Tom Cruise continues his tear through the media machine, promoting his new film War of the Worlds, which opens nationwide tomorrow.…
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Tom Cruise: Still Smiling Still Babbling, Psychiatrists Strike Back - Comments Page 2
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— go to most recent comments26 - Al Barger
Monsieur Berlin, Cruise appears to have actually done some study on the topic. Now, you might argue that he hasn't studied the right things or has reached the wrong conclusions. However, he's not just popping off at the mouth. That's what most annoys me about a lot of celebrity issue talk.
By the same token, I find Bono fairly reasonable, even though he's obviously pushing a liberal agenda that I will take significant exception to.
I invoked a liberal laundry list rather than a conservative one simply because I was talking about actors, and that's how they run. I do, however, object to anyone just blindly running down any type of partisan laundry list without thinking.
Re: cigarettes Cruise doesn't smoke, to the best of my knowledge. He did, however, come into our family's convenience store to buy a can of Skoal once while he was in the neighborhood filming a scene for Rainman.
27 - Temple Stark
Of course celebrities with no brains is something we had kind of become used to. So ....
28 - Eric Olsen
and he could reach the counter? (sorry, smart-ass mode today)
He may well have done research, but he appears to have done it through the filter of Scientology
29 - Dorian Grayson
Eric - re Scientology vs Big Pharma. It's actually kinda cool to see these two going at each other. From where I sit, they both have "bad energy" (to use the Scientologist phrase). Of course the pursuit of profit is every corporation's raison d'etre. But Big Pharma has stopped relying on entrepeneurship to makes its ever bigger profit margins, and has gotten the government (FDA & Congress) to give it so many advantages (i.e the muscle of the law)that it hardly even qualifies to be seen as a free market sector anymore. Once there was a time when drugs were affordable. The only thing that's changed to change that is power, bought and paid for in the halls of Congress.
30 - Lisa McKay
and he could reach the counter?
Hee.
31 - sylvie
well, it is a vacuous position which is why it is called "entertainment".
it is a double-edge sword: the celebrity craves and strives after our adoration and unblinding acceptance. they insist we accept their every word and when we dare to disagree, we are unlettered or unlearned or we don't know what we are talking about, or our experiences mean nothing. their response is one of resistance not reasoning because their experiences are more real, more valid, more relevant. they feel it is their right to insist this, after all they are entertaining us.
however, we pay for that entertainment. it is the entertainment that is the vehicle for debate and thought-provoking turns. it is the entertainment we expect to raise questions and present situations in an uncommon light. it is the entertainment that we expect to affirm our feelings and experiences in life.
not the celebrity.
32 - Temple Stark
>>they insist we accept their every word ...
Talking generally, I don't really see that.
Most celebs seem to know they don't have all the answers just like "us regular folk."
33 - sylvie
sorry, i should have mentioned that in the case of cruise, it seems he is insisting we accept his word
34 - Mikie
Silva you don't read too well.
Silva Said, "sorry, i should have mentioned that in the case of cruise, it seems he is insisting we accept his word"
Cruise said, "Look, you don't have to believe me. I'm just saying, look at the data and where does that data come from? Now you need to evaluate""
35 - Temple Stark
Thank you Sylvie - you're pushing the discussion along nicely.
- Temple
36 - tgd
I think Tom's main point is that the drugs prescribed for these mental health "ailments" are often unnecessary and more detrimental than the condition they are supposed to manage or "cure".
There's nothing bad or irresponsible about that message, in my opinion.
37 - Eric Olsen
other than the "all psychiatry is horseshit and Scientology fucking rules" part
38 - Temple Stark
He never said psychiatry is horseshit - he said it isn't a science.
And it's not. The analysis of brain waves; the anotomoy of the brain and so forth is science - but that's not psychiatry.
I say this as someone who could see himself as a psychiatrist some day. It's about understanding and knowledge of humanity and humankind - in a nutshell. (Sorry about the pun)
39 - Amy
Everytime a kid looks a little hyper someone screeches ADD. For a while it seemed like Ritalin was more common than breath mints. Now Asberger (sp.) is the flavor of the month.
Of course, Mr.Cruise is anti-Ritalin. After seeing his performance on Oprah I can't imagine that he didn't have people trying to get him to take it.
Look, my husband is about the same age as Tom Cruise and if I had to see my husband leaping around on a sofa and acting like a perfect, incoherent, ass, I'd be humiliated, it wouldn't matter if he were singing my praises or not.
The man can't seem to put a decent sentence together and when he does all he can do is repeat it over and over again.
If you want to take a stance against drugging kids... fine. But, don't do it to further your cult... er... religion. He's not making a statement about drugs as much as he promoting Scientology.
I have to agree with what someone wrote about John Travolta, I've always liked him, I enjoy his work, he conducts himself with class and professionalism... Tom Cruise should spend more time studying Travolta then the latest Scientology Weekly Report.
40 - Temple Stark
>>He's not making a statement about drugs as much as he promoting Scientology.
Both, I'd say. He may have held this belief about drugs which in part drew him to Scientology. Or not. I don't know.
And I can spell anatomy. See? Part of my brain took a nap up there.
41 - Amy
>>He's not making a statement about drugs as much as he promoting Scientology.
Both, I'd say. He may have held this belief about drugs which in part drew him to Scientology. Or not. I don't know. <<
I agree, I'm sure it is both. I suppose what bothers me is the promotion of Scientology alongside his opinions.
I watched his interview with Matt Lauer on the TODAY show and noted that multiple times he said, "I've studied the history of psychology." He seemed to essential repeat that he knew about this stuff and anyone who didn't agree with him - didn't know.
I seem to recall a rally in Washington D.C. where Lisa Marie and Kelley Preston were protesting the use of Ritalin. There was no mention of Scientology... just that they were anti-Ritalin.
I don't have a problem with people being against drugging kids - I guess I take issue with Mr.Cruise promoting himself as some sort of "healer" who has helped people get off "drugs" because of his religion.
I also have a problem of the "black and white" stance he takes on the issue. Especially where Brooke Shields is concerned... from a guy who has never given birth himself ;o) and adopted his own two children the possibility of him actually having close, personal, contact with a woman recovering from the hormonal shifts of pregnancy, labor, and postpartum recovery are extremely remote. He needs to walk a mile in those shoes or simply shut up and sit down until he does.
42 - Mikie
There are tons of groups out there against psychiatry. It's not just Scientology. Do a search for antipsychiatry.
There are real issues here. There are tons of examples of people go nuts on these drugs and killing others. Here is a list and "no" this didn't come from a Scientology site, It came from the Kingdon Baptist Church...
