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Medical FUD
Sherri gets a no-prize for bringing us this wacky bit of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt about screening for mental illness:
President Bush plans to unveil next month a sweeping mental health initiative that recommends screening for every citizen and promotes the use of expensive antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs favored by supporters of the administration
I happen to know several people who are very close to this issue, but on the other side. Here's what one had to say when I showed him this article:
[This article] flows out of the New Freedom Commission. The entire [anti-psychiatry], [anti-medication] community... sees screening as mandatory, schools forcing meds on kids, etc. But it's not, and [the White House] and [the Department of Health and Human Services] reportdely have denied any such broad initiative being launched (rumors this summer), although they are supporting Gordon Smith bill (for colleges). There IS some question whether TADS study has languaguage that might be interpreted as mandatory. The link posted ... comes from a recent latest email circulated by Vera Sharav who is [anti-pharmaceutical], focusing on the FDA/kids debate.[I would say to your readers] "This isn't really accurate. In July 2003, the President's New Freedom Commission report recommended volunatary screening programs. Not mandatory. See the Mental Health Commission Report. Read and decide for yourselves. There's no recent sweeping initiative, at least that I know about. The reason for screening is to help identify depression and other major disorders early, and help prevent suicides."
Considering the tone of the other articles hosted on Worldnet, I'm not all that surprised by the shrill tone and extreme spin. But Sherri was concerned enough to send it our way, so I figured some counter-spin was in order. Thousands of people take their own lives every year due to undiagnosed or improperly treated mental illness. While I think we should be cautious, I firmly believe any initiative that tries to take positives steps in fixing this serious problem is a very good thing.
My concern is essentially a fear of mandatory screening. I've got no problem testing someone who acts out violently on a repeated basis or something like that. But there are quite a few teenagers and young adults who could get stuck on medicine they don't need just due to normal growing pains.
I've just seen the negatives of what the psych industry and its drugs do. A (cute, friendly, quirkly theatre major) I went to undergrad with went to our campus counselors to get a refill on an anti-depressant. For some reason they sent her to the affiliated hospital. Who in turn embelished her story and pink-slipped her to the nearest asylum for insurance money. She had to stay overnight, and no one should have to ever undergo that sort of entrapment.
I will never trust college counseling services after this, and the idea of forcing every person to risk this (by being screened) scares the life out of me.
I'm also not thrilled at how many docs prescribe antidepressants for people as a post-breakup crutch. The people giving out the drugs are often not trustworthy enough to diagnose people or decide what's best for them. And they present a large danger to anyone going through a temporary problem at work, with a boyfriend, or whatnot when they fail to look at the larger picture.
Posted by: Sherri on September 25, 2004 06:04 PM