Some Thoughts About Antipsychiatry Literature

By Brian Disagree

Electroshock:Its Brain-Disabling Effects
by Peter Breggin, M.D.

I have had the misfortune to witness the effects of electro-convulsive "therapy" (ECT) minutes after the dangerous act was committed. It was a sight that still haunts me today and one I wish no one to ever had to see, much less experience. Peter Breggin proves how disgusting ECT and the whole psychiatric industry are in this great piece of literature.

He also documents the sexism inherent in the way ECT is used, citing studies that covertly investigated more women than men, so that when the end result came it was obviously going to be very distorted because the study wasn't equal in the first place. The findings, essentially, said that woman would more often benefit from ECT then men because it "helps" them more and because they say they have "less use" for their brains.

Without naming it as such, Peter has also documented class prejudice in ECT use. People who have, or want, "good jobs" in which they need their mental functions quite a lot (who doesn't need their brain??) are found to have "less use" for ECT. This is because ECT damages your brain cells quite severely. So, basically, if you wanna be a doctor you're probably less likely to recieve ECT then if you wanted to work at your local fast food chain operating the cash register, making milkshakes or flippin' burgers.

I did notice that Peter doesn't bring up anything to do with homosexuality or race. Quite a few straight males think that homosexuality is a sin (or an act of the devil), a disease, or in some other way unnatural. So it wouldn't surprise me to hear of someone who is openly gay in a hospital, be it private or public or in a mental institution, having his or her brain zapped to hell while the "doctor" tries to relieve him or her of his sexual orientation. An orientation as natural to the person involved as it is in the animal kingdom.

Psychiatrists believe it's okay to have a little brain damage, because it means you're getting "better" if you don't show any signs of depression or schizophrenia but instead exhibit the effects of ECT. Of course, the facts are otherwise. ECT doesn't just cause a little damage. It causes huge amounts of damage which could erase years of data stored in your brain. Not only that, there is always the chance (1 in 1,000) that you might even die from the procedure.

It is disgusting that psychiatrists say it's okay to damage a few brain cells (usually against your own will or when you're not even in a state to consent to such a procedure) to rid yourself of the bad. (Who says what is bad? The doctor?). In the end you'll be worse off than you were if you had depression or what they call schizophrenia. Can you imagine waking up from the procedure never again to know who you are or recognize the faces of friends and family?

I honestly find the whole concept of ECT disgusting; in fact, I find the whole psychiatric industry disgusting. I didn't even have to read this book or know that there was a anti-psychiatry movement out there. It was just too obvious that psychiatry and everything to do with it needs to be abolished.

Have you ever done something bad as a child or even as an adult? And, didn't want to Ôfess up to it? That's very natural, right? It's okay to do such things as long as they do no harm towards anyone else. However, within this book Peter proves that psychiatrists are not only willing to hide the bad acts of their colleagues, but are also unwilling to come to terms with the enormity of the harm caused by ECT. Some admit that ECT harms their patients, but even they refuse to come to full agreement that it actually does huge amounts of damage. I believe this is because they don't wish to let people know their profession is a failure — and not only their profession, but themselves. They are willing to compromise the lives of others for their own selfish reasons, and to hide the real facts and the lack willingness to Ôfess up to their mad deeds. These aren't doctors; they are mad scientists out to torture anyone they come in contact with, and they need to be stopped.

If you've ever been depressed or heard things that weren't "normal" (or what the mainstream society thinks of as normal), then you may well know how disgusting the psychiatric industry is. Not only can they load you up on drugs against your will, but after that if they want to give you ECT they can easily coherce you into treatment (or forcibly give it to you). If you've ever been on psychiatric drugs you'll know where I'm coming from. If you are different from them, they will continually tell you that your difference isn't normal; that you don't fit into mainstream society. Eventually, after hearing it so many times, you may believe it yourself and agree to the brain-deadening treatment, only to end up with horrible things happening.

