American Psychiatry: how much a political tool?

As I said in a post that was deleted for some reason:


My experience with anti-depressants has been constant head aches and emotional numbness in both happy and tragic situations.

So if you knew a medication was not working for you, would you continue to take it?

 

Nothing in this thread has been deleted I went over it twice.. and again.

 

Well , let's see it . (the evidence that political entities deviously employ psychiatry)

Your diversion from the topic is Evidence#1 . That others divert from the OP is the same .
Perhaps y'all will constitute a neurotic mass .

 

You're correct. I think he posted in another thread too and just forgot.

 

Dabs anyone?

 

That guy is a moron.

 

Conservatives believe what guys like Savage, Jones, Hannity, Limbaugh, and others on the extreme right tell them, and get mad when we question their intellect.

 

The topic is "American Psychiatry: How Much of a Political Tool?" Somewhat nebulous. Seems to me that, as these threads go, we've done a reasonable job of staying on topic. Speaking of diversion, you just dodged my request for some real evidence to back up your assertion.

 

I think I recall the post 6 is talking about. He was responding to my post #20 and I think it said something like: "Are you a mental health professional or just talking smack about me?" And he went on to say the antidepressants his therapist was prescribing were giving him headaches. That was about all I can remember.

No, I wouldn't continue to take it. Did you tell your therapist about the problems? Did (s)he try other anti-depressants? Different ones have different effects on different people. I'm wondering if there was a manic component to your behavior. If you're bipolar and the therapist had you on lithium, the loss of the high during your manic phase ("emotional numbness") might have been frustrating for you.

 

The realization that "psychology is not a hard science" is not exactly an astounding revelation. Yes, the hard sciences are wonderful for what they do, and much more reliable than the behavioral sciences. Trouble is that if you want to gain some understanding of human behavior, including politics and economics, as well as psycho-pathology, the hard sciences won't tell you squat. We can guess or we can make judgements on the basis of the best available evidence, including systematic observations of human behavior. If a person is bothered by behavioral problems like depression, manic episodes, hearing voices, etc., (s)he can tough it out or seek help. The only help available in our society is either the clergy or some medical or psychological therapist trained in psychology or psychiatry. I'd probably take my chances with the secular specialist, with full realization of the limitations of his discipline.

 

It's ironic that you are also dismissive of Rx drugs because they are utilizing hard science by prescribing drugs which target and interact with specific brain regions and neurotransmitters.

Rockets do crash on occasion so no science is absolute in it's predicative powers. Sending rockets to space is more reliable than Rx drugs because Rx drugs are very narrow in their scope of pharmacological action and cannot address the full complexity and interconnectivity of the brain.

Unless you think there is some souped up fMRI tech that can choreograph nano-bots to cure maladies on the horizon, I'm not sure why you are so adamant against Educated and Professional people with advanced understanding in human behavior to be available to those who need/seek it.

 

Yes Sir. That is very true. And there is a new rising star among them. His name is Buck Sexton -- and former CIA credentials I'll have you know! -- When he joined the right wing radio network which I listen to at night, he immediately started selling Black Rifle Coffee because the M-16 is all black don't ya know? And like all the right wing radio chieftains he bad mouths Democrats the entire show each night, and he tells Trump lies often. Sometimes he tells these lies several days before they become a Trump lie, as if he was conditioning the Trump followers for such an issue. When you listen to him on the radio, you can hear him burp after a slug of beer. After several cans of beer, he does sound a little too loose.

 

Maybe it is fetal alcohol syndrome?

 

And then there are the folks to whom the 60s were entirely too good!

 

The well known psychological ploy of narcissistic, authoritarian types is always to create the " others " with which to direct their followers to disdain, to denigrate, to incarcerate, perhaps to torture , to kill, or even merely TO WIN ELECTIONS, and otherwise to maintain themselves as having the "answer,' ---the only answer, to their followers from "on high ", employing the leaders well thought out machinations/imaginations. Thusly, cults of personality are formed and certainly are evident in the present COP we see in Drumpf and his slavish devotees. The political class of his enablers (the republicans, the right wing radio/tv blabbers )are just following in their continuing efforts of supporting/ profiting on/with the high value moneyed class with the certain help of his cult. Bodes ill for the rest of the population, even though most thinking people have long realized how out of balance and just how inequitable the society has become. It's gone from bad to worse and heading to the worst, I'm afraid. Stay tuned--much more ahead.

 

More high holy jabberwocky.

 

There certainly have been attempts to use psychiatry and psychology to manipulate people. Edward Bernays, Freud's nephew, is known as the father of public relations and propaganda for his pioneering work in applying psychoanalytic knowledge to advertising and political messaging: "engineering consent", as he called it. "Whatever of social importance is done today", he said, "whether in politics, finance, manufacture, agriculture, charity, education, or other fields, must be done with the help of propaganda." ( Propaganda, 1928). His notable achievements were to convince women to turn to cigarettes ("helped them lose weight" and "torches of freedom").10 Ways That Freud's Nephew Duped Us All (And Still Does) - Listverse World War I was "keeping the world safe for democracy', ham and eggs were "the all American breakfast", etc. Ironically, one of his disciples was Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's propaganda minister, even though Bernays was Jewish.

The manipulative revolution launched by Bernays grew apace during the fifties, with the rise of Motivational Research (MR) and the Madison Avenue culture captured in the TV series Madmen.
Vance Packard wrote a bestseller about it, The Hidden Persuaders. American capitalism required people to buy products they didn't need, so they had to be persuaded to be dissatisfied or insecure with what they had, by playing on their unconscious needs, wants and anxieties:"Germs. Germs that can cause bad breath, diarrhea..." And provide reassurance of worth. As L'Oreal reminded us:you should have it, "Because you’re worth it!’

And of course this extends into the political arena,as well. Politicians are sold like laundry detergent or breakfast cereal by playing on unconscious, irrational associations. What to do if you're defending the robber barons against the downtrodden and the environment. Make defending the downtrodden and the environment into a bad thing by labeling those who do it "Social Justice Warriors" and "soy boys." Or cry "Class Warfare!" Newt Gingrich , the 'bomb thrower's bomb thrower" used to have training classes to teach his right wing followers what snappy slogans to use. So yes, there is evidence "of politics employing psychiatry to make people mentally imbalanced , then programming these minds to be of service allowing them to feel worthwhile ." But none that you've presented.

 

I present you , fool .

 

Conclusionary. Devoid of substantive content. No facts, explanations, or arguments. In other words, just name calling. The equivalent of "Nanny nanny boo boo".

 

Your writing is the evidence .

People with anti-social or borderline personalities often tend to find an outlet
for their own problems by making problems for others.

I've decided this site is no longer worth my time. Let the right wing or whomever take it over. Who the fuck cares?

"Please don't quit. We Democrats need you here."