It used to be walking down the street of any major city in North America (and Europe, I discovered) that people would stop you and ask if you would like to take a personality test. They promised it would reveal all sorts of secrets about you and help you make important life decisions.
It turned out that the most important decision you could make in your life was joining the Church of Scientology. They could provide all the answers for all the questions you could possibly have on your journey through life. If you became a Scientologist the world was your oyster.
What do you do if you're the author of a bunch of pretty bad science fiction books which aren’t selling worth squat and you want to be famous anyway? Do what L. Ron Hubbard did and start a religion. I’m sure most of you have seen his massive books littering remainder bins in bookstores everywhere. By far the worst examples of deforestation in existence.
So I think I can be excused for choking on my morning coffee when I hear the pronouncements of Tom Cruise extolling the virtues of Scientology over that of trained practitioners of psychiatry. Now, I’m no advocate of the "there’s a pill for every ill that afflicts you" school of medicine, but that’s not to say that certain people at particular points in their lives don’t need the assistance of medication.
Depression and other psychiatric illnesses can be genuinely debilitating to those afflicted with them. The causes of depression can be deep rooted and deep seated, ranging from the after affects of childhood abuse to the stress of having just too many things to cope with. Medication will not cure depression, that can only be done by dealing with the issue causing it, but it can provide relief to the patient of its crippling symptoms.
Anyone who has ever suffered from clinical depression knows just how horrendous the experience can be. If bad enough and left untreated it can lead to suicide. It doesn’t mean that you are just a little blue or down in the dumps. It means that you have lost the will to live at all.
There’s nothing left that motivates you to do anything. In some cases the patient is so badly afflicted that getting out of bed is simply not worth it to them. Those things like family and friends that used to mean so much to you, have no meaning anymore. You neglect yourself and them because what’s the point anyway?
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Tan The Man
"They could provide all the answers for all the questions you could possibly have on your journey through life."
How some people believe that there is an answer to every and any question is beyond me.
2 - Dragonfly
Scientology finds the root of someone's upsets that cause them problems in life, without the need for drugs, in less time than psychotherapy and fully resolves it so one doesn't relapse. Psychiatry and psychology become pretty useless when a non-invasive, non-drug therapy exists that actually works.
3 - Natalie Davis
I have been clinically depressed for years and have never taken antidepressants. So far, my non-invasive, non-drug therapy hasn't done any good. At the same time, I have my doubts that Scientology would work for me. I took an EST seminar about 25 years ago and my recollection is that a lot of its teachings and the insistence on expensive courses are very similar to what I am hearing and reading about Scientology. Doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence in it. I wonder how the COS' costs would compare to the aggregated costs of psychiatry and antidepressants.
4 - David Barrington
I'm responding from 37 years experience: (1) Anyone can get depressed, but persisting depression is either (a) caused by a medical reason, such as having an hormonal, vitamin or mineral imbalance, or a strutural reason (causing chronic discomfort) Example, several have asked me to help them resolve unhappiness, fatigue, etc. These are all symptoms of Lyme disease (as well as other phyiscal illnesses). I have them first go to a doctor.
The second reason for persisting depresssion is that the person is stuck in that past moment of upset OR there is AN EARLIER SIMILAR INCIDENT that locks in place the incident the person is aware of (the earlier one is just outside the person's awareness, but can easily be brought to light). This earlier similar locks in place the later (most current) incident with all the attendant emotional upset.
As a Dianetics auditor ("one who listens") I have helped many IN HOURS to locate and remove the affect of a past moment causing the persisting depression. Any fairly intelligent high school student could do the same.
I am not promoting myself, simply reminding your readers that just because there is a common "understanding" does not mean scientific fact. The earth is flat; the sun revolves around the earth, and many historical examples of "everyone knows" were only later to be proven as non-scientic but supportive of vested interests, as with psychiatry's "chemical imbalance" and "brain disorder." Very profitable messages that line the pockets of the psychs and pharmaceutical corporations earn $billions, most of which come from our taxes and insurance premiums.