-Rod Mathews (November 20, 1986): In Canton, Mass., Matthews (14) killed a classmate with a bat. He had been prescribed Ritalin since the third grade. ("Students, Prescription drugs and murder", Dec. 20, 2001, Bruce Wiseman, CCHR)
-Laurie Dann (May 1988): In Winnetka, Illinois, Dann began shooting at a second grade class. She killed one, wounded six, and then killed herself. Autopsy reports revealed that she was full of Anafranil and Lithium.
-James Wilson (September 26, 1988): In Greenwood, South Carolina, Wilson (19) walked into an elementary school and killed two 8-year-old girls. He wounded seven other children and two teachers. "Wilson had been in and out of the hands of psychiatrists for years and within 8 months of the killings he had been on several psychiatric drugs which can generate violent behavior. Since the age of 14, he had been given psychiatric drugs, including Xanax, Valium, Thorazine and Haldol." ("Students, Prescription drugs and murder," Ibid.)
-Patrick Purdy (Jan. 17, 1989): At a Cleveland elementary school, Purdy (25) murdered 5 children and wounded 29 others before killing himself. He had been treated by psychiatrists who put him on the mind altering drugs Thorazine and Amitriptyline.
-Joseph Westbecker (September 14, 1989): In Kentucky, Westbecker shot 20 Standard Gravure Corp. workers, killing 8 before killing himself. He was doing okay until his doctor gave him Prozac. "The doctor noted that he got agitated and possibly deluded, and he said 'stop the prozac,' and it was days after that, with the prozac still in his system, that he committed these murders and suicide." (Peter Breggin, "Nobody Show," Jan. 24, 1996)
-Abby Hoffman (1989): At the age of 52, activist and author Hoffman committed suicide. He had been taking Prozac. ("Nobody Show", Jan. 24, 1996)
-Jarred Viktor (1995): In California, 16-year-old Viktor was convicted of first-degree murder for stabbing his grandmother multiple times. Ten days earlier, Jarred had been prescribed the anti-depressant Paxil. None of that class of drugs had been approved by the FDA for use in kids with depression. "'What jumped out at me,' says psychiatrist Alan Abrams, who testified for the defense at Jarred's trial, 'was this very withdrawn kid who started acting as though he was primed to explode' days after he started taking Paxil. Abrams believes the drug caused Jarred to become violent." ("U.S. News," March 6, 2000)
-Matt Miller (1997): Miller, a 13-year-old from Overland Park, Kansas, was given free samples of Zoloft by his psychiatrist. Seven days later, Matt killed himself. ("U.S. News," March 6, 2000)
-Jeremy Strohmeyer (May 25, 1997): 18-year-old Strohmeyer raped and murdered a 7-year-old girl in Las Vegas, Nevada. Strohmeyer had been prescribed Dexedrine, a Ritalin-like drug, just before the killing. ("Students, Prescription drugs and murder," Dec. 20, 2001, Bruce Wiseman, CCHR)
-Luke Woodham (October 1st, 1997): In Pearl Mississippi, Woodham (16) killed his mother and then killed two students, wounding six others. Published reports state that Woodham was on Prozac. ("Students, Prescription drugs and murder," Ibid.)
-Michael Carneal (Dec 1, 1997): In West Paducah, Kentucky, Carneal killed three students and wounded five others at a prayer meeting. Carneal was reportedly on Ritalin. (CCHR; also NewsMax.com, James L. Hirsen, Ph.D)
-Matthew Beck (March 7, 1998): At a lottery in Connecticut, Beck killed four people and then committed suicide. He had been taking Luvox. (Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, Drugawareness.org)
-Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden (March 25, 1998): Two young cousins, Johnson (13) and Golden (11), fired 27 shots in Jonesboro, Arkansas at Westside Middle School. Four girls and a teacher were killed, and 11 people were wounded. A white van was found about a half-mile from the school with guns and ammunition in it. Mitchell Johnson was being treated by a psychiatrist and is presumed to have been on medication. "Dr Alan Lipman of Georgetown University, who was one of the experts interviewed on network television after the Littleton shootings, remarked that at least one of the boys who committed murder in Jonesboro had been 'treated' before the incident, for violent behavior. Treated how? With Prozac, with Zoloft, with a combination of antidepressants?" (The Truth Seeker Foundation, "School Violence: The Psychiatric Drugs Connection")
-Kip Kinkel (May 21, 1998): In Springfield, Oregon, 15 year old Kinkel killed his parents and then the next day walked into Thurston High School cafeteria and sprayed 50 rounds from a semiautomatic rifle. He killed two students and wounded 25 others. In his confession letter found at his home he stated that he heard voices in his head telling him to kill. He had been placed on Ritalin in middle school. Kinkel met with a child psychologist nine times between January and June, 1997. He was then placed on Prozac. After the killings, he spoke with psychologists and accused the government of placing chips in his head. (PBS Online- Frontline)
-Shawn Cooper (April 16, 1999): In Notus, Idaho, Cooper fired two shotgun rounds, narrowly missing his classmates and teachers. According to his stepfather (i.e. grandfather), he was taking an antidepressant. "'A lot of things have crossed my mind,' Frank Cooper said sadly, trying to explain why the quiet youngster he raised in his God-fearing home went berserk. Frank Cooper and the boy's lawyer are now looking closely at the medication Shawn had been taking since January...Frank Cooper took his grandson to church and allowed him to enjoy boy things - baseball, sports cards, Christian rock music. Shawn even preached at a local church...After he was diagnosed with a condition where you fluctuate from deep depression to feelings of ecstasy, Shawn was given steady doses of anti-depressants...Frank Cooper thought he was helping his grandson by giving Shawn the drugs the doctor had prescribed. Now he's wondering whether he made a mistake." (Douglas Montero, "New York Post Commentary")
-Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (April 20, 1999): Harris (18) and Klebold (17), in Littleton, Colorado, killed 12 students and 1 teacher in Columbine High School before killing themselves. 23 others were injured. Harris had been taking the drug Luvox for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In an ABCNews.com report (1999), psychiatrists comforted the masses by a pitiful attempt to hide any personal guilt: "...Harris, one of the two teenaged gunmen, was seeing a psychiatrist and had been prescribed the antidepressant Luvox. Investigators at the scene of the accident speculated that the drug may have played a role in the massacre. 'These medicines for the most part are really quite safe,' says child psychiatrist Dr. John Dunne of Renton, Wash. 'They're an enormous step forward from what we used to have.'" Arianna Huffington is closer to the truth when she writes: "These antidepressants clearly did not exorcise the teenagers' demons. The question we should be urgently asking is: did they embolden them?" ("After Littleton: Antidepressants in the Bloodstream")
