Mental Illness Affects Many (SETUP for BUSH's New Freedom Commission)

[Angry Girl]

If you are a PARENT or TEACHER, this concerns you!

A sweeping look at mental illness in the United States has uncovered a continued high prevalence of psychological disorders, with about half of all chronic cases beginning by the tender age of 14.
<...>
"This new study demonstrates clearly these really are chronic disorders of young people in this country," said Dr. Thomas R. Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), which funded the study.

Forbes.com link

This is nothing more than a setup for Bush's national MENTAL HEALTH SCREENING program, which will include preschoolers and their teachers, then the entire public school system, and then....

According to the British Medical Journal, this is a way to push expensive mind-altering drugs made by Bush's pharmaceutical company friends.
BMJ link

Read the details here at the Online Journal:
Online Journal link

More about it here too:
http://www.beverlye.com/200410131912.html

And here's an activist site for you parents out there!
http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/protect-your-children.htm

[Demeter]

1. Fine--After the Entire Bush Family Signs Up

for medical and psychiatric intervention (and
God knows, they need it) then maybe the rest of us will be miraculously cured (it couldn't hurt!)

[Demit]

2. If they took the entire BFEE away in straitjackets, I know I'd perk up!

[Lindsay]

3. My mental health would be measurably better

if Bush were out of office.

Mental health is a serious issue, but I don't trust this gang of criminals to do anything that won't help them and hurt the majority of Americans.

[Melodybe]

40. Hello, where have you guys been this passed in Dec. as part of the omnibus

spending bill.

Parental consent (HR 181) was voted OUT of the law 312 to 81.

It passed the house and the senate.

here is a petition to add parental consent for testing and treating our children the bill:

http://www.thelibertycommittee.org/pcapetition.htm

[dogday]

4. All this talk about Mental Illness is making me crazy

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. The ruskies were infamous for ahem

treating disidents, if you all get my drift

[sam sarrha]

6. the Faith Based treatment centers are Sooo Good at 'Saving Them'!!

[undergroundpanther]

7. here is a link to stuff I wrote last year about this

http://www.unknownnews.net/040712a-upits.html

[mitchum]

8. Do people who think that "god" talks to them qualify?

That seems pretty delusional to me

[pissed_American]

13. Well, that would make Bush qualified then wouldn`t it?

[Gay Green]

27. If ANYBODY is qualified...

...it's Commander Cuckoo-Bananas!! :mad:

[gratuitous]

14. Or folks who talk to cows?

Bush is apparently a lot more comfortable conversing with folks who don't answer audibly.

[5thGenDemocrat]

64. Yknow, mitchum, I'm a Catholic of sorts

But I've NEVER thought God talked to me. And people who say God does "talk" to them give me the heebie-jeebies.
"Talks" to you? What do you mean exactly? Did He make a phone call, or send you a telegram or a smoke signal or what?
"God talks to me." What the fuck. I mean, what the fuckin' fuck.
John
It is now nine days, nine hours and 16 minutes to FUNDAY. We'll have several people here who talk to themselves, but only a few who think God "talks to" them. And then there's the DUers who are going to show up. It'll be a lot of fun.

[Geo55]

65. Hmmm

Main Entry: paranoid schizophrenia
Function: noun
: schizophrenia characterized especially by persecutory or grandiose delusions or hallucinations or by delusional jealousy

[progressivebydesign]

9. I warned our middle school about this...

Had them check out the govt site that talks about the mandatory screenings and meds at school. They were pissed and frightened.

[MindPilot]

10. Show me a 14-year old with no mental health issues

and I'll show you a dead teenager.

Seriously, there is no teenager alive who doesn't have some sort of crazyness resulting from the raging hormones coursing through their bodies. It's part of growing up. And where there really are problems, most of those could probably be fixed with exercise and a decent diet.

I aslo suspect that given the side effects of some these drugs they will be pushing will cause way more problems than they will solve.

I consider myself so lucky that my kid is grown and won't have to deal with any of this.

[Eloriel]

25. That is precisely their objective

I aslo suspect that given the side effects of some these drugs they will be pushing will cause way more problems than they will solve.

We all know that ALL pharmaceuticals have side effects, so these will have side effects no matter what. My fear (and expectation) is that at best this is a way to make zombies out of an entire population; at worse, as pointed out downthread, a new way to approach and implement eugenics.

