Dialogue in Northern Finland and new organizations and treatments like Peer-to-Peer counseling, the National Empowerment Center, Stand Up for Mental Health, the Hearing Voices Network and Mad Pride.  These programs emphasize hope for recovery, acceptance, mentorship and nurturing relationships.  It struck me that this was the same model of mentor-based relationships I had witnessed and photographed in Africa, Asia and South America among indigenous cultures.

 

It seems that few people are aware that alternative treatments exist due to a lack of mainstream media coverage.  I am now co-directing a film called “CRAZYWISE” that I hope will demonstrate how traditional cultures look at extreme mental emotional states and demonstrate the possibility that an individual experiencing a psychological break can recover without lifelong medication and stigmatization.

 

 

 

[Guest [Mi...]]

Thanks very much for posting this, cookienose.

 

I'm interested in seeing Phil Borges' movie, "Crazywise".

 

I found the trailer:

 

Crazywise - YouTube

[[...]]

Thanks for sharing, cookienose.

 

Well, I think I managed 1/2 hr and thankfully did fall asleep.  Will replay today.  Wish I could sit and watch it, Lap, just too uncomfortable, I normally just lie down and listen to vids.  Guess that's another reason I'm so on top of all of this, I get so bored but am so limited in what I can do, so I go looking for audios to stimulate me.  So keep posting, guys ... 

[[La...]]

Just from the last two days of being on BB, I have a reading and viewing list that's quite long. We're studying medicine, psychiatry, marketing, cultural anthropology, psychology and, I'm sure, a number of other graduate-level courses. :-)

[[co...]]

I just hope to be able to help others avoid all this at some point; it's not clear to me now how that's going to happen...

[[...]]

You know something, cookie, I believe that unfortunately everyone has to go through their own process.  People think I'm being overly dramatic and paranoid and/or they're simply in denial or have the cavalier attitude that it won't happen to them.  "Doctors know better" and all that stuff.  I still speak up but my volume is much lower than before and I back off quickly now too.  Quite frankly, I'm too tired now, and have my own welfare to worry about!    Sucks, but it is what it is!

[[La...]]

I must thank everyone once again for sharing video links. I've now watched the Allen J. Frances video, the TVO panel video and the Dr. David Healy video. All were informative and interesting, and I'll continue to reflect on what I saw. I've still got a couple more to watch and will hopefully get to them soon. Thanks, All!

[Guest [Mi...]]

I must thank everyone once again for sharing video links. I've now watched the Allen J. Frances video, the TVO panel video and the Dr. David Healy video. All were informative and interesting, and I'll continue to reflect on what I saw. I've still got a couple more to watch and will hopefully get to them soon. Thanks, All!

 

Thanks for starting this thread, Lapis. A wealth of information. 

[[La...]]

Hey, it's my pleasure! And it's a great pleasure to engage with everyone online here. I think solid info is essential in helping us make good decisions and in understanding what's happening to us as we struggle to regain our health. It takes some of the mystery out of it and decreases the anxiety that comes with the unknown.

[[...]]

Thanks from me too, I've watched them all now, all very informative. 

 

Here's one on that whole Paxil debacle:

 

Paxil Study 329 - A look at how GlaxoSmithKline suppressed clinical trial information regarding their antidepressant drug, Paxil.

 

Not one individual held accountable, how is that even possible?  I wonder what Martha Stewart thinks of all this ... 

 

Anyone else got any more to share?

 

 

[[La...]]

Dr. Joseph Glenmullen is a Harvard professor and a psychiatrist. He has a couple of books out, including "The Antidepressant Solution", an excellent tool to help those coming off SSRIs. He speaks publicly and is featured in a number of videos, including this short one about ADs and suicide:

 

 

There are others too.

[[La...]]

Here's Part 1 of a 2006 press conference featuring Dr. Joseph Glenmullen just before the FDA Advisory Committee Public Conference on the connection between antidepressants and suicide. He offers a wealth of facts and statistics that are as heart-breaking as they are informative. Like some of the other doctors we've heard from on this thread, he tells of information that was ignored or suppressed with tragic results.

 

 

Part 2:

 

 

Part 3:

 

[Guest [Mi...]]

Thanks from me too, I've watched them all now, all very informative. 

 

Here's one on that whole Paxil debacle:

 

Paxil Study 329 - A look at how GlaxoSmithKline suppressed clinical trial information regarding their antidepressant drug, Paxil.

 

Not one individual held accountable, how is that even possible?  I wonder what Martha Stewart thinks of all this ... 

 

Anyone else got any more to share?

 

I'm sitting at work listening to this. I wonder if any of the families involved in the lawsuit mentioned toward the end of the video won their cases?