-T. J. Solomon (May 20, 1999): 15-year-old T.J. Solomon Jr. shot 6 classmates in Conyers, Atlanta. The New York Times reported that he had been taking Ritalin and was being treated for depression. (Evangelical Press News Service, May 30, 1999)
-Mark Barton (July 29, 1999): Barton killed his wife and two children and then gunned down 21 people in two brokerage firms in Atlanta, killing nine. The shootings were the deadliest mass killings in Atlanta history. Police found several capsules of the anti-depressant drug Prozac in his van. (Reuters, Sept. 1, 1999)
-Larry Gene Ashbrook (Sept. 15, 1999): In a Fort Worth, Texas church, Ashbrook killed seven people and himself. "A doctor had prescribed the anti-depressant drug Prozac for Larry Gene Ashbrook". ("Ft. Worth Star Telegram," Sept.20, 1999)
-Andrea Yates? (June 20, 2001): Yates is charged with killing her five children in Houston. "In an interview with the online edition of Newsweek, Andrea Yates' brother, Andrew P. Kennedy, said his sister was hospitalized several months ago..." (AP, June 28, 2001)
"Mr. and Mrs. Phil Hartman (Zoloft)...Neal Furrow, in LA Jewish school shooting was reported to have been court ordered to be on Prozac along with several other medications; the Salt Lake Family History Library shooting, school shootings in Littleton, Colorado (Luvox), Atlanta, Georgia, Springfield, Oregon (Prozac), and Caldwell, Idaho; another boy in Pocatello, ID in 1998 who in seizure activity from Zoloft had a stand off at the school; 15 year old Chris Shanahan (Paxil) in Rigby, ID who out of the blue killed a woman;...the New York City Subway bombing by Edward Leary (Prozac); little 10 year old Timmy (Prozac) in southern Florida; Nick Mansies (Paxil) in New Jersey who was convicted of killing a little boy who was selling cookies door to door; in Orange County, CA Dana Sue Gray (Paxil) who co-workers described as a very caring nurse killed several elderly people; Officer Stephen Christian (Prozac) one of the finest officers on the Dallas Police force, who ran into a police substation shooting at fellow officers and was killed; 13 year old Chris Fetters (Prozac) in Iowa who killed her favorite aunt; David Rothman (Prozac) killed two co-workers and himself at the Dept. of Agriculture in Ingelwood, CA; Williams Evans (Zoloft) shot one co-worker at the Ohio Bureau of Employment Services before shooting himself in Columbus, OH; Winatchee, WA where 43 people were wrongfully imprisoned in a false accusation of sexual abuse 'witch hunt' fury started by a child under the influence of Prozac and Paxil; Christopher Vasquez (Zoloft) killed Michael McMorrow in Central Park; Megan Hogg (Prozac) duct taped the mouths and noses of her three little girls and took a handful of pills; Vera Espinoza (Prozac) in Randolph, VT shot her small son and daughter before shooting herself; an elderly man (Prozac) in Layton, UT axed his wife and daughter to death; Margaret Kastanis (Prozac) used a knife and hammer to kill her three children before stabbing herself to death; an elderly man (Paxil) in Dallas, TX strangled his wife before shooting himself..; Larramie Huntzinger (Zoloft) blacked out and ran his car into three young girls killing two in Salt Lake City, UT; Mary Hinkelman (Prozac), a nurse in Baroda, MI shot her two small daughters and her sister before shooting herself; Lisa Fox (Prozac) shot her small son and her dog before shooting herself in Brighton, MI; Debi Louselle (Zoloft) shot daughter and then herself in Salt Lake City, UT; a father in Wyoming shot his wife, daughter and baby grand-daughter then himself after only days on Paxil; a mother (Prozac) in Pleasant Grove, UT killed her 17 year old son...; Larry Butzz, a superintendent of schools in Ames, IA shot his wife, son and daughter before shooting himself - many cases pending in court are not mentioned. This is only a handful of MANY, MANY more cases - there would not be room for anything else if I continued listing the cases. A few additional famous victims: Princess Di (Prozac) and Dodi Fayed - via their driver Henri Paul (Prozac)...Chris Farley (Prozac), Pres. Clinton's ex-partner Jim Mc Dougal (Prozac), Abby Hoffman (Prozac), Del Shannon (Prozac), Danielle Steele's son (Prozac), INXS singer Michael Hutchence (Prozac), Sarah - Dutchess of York (Phen-Fen)...
43 - Amy
These are obviously some very sad and tragic examples of what can go horribly wrong, no doubt.
However, given the context of this dialogue (Tom Cruise and his opinions) - I would have to say that all of these people most likely had severe problems that "vitamins, exercise, diet, and an alien meter" probably wouldn't cure - even though Mr.Cruise swears they will.
The fact is, there are people (some I even know personally) who have benefitted from anti-depressants (ie. like Brooke Shields) I happen to be one of them. So, while I don't agree with the use of prescriptions (I've seen them abused as well) 100% of the time, I do think they are overused in many cases, but I do believe that they have been immensely helpful in many cases as well.
In my own personal experience, I do have a chemical / hormonal imbalance that Mr.Cruise swears is non-existent. This caused me to have panic attacks where I thought I was losing my marbles, it also caused severe depression, 10mg. of Lexapro daily has helped me, immensely.
So, from my very tiny corner of the world, I believe that Mr.Cruise is at least 90% wrong.
44 - Temple Stark
Whew.
Now the cause-effect pattern isn't perfect here at all. Many of these people seemed to have had something wrong with them before the drugs - and so what could have happened is that the drugs just didn't work.
Also, the "chemical imbalance" statement from Tom Cruise is clearly garbage. THere are chemical imbalances. Gawd, I think I'm going to have to go back and re-read some of his words to get exactly what he's been jawing about.
45 - mikie
The chemical Inbalance thing is a theory. There is simply no way to test to record the level of someone's brain chemicals.
If you look closely at any drug ad, they will all say, depression "may" or "is thought to" or "might" be caused by a chemical imbalance.
You will not be able to find a single psychiatric study that will say definitively that chemical imblances are the cause of mental illness.
They will all have disclaimers like "may", "indicates", "beleived to be" etc.
Don't take my word for it, have a look for yourself with google scholar or visit some drug makers websites.
Here are what some real medical doctors have to say about it.
