Posted by fierc on May 9, 2003, at 1:13:54
In reply to Re: Peter Breggin is a legend!...on some points, posted by MaxTex on May 8, 2003, at 0:02:20
>I definately think everyone should read Breggin. I took a class at my university this semester that used Breggin's book Toxic Psychiatry. My Doc was not impressed that I was reading it because I began questioning my treatment plan. By the end of the class this semester I decided that it was time I give up my meds and see what life and myself are really like not being drugged. So far so good. It's been 2 months and I have had no panic or anxiety attacks or feelings of depression. I think the point that Breggin really wants to convy is that many docs just drug mental illness and not treat what caused it considering that most of it is not biological. I guess that is a strong statement to say but I'm in university so i have that show me the proof attitude. I guess I support that cause I've always been told my depression and anxiety is due to a chemical imbalance while I am feeling the best Ihave in 3 years off the meds. Now it just makes me wonder if any of the meds helped me as much as i wanted them to or thought they did. Breggin just makes you think and re-examine everything. Ok so that was a little off topic but just wanted you all to know that breggin isn't a complete quack despite his extreme statements. I believe his webpage is www.breggin.com but been a while since i was there so I could be wrong. Never hurts to do a little homework.
I met Peter Breggin over ten years ago, sometime after reading his fine book The Psychology of Freedom. I generally think his pro-responsibility approach is excellent and productive. However, I do think he goes way too far in attacking the use of psychoactives and the role of professional psychotherapists and psychiatrists.
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> Will power and thinking can help you, but they will not cure all ills. I'm a smart guy (if I do say so myself!) and have studied all kinds of psychology and self-help methods for decades, yet STILL cannot fully change some things about myself without medication. True, current methods of psychopharmacological intervention are crude (though much better than 2 or 3 decades ago).
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> -- We still administer psychoactive substances in crude pill form
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> -- We can't accurately or feasibily measure individual levels of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides to tailor treatments to the individual
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> -- We don't yet have a good understanding of gene expression in neurons
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> -- Our psychiatric techniques are still partly reliant on guesswork and very weakly-scientific methods.
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> This won't always be the case. (You'll find some fascinating reading at hedweb.org and http://www.biopsychiatry.com/)
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> For now, listen to Breggin (and Thomas Szasz) but don't throw out drugs. They are potent tools for improvement. So is psychiatry. BOTH also require taking personal responsibility since doctors don't know everything (yes, really!). For instance, my doctor is going to get a sharply worded letter regarding his complete lack of advice on withdrawing from Effexor, yet I'm kicking myself for not researching it first.
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> Cheers,
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> MaxTex
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poster:fierc
thread:224350
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030505/msgs/225309.html