Best regards,
David Barrington
5 - David BArrington
Post Script: I invite you to read the testimonials on my website. Not to promote myself, simply to give how quickly people resolve long-term problems. Again, anyone of average or better intelligence can learn Dianetics and get the same results I do. www.happierlife.org.
6 - gypsyman
Natalie: I'm not one to tell others what to do but I think therapy of some sort probably would be in order. (From the description that David described of what he does with Scietology sounds like therapy so why they are discrediting other means of therapy is quite odd.)
Anyway back to Natalie. I have recently begun a course of therapy(so has my wife) with a doctor who works with EMDR. This therapy allows one to relive past traumas with out re experiencing them and process the information to see how they are affecting you today.
This offers those of us who flasback and relive crises in our past a chance to break that cycle. Being able to see them analytical without experiencing them will prevent them from reocurring.
The process also helps find the root of your problems. Then you can begin to rebuild.
There are a number of real self help books that can be of use. Specifically the don't sweat the small stuff series(they didn't show up on my Amazon search, and I didn't think of them until now. I'm going to go back and post them to this article so you can look at them)
As to the cost involved, I do know meds are more expensive in the States then Canada, and I don't know what therapy is covered by what insurance programs in the States. But surely if you can afford it, peace of mind is worth some money.
One last interesting fact. One in four people in North America are being treated for some type of stress related problem today. So your not alone.
gypsyman
7 - dietdoc
David: From the jump, I want you to know that I am not attacking you or your beliefs or therapy. This is not a negative posting as I belief that, if something works for any individual, by all means, use it. I do have one small question, for my personal interest. Your web site notes "Licensed to teach, administer and certify others." What body - Church, governmental or professional - are you licensed by? Does the Church of Scientology provide this certification? I just ask to complete my knowledge of your qualifications.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Cheers,
Ron
8 - David Barrington
Post Script #2 (and the last): There is another reason for a feeling of chronic depression. A person can be closely associated to someone who degrades (make less of). There's a great volume of R&D that went into that by L. Ron Hubbard -- but that's part of Scientology ("knowing how to KNOW") and summarized at the website www.scientologyhandbook.org. When there, scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Enter" -- then scroll down and click "Ups and Downs." (You have a picture of the book (Scientology Handbook) leading your article. This website provides "how to" actions a person can take to resolve various problem areas of life.
Best, David dmb@happierlife.org
9 - David Barrington
Response to Ron:
Licensed under the Church of Scientology, which in any of its organizations teaches Dianetics, both introductory and advance courses.
Please understand "belief" has absolutely nothing to do with Dianetics (or Scientology). I do not "believe" that when I put water into a pot, place the pot on the stove, and turn on the gas and allow the pot to remain on the flames until the water starts releasing visible, rapidly rising bubbles, does water boil. I simply have used a procedure and achieved a demonstrable (and measurable) result.
L. Ron Hubbard published Dianetics in 1950, and some of his breakthrough discoveries have perculated through society and were altered (this references one of the postings) so as to side-step trademark issues.Hubbard's discoveries included such things as IQ does change, contrary to the pre-1950 psych "never changes" plus prenatals (you're quite aware of what's happening whilst in the womb) and VERY IMPORTANT, things said during moments of trauma can act as post-hypnotic commands that can affect how a person thinks or feels later in life.
Have a fine day,
Best, David
10 - gypsyman
Natelie:
Don't be put off by the "new agey" titles and style of Richard Carlson's books that I put up as Amazon links. There is some good stuff in there.
gypsyman
11 - dietdoc
David writes: " I simply have used a procedure and achieved a demonstrable (and measurable) result."
Reply: Thank you, David. I do appreciate your response and clarification. I wish you continued success with your work in helping others.
Cheers,
Ron
12 - jessixa
why does david barrington feel the need to define the word "degrades" for us? Does he not know that it is an english word? The terminology that he employs is unsettling, rambling without any direct line of reasoning. It is pseudo-science, pseudo-religious, eu-cult.
