Comments on: Mind over matter – unto death? http://www.scienceguardian.com/blog/mind-over-matter-unto-death.htm Reviewing scientific paradigms and other general beliefs in the light of the scientific and professional literature Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:57:56 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Wilyretrovirus http://www.scienceguardian.com/blog/mind-over-matter-unto-death.htm/comment-page-1#comment-4380 Wilyretrovirus Wed, 10 Jan 2007 17:12:06 +0000 http://www.paradigmoverthrow.com/blog/mind-over-matter-unto-death.htm#comment-4380 Patrick, <br />I think one of the problems I have with all the "diagnosing" going are the unanswered questions. <br /> <br />For example, where does Bipolar disorder come from? Are you born with it? If not, how do you get it? Is it curable? Is it temporary? Is it a life-long condition that requires pharmaceutical treatment (a red flag as far as I'm concerned if the answer is "yes")? Can it be alleviated by good diet, physical and mental exercise? Is it really a problem? Are there natural supplements that help? Or is there really an "it" there? What are the benefits both on a personal level and a societal level by creating this disorder? How easy is it to diagnose somebody with Bipolar disorder? How flexible is the definition? <br /> <br />One of the things I learned by working at the halfway house is that I was being "diagnosed" with various disorders behind my back. The counselors didn't agree with each other on their various "diagnoses", so I didn't take them seriously. It's all so very subjective. It's honestly scary how much power these people have. And they could easily <b>ruin your life </b>if you're not able to fend for yourself. <br /> <br />But...we've gotten off track here from the post. I'm hoping Michael Geiger will chime in and add some of his insights. Patrick,

I think one of the problems I have with all the “diagnosing” going are the unanswered questions.

For example, where does Bipolar disorder come from? Are you born with it? If not, how do you get it? Is it curable? Is it temporary? Is it a life-long condition that requires pharmaceutical treatment (a red flag as far as I’m concerned if the answer is “yes”)? Can it be alleviated by good diet, physical and mental exercise? Is it really a problem? Are there natural supplements that help? Or is there really an “it” there? What are the benefits both on a personal level and a societal level by creating this disorder? How easy is it to diagnose somebody with Bipolar disorder? How flexible is the definition?

One of the things I learned by working at the halfway house is that I was being “diagnosed” with various disorders behind my back. The counselors didn’t agree with each other on their various “diagnoses”, so I didn’t take them seriously. It’s all so very subjective. It’s honestly scary how much power these people have. And they could easily ruin your life if you’re not able to fend for yourself.

But…we’ve gotten off track here from the post. I’m hoping Michael Geiger will chime in and add some of his insights.

]]> By: patrick moore http://www.scienceguardian.com/blog/mind-over-matter-unto-death.htm/comment-page-1#comment-4379 patrick moore Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:30:09 +0000 http://www.paradigmoverthrow.com/blog/mind-over-matter-unto-death.htm#comment-4379 I would like to add something to this discussion about "mental illness". It is right to suspect that there is an ever mounting tendency to diagnose new diseases and syndromes in order to sell more and more drugs; it is wrong on the otherhand to reject it all out of hand. I suspect that language for one has much to do with it but also let us not forget society as a whole as a trigger for most of it. I have been diagnosed with ADD recently. I am still not sure exactly what this means, even after having read as much as I can about it. ADD is an all-encompassing clinical term which doesn't really explain anything to me as to my situation so I tried to boil it down to something that is relevant to me. My "ADD" can be explained by simply saying: I have poor memory and concentration. It is really quite simple: my synapses are poorly contected. Society oversimplifies this by trying to argue things like "you're simply stupid or too lazy and science overstates it with terms like ADD and "disease". I have neither a "disease" nor am I "too stupid" although perhaps a bit lazy. But thankfully I now know better than to listen to either and content in the fact that no two brains are the same. I would like to add something to this discussion about “mental illness”. It is right to suspect that there is an ever mounting tendency to diagnose new diseases and syndromes in order to sell more and more drugs; it is wrong on the otherhand to reject it all out of hand. I suspect that language for one has much to do with it but also let us not forget society as a whole as a trigger for most of it. I have been diagnosed with ADD recently. I am still not sure exactly what this means, even after having read as much as I can about it. ADD is an all-encompassing clinical term which doesn’t really explain anything to me as to my situation so I tried to boil it down to something that is relevant to me. My “ADD” can be explained by simply saying: I have poor memory and concentration. It is really quite simple: my synapses are poorly contected. Society oversimplifies this by trying to argue things like “you’re simply stupid or too lazy and science overstates it with terms like ADD and “disease”. I have neither a “disease” nor am I “too stupid” although perhaps a bit lazy. But thankfully I now know better than to listen to either and content in the fact that no two brains are the same.

]]> By: noreen martin http://www.scienceguardian.com/blog/mind-over-matter-unto-death.htm/comment-page-1#comment-4378 noreen martin Wed, 10 Jan 2007 13:56:48 +0000 http://www.paradigmoverthrow.com/blog/mind-over-matter-unto-death.htm#comment-4378 "We're a culture of victims. We seem to have a need to be labeled with some "disorder" of one kind or another so we don't have to step up to the plate and learn how to live". <br /> <br />Talk about hitting the nail on the head! We are a society who no longer takes personal responsibility no matter what arena of life we are referring too. Never mind that drugs, improper health habits, diets and wrong- thinking enter into the equation of AIDS. It's much easier to be a "victim" of an illusive virus or having an incurable disease; this gets one off the hook. <br /> <br />Some of the blame is the drug industry with their commercals and invention of more and more diseases. Does the doctor need these tv commericals to know what to prescribe, I think not. These are for the benefit of the consumer so that they will request these drugs from their doctor. We are lead to believe that a "pill" will solve all of our problems in life, which it does not. Unfortunately for us, most doctors believe this to be true too. “We’re a culture of victims. We seem to have a need to be labeled with some “disorder” of one kind or another so we don’t have to step up to the plate and learn how to live”.

Talk about hitting the nail on the head! We are a society who no longer takes personal responsibility no matter what arena of life we are referring too. Never mind that drugs, improper health habits, diets and wrong- thinking enter into the equation of AIDS. It’s much easier to be a “victim” of an illusive virus or having an incurable disease; this gets one off the hook.

Some of the blame is the drug industry with their commercals and invention of more and more diseases. Does the doctor need these tv commericals to know what to prescribe, I think not. These are for the benefit of the consumer so that they will request these drugs from their doctor. We are lead to believe that a “pill” will solve all of our problems in life, which it does not. Unfortunately for us, most doctors believe this to be true too.

]]> By: MacDonald http://www.scienceguardian.com/blog/mind-over-matter-unto-death.htm/comment-page-1#comment-4377 MacDonald Wed, 10 Jan 2007 05:48:54 +0000 http://www.paradigmoverthrow.com/blog/mind-over-matter-unto-death.htm#comment-4377 McK, why don't you help the rest of us in our ignorance by offering us your reading of Szasz? Or if primary sources are beyond you, perhaps just your reading of Mark Biernbaum MD. <br /> <br />Somebody your age must surely have something really important to contribute - that is if anything could be more important than your reading of the scoreboard. McK, why don’t you help the rest of us in our ignorance by offering us your reading of Szasz? Or if primary sources are beyond you, perhaps just your reading of Mark Biernbaum MD.

Somebody your age must surely have something really important to contribute – that is if anything could be more important than your reading of the scoreboard.

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