# Why psychiatry is a scam **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 30, 2008, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225 "2008-10-30T08:38:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/21 "2008-10-30T12:40:21Z")
> [@placebo](#): > > Not only did you fail to keep the crazy pills from entering your mouth, but also the water supply. Well done. Not that your efforts to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids should take anything away from your indictment of psychiatry. And welcome to you too, General Ripper. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/22 "2008-10-30T12:41:21Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > However, since my hospital visit was technically a \*\*5150 \*\*hold … Great album, but I don’t know if I could listen to it for 72 hours straight. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/23 "2008-10-30T12:42:33Z")
Yes, you know, someone can have psychiatric issues _and also_ encounter extreme incompetence from the psychiatrists they see. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time. A lot of people are going, “Yes, a five-minute diagnosis and a lifetime script for powerful medication is fucked up, but you obviously have issues.” Why can’t it be, “You obviously have issues, but a five-minute diagnosis and and a lifetime script for powerful medication is fucked up”? If this type of procedure is the default response when someone is seen for psychiatric issues, no wonder there is such a mental health problem in society. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/24 "2008-10-30T12:43:02Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > I’m not arguing with the intervention itself. Indeed, it was an Internet friend who called 911 this time (whereas my family held back, since their “Clinton-Era” intervention was so poorly-timed and utterly devastating.) That’s probably why it went so well…from when the cops showed up until they strapped me to the psych ward bed, I was in the throes of ecstasy, believing I was finally riding away on that spaceship to save me from this hellish earth. Only eighteen hours later did I figure out I was in a medical ICU bed instead (which is unusual; my “trips” have never turned into medical emergencies before.) I was quite disappointed there wasn’t really a starship. How come there’s never a starship? > > Bitch, learn to read. I _did_ have psychiatric issues and I _did_ receive help. Why didn’t I seek help earlier? Because once you reach a certain limit, my perception became Perfect Reality – I did not think I had a problem at all. If you ever witnessed or experienced psychosis firsthand, you would know that. I hope you’re saving all of these posts to present to your MD when you go for that ‘second opinion’. Good luck\*\* KGS\*\*, I think you’re going to need it somehow. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/25 "2008-10-30T12:43:30Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > I’m not arguing with the intervention itself. Indeed, it was an Internet friend who called 911 this time (whereas my family held back, since their “Clinton-Era” intervention was so poorly-timed and utterly devastating.) That’s probably why it went so well…from when the cops showed up until they strapped me to the psych ward bed, I was in the throes of ecstasy, believing I was finally riding away on that spaceship to save me from this hellish earth. Only eighteen hours later did I figure out I was in a medical ICU bed instead (which is unusual; my “trips” have never turned into medical emergencies before.) I was quite disappointed there wasn’t really a starship. How come there’s never a starship? Explain the “poor timing” thing. My guess is that they thought it was necessary to do what they did when they did it. Where would timing, poor or otherwise, come into it? ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/26 "2008-10-30T12:47:04Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Explain the “poor timing” thing. My guess is that they thought it was necessary to do what they did when they did it. Where would timing, poor or otherwise, come into it? By “poor timing” I mean that I wasn’t having a psychotic break AT ALL, I was just reacting badly to a very close relationship that suddenly went south. Sure, I went nutty for a bit, but so does anyone under those circumstances. I was actually starting to pull myself back together when the police showed up… ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/27 "2008-10-30T12:53:33Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > By “poor timing” I mean that I wasn’t having a psychotic break AT ALL, I was just reacting badly to a very close relationship that suddenly went south. Sure, I went nutty for a bit, but so does anyone under those circumstances. I was actually starting to pull myself back together when the police showed up… Huh. Your “nuttiness” must have been quite dramatic for someone to want you locked up. The Break-up Blues are common. But if people are concerned enough to request intervention, it’s clearly not what “anyone does under those circumstances.” ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/28 "2008-10-30T12:56:57Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > By “poor timing” I mean that I wasn’t having a psychotic break AT ALL, I was just reacting badly to a very close relationship that suddenly went south. Sure, I went nutty for a bit, but so does anyone under those circumstances. I was actually starting to pull myself back together when the police showed up… When **most** people react badly to a close relationship breaking up, they don’t suffer the delusion/s of heading off on a spaceship necessitating the attendance of the police and a carting off to the psych ward mate. What’s YOUR definition of a psychotic meltdown then?? ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/29 "2008-10-30T12:58:15Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > What’s YOUR definition of a psychotic meltdown then?? Why don’t you tell me? Apparently I’m on the inside looking out, here. P.S. You’re confusing two separate events in your last post. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/30 "2008-10-30T13:08:34Z")