[zanne]

46. Excuse me. Mental illness at 14 DOES EXIST!

We're right not to trust Bush. But don't try to tell me that clinical depression, bipolar disease, schizophrenia, etc., are just the result of raging hormones and that it's "normal". I went into a sudden, morbid depression when I was 14. I was a normal kid, going to school, hanging out with my friends and cheerleading, and in five minutes' time, I was different. It affected everything I did, or tried to do, for the rest of my life. There are alot of people like me who been devastated by mental illness. We struggle to get through every single day. Sorry, but it isn't a case of hormones and we can't just "snap out of it". Don't make the problem even worse by trivializing it.

[MindPilot]

48. I didn't say it didn't exist, and I don't intend to trivialize it

My point is it doesn't exist in the vast segments of the population as the administration would have people believe.

Yes for those who truly have a bi-polar disorder or depression, it's absolutely horrible, the suffering doesn't just go away and I know you can't just snap out of it. Even if it is just raging hormones, you can't just snap out of it, but heavy-duty pharmaceuticals are not the answer either. Especially when the Bush administration is behind the diagnosis.

[zanne]

50. How do you know about mental illness and medication?

If it wasn't for anti-depressants, I wouldn't be here anymore. It's so easy to speculate about things like this, but unless you experience it, you just don't know.

[MindPilot]

53. You have no idea who I am, yet you make assumptions

about my background and attack me for it. Maybe I'm a doctor or a therapist. Maybe I'm posting this from the psych ward of the local hospital. Maybe I'm just some freeper troll who's managed to fly under Skinner's radar.

I was speaking generalities -- not slamming you or anyone else who has a true need for medication. I'm surprised you can't seem to get that this is a larger problem than yours. It has to do with how we as a culture generally treat kids, deny childhood, feed them junk food, and expect adult behavior. Anything outside of a rigid framework of behavior is considered a mental health problem that needs medication.

Are you telling me someone must have suffered from depression in order to have an opinion about how it's diagnosed and treated? Someone must have been in a plane crash to speak on airline safety? There are plenty of people here on DU who have opinions about the military who've never served; are their thoughts not valid?

To answer your question, I was (un)fortunate enough to see the mental health industry up close & personal by way of drug treatment. Having actually had that experience; my conclusion is that it is a fucking racket.

[zanne]

54. I didn't start this, MindPilot.

Don't set off a flare and be insulted when somebody sees it. Are you saying that you HAVE experienced serious depression, or that you've "seen it up close" because someone you know has experienced it?

[MindPilot]

56. OK. Yes, I have taken anti-depressants

During the anti-drug hysteria of the 80s I got sent to drug treatment as a result of of a random test at work; I had toked up the previous weekend. I was given a choice; do treatment or be fired.

Of course the treatment industry draws no distinction between use and abuse. I was a pot addict and that must've been due to depression and schizophrenia. So they started loading me up with meds. .(Once I refused to take them, and was forced to by a couple of somewhat buff orderlies, so I didn't do that any more.) In this particular hospital, I wasn't even allowed to have coffee for the first few days because caffeine is a "drug". (Of course the smokers got to huff tobacco pretty much whenever they wanted.) The meds made me feel terrible. Most of the "treatment" was 12-step meetings sometimes 4 or 5 a day, but I was too doped up on their anti-depressants to give a shit that my biggest problem apparently was I didn't believe in god.

There were people there with real problems, eating disorders, delusions, lots of military people (this was just before GW1) and there wasn't anything for them. I even saw people get electro-shock treatment.

My employer spent almost $30,000 on that, and you know what? I still like to smoke pot.

[zanne]

68. Let's not throw out the baby with the bath water.

We should be very suspicious of any new mental health programs this administration proposes. Let me make that clear. But PLEASE don't pontificate about the use of anti-depressants by people who really need them. I agree that their effectiveness is exaggerated by drug companies, but THEY DO HELP SOME PEOPLE. If it wasn't for antidepressants, I wouldn't be around anymore. Take it from someone whose life was shattered by serious clinical depression; these drugs do work on some people. I had to have electric shock therapy when I was 14 years old; taking an antidepressant every day (and there are many different kinds) is MUCH better!

[depakid]

49. Pediatric diagnosis is controversial

and complicated. Clearly, childhood and teenage cases exist, put the diagnostic criteria aren't always delineated well- particularly with bipolar disorder- and there is a great deal of concern about the overuse of pharmaological interventions.

I haven't read the study yet- but my first impression is that it's making some very broad (and likely unsupportable) claims.

