greymouser

May

2018

Chemical Imbalance: Truth or Lie

The Illogic of the Chemical Imbalance Theory

I have this friend at the gym, his name is Sonny(real name). I’d see him fairly regularly and we got to chatting a few times and somehow or other we got onto the topic of kids and ADHD and that sort of thing. He told me that when he was in Grade School he was diagnosed with ADHD. His grandfather found out about this and thought it was a ridiculous. He took Sonny and enrolled him in a martial arts class. This allowed Sonny, according to him to burn off the natural access energy that was driving him to fidget for those horrible six-seven hour days in school.

He told me that pretty much from that day on he had no problems and it was much easier to concentrate in class. Someone who adamantly believes in the theory of ‘Chemical Imbalance’ in the brain, might say that Sonny didn’t really have ADHD.

If that were the case, then the person who diagnosed him should be seriously reprimanded, fined and likely have their licence revoked.

From a website ScienceNordic.com:

‘“In Brazil the dominant approach is psychoanalytical and Brazilians tend to disregard biological mechanisms,” says Aase.
Until recently medication of ADHD has been held in disfavour because of the country’s history of military dictatorship and links between political oppression and medication of people with behavioural problems.’

Again, if ADHD was a biologically based ‘disease’ this would not be possible; you would not be able to treat a biological mechanism by using psychological means. Add to this that there are no real standard methods of diagnosis, which is continuously admitted throughout literature on the subject, and you have a real confusion as to causes and cures.
I’m sure some psychiatrist could ‘fake news’ his or her way through this to make it all seem confusing and invalid. In my research, I’ve seen ‘researchers’(I use that term very loosely), doctors and such, comment on the factualness of the biochemical nature of issues like ADHD and Depression. I have, in all of my research, and believe me I’ve done lots, found no factual studies that confirm any biochemical causes for the above so called ‘diseases’.

So many people are diagnosed with Depression and Clinical Depression. I see every year or two some article about some researcher is on the cusp of the discovery of exactly what chemical imbalance in the brain causes depression. Trying to give more credibility to the concept but at the same time admitting that there is no scientific evidence validating any kind of biochemical cause.

Again, there are so many people diagnosed with ‘depression’ that are able to overcome it without resorting to drugs. So, they are either misdiagnosed or it is NOT biochemical.

Where is the science?!

So far, I have not been able to locate any exact science on this. There are numerous psychiatrists that will back be up on this: Dr. Peter Breggin; Dr. Sydney Walker Jr; Dr. Thomas Szasz to name but a few. (I’m tempted to offer money to anyone that can find something definitive on this - I do feel quite safe that I would never have to give up a penny!)

I read a quote recently that pointed out that people that have more challenges in life are happier. My observation is that when people are doing something or producing something, they are always happier. And the person who is doing something and at the same time helping others is the happiest of all.

I’ve observed that those having the most difficulty with depression and such are constantly worried about things instead of getting on with it and actually challenging themselves in life. A slightly ‘dangerous’ environment keeps you awake and doesn’t give you time to worry about being depressed. I’m not saying you should put yourself in ‘bad’ situations but make a bigger game and start solving the problems of that game. Stop thinking so much. If you have time to sit around that think, then you, for sure are not going to be happy.

The thing that really gets me on this is that so many people have accepted the idea of things like depression and ADHD being physical diseases as FACT, when there is no proof at all. But I guess this is just more evidence of blindly accepting ‘fake news’ as is now done daily on social media. I guess if you say an untruth enough times it becomes true. Or at least believed to be.

May

2018

Gun, Baby, Gun by Iain Overton

I recently read a book by Iain Overton called ‘Gun Baby Gun’. I honestly think that the book would be a good read for anyone that likes guns or dislikes guns.

The author investigates gun culture all over the world, not just the USA. There are places much worse for gun violence than the US.

I’ve owned guns in the past(I don’t currently) and like to shoot them. I took safety courses, learned care and safety of my guns and made sure my kids had the same knowledge and respect for what a gun can do.

Over the years, between reading magazines and various posts on the internet and FaceBook, both sides of the ‘gun’ situation in the world kinda pissed me off. Always, always, particularly on FaceBook many posts that I’ve read leave important information out.

A similar example: Years ago when Obama was running for his second term as President, within a few days I saw two different memes on Facebook. One was posted by a Facebook friend that was very much a Democrat. It listed 5 or 6 statistics that Obama had been responsible for that were very stellar and good. Another Facebook friend is very right wing and posted a similar meme that listed 5 or 6 statistics that put Obama in a terribly bad light. Showed how poorly he was doing.