Thomas Szasz, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus, SUNY Health Science Center in Syracuse; Co-founder of CCHR and author of over 25 books, including The Myth of Mental Illness, Cruel Compassion: Psychiatric Control of Society's Unwanted and Liberation by Oppression: Comparative Study of Psychiatry and Slavery
"There is no blood or other biological test to ascertain the presence or absence of a mental illness, as there is for most bodily diseases."
"Since psychiatry is a pseudoscience, it is not surprising that psychiatrists are especially eager to be accepted as scientific experts. Since they obviously cannot bring this about by discovering the causes and cures of mental diseases which"tragically for psychiatrists no less than for patients"do not exist, they have to do it by producing great quantities of gibberish. That is indeed the most constant and most frequent thing psychiatrists do, in speech as well as in print."
Fred Baughman, M.D., pediatric neurologist, Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, and author of the upcoming book The ADHD Fraud"How Psychiatry Makes "Patients" of Normal Children
"Psychiatry has yet to validate a single psychiatric condition/diagnosis as an abnormality/disease, or as anything 'neurological,' 'biological,' 'chemically-imbalanced' or 'genetic.'"
"The fundamental flaw...is that Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have never been proven to be a disease, or anything physical or biological."
"The invention of diseases satisfied medical-economic needs. Additional income for growing numbers of psychologists and psychiatrists is generated.... Presently, child psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors and special educators in and around the U.S. public schools nearly outnumber teachers...."
Julian Whitaker, M.D., Founder of Whitaker Wellness Institute, author and editor of Health and Healing newsletter
"When psychiatrists label a child or [adult], they're labeling people because of symptoms. They do not have any pathological diagnosis; they do not have any laboratory diagnosis; they cannot show any differentiation that would back up the diagnosis of these psychiatric 'diseases.' Whereas if you have a heart attack, you can find the lesion; if you have diabetes, your blood sugar is very high; if you have arthritis it will show on the X-ray. In psychiatry, it's just crystal-balling, fortune-telling; it's totally unscientific."
"I took one [depression] test, entitled the Zung Assessment Tool, at the Prozac website. You respond to 20 phrases with one of the following: not often, sometimes, often, or all the time. Phrases include, 'I feel downhearted, blue, and sad.' 'I have trouble sleeping through the night.' 'I eat as much as I used to,' 'I have trouble with constipation.' 'My mind is as clear as it used to be.' 'I am more irritable than usual.' 'I find it easy to make decisions.' (As you see, some of these questions are confusing, if not irrational.)"
"I selected 'sometimes' for every phrase, as a normal, healthy person would. My score was 50, and I was advised to show this test to my doctor and 'ask him or her to evaluate you for depression.'"
Mary Ann Block, D.O., osteopathic physician and top-selling author of books including No More ADHD
"ADHD is not like diabetes and Ritalin is not like insulin. Diabetes is a real medical condition that can be objectively diagnosed. ADHD is an invented label with no objective, valid means of identification. Insulin is a natural hormone produced by the body and it is essential for life. Ritalin is a chemically-derived amphetamine-like drug that is not necessary for life. Diabetes is an insulin deficiency. Attention and behavioral problems are not a Ritalin deficiency."
"If there is no valid test for ADHD, no data proving ADHD is a brain dysfunction, no long-term studies of the drugs' effects, and if the drugs do not improve academic performance or social skills and [they] can cause compulsive and mood disorders and can lead to illicit drug use, why in the world are millions of children, teenagers and adults…being labeled with ADHD and prescribed these drugs?"
Ron Leifer, M.D., author of In The Name of Mental Health
"Everyone is neurotic. I have no trouble giving out diagnoses. In my office I only see abnormal people. Out of my office, I see only normal people. It's up to me. It's just a joke. This is what I mean by this fraud, this arrogant fraud.… To make some kind of pretension that this is a scientific statement is...damaging to the culture...."
"There's no biological imbalance. When people come to me and they say, 'I have a biochemical imbalance,' I say, 'Show me your lab tests.' There are no lab tests. So what's the biochemical imbalance?"
Ty C. Colbert, Ph.D. author of Rape of the Soul: How the Chemical Imbalance Model of Modern Psychiatry has Failed its Patients
"We know that the chemical imbalance model for mental illness has never been scientifically proven. We also know that all reasonable evidence points instead to the disabling model of psychiatric drug action. Furthermore, we also know that the research on drug effectiveness/efficacy are unreliable because drug tests only measure efficacy based on symptom reduction, not cure."
"Diagnosing someone as schizophrenic may appear scientific on the surface, especially when biopsychiatry keeps claiming that a genetic brain disease is involved. But when you step back and observe from a distance what these researchers are really doing, you wonder how they can justify their work….This is not science. This is simply the mathematical manipulation of meaningless data."
John Breeding, Ph.D., psychologist and author of The Wildest Colts Make the Best Horses
"Even the most ardent Ritalin/ADHD enthusiasts find absolutely no positive long term outcomes on anything in their research reviews. Short term there is only one"conformity in the classroom."
"These drugs are being prescribed without any objective scientific evidence of the existence of any medical disease. Even the National Institute of Health Consensus Conference on ADHD in 1998 stated, 'an independent diagnostic test for ADHD does not exist'....The widespread drugging of these children is a fraud being perpetrated against...children and families."
Joseph Glenmullen, M.D., Harvard psychiatrist, author of Prozac Backlash
"In recent decades we have had no shortage of alleged biochemical imbalances for psychiatric conditions. Diligent [hardworking] though these attempts have been, not one has been proven. Quite the contrary. In every instance where such an imbalance was thought to have been found, it was later proven false."
Paula Caplan, Ph.D., author of They Say You're Crazy: How the World's Most Powerful Psychiatrists Decide Who's Normal
"I have made no attempt to document the long, horrific history of mistreatment and misdiagnosis by mental health professionals of all kinds but (to document) the truly astonishing extent to which scientific methods and evidence are disregarded as the handbook is being developed and revised."
"If you stop drinking coffee, you get irritable, get a headache. That doesn't mean you're mentally ill," she said. "Anytime anybody ever suggests a new category should go into this three-pound DSM [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders], we should ask if there's a drug company connection."
Margaret Hagen, Ph.D., author of Whores of the Court: The Fraud of Psychiatric Testimony and the Rape of American Justice
"Unhappiness is a problem; it is not a disease. Low self-esteem also is not a disease. Eating too much is not a disease, and neither is eating too little. And, despite a huge lobby to the contrary, drinking too much alcohol is not a disease either...the psychological establishment has defined virtually all less-than-desirable behaviors, from hatred of first grade to serial rape, as psychological diseases, and represents itself as uniquely able to provide the necessary 'therapies' for them."