[progressivejazz]

11. I hope the Republicans push this one hard.

It's a loser. Can you imagine how millions of parents are going to react when their children come home having been diagnosed as mentally ill?

It's the sort of thing that inspires rage.

It's the sort of thing that inspires thousands of jokes at the expense of those who pushed it through.

This one's a real winner for us, folks. Let's hope they're dumb enough to do it.

[Nay]

20. Yep, I hope they are dumb enough to try this, too. Imagine the

cognitive dissonance in all the little RW families! Remember, years ago, when they howled about the public schools making their precious kiddies write essays on HOW THEY FELT about a subject?? They went nuts, saying the liberals wanted to get into their kids' heads.

Now, Bush wants to test and medicate them all! It's just too delicious, too delicious. May it come to pass. If it does, I daresay there will be an impeachment.

[izzie]

12. Which came first the increase in mental health worker or

the number of people with mental heath problems?

[drdtroit]

18. The availability of pharmaceuticals to treat symptoms of mental illness.

:shrug:

[newswolf56]

15. Paranoia Over This Is Entirely Appropriate

Unfortunately most folks on the Left are either not aware of (or, far worse, support) the Bush Administration plan for criminalizing mental illness (Google: "our lady of peace act") -- this by defining anyone afflicted by ANY (even minor) mental illness as a "mental defective." The ostensible purpose of this is to deny all such people their Second Amendment rights -- a measure feverishly applauded by anti-gunners because, statistically speaking, about 50 percent of all Americans will at some time or other be diagnosed as mentally ill. It is also supported by the Communitarians, who for their own authoritarian purposes want a national roster of mental patients, which the administration's measure would necessitate. But once that dreadful anti-Second Amendment precedent is in place, other freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights are in equal jeopardy. (Imagine, for example, a Dominionist shrink decreeing that someone is "delusional" merely because they vote Democratic.) As Angry Girl so aptly said, "...this is nothing more than a setup" -- ultimately to turn liberty itself into a delusion.

[area51]

35. Welcome.

Welcome to DU, newswolf56.

[lostnfound]

44. Welcome.

Welcome to the big tent at DU, ;) open to most everyone that thinks for themselves, which you obviously do.

[stepnw1f]

16. Starting a new form of Eugenics

They should medicate themselves before they start messin with other people's biz.

[Gay Green]

28. "Starting a new form of Eugenics" means...

Gays and Muslims first!

[stepnw1f]

61. Whatever Floats Their Boats

That's the crazy thing about obsession....

[SpiralHawk]

17. SOMA ! I want my Soma !

When everyone is on a regular dose of Soma, then the Elite State Apparatus of the Corporo-Republican Crony Machine will have no further problems from you noisey free-thinkers.

So shut up and sit down.

And remember Big BushCo loves you

[Nay]

19. We'll all be just fine once these bastards are thrown out of office.

Just watching Bush is enough to send me around the damn bend.

[KansDem]

21. MSNBC "reported" America has highest incidents of "mental illness"

Discussed here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3798578&mesg_id=3798578&page=

Bush wants all Americans tested for mental illness, which, I believe, has been criticized as a big pay off to the pharmaceutical companies. The plan is simple: test all American school-aged kids, find a couple million in need of "medication," and watch the pharmaceutical stocks skyrocket!

Then, move on to testing all Americans...

Looks like MSNBC is helping by "softening up" the chumps (ie, American consumers) for the mandatory testing phase...

Scenario
American parent: What? What's this note from Junior's school about mandatory mental testing? And the parents have no say? Well, I guess that's OK. After all, I heard recently that we Americans have the most mental illness in the world. Now, where did I hear that? Hmmm....

[Gay Green]

29. Small wonder America has highest incidents of "mental illness"

With Commander Cuckoo-bananas in the White House!

[Megahurtz]

22. The Dumbing of America.

Bush wants to medicate us all into being so stupid that we won't have any idea what's really going on.

[Lorien]

23. They have television for that

no drugs needed.

[Megahurtz]

42. Ha ha!

Aint' that the truth!:D

[Nihil]

57. From the last election result, it is working pretty well ...

How else do you get Republican support from piss-poor, stupid people
across the entire country for a regime that has been shitting on them
for the previous four years?

[earth mom]

24. If the public accepts this crap-then for sure we've lost all hope....

And if it comes to pass, my family and I will be getting the hell out of dodge no doubt about it!


:grr:

[Gay Green]

30. Re: I will be getting the hell out of dodge no doubt about it!

Moi Aussi.