I took each point in both memes and researched them fully. Pros and Cons. In the meme that told how wonderful Obama was, five out of the six ‘facts’ were quite false or very misleading. In the meme that was showing Obama in a very bad light, five out of the six ‘facts’ were false or misleading. I wish I had them here to show, but anyone that has been on FaceBook for any length of time is quite aware that there is very little truth in any of the memes that are posted and they are largely posted just to inflame.

Both sides of the gun lobby do the same thing. Facts get omitted to forward a particular line. The reader will often assume that because it is coming from a somewhat respectable source, that the facts are accurate. There is usually enough truth that cursory investigation makes it look valid.

Iain Overton’s Book ‘Gun Baby Gun’ is very enlightening on many points. For example he brings up the point of gun suicides. The NRA argues that if the person doesn’t have a gun that he or she will find another way to commit suicide. Overton gives an example of the Israeli army. For some years soldiers would take their guns home on the weekends. There was a pretty serious suicide rate so the rules were changed so that they would not take their guns on leave. Suicide rate dropped dramatically.

There are facts that Overton does not delve into with the book. He does, to some extent, try and forward information and let one make his or her own evaluation. To an extent.

There is one area that Overton glosses over that I thought needed more attention. He mentions at one point that he looked into the fact of psychiatric drugs and their involvement in violence in the US in particular. This was surprising to me in the light of the fact of the detailed accounts in other areas of his book. For example, check out the sections on the proliferation of SWAT teams in America.

If one reads almost any book by Peter Breggin, MD, or watches some of his videos you will read or hear much about the relation of mood altering prescription drugs and violence, including gun violence.

Maybe it was because some of the people in the mass shootings in the USA were not actually on the drugs when committing their atrocious acts. Neglecting the fact that some of the worst mental anguish is when someone tries to ‘come off’ these drugs without a proper medical or health practitioner monitoring and helping.

If you can read through the gobbledygook on the following website, you will see in the article some of the legal, prescription drugs that can be responsible for violence:

Guns and Prescription Drugs

Here is an article that talks about one of the biggest issues being that people stop the medication abruptly and without proper supervision: School Shootings

If you look, you can find articles that negate this relationship. But if you go to the source… Go to the websites that list out the side effects of drugs like Prozac and Ritalin and the like; research some of the drugs that these kids that do the mass shootings are on. Have a look at the side effects, that are often depression and violence.

To me, this was a huge omission from Iain Overton’s book ‘Gun, Baby, Gun. Marvelous book. Well worth the read. Extremely enlightening.

Get a copy of the book here:

Mar

2018

Medicine or Magic

Thomas Szasz Quote:

“Formerly, when religion was strong and science weak, men mistook magic for medicine; now when science is strong and religion weak, men mistake medicine for magic.”

Thomas Szasz, Author

Mar

2018

Who Profits from ECT Machines?

Article by Charlotte Roberts:

And under the heading of, “Did You Know?” there are two manufacturers of ECT machines in the U.S. One of them is owned by two psychiatrists who loudly beat the drum for ECT.

Of course they do.

I daresay Edgar Bronfman told people that a bottle of Seagram’s Seven Crown would cure whatever ailed them.

Somatics LLC, the manufacturer of the Thymatron ECT machine, is owned by psychiatrists Conrad M. Swartz and Richard Abrams.

They each have published books heavily promoting their junk science masquerading as medicine. Swartz wrote “Electroconvulsive and Neuromodulation Therapies” which can be yours for the low, low price of $162.95. Abrams merrily penned “Electroconvulsive Therapy”, the fourth edition of which sells for $137.35.

Abrams, at least, forgot to mention this tiny detail to his publisher. He also forgot to mention that ownership in this disgusting company accounts for half of his income. He declined to detail just what those sales or profits are, but supplying about 500 hospitals at $10,000 a pop adds up, I’m sure.

The Somatics LLC website contains outright lies such as a denial that ECT causes permanent memory loss, something that has been clearly affirmed by medical journals and by the poor souls who have fallen victim to ECT. Anypit.com reports that “even noted ECT advocate Harold A. Sackeim has admitted that lasting memory damage is much more common than previously believed”.

Somatics LLC puts a disclaimer at the end of this BS denial that says: “Please note that nothing in this website constitutes, or should be construed as, a claim by Somatics LLC that confusion, cognitive impairment, or memory loss (short-term, long-term, recent, remote, transient, or persistent) cannot occur as the result of ECT” which is tantamount to saying, “Hey, we were just kidding when we said it wouldn’t hurt you.”