"There are a great many ways to do science badly, and the junk science that makes up the bulk of the body of 'knowledge' of clinical psychology manages to exemplify every one of them….Our legal system has been told that clinical psychology is a scientific discipline, that its theories and methodology are those of a mature science, and our legal system has believed it. Given the deplorable state of the 'science' of clinical psychology, that is truly unbelievable."
Samuel Blumenfeld, Ph.D., educator and author of NEA: Trojan Horse in American Education
"It's a crime to drug children when there's no true reason for it. They have nothing wrong with them. They don't have to be drugged. And the drugging, of course, leads to a drugged society. We are supposed to be saying, 'No"Just say no.' And yet, in the schools these kids must say, 'yes.'"
"There must be something wrong with an education system that requires so many children to be drugged just to attend school. You cannot reform education without first divorcing it from behavioral psychology."
Karen Effrem, M.D., pediatrician, EdWatch [national education reform group] board member
"America's children should not be medicated by expensive, ineffective, and dangerous medications based on vague and dubious diagnoses."
"Mental health diagnoses are 'subjective' and 'social constructions' as admitted by the authors of the diagnostic manuals themselves."
Elliot S. Valenstein, Ph.D., author of Blaming the Brain: The Truth About Drugs and Mental Health
"[T]here are no tests available for assessing the chemical status of a living person's brain."
"It is well established that the drugs used to treat a mental disorder, for example, may induce long-lasting biochemical and even structural changes [including in the brain], which in the past were claimed to be the cause of the disorder, but may actually be an effect of the treatment."
Lee Coleman, psychiatrist and author of Reign of Error
"And if you read about the history of psychiatric treatment what becomes very apparent is that unlike most of the rest of medicine where there was at least some scientific rationale…in psychiatry, even to this very day whatever you decide you want to do to somebody, if you call it a treatment, you can do just about anything you want to."
"Whatever was done to make this person more manageable would be simply called a treatment. And then it would all get defined within the medical framework. And the sad reality is that many of these so-called treatments were in essence torture…."
"Now people who promote the medical model in psychiatry, which is the vast majority of the field, love to proclaim that they are medical but it's basically a fond hope of psychiatry. Something they'd love to have turn out to be true but despite they're best efforts, it's not turning out to be true."
Colin Andrew Ross, M.D., psychiatrist and author
"If we just stop here and we step outside the biological brain disease model and we look at the actual facts and the actual data, there are no facts and data supporting the brain disease model and there's no facts and data supporting many treatments and many things that psychiatrists claim."
Richard DeGrandpre, Ph.D., author of Ritalin Nation
"How can millions of children be taking a drug that is pharmacologically very similar to another drug, cocaine, that is not only considered dangerous and addictive, but whose buying, selling, and using are also considered a criminal act?"
Lawrence B. Hooper, M.D., Hooper Medical Center
"…the thing that we find most often, is that these (antidepressants) are not discussed with the patient. And the patient is out there in a quandary, not knowing what to do. Therefore, they keep taking the drug. Some of these drugs, of course, cause suicide. And that's a big issue. And I don't think that that's stamped enough on the minds of the individuals who start taking these so-called SSRIs [Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors]."
"The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is a farce. What it is, is a book that contains thousands of symptoms that have a number to it. When you bill the insurance company, you can't say the word"you've got to say the number. And they have numbers for the most ridiculous things, like arguing with your mother, or peeing in the bed or arguing with your sister."
"I take it as an insult to the field of medicine to allow a manual like that to be shown to anybody who has any respect for the field of medicine."
Moira Dolan, M.D., medical consultant
"The so-called Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is really anything but diagnostic or statistical for that matter."
"…[T]here is no objective scientifically valid test which actually documents any physical, biochemical or anatomic abnormality in any mental illness."
Doris J. Rapp, M.D., environmental medical specialist and pediatric allergist, leading author including the book Is This Your Child?
"A wide variety of complaints, including over-activity, fatigue, bed-wetting, inappropriate behavior, and even epilepsy, in some children, may be due to allergies. Allergic infants can be so hyperactive that they rock their cribs about the room or bounce them off the walls and begin to walk earlier than normal. By isolating and correcting this, the child can be helped so that there are no symptoms and no need for drugs."
"If your child is exhibiting these types of behaviors, first take them to a competent doctor of environmental medicine and have them properly tested. It could not only make your parenting years much more enjoyable, it could save your child's life."
46 - Mikie
By the way, Every single doctor on that list except for Moira Dolan, M.D. is NOT a Scientolgist.
47 - Brian
Howdy folks. I'm a Scientologist, and thought I'd respond to a few things. First, an obvious correction. Scientologists aren't opposed to all drugs ... just the psycho-active variety. (I'll get to more on this in a minute.)
Someone also asked (paraphrased): "what would the world be like if everyone were a Scientologist?" Probably about as exciting as if everyone were a Catholic or a Buddhist or a Jew. I think you'd find nearly 100% support of separation of Church and state among Scientologists.
And before I get to the main issues at hand, though the APA release was provided above, I didn't see anyone providing the opposing Scientologist-backed release -- for those interested, it's at cchr.org.
So, first, I don't know Tom Cruise and I wasn't sitting at the kitchen table when he had the epiphany to go out and become as vocal in his opposition to psychiatry as he's become. But I do suspect that he's sincerely passionate about this issue and is doing what he feels is right in trying to get people to look and think for themselves -- and then letting the cards land where they may.
Now to my views, and I promise to keep them brief. I think it's the height of desperation to try to solve an individual's emotional or mental problems (no matter how severe, excluding actual brain damage) with psycho-active drugs. Why? Because no one in their right mind wants their mind to be controlled by drugs. It is done out of desperation and hope -- by both the individual and the doctor. And frankly, it takes advantage of a person's and his/her family's vulnerable state. It does not get to the root of the problem, and only masks it (to paraphrase Mr. Cruise).
Does it make people "feel better" or "improve their concentration"? Sure, as can speed and cocaine. And using psycho-active drugs to make someone "feel better" is the same philosophy.
I know, I know. The standard response is -- "but it's brain chemistry which needs to be balanced, you doltz!"
Severe depression or mental agitation, it's said, is caused by faulty brain chemistry. Or perhaps, as others argue, depression et al cause the brain chemistry to go out of balance. This actually doesn't sound like too bad a theory (particularly the latter version), but my next question then is: which chemicals are out of balance? Last I checked, there is no naturally occurring supply of fluoxetine (Prozac) in a healthy brain. Let alone Ritalin, Thorazine or 300 volts of electricity.
In short, the "chemical balance" theory is a smoke screen for controlling a person's mind and behavior with drugs (or worse). And that of course is what Mr. Cruise, I believe, was trying to get across.