13 - Greg
Jessixa,
From what I read on this thread, it was about a person describing their methodology and other people politely asking questions.
The only thing unsettling to me has been your rambling rant, which is pseudo-whining, pseudo-paranoid and eu-annoying.
David, Ron, I've enjoyed the exchange so far.
14 - Greg
I found it very noteworthy that, while everyone seems to have freaked out at Tom Cruise for claiming there's no such thing as a "chemical imbalance" on the Today Show, little mention has been made about the follow-up on Today with Katie Courik, with Dr. Joseph Glenmullen, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School - who surprisingly said that Cruise brought up important points, and specifically confirmed that there is no such thing as "chemical imbalance" (let's make this clear, neither was talking about hormonal imbalances, which of course exist, nor indocrine imbalances - but about the psychiatric claim that a chemical imbalance in the brain is the cause of depression and other maladies.)
Dr. Glenmullen went further, stating that the FDA and other Countries have banned doctors from making this claim.
15 - gypsyman
Nobody's probably commented on the good doctor's statements because he's not Tom Cruise. They were never reported, or if they were, in such a minor way as to have been ignored and overshadowed.
I don't know if a chemical imbalance causes depression or not, but my problems were with the denial of the use for medications to help people, or the need for therapies.
Scientology just sounds like another form of therapy, so how can they deny it's effectivness when they advocate it?
Medication is not a cure, but without it some people are unable to begin the process needed to recover. Would you deny a person suffering from physcial pain relief? To me it amounts to the same thing. Symptoms need to be treated while the cause is being relieved.
gypsyman
16 - David Barrington
To gypsyman:
Re "just another form of therapy"
What occured with Dianetics is that in helping an individual locate the earliest available incident holding in place the unwanted condition, individuals were contacting earlier than this life traumas.
Without reducing the control over the individual of the earlier trauma, the later (more current) ones were held in place. Thus, the unwanted condition persisted.
It became quite evident that a person is not a body, but is a spiritual being. He does not HAVE a soul. He IS the soul.
This is not a unique discovery. It's been known for more than 2,500 years. What is unique is that Hubbard employed scientific methodology in researching such issues as "what is the spirit?" "what are its qualities, attributes, capabilities?".
For more info, there's an interview he did: http://www.ronthephilosopher.org/page38.htm
(If you go there, there's a border that covers over some right margin text. To resolve this, move your mouse' pointer over a corner, hold the left button down and reduce the window.)
The real issue is that psychology was altered in approx 1856 by Wundt and Bismarck from "the study of the spirit" to a tool to manipulate populations and removed the "spirit" from the subject.
Psychiatry has -- certainly since the early 1900's -- been a tool of political and vested interests, often to quiet disenters (as in Russia, Germany, etc.). It is not science based. It is a mulit-billion industry that wishes to increase the number of "illnesses" to increase its customer base, with the full support of the pharmaceuticals.
Two sites containing info you may find of interest:
www.cchr.org
and
www.FreedomMag.org
Dianetics can be learned and used by anyone, as can so many of the tools developed by Hubbard. They are for use by anyone to make it easier to get on with life.
"Therapy" is not the issue. The issue is how the organizations of psychiatry and post-1856 psychology removed YOU from the equation, and replaced YOU with a body, brain and sack of chemicals. (I use the word "You" in a generic sense.)
Best regards,
David Barrington
www.happierlife.org
17 - David Barrington
Post Script:
The psychiatric industry has successfully cloaked itself in terms that one would only previously have subscribed to Medical Doctors. That said, I started school in 1950 so I have observed the gradual manipulation of terms used in this society.
It used to be "psychiatric drugs" now they are called "medicines.
It used to be called "mental illness" now it's gradually being changed to 'brain disease."
All carefully done to position a non-science along with the acutal science of medicine.
It's not medicine. It's drugs. Legal "happy pills." Ritalin, as an example, is a Class 2 drug, the same level as is cocaine.