Under the “How Does ECT Work?” section, they say that “Although it is necessary for the brain cells to interact with each other chemically and electrically for ECT to work, exactly how this interaction is therapeutic needs further investigation … A number of rigorously-designed research projects are underway to study this question”. This is lawyer-speak for, “Hell, we don’t know but we’re making lots of money from it so it must be really great!”

They have a catalog on the Somatics LLC web site in which they even offer “a one-page course in advanced ECT”. Geez, imagine that – you, too, can become an expert torturer after reading just one page. Wow!

And speaking of torture, Swartz is also a guitarist in a band called – are you ready for this? – “Insanitizers”. One of their songs is “Dance Like a Robot”. He probably plays it for the poor sods whose brains he’s about to fry.

Mar

2018

The History of Electroconvulsive (HA!) Therapy (ECT)

Article by Charlotte Roberts:

The History of Shock Therapy in Psychiatry

ECT was first developed by Ugo Cerletti born in 1877, the son of an agricultural engineer. After attending medical schools at Rome and Turin (he must have been out sick the day they covered the “first do no harm” bit), he went on to tour European “sanctuaries” including those run by the infamous Emil Kraepelin and Franz Nissl.

Cerletti applied the skills he learned in medical school to design a white winter camouflage suit (you think I’m kidding, but, I swear to God, not), after which he was naturally made Head of the Neurobiological Institute in Milan. What better place for a fashionista?

Cerletti turned his attention to the matter of epilepsy because, according to him: “I have always given prime importance to the study of epilepsy, since it is linked to many areas of neurology and psychiatry”. In the course of his study of this disease, he tried to replicate an epileptic state in dogs by passing a 125-volt current through their bodies. He killed a lot of the dogs, of course.

After he’d finished stacking up the dog corpses, he decided to move on to humans. In his words: “The daily confrontation with the dogs who had been made epileptic by electroshock treatment naturally gave me the idea of a possible similar application on man”. Naturally.

Then, “One day I heard that at the Rome slaughterhouse they were killing pigs with the electric current used for lighting” so he went to the slaughterhouse to check it out. Sure enough, “I saw some butchers moving about among the pigs, holding in both hands a large pair of pincers, which had at both ends two discs, spiked with small, blunted, metallic tips. When they got near to the animals, they opened the jaws of the pincers and quickly grasped the front part of the pig’s head between the tips of the discs. 70-80 volts were then sent through the electric cable. As soon as the animals had been got hold of, they fell rigid to the ground without even uttering a sound and shortly after, began to present general clonic shocks.” (Clonic shocks are seizures). Well, you could see how that would appeal to a psychiatrist. Cerletti walked off from the slaughterhouse with a set of those electric pincers in hand, a happy man, off to kill more dogs.

Cerletti’s first human victim was a man that the police had apprehended who was “behaving in a very odd way, answering questions put to him in a very strange language which was completely incomprehensible”. The poor guy was probably speaking a different European language that nobody at the psychiatric institute could speak. And, from that, they diagnosed him as schizophrenic. (Note – schizophrenia is defined as “a mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation”. Hmmm … sounds a lot like most psychiatrists, doesn’t it?)

This poor sod was Cerletti’s “first experiment” [Cerletti’s words] in electroshock. He secured two electrodes soaked in a saline solution to this man’s head with an elastic band and send 80 volts through his head. After this “treatment”, the patient begged “Not another one! You will kill me.”

Cerletti’s response to this? He immediately administered another shock to the patient, at a higher voltage, and damned near killed him. Cerletti noted that after the second shock “treatment”, “there was an interruption in breathing and a deathlike cyanosis of the face which, if upsetting in a spontaneous epileptic fit, seemed to us in this case distressingly unending”.

Cerletti then went on to administer 19 more shocks to this poor soul until he was in “complete remission” which, in psych-speak, means that he was quiet and compliant.

And that was the start of electroshock (HA!) therapy. Contemporary proponents of it will tell you that it is “safe” and “effective”. Don’t you believe it. Psychiatrists now use heavy sedation and anesthetic before shocking their victims, but that does not make the procedure one bit less harmful. Sedation and anesthetic before ECT is like slipping Rohynol to a rape victim first to leave her helpless and forgetful of the violation, and then saying that rape is “safe” and “effective”.

Sedation and anesthetic dull the agony the victim feels, but they don’t do a damned thing to lessen the damage.

ECT is not treatment. It’s terrorism. It’s time to put a stop to it.