Saturday, November 9, 2013

3-Drug-Free Ways to Kick Depression Out The Door

November 7th, 2013 | Posted by theservicefoundation in Uncategorized
I have lost good friends to this situation and felt the need to write this.
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We all get stressed and depressed from time to time. This is not unusual. We are not alone. You are not alone.
When we feel that way we certainly deserve better care than this …

“Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay more than $2.2 billion to settle criminal and civil claims that it marketed the antipsychotic drug Risperdal and other medications for off-label uses and paid kickbacks to a large pharmacy”, the Justice Department said Monday.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/11/04/johnson-and-johnson-fines-drug-marketing/3432955/
Depression should not be treated lightly. It is a serious issue. But it happens with the mind/soul – not the organic brain.
When there is organic damage to the brain, it is best to call a neurosurgeon. When there is anxiety in the mind/soul (very different from the physical brain) it is best to do one of these 3 things:
1. Find a Talking & Listening-type psychiatrist/psychologist – one who has as his top priority to help his clients, not his income. There are many good and caring psychiatrists & psychologists out there … like Dr. Peter Breggin, Dr. Irwin Savodnik, Dr. Fred Baughman, Dr. Eric Hollander and many others. They exist in every city. They aren’t as wealthy as the drug-pushing psychiatrists and psychologists because “talking & listening” takes a lot longer than writing a prescription.
2. Visit with a capable priest, rabbi, or minister that you trust.
3. Have lunch with a caring friend. Someone who knows you and will listen to you.
Whichever route you take these good people may also end up helping you change some of your current eating habits, sleeping habits, exercise habits, work habits, and social habits. They may suggest you get a physical exam to ensure there aren’t any underlying physical problems. After speaking with them you may decide to take up painting, writing, or some other long-lost passion. You may even decide to change some of your “friends”. Like that old High School friend who always seems so “pleasant”, but leaves you feeling a little uncertain about yourself: … ”I don’t care what ‘everyone’ else says, I don’t think you look that horrible.”
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From the USA Today article above …
“This agreement, one of the largest health care fraud settlements in history, largely centered on Risperdal, an antipsychotic drug that Johnson & Johnson marketed to treat elderly dementia patients, and children.” Why focus on elderly dementia patients and children? Because they seldom know enough to complain when it isn’t working. Making billions by harming defenseless people can become a problem, when Karma comes calling.
What do “lobotomies, electric shock and brain-altering drugs” all have in common? They are all based on the incorrect belief that “mental illness” is somehow caused by “a malfunction of the physical brain”. This incorrect supposition is made by people who readily admit that they have no way to accurately measure “if” or “how” this occurs. Nor can they measure “if” or “how” their physical treatments for a non-physical problem actually work.
What sometimes has some workability isn’t their expensive placebos – it’s the demonstration that someone Cares, and would like to see you doing better. A smile perhaps, a pat on the back maybe. To the degree they talk to you, listen to you, and make you feel they care about you – they can actually have some positive effect. Until they mess it up by letting you walk away with a prescription for a physical solution to a non-physical problem.
Drug companies and medical professionals help people every day – when they use medications and procedures that are based on blood tests, tissue samples, x-rays and other proven scientific diagnostic procedures. These good people know the causes and remedies for some things. If they don’t know for sure they will tell you that.
The cause and remedy for “mental ailments” can never be confirmed by any of these standard medical tests. Because standard medical tests measure physically observable phenomena for “physical ailments”. Depression and other forms of “mental ailments” can’t be measured by physical tests, because these are not physical things. So they can’t be measured – or treated – with physical solutions.
When we lose a loved one are we “mentally ill” for feeling depressed? Of course not. We should feel upset. I lost a brother this year and I feel sad that I was never of enough use to him. Drugs won’t change my mind about that. I think I just need to try to do better for those around me now.
People who are feeling depressed deserve better answers. Depression is real, but it isn’t caused by a malfunction of the organic brain. It is more often caused by our higher nature. For example: if we weren’t basically good and immortal spiritual beings – then why would we get upset with ourselves when we do something that is “not so good”? (As we all do from time to time.) Go to someone who understands that. Someone who cares about you and will listen to you.
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Side note: The underlying cause for these disastrous failures in treating non-physical problems with unworkable physical solutions (lobotomies, electric-shock, brain-altering drugs) is found in the writings of Wilhelm Wundt. Considered the Father of Modern Psychology, Wundt mis-extrapolated on Darwin’s useful work to assume that Men & Women don’t have souls.
To Wundt, and those who followed in his turbulent wake, we are simply evolving, soul-less animals. This is an animal world where “Survival of the fittest” is the rule. The strong survive, the weak succumb, and the species flourishes. That justifies all sorts of experiments against us, especially the weakest among us … like those deemed to be “mentally ill”.
The word “psychology” originally meant “the study of the soul”. It has now become a subject that denies the existence of the Soul. In addition to denying the soul completely, some psychologists also think the “mind” must be a physical thing that is related to, or part of, the organic brain. According to that view, “mental ailments” should respond to physical treatments.
Modern day psychiatrists & psychologists long to be as highly regarded as Medical Doctors who have treated physical ailments of the physical body with increasing success for centuries. This leads psychiatrists & psychologists to assume/hope that all spiritual and mental issues must also be physical in nature. And so, they should respond to physical treatments. It is true that the body, mind and soul are all inter-related and can impact one another. But, because our spiritual and mental issues aren’t primarily based on physical phenomena, the physical solutions of psychiatry and psychology have always been doomed to fail.
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In the meantime, we can better assist ourselves and our depressed friends by helping them to find a Talking & Listening-type psychiatrist or psychologist. One who doesn’t just make people drug-dependent, but one who works hard and smart to put them back in control of their own lives. Or find a capable priest/minister/rabbi who can help you accomplish the same thing. Or have lunch with a caring friend. Don’t try to wrestle with depression or confusion by yourself. You are important. You are loved. You deserve better.