With that said, if someone were to be given necessary nutrition, or sopoforics (to induce sleep in severe cases), or really any other agent which brings the body and brain back to its normal, healthy condition, then sure, I'd be all for it. But mind-altering "medication" whose real purpose is to artificially make one "happy"? Come on, that's not medication or biochemical balancing -- that's legitimization of a "controlled high". Let's call a spade a spade.
48 - Steve S
But mind-altering "medication" whose real purpose is to artificially make one "happy"? Come on, that's not medication or biochemical balancing -- that's legitimization of a "controlled high".
There are people with chemical imbalances, bipolar disorders, etc. who benefit and are given a chance at a normal life by 'biochemical balancing'.
Let's call a spade a spade.
okay, let's. I'm damn tired of people who try to use their religious belief to hamper progress, evolution and freedoms of other people. If it's not fundies attacking our science classes in school, it's now the Ghosts in the Volcano people attacking our psychiatric industry.
Is there any religion out there that does not try to destroy and attack that which it disagrees with? I didn't think so.
Tom is a complete loon, who jumps around on talk shows like a 12 year old child. Fine spokesman for your organization. Give me a university trained medical professional anyday.
49 - Brian
>There are people with chemical
>imbalances, bipolar disorders, etc.
>who benefit and are given a chance at
>a normal life by 'biochemical
>balancing'.
>
Just stating it doesn't make it true. Listen, I am in favor of giving people a normal life. I truly am. But using psycho-active drugs does not do that -- in truth, it gives one a life in which they are still desperately trying to be normal. Every single person on a psycho-active drug wants desperately to not rely on a drug. And the good news is, there ARE alternatives ... and they are natural, and healthy, and can allow one to truly regain a normal life.
>>Let's call a spade a spade.
>okay, let's. I'm damn tired of people
>who try to use their religious belief
>to hamper progress, evolution and
>freedoms of other people. If it's not
>fundies attacking our science classes
>in school, it's now the Ghosts in the
>Volcano people attacking our
>psychiatric industry.
>
You will notice in my post that I did not invoke anything related to anyone's religious beliefs. I am talking about science. But I am also talking about common sense.
>Is there any religion out there that
>does not try to destroy and attack
>that which it disagrees with? I didn't
>think so.
>
Your comments are ad hominem. They do not address the issues I raised ... they simply take pot shots at religion and Scientology.
Brian
50 - Steve
There's plenty out there that can be interpreted as a "chemical imbalance". Granted, that is a simplistic term, which actually only means that things aren't the way they are "supposed" to be. But it seemes to be the stress that triggers the imbalance, that triggers the maladaptive response (eg, depression, anxiety, insomnia, whatever). There can be many paths to working around the problem ("restoring balance"), including meds, sleep, therapy, and ...yes, Tom... diet and exercise.
But, give us a break and don't let's rag on others because they don't comport with your "religious" views.
Psychoneuroendocrinological Studies on Chronic Stress and Depression
-reviews the chemical (cortisol, serotonin) imbalances documented in folks with depression.
How antidepressants help depression: mechanisms of action and clinical response
-reviews the facts we know regarding depression-related changes in monoamine brain chemicals, and discusses other "chemicals" in the brain that may be involved.
51 - Steve
Brian said: "Every single person on a psycho-active drug wants desperately to not rely on a drug. "
So does every single person with
-diabetes
-epilepsy
-organ transplants
-etc
But these are all chronic illnesses... bodies that don't work right... which sometimes requires chronic meds. There are not always "natural" alternatives. And, natural not= healthy. Heroin, cocaine, tobacco... all natural.
52 - Oh tommy
Just as millions are brainwashed that they need to take drugs for depression so is Tom Cruise by his cult. When people eat fast food and drink too much what do you think your body is going to do? Eat right and you wont have to rely on Prozac and other harmful drugs that cause irreperable damage to the cerebral cortex. Its kind of like giving yourself a slow lobotomy over a period of years. Its sad when so many gullible people believe the FDA is working in their best interest when they could care less. Its all about the money. Wakeup and understand that the FDA,FTC etc do not care about your health. The fact that they ok'd Aspartame is proof of this!!
WAKE UP!!TIME TO EDUCATE YOURSELF AND STOP SUPPORTING THE KILLER DRUG COMPANIES!!!!
53 - jane
People, just centre your intense gazed back on the what Scientology ACTUALLY preaches. Firstly, that they are descendants of an alien race called Thetans. That there are 14 "tribes" of Thetans occupying the Earth, including Snake people, Cat people etc (I kid you not--what are you Brian?)and that an evil alien by the name of Xema always threatens to come and destroy us. Bad thought or feelings are considered 'attcks' from the spirits of other aliens invading a person's body.....
They process members through a series of 'assists' which serve to determine what sort of person they are (hence what tribe they belong to). They then put new acolytes through rigorous assessments that,in the end, completely break down a person's individuality and re-programme them to 'fit' the Scientology version of 'balanced' normal etc.Who needs drugs when the trip your on is crazy enough already?......
Now,good people, perhaps Tom Cruise should talk about THESE facts about Scientology more openly and allow people to become completely convinced he's as mad as a cut snake.For that matter, why don't any other Scientologists talk openly about these things too? Scared. Prohibited from doing so?
Tom Cruise is crazy, arrogant and dangerous.
54 - dee
What strikes me as silly are so many saying they know so much about mental illness and I wonder how many are living with it or know someone who is mentally ill? Do you think Tom Cruise knows anyone like that? I am not for medicating children but I refuse to say there are kids who do not need it. My daughter is mentally ill and she has suffered from it for most of her life. I do not need anyone telling me about the affects of mental illness and what it does to a person or the family of the person who has it. I am thankful for the medicines my daughter has and I would think someone as 'compassionate' as Mr. Cruise would think it was wonderful there were meds to help people like her.
brian...in a perfect world, we do not need medicines. This is not a perfect world. I need my insulin and my daugher needs her meds to combat schizophrenia.
55 - dee
Oh tommy..you want my daughter to come live at your house when we take her off her meds?
56 - Steve S
Your comments are ad hominem. They do not address the issues I raised ... they simply take pot shots at religion and Scientology.
This is true. It was part of my Natural, Holistic Therapy. It sure made me feel better.
Seriously though, I 'took a pot shot' at religion because it was what you introduced your comment with. You started out by stating that you were a Scientologist and then proceeded to criticize the psychiatric industry, like being a Scientologist was what gave you credibility to do so.
