Many mental conditions are the result of an organic condition, being the result, for example, of a "chemical imbalance" in the brain that can often be dealt with relatively painlessly with modern psychiatric drugs. That's a good thing. Scientologists however deny it's a good thing -- in fact scientologists deny the very legitimacy of psychiatry.
PZ at Pharyngula links to news that this denial has consequences:
Now their insane denial of the legitimacy of modern psychiatry leads to an insane woman butchering her family. It's appalling: the parents were scientologists who refused to give anti-psychotic drugs to their daughter, and the end result is that they and another daughter are slaughtered.
This is where delusional, irrational, wishful thinking leads you — to a rejection of reality that has the potential to crash in on you in lethal ways.
Scientology is evil, says PZ. Evil, and coming to Grafton -- they've
recently bought the former monastery overlooking the motorway currently occupied by Whitecliffe Art School. Keep an eye out for them.
Many mental conditions are the result of an organic condition, being the result, for example, of a "chemical imbalance" in the brain that can often be dealt with relatively painlessly with modern psychiatric drugs. That's a good thing. Scientologists however deny it's a good thing -- in fact scientologists deny the very legitimacy of psychiatry. PZ at Pharyngula links to news that this denial has consequences:
5 comments:
Scientologists are moving 2 or 3 doors down from the opus dei (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_Dei) as well (thats the self flagellating cult in the Da Vinci Code).
I beleive they are in one of the houses behind the road frontage (I used to flat about 20m from there while at uni)
I'd like to see a death match between the Scientologists and the Objectivists, put them all in a big field and they could take turns at boring each other to death. Getting rid of all taxation, is after all, about as real world as Xenu & the Galactic Confederacy.
Unfortunately the hypothesis of chemical imbalance or organic disorder causing psychiatric illness is often difficult to demonstrate in those allegedly afflicted, with exceptions such as brain injury and certain types of dementia. Many types of "mental illness" are not associated with any measurable deficit in brain chemistry, structure or function, but are instead voted into existence by the psychiatric establishment. The American Psychiatric Association once had homosexuality listed as a mental illness after a ballot of its members, then after another vote had it removed from the list of disorders.
Moreover, the diagnosis of psychiatric illness is often used by the state to coerce people into treatment/institutionalisation and to restrict people's ability to self-medicate, and by criminals to avoid responsibility for their actions by using the insanity defence.
It's worth checking out the views of psychiatrist Thomas Szasz (the wikipedia entry is quite good). Sadly he has had a long association with the Church of Scientology, who I believe are sinister as PC claims. But most of Szasz's views were formed well before he met up with the CoS.
"Unfortunately the hypothesis of chemical imbalance or organic disorder causing psychiatric illness is often difficult to demonstrate in those allegedly afflicted, with exceptions such as brain injury and certain types of dementia. Many types of "mental illness" are not associated with any measurable deficit in brain chemistry, structure or function, but are instead voted into existence by the psychiatric establishment."
Agreed. However, difficulty of diagnosis and the abuses of psychiatry don't lessen the objectivity of the mental conditions that do exist.
I'm a fan of Dr Szasz, and I've blogged him here several times, but in my view his many valid objections to state psychiatry don't diminish the fact of actual mental conditions. As I summarised last time I wrote about him, "In Szasz's view, there are certainly organic conditions that cause brain problems that in many cases can be cured relatively easily with medication -- and the illness then is a specific and curable physical illness, not a mental condition which is often only a symptom of the illness itself.
"'True brain diseases,' says Szasz, 'are the province of neurologists, not psychiatrists'."
I'm surprised to hear of Szasz's association with the Scientologists, especially so since last year the Szasz Blog was recommending a Rolling Stone magazine story that The Szasz Blog said unlocks "the complex code of America's most mysterious religion."
Richard
Yeah. I heard that as well.
Also MIT and couple of other US universities reckoned they treat homosexuals and cure them. Tha there casue untold controversy in the media. But MIT they did demonstrate that they could and did alter sexual orientation into hetrosexual for their patients.
Then gov done up and stop funding for the program and the Chancellor he be told to shut it all down or else there be trouble. Indeed. He sure move fast and like sacked some tenured professors. that never be done before but this time it happen realyy quick like.
Then everything back to normal again and now they researchin' climate change or some such.
Ta lesson be, never never let gov fund research. THEY be the mad bastards
Cleetus
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