[Eloriel]

26. Nominated -- and I'm the only one?

Raspberries.

[ebayfool]

31. Nominated times 2! n/t

[Habibi]

32. So, should we email Amanda Gardner

and ask her how much the administration paid her to plant this "story"?

[Rose Siding]

33. WP- U.S. Leads In Mental Illness, Lags in Treatment

One-quarter of all Americans met the criteria for having a mental illness within the past year, and fully a quarter of those had a "serious" disorder that significantly disrupted their ability to function day to day, according to the largest and most detailed survey of the nation's mental health, published yesterday.

Although parallel studies in 27 other countries are not yet complete, the new numbers suggest that the United States is poised to rank No. 1 globally for mental illness, researchers said.
...
It is not clear why Americans have such high rates of mental illness, but cultural factors clearly play a role. People who move here from abroad quickly increase their risk of mental health problems, especially if they do not live in native ethnic communities. Minorities also tend to have lower levels of mental health problems despite their lower economic status, suggesting that the social support they provide each other is protective.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/06/AR2005060601651.html

[depakid]

52. LOL- citing the Post for science "reporting" is like

citing O'Reilly in a geography quiz.

There's clearly something wrong at that paper- I've read no less than two articles in the past 6 months where the "reporters" didn't do any critical analysis at all and simply let people pull facts out of their ass. I just had to laugh.

(I'm sure if I bothered to read that paper, I could could find a dozen more like them).

A bit of advice- NEVER take anything you read in the Post at face value- and always get confirmation from a credible independent source. These guys specialize in distortion for political purposes (although what the political purpose of their mountain lion article was back in December- I can't say. Maybe to lend credence to the black helicopter type? Dunno. It too absurd).

[Orsino]

34. So why'd they name the commission...

...after a sanitary napkin?

[madaboutharry]

36. Look, Bush is a lame duck and the

American people are beginning to catch on to his bullshit. This isn't going anywhere. I have to believe that or else it will drive me crazy!

[AuntiBush]

37. Read about this in the Baltimore Sun Newspaper awhile back.

And his "Drug Company Pals" payback for aiding and abetting his election.

Note: Read in Baltimore Sun "right now" Bush & Co are screening each and every high-school, sifting thru the records. It mentioned something to do with recruitment for war. Have no link.

Could be online at http://www.baltimoresun.com/

[PsyOpsRunsOurCountry]

43. Better targeting for recruitment I'll bet. 'Personality profiling.'

Yes, they will sell a lot of drugs to teenagers.

Yes, they will give the illusion of 'caring about kids.'

BUT...the function of mandatory public schooling is to figure out how best exploit the population for the economy.

And personality profiling is what companies are using to hire rather than resumes.

They need children shoveled into the war desperately and testing will identify them to recruiters...or Homeland Security in case they are the independent anti-authoritarian kind of citizen the government wants to track early before the 'trouble' starts.

DON'T LET THEM 'VACCINATE' YOU, KIDS. YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE CURED!

[OKthatsIT]

38. Vaccinate them tll their immune systems are overloaded

Feed them toxic trash, load em up with hormones...yeah, I'd say we have an epidemic alright.

No thanks to corporate America and their PROFIT MARGINS.

[Sperk]

39. so we cannot afford to put the CLEARLY mentaly ill in homes, they

must push their shopping carts from street corner to street corner but we can afford to test ALL school children? Yup, sounds like Bush economics to me.

Any principle could make a list of students who could benefit from some sort of intervention. Would save millions.

What a load of bullshit!

[Melodybe]

41. kick cause everyone really should know about this.

[nolabels]

45. Yea, but a naturally occurring drug like cannabis is to be stamped out

Only Chemically Corporate produced mind altering drugs are good for you. This whole effing world is crazy :crazy:

This plan is obviously 40 or 50 years too late anyway, like look who they are saying is president, and even stranger all these people that believe it


Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
As much as 10% of the American economy, and perhaps more, is comprised of illegal "underground" enterprises, according to author and Atlantic Monthly correspondent Eric Schlosser. And while this segment is never discussed in the newspaper business pages, Schlosser tackles it with the same in-depth analysis and compulsive readability that made his Fast Food Nation a best seller. Reefer Madness spotlights marijuana, migrant labor, and pornography, three of the most thriving black market industries, and analyzes the often-tenuous place each holds in society as a whole. While each of the three could be the subject of its own book, Schlosser keeps his scope narrow by concentrating on the lives of the participants in the underground economy, especially Mark Young, an Indiana man given a life sentence for participating in a marijuana sale, and Ohio porn magnate Reuben Sturman. At just 21 pages, the treatment of migrant laborers in the California strawberry fields is dealt with more briefly but is just as compelling thanks to the first-person narrative of Schlosser’s investigation. In telling these stories, which are both personal and universal, Schlosser deftly explores the manner in which his subjects are treated (and punished) compared to others in more above-ground ventures. Along the way, he asks hard questions as to what that treatment says about America. Schlosser writing is passionately opinionated, but this is no mere opinion piece: his perspective is amply supported by extensive research and clearly reasoned interpretation of data. His direct and forceful writing style makes the impact greater still. After reading Reefer Madness, readers are likely to be shocked, appalled, and flat-out bewildered by what’s happening in the cracks and crevices of American business. --John Moe
(snip)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0618334661/002-6043100-2158414?v=glance

[HeeBGBz]

58. Mary Jane is the best anti-depressant there is

In my opinion, and I've had experience with quite a few prescribed anti-depressants.

I am currently slowly weaning myself off the last attempt at better living through chemistry. I'm sick of the side effects.

[leesa]

47. Well, no wonder with the screwed up, violent government we have!

My friend came up to me the other day and said, "You were right! They are doing mental health screening on my daughter!" I'm so sick of being right about Bush's crimes against us.

[Melodybe]

51. Kick for importance.

Drugging your children without your permission.

Hello! Hello! Will this gets you in the streets?

[woo me with science]

55. i have mixed feelings about this.

I used to be really upset about the failure of the government to treat mental health issues as genuine medical problems. I do think that mental health parity in health insurance and availability of care is more likely to become a reality only after mental health issues get treated seriously by government. I am not disagreeing with all the concerns people raise...just offering one possible benefit of this attention.

[Deja Q]

59. 'freedom' is part of the title? Unless * means freedom for drug companies,

* is totally warped out of his microcephalic skull!

[cmd]

60. I'm a retired teacher and recognized that the problem exists

Mental illness doesn't attack only adults. I truly believe that I have had children in my kindergarten who struggled with mental problems. I cannot confirm this because no one would ever believe that a child that age could have a mental disease.

I don't, however, believe that a screening for everyone is necessary. It doesn't take a teacher long to recognize that something is not right. More pediatric psychiatrists are needed and more research must be done. We would never let a child with juvenile diabetes go without treatment. A child with a mental illness should receive the same courtesy.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

62. If Dumbyass wants to screen people for psych disorders

he needs to start with himself.

[AuntiBush]

63. Ya, know... is it any wonder folks are becoming mentally ill.

I mean, under this empire.

[CoffeeCat]

66. I am not getting how this would work...AT ALL!

Ok, let's say that the government screens our children for mental illness.

Many children may exhibit signs of depression. Let's say a preschool aged child is having a difficult time adjusting to preschool. How about a teenager who is hormonal and blue because her boyfriend dumped her. What about the junior high school kid who has a brooding personality and dresses in black and has tons of piercings? ALL of these kids could answer questions or fill in x number of checks on the "depression screening index" and be "diagnosed with depression.

That doesn't mean that these children are clinically depressed. It certainly doesn't mean that there is some chemical deficiency related to their depression.

Also, many children are physically, emotionally and sexually abused. They develop depression, bipolar disorder and PTSD to cope with the hell at home.

How in the world will government-sponsored, mental-health assessors wade through all of this? Will they assume the responsibility of unearthing the root cause of ANY depression they find in a any child? How will they know if a teenager is clinically depressed or temporarily blue? How will they know if a child's behavior disorder is a result of a true medical problem or abusive parents?

There is no way in hell they can sift through all of these variables.

What in the heck is going on????

Why is this happening?

I can tell you one thing...these govt jerks can diagnose my child all they want. I don't have to follow their advice or agree with their assertions. If I go to a doctor, I am not legally obligated to get a surgery or take a certain pill.

These school mental health professionals had BETTER NOT be MANDATING treatments for our children! If they say my child is depressed, I'll take her to a trusted therapist. I will NOT drug her. I will not be forced into drugging my elementary-school-aged child.

This is so wrong!

[sam sarrha]

67. Stratera is a failed anti-depresent recycled .. it can cause suicide in

children, and it doesnt work.. it has speedy side effects and totally fucked me up..

it is a con job and a FAILED drug that they got an Afgrican mathmatician to fiddle the results into something else.. I will try to find the link..