57 - A K
The public may not understand why Cruise is so intense about his hatred of psychiatry; certainly his wrestling matches with TV talking heads aren't designed to shed any light on the subject. Scientology began as Dianetics, a psychotherapeutic method written up by Hubbard for a 1950 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. Hubbard's idea was that delusion and unhappiness were founded in "engrams," or subconscious mental records of unhappy incidents in the past. He invented and marketed a device called an "e-meter," a simple galvanometer that purported to detect reactions to engrams during interviews.
Scientology didn't consistently present itself as a full-fledged religion until American trade officials started cracking down on the e-meter business, whereupon Hubbard acquired an additional layer of constitutional protection. (Observers have noted that when Scientology enters countries that have fewer protections for religious minorities, it downplays the "church" label and calls itself as a "philosophical system.") In the meantime, mainstream psychiatry continued to deride the claims of Dianetics. It's easy to see why Scientology believers are taught that psychiatry is a satanic conspiracy, and that all psychoactive drugs are evil.
In Scientology metaphysics, the engrams accrued during your life aren't the only problem; our souls also react to bad experiences from previous lives. And according to former members and Church documents, we are also said to be saddled with clingy, impish "body thetans" released, 75 million years ago, from aliens killed in a thermonuclear attack on Earth by the galactic overlord Xenu. Over the years, ex-Scientologists have disclosed much about the Church's unusual doctrines, disquieting indoctrination methods, and nasty methods of attacking hostile observers. Since the death of the reclusive Hubbard, the Church -- still called a cult by many -- seems to have cleaned up its act in a quest for mainstream credibility. But there are still live controversies about its financial and psychological treatment of adherents.
Oddly enough, his hostility to psychiatry may be one of the sanest things about Tom Cruise. His spluttering at Lauer was abhorrent, but Scientologists are not the only ones who worry about pumping quasi-amphetamines into large numbers of children-- especially boys -- who suffer from attention deficit disorder. Other critics of psychiatry share Cruise's concern about coercive mental-health treatments. Many of them -- like Cruise -- would use the word "torture." Hubbard invented the e-meter when the popularity of surgical lobotomy was near its height among his critics, and when electroconvulsive or "shock" therapy was still being widely abused. His acolytes are taught this history, and why shouldn't they be? The old sci-fi writer may have less cruelty to answer for than several Nobel laureates.
For all I know, I really might be addicted to nicotine and pizza because some bad-ass alien dictator punted the nuclear football during the Paleocene epoch. And for all I know Tom Cruise may be a repressed gay man, or a coprophagous gibbon-fancier, with a fake fiancee. What I do know is that I'm enjoying the spectacle of an actor shedding the shackles of celebrity, and behaving just as weirdly in public as we know the rest of them do in private. Of the two cults to which Cruise belongs, Hollywood is easily the more powerful, and quite possibly the more menacing and ruinous.( reprinted from the National Post)
58 - jane
AK
Great Post. Now I too can blame Thetan possession for my addiction to great red wine, home improvement shows on TV and chocolate. As an aside, I heard once that Tom Cruise had a 'thing' about wasting precious bodily fluids. He is sounding more and more like General 'Buck' Turgiston from Dr Strangelove every time he open his mouth.I am just waiting for him the hit the wall at a 1000 kms an hour and require psychiatric assistance. Or perhaps his 'Church' will bundle him off like Ron L Hubbard to the Farm and pump him full of pethidine. Hey, if it worked for Ron-baby, then why not?
59 - Brian
Steve wrote:
>But these are all chronic illnesses...
>bodies that don't work right... which
>sometimes requires chronic meds. There
>are not always "natural" alternatives.
>And, natural not= healthy. Heroin,
>cocaine, tobacco... all natural.
>
Indeed, and to the degree that the brain is actually "ill" and malfunctioning, I would agree. Let's do what we can to restore it to a normal, healthy state. "Behavior modification" using psycho-active drugs under the guise of "balancing brain chemicals"? Whole different animal.
60 - lsm
Psychiatrists are certainly no experts on life. They don't really know why people do the things they do, why the schizophrenic is so out of touch, or why the angry person blows his top. They deal with bodies, not with people. If I want to resolve problems in my life, I'd consult someone who successfully lives it. I don't consider pharmaceutical dependency, or "learning to accept my limitations" to be leading a successful life.
61 - Temple Stark
Brian - care for an interview about the world of Scientology and how it is suddenly thrust into the spotlight.
I am an editor at this site and i can be reached at writer@templestark.com. I'd appreciate it. it won't be a chance to preach but it will be a chance to explain.
62 - dietdoc
Good idea, Temple. I would truly like to know what all the hub-bub is about. It really is a curious state of affairs, lay philosophy versus medical treatment. As a physician, I would be very interested in what the CoS is all about. As an aside, if the CoS is having all this success with mental illness, they really do the world a disservice by not sharing their studies and data on recovery, etc. If the therapy and success data is a deep, dark religious secret, then I can accept that. But they will lack credibility without some data to back up their claims, at least in my eyes.
It reminds me a little of the argument that (I think) still rages on about the religious fundamentalists' "treatment" of homsexuality.
I find the whole issue fascinating. If there is a behavioral breakthrough in treatment of mental illness, I sincerely wish it could be documented.
Cheers,
Ron
63 - ih_Timelord
First: I don't trust the Scientology movement!
Second: T. Cruise still looks a boy to me!
Third: I don't trust the Pharmaceutical Industry!
Yes, I dont trust the influence of this industry on doctor's choices! I don't beleave in the scientific quality of all the research propagating the benefits of those drugs.
What do we really KNOW what's happening in the brains of the sick? Structuralism can't explain the dynamics and hightend activity, as brainscans show, don't meen that we really no what going on! [For the sake of the argument: I don't beleave in mystification of the brain either!]
It looks to me that what brainscans and brainprobes only shows us is a doorway in the brain. Not what's really happening!
The highly admired methods of those scienttist are just like the discovery of the microscope in former times!
SO, WE STILL DON'T NO WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING IN THE BRAINS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE SUFFERING FROM DEPRESSION!
PSYCHIATRY IS STILL A PSEUDO-SCIENCE!
The reaction of the psychiatrist and their servants the psychobiologist reminds me of the days of the discussion around hospitlisation and mental illness models in the 80's.
I still have problems with handing out retalin or antidepressants for every kind of problem or selling them on the streets!
64 - Eric Olsen
the application of the term "science" is derived from the process, not a general degree of satisfaction with the completeness of results. Just because we don't know all we would like to know about brain chemistry doesn't mean that it isn't science
65 - Rodney Welch
Tom Cruise: The Boycott.