 

 

 

 

[[...]]

Hey Mind, I'm not sure about the outcomes, but I can only imagine they were awarded something.

 

Are you aware that Elliot Spitzer sued GlaxoSmithKline in 2004 for "repeated and persistent fraud".

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5120989/ns/business-us_business/t/spitzer-sues-glaxosmithkline-over-paxil/#.VH44MsnYfkc

 

The case was settled ...

 

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has set up the first comprehensive register of pharmaceutical trials in the industry, two weeks after settling for $2.5m (£1.41m; €2.07m) a US lawsuit that accused the London based company of burying unfavourable results.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC516685/

 

And here in 2012 ...

 

In the largest settlement involving a pharmaceutical company, the British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges and pay $3 billion in fines for promoting its best-selling antidepressants for unapproved uses and failing to report safety data about a top diabetes drug, federal prosecutors announced Monday. The agreement also includes civil penalties for improper marketing of a half-dozen other drugs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/business/glaxosmithkline-agrees-to-pay-3-billion-in-fraud-settlement.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

Again, not one executive brought to justice.  $3 billion is peanuts for them, they put the money aside especially for law suits, it's just the cost of doing business for them! 

[Guest [Mi...]]

Thanks, everybody. I've booked mark these to come back to. I'm interested in what happened with Paxil in light of the fact it's being repackaged for other things. It's really troublesome that these people are getting away with fines and no jail time. Until this outcome changes, they will continue to repeat their crimes. And this is very, very criminal.

 

Okay, I don't think I've shared this one, so here's one from me:

 

This is a lecture that was delivered in 2003. Healy goes into how the pharma co's use ghost writers in medical journals.

 

Yes, 2003. When will anyone listen?

 

 

 

[[La...]]

I keep wondering how people can sleep at night and look at themselves in the mirror during the day. No conscience? No ethics?

[Guest [Mi...]]

Midlife suicide on the rise: Record number of women aged between 40 and 69 are taking their own lives.

 

I just read this article from 2011. Okay, now in we know that SSRI's are being used not just for depression, but also repackaged for PMS and menopause. And 1 in 4 women in their 40's and 50's are taking them (source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/a-glut-of-antidepressants/)

 

But what the Daily Mail is describing about the rate of suicide rising in this demographic doesn't make sense.

 

According to the article, "Middle-aged women are more aware of their mortality and may be disappointed and disillusioned if they feel it is too late for happiness."

 

Hmmm. . . .so we're MORE aware of our mortality than what? Then men? Then we were at 39? Then our grandmothers who had very few choices in life were?

 

How about we're stuffed full of chemicals (namely SSRI's and benzos) that cause akathesia, mania, and suicidal thoughts?

 

Sorry. Just needed a good rant. 

 

Please keep sharing this information. All of a sudden my life of constant moving around, changing jobs, and journeys into mania, paranoia, and suicidal depression are making sense. 30 years of this hell.

 

[[La...]]

Hey, Mind, did you check out the Dr. Glenmullen videos from yesterday? They're about the SSRI-suicide connection. Also, the last chapter in his book "The Antidepressant Solution" takes a hard look at some of the issues we've been discussing here.

[Guest [Mi...]]

Hey, Mind, did you check out the Dr. Glenmullen videos from yesterday? They're about the SSRI-suicide connection. Also, the last chapter in his book "The Antidepressant Solution" takes a hard look at some of the issues we've been discussing here.

 

Yep, I watched the videos. And it makes me sick because the FDA knew, at least about the under 25 group. But they have the statistics for the rise in suicide in the 45 - 64 age group, yet they won't extend the black box warning. And so drugs like Brisdelle (aka Paxill) are marketed for that very age group as the body count rises! Wow.

 

What do you think it's going to take, Lapis?

 

 

[[La...]]

If only I knew....

 

I have to say, though, thank goodness for these brave doctors who are speaking up, speaking the truth. To have people like this -- doctors, psychiatrists, etc. -- stating the facts, well, it gives me hope. I think our best bet for now is to be informed and share the info with those close to us who ask or who might be open to knowing.

 

Excellent question, though, Mind. Excellent! Again, I'm SO glad to have this forum to share ideas and information.

[Guest [Mi...]]

If only I knew....

 

I have to say, though, thank goodness for these brave doctors who are speaking up, speaking the truth. To have people like this -- doctors, psychiatrists, etc. -- stating the facts, well, it gives me hope. I think our best bet for now is to be informed and share the info with those close to us who ask or who might be open to knowing.

 

Excellent question, though, Mind. Excellent! Again, I'm SO glad to have this forum to share ideas and information.

 

Me, too. And I'm glad you came along to share all you know.