Best, David dmb@happierlife.org
18 - David Barrington
Post Script 2:
Gypsman wrote:
"Medication is not a cure, but without it some people are unable to begin the process needed to recover. Would you deny a person suffering from physcial pain relief? To me it amounts to the same thing. Symptoms need to be treated while the cause is being relieved."
The cause of the symptom can very well be vitamin, mineral or hormone deficiences. Something a medical doctor, M.D. or D.O. (D.O. are doctors who seek underlying causes, while MD's usually just treat symptoms - both have the same training, different philosophies). It doesn't take long to do tests and find out if that is the situation. I've seen people go from wrecks to fully fine with hormone replenishment within a week or less.
If it still continues, "talking about it" is not as effective as finding the underlying incidents holding in place the emotional upset. That usually only takes hours with Dianetics, which anyone can learn.
Have a fine day and a great weekend,
David
19 - Trixie77
I watched part of the Tom Cruise interview with Matt Lauer and I couldn't help wondering with a tremendous amount of dismay, "When did Tom Cruise become an expert in the field of psychiatry?" He rudely dismissed Matt Lauer by saying, "You haven't read the papers on psychiatry; I have." Congratulations. Have you read them all or are you still working on them? As far as being considered
"glib," Matt Lauer is respected in the news field has more credibility as a news reporter than Tom Cruise does. Oh, I'm sorry. Did Tom play one in a movie?
Last year Mr. Cruise declared to the world that there was no such thing as dyslexia. He claimed that he "cured" himself with a reading program. Of course it was a Scientology approved reading program. As a special education teacher I would like to thank you Mr. Cruise. Please continue to set back special education and it's acceptance into the main stream. We don't deal with enough student and parent embarrassment and denial as it is.
I believe that last year I saw on the news that Mr. Cruise kindly donated money to the NY city school system for a reading program. I believe that it was a Scientology approved reading program. He also donated money for counseling for people who helped during the horrors of 9/11. Again, I believe that this counseling program was also Scientology approved.
There is very little that anyone can say to make me believe that Tom Cruise is not pushing his own agenda. Stop it Tom. Not everyone appreciates it and some of us are actually offended by it. My sister-in-law's favorite expression is. "Walk a mile in my shoes." C'mon Tom. Have you forgotten what real life is like?
20 - Greg
To Trixie:
"When did Tom Cruise become an expert in the field of psychiatry?"
Since he began his intense activism in the field of education, which was about four years ago. He has personally helped families wean their kids of psychiatric drugs, working with doctors and nutritionists. He has read a number of white papers and books on the subject.
Matt Lauer has done none of the above, and was simply blindly parroting the Big Pharma party-line of "it's ok to drug our kids because_"
When Tom Cruise used the expression "glib", he was referring to a specific phenomenon that happens when a person relies on fragmented information and un-evaluated information to pronounce an opinion, which is not the product of sound research. Matt Lauer is definitely "glib" when he talks about Ritalin, a subject he knows nothing about. And yet he was making pronouncements as if he were an authority.
Incidentally, there was a followup show in "Today" where Katie Couric interviewed a professor of psychiatry, who concurred with Tom Cruise on several points - including the dangers of many of these meds, and the fact that "chemical imbalance" is just a theory with no documented medical proof.
Also, Trixie, TC did not claim that he cured himself of dyslexia through a reading program. He claimed that HIS personal symptoms went away through a systematic method of counseling related to the field of study and learning, available in Scientology.
You espouse the "special ed" approved methods. That is YOUR call. He has the right to espouse other methods. No need to trash him for doing so.
The shield that "it's all for the kids" is a common excuse the shrinks use to promote the drugging of children. It is not the intention of Scientologists to make less of the problem, both in the case of PPD and in the case of learning disabilities - but it IS the intention of Scientologists to raise questions about the shrink's "solutions" to these problems. See http://www.fightforkids.org
Yes, Trixie, TC did donate significant amounts of money to both an education program and to a Detox program for firefighters in NYC. Since he truly believes, based on his own experience, that the best methods for solving these things are in Scientology, it makes sense he would contribute to these solutions. It is his money and his prerogative.