66 - Brian
Temple Stark wrote:
>Brian - care for an interview about
>the world of Scientology and how it
>is suddenly thrust into the spotlight.
>
Sure, I'll give it a shot.
67 - Temple Stark
Great. Please go ahead and send me an e-mail at writer@templestark.com
My main Web site is templestark.com and Temple Stark IS my real name.
In the interview I'd first be interested first in your reaction to this short essay, which I wrote earlier this month.
Looking forward to it. - Temple
68 - Brian
>In the interview I'd first be
>interested first in your reaction to
>this [short essay], which I wrote
>earlier this month.
>
Yes, I recall reading it a few weeks ago. I thought considering what's out there on the net, you were pretty fair and level-headed. With that being said, trying to understand something like Scientology without putting all the accolades and condemnations on the back burner, would be nearly impossible. (And I'd say that's true of any philosophy or religion.)
69 - BEA
WOW!!! Quite a discussion you all have going on here. This is the first time I have seen this board and I tried to read most of your posts. I admit I skipped some when they became redundant.
My gut reaction to Tom Cruise's remarks re: BRooke Shields>> depression, post partum depression, therapy and using a monitored drug to relieve the suffering of anyone who is falling into the abyss are ridiculous.
I have seen the Matt Lauer interview several times and I saw an interviewer trying to keep a guest who was super- hyper and out of control on the subject he was there to discuss.
To watch Cruise point his finger in Lauer's face and insult the man on live TV shows a streak of immaturity that is so overwhelming Tom Cruise.
To proclaim that he 'knows psychiatry', that he has studied it and he knows what is best for every else ... leaves those of us who may be a little older than some of you quite frightened for his mental health and for anyone who listens to him.
Some of you have posted that you are against meds to help patients who suffer from depression or neuroses, or phobias ... and you also include talk therapy in your condemnation.
I respect your committment to your ideas but please step back for a moment and consider that you have no right to judge or deprive anyone who needs and wants therapy along with a drug that helps them.
Psychopharmacology is a special part of medicine and healing. I am aghast at the number of ill qualified MDs who can prescribe these drugs even though they are generalists, or gynecologists, or or are in any speciality that is not realted to psychiatric issues. THAT IS THE REAL PROBLEM WITH DRUGS BEING RXed SO EASILY.
While it is true that no actual 'marker' is available to test for, say depression ... actually an experienced, well trained and knowledgeable psychiatrist can make a Dx and help the person who is suffering.
Have any of you heard of ORPHAN DISEASES they are scourge that effects millions of people in this country but not enough of them are Dxed with a specific disease that will be an incentive to drug companies to develop medications to help these poor souls.
If you want information you can contact
NORD in Ct. for a list of the many diseases that are not 'important' enough
But I apologize for my digression. My point is that when anyone makes a broad brush general statement and than imposes his or her personal biases on everyone who can hear him he is doing much damage.
If you don't need any meds for anything you are very fortunate.
HOwever if you have an orphan disease like I have you would be so grateful to your health team to get you as comfortable as possible using whatever works that won't harm you.
Tom Cruise's crusade is making him look like an out of control cult member. He is doing a great disservice to Scientology and its followers.
PEACE
70 - Eric Olsen
Drugs rule, Tom drools
71 - Brian
dietdoc wrote:
>As an aside, if the CoS is having all
>this success with mental illness, they
>really do the world a disservice by
>not sharing their studies and data on
>recovery, etc.
>
The short-term answer would be to take a look at the secular activities in which some of the Scientology methods are used -- two examples are "Applied Scholastics" (a study method) and "Narconon" (a drug rehab system). Some decent preliminary studies have been done, but more rigorous and embracive ones are needed and they of course need to be thoroughly vetted by the scientific community. Both groups have made their preliminary data available, and additional studies are in the works. Ideally, these studies wouldn't be done by anyone even vaguely sympathetic to Scientology (the religion) and would be as blind as possible. But "researcher independence from Scientology" particularly is not always easy to accomplish, given the fact that the methods come from a religious source.
72 - HW Saxton
"Narconon" is an off-shoot of the Church
of Scientology ? Weren't they in hot water over some of their "techniques" of
the rehab process about 10,15 years back? Or infighting amongst the groups leadership or something similar to that?
73 - Brian
HW Saxton wrote:
>"Narconon" is an off-shoot of the
>Church of Scientology?
>
Yes, it's taken some of the principles and packaged them in a secular manner. The "hubbard method" for detox for example (sauna/vitamins/exercise, one of the first steps in the Narconon program, and also a step in the Scientology system), has been widely used in many "alternative health" groups.
>Weren't they in hot water over some
>of their "techniques" ... or in-
>fighting ...?
>
Haven't heard anything about in-fighting, but yes, the detox method in particular has not had full vetting within the scientific community (though preliminary studies are promising). I've seen some good criticism of the existing studies, and followup studies are in the works.
--
As an aside, I think an excellent area of research could be done using the Scientology-based study methods to address what psychiatrists call "dyslexia" or ADD/ADHD. The Scientology study system does recognize the various symptoms of dyslexia and ADD/ADHD (and claims are made for cures ... ala Tom Cruise, who had been previously diagnosed with dyslexia and now claims to have been cured with Scientology's study techniques), but this is an area for researchers which still needs to be fully vetted. Preliminary studies done so far show improved comprehension/application for students with study difficulties, but I haven't seen anything which singles out particular "learning disabilities" and shows a correlational improvement. But from what I'm hearing, these are in the works.
74 - Hello My Name IS:
PEOPLE WHO TAKE DRUGS FOR DEPRESSION ARE WEAK AND STUPID FOR BEING DEPENDANT ON THEIR QWACK DOCTORS AND DRUGS THAT ARE SLOWLY KILLING THEM AND CAUSING OTHER SYMPTOMS SO THEY CAN TAKE MORE....WHEN WILL THEY GET IT? ITS A BUISINESS! THE DRUG COMPANIES ARE MAKING MONEY OFF OF YOUR DEPENDANCY ON THEIR DRUGS.
75 - Rolando Bini
Tom Cruise not only has a right to his opinion, but he happens to be right. Modern Medicine is the modern religion of death, where doctors are the priests of this anti-life artificial religion, and psychiatrists with their pseudo-science are the highest priests. I encourage everyone to read "Confessions of a Medical Heretic" by Dr. Robert Mendelsohn. The sad part is that a large number of people have been so dumbed down that their critical thinking capacity has almost evaporated. They love being 24/7 in a state of mass hypnosis, waiting for the media, the commercials, or the "experts" to tell them what to think, buy, or do. Wake up before is too late.