The psychiatric industry isn't there to cure your problems or to help you. It's there to ruin your life. Have you ever had a mohawk, or do you do things different then mainstream society? Okay, I'll tell you what I do. I like to roll down stairs like a log. I enjoy it too. Who cares if I break a rib or bust a knee cap? (However, I've never really hurt myself badly.) It's fun! But society isn't going to take this act of fun lightly. They are going to think I need psychiatric drugs or ECT or, even worse, a lobotomy. Just because I'm different and would rather roll downstairs than play volleyball, my well-being is in danger. Not because of myself, but because of these so-called doctors.

The psychiatric industry has never found a cure for a "mental illness." If the industry continues to use mind-killing treatments like ECT and also psychiatric drugs, it will keep turning normal humans into absolute zombies, hurting the exact people it exists to "help."

I agree with Peter believe the biological psychiatry industry needs to be stopped, and so do thousands upon thousands of people out there who are educated about the real facts behind the industry.

I don't have any real qualms with this book other than the fact that Peter says people should have the choice of whether they want to have ECT done to them or not. Excuse me? Sure, if people want to build their own ECT machine, go for it. But, in a hospital that is profiting off the harm that is done to them? Forget that. Why should a hospital profit off of screwing with someone's head and harming it? I don't agree with that.

Peter is a great writer and not only writes very eloquently (this is an advanced book) but is a very intelligent person, unlike the doctors who he speaks of in Electroshock: Its Brain-Disabling Effect. This book is mind-wrenching, making very heavy use of advanced vocabulary. This book gets my recommendation.

Talking Back To Prozac
by Peter R. Breggin, M.D. and Ginger Ross Breggin

This was a very enjoyable read and seemed to flow very quickly. My mind never wandered like it usually does; it stuck to the pages like a fly to glue.

I'll bet Eli Lilly and Co., the drug company that makes Prozac would like to sue the Breggins. But what can they do? They surely can't sue for slander, because Peter and Ginger backs their facts up well. On the contrary, they could probably start a worldwide suit against the company in the hope of bankrupting them. Unfortunately, this wouldn't work, because Lilly has billions and is in bed with the government.

Lilly doesn't care that its drug not only doesn't help people but, in quite a few instances, has caused them to kill themselves or others. The Breggins thoroughly document the fact that Prozac and similar drugs hurt your brain. And, honestly, we humans don't know yet what happens after the brain is hurt as much as these drugs hurt it.

I myself, after reading all the information the Breggins have provided, am hurt that psychiatrists in my past would even put me on this drug. I am hurt they would not only put my life in jeopardy, but my brain as well. Prozac made me try and kill myself. I drank a bunch of anti-freeze. And I found this weird at the time, because it was an impulsive suicide attempt, not a planned one.

The Breggins prove inside this book that Prozac can actually make you do such a thing. Of course, he didn't need to tell me this personally, because I knew it all along. I mean, what drug that is supposed to "help" you makes you even more depressed and suicidal? No drug is supposed to do that. Prozac helped ruin the first relationship I ever had with a girl. A very special girl. I will never forget her.

To get back to the book: the Breggins also document the fact that Eli Lilly and Co. uses its political power to push the FDA (the US government agency responsible for approving new drugs) to approve their drugs quickly, with a very little information and inadequate testing to prove not only that it works, but that it doesn't do major harm. Furthermore,they prove that Eli Lilly has tried to use its considerable financial power to pay off people in court cases. The FDA is supposed to help the American people, but instead it helps drug companies like Eli Lilly and Co. Shame!

At the end of the book, the Breggins talk about curing depression from within, not just by yourself but with the love of others and the empathy and compassion of a psychiatrist (but I'm sure anyone will do).

I found Talking Back To Prozac simply amazing. Not only did do the Breggins dis-spell the myth that depression is a chemical imbalance; they also prove that humans naturally get depressed, be it severely or less severely, when something bad happens to them. Depression is a natural thing. We should all realize that, and work naturally to fix it. With the love and compassion of others, hopefully we can survive it, as tough as it will be.