Why would you be offended at someone donating his time and money to a good cause?
TC could easily just bask in his fame and do nothing for society. He is instead trying to better things. I am sorry if he is not doing this in your accepted terms. But you appear, to me, a bit narrow minded and judgmental.
21 - noname
Gypsyman clearly does not have an objective and non-biased view on Tom Cruise and his comments, as made very evidenct in his not-too-nice comments about Scientology.
As a Scientologist myself I can tell you that there have been countless testimonies and success stories from people that have been helped a lot from Scientology, which ranges from being suicidal and on drugs to just feeling better and doing better in life. I know people who help people get off psychiatric drugs and actually CURE the condition for which they were taking drugs. Now what is wrong with that, I ask? It's no surprise that when people get off psychiatric drugs and apply Scientology that they get better without needing to talk to a shrink or take drugs.
Tom Cruise does such work. He is a big advocate for a group called ABLE. I won't go into the details but basically it is a group that uses a study technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard and has proven very effective. I use it myself and have no doubt that I can very easily outdo these hypocritical nay-sayers in absorbing, understanding and applying data, not just memorizing it long enough to write the answers on a test.
Regarding that, Tom Cruise isn't saying people with dyslexia or learning disorders should be ashamed as the commentor "Greg" would have us all believe. Tom simply said that it was just another kind of study trouble that is not at all like the media and shrinks would have us believe. I mean, if he and countless others have gotten better through a "Scientology-approved" program what's wrong with that? No one's complaining. What exactly are you mad about? I mean, seriously, it makes no sense. He didn't step on anyone's toes and force something upon them. As a matter of fact, in Scientology you CANNNOT under any circumstances do any sort of auditing or other Scientology procedure on someone without their willingness. It is considered suppressive and violates policy, and if done only creates bad effects.
I read about the Volunteer Ministers tent he had set up on the "War of the Worlds" set and no one complained about it, not Steven Spieldberg nor Paramount Pictures, so, again, how was "pushing" his religion on someone? He didn't force anyone in there. How would that do anyone any good?
As far as the costs of Scientology, for one, if you cannot afford a service they can often make arrangements so that you can receieve some service. I personally heard someone asking another person in a church if they could audit someone because that person could not afford it. The person agreed. Also, it's not like they ask you to put a second mortgage on your house or anything to afford services. If you can't afford it you can't afford it. There's no forcing you to do anything you don't want to do. And one very important point, I've never heard of Scientology making someone poor. Quite the opposite. I've heard of people becoming more financially successful and more able to pull in money that before they took up some service, because Scientology is designed to help you in ALL aspects of life. My parents can attest to this personally.
If you wanna attack Tom for his comments on "The Today Show", that's one thing. But when you bring up your hatred for his religion as a basis for your argument, I cannot respect you or your opinions as I could with someone more logical and un-bigotted even if they were wrong.
But that is a good point that there wasn't nearly as much attention put on the follow-up interview with Couric and that Harvard professor. In fact, I will look into that now.
As for Tom, I've only heard good things from others about him with exception to this "Today Show" and Katie Holmes thing. The latter of which is frankly nobody's business because they are 2 consenting adults and at least they're not getting married on a reality show (Rob and Amber, two attention whores, can piss off).
22 - KYS
Noname, TC certainly DID step on somebody's toes. He publicly denounced Brooke Shields for pursuing medical treatment for a documented disorder- which she publicly claims to have helped her. That is despicable.
23 - noname
He expressed his disagreement on how she chose to deal with a problem she had. Please elaborate on your comment.
24 - nugget
humanism, pfft. It's as if Hubbard interpreted Aldous Huxley's ideas as handy advice for that coveted social durability. "Hey good idea Aldy! Splendid! Savages are crazy. All that pain and stuff sux!"
25 - noname
Yeah, I must say, Trixie77 REALLY twists words around, like, ridiculously.