Risperdone, like many other medicines, may take more than one dose to take any real effect. You threw away your entire prescription based on one dose? That’s crazy! (sorry) If your friends have to drag you to the emergency room, you seriously need some damn help. Yes, you should get another opinion, but listen to it and follow it this time. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/31 "2008-10-30T13:09:59Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > By “poor timing” I mean that I wasn’t having a psychotic break AT ALL, I was just reacting badly to a very close relationship that suddenly went south. Sure, I went nutty for a bit, but so does anyone under those circumstances. I was actually starting to pull myself back together when the police showed up… That’s what Jeffrey Dahmer said! ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/32 "2008-10-30T13:10:41Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Why don’t you tell me? Apparently I’m on the inside looking out, here. > > P.S. You’re confusing two separate events in your last post. **KGS** , I’m not here to tussle with you. Mine aren’t ‘fightin’ words, but I just hope and wish that you get to a Dr who knows their shit, and can give you the medical and psychological support that you need right now. 'Cos your posts aren’t coming over all that coherent and I’m worried is all. Cheers and good luck mate! ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/33 "2008-10-30T13:14:10Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Risperdone, like many other medicines, take more than one dose to take any real effect. But it takes only one dose to trigger _side effects_, which I just read up about and now I’m even more pissed. Turns out this poison can actually trigger a sharp spike in blood sugar, which can simulate or even TRIGGER diabetes. No wonder I’m experiencing blurred vision, hot flashes, and profound thirst right now…right after a major CK attack, too! Nice, very nice. (And please, no litany about “Call Your Doctor!”, I’m already scheduled to see him this afternoon.) However, you’re all correct that I shouldn’t have flushed the medication…it’s been ten years since I took any prescribed meds, I forgot that’s no longer kosher. Sorry, fishies. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/34 "2008-10-30T13:16:46Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > **KGS** , I’m not here to tussle with you. Mine aren’t ‘fightin’ words, but I just hope and wish that you get to a Dr who knows their shit, and can give you the medical and psychological support that you need right now. > > 'Cos your posts aren’t coming over all that coherent and I’m worried is all. > > Cheers and good luck mate! No worries friend, and apologies if I came across as too hostile. I’m still a little punch-drunk, having possibly nearly died this weekend and all… ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/35 "2008-10-30T13:25:22Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > When **most** people react badly to a close relationship breaking up, they don’t suffer the delusion/s of heading off on a spaceship necessitating the attendance of the police and a carting off to the psych ward mate. > > What’s YOUR definition of a psychotic meltdown then?? You’re misreading the post… In the 90s, **KGS** got a little goofy when he/she lost this relationship, and the parents had a “poorly-timed” intervention. The other day, **KGS** hadn’t slept in 9 days and an internet friend called 911. He/she was looking forward to the spaceship/ambulance ride. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/36 "2008-10-30T13:33:47Z")
Where’s the scam, here? It sounds like you recognize you were in the midst of a very severe manic episode. It’s 99% likely that you were given a pretty thorough eval during your hospitalization and the prescription was provided by the psychiatrist who treated you, not the social worker. Sounds like you needed care and received it. BTW, manic episodes are not part of Asperger’s Disorder. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/37 "2008-10-30T13:34:10Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > You’re misreading the post… > > In the 90s, **KGS** got a little goofy when he/she lost this relationship, and the parents had a “poorly-timed” intervention. > > The other day, **KGS** hadn’t slept in 9 days and an internet friend called 911. He/she was looking forward to the spaceship/ambulance ride. Oh, of course, sorry to be so obtuse…:smack: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/38 "2008-10-30T13:34:33Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Huh. Your “nuttiness” must have been quite dramatic for someone to want you locked up. The Break-up Blues are common. But if people are concerned enough to request intervention, it’s clearly not what “anyone does under those circumstances.” Oh, I don’t know, some of my inlaws are screwed up enough that I tend to be suspicious if one is calling someone else crazy. I’ve got a sister-in-law who goes “mountain out of a molehill” often enough that (seriously) if she told me that one of her parents was dying right now, I’d suspect they might have some minor ailment. Then there’s my “unmedicated because I love the manic highs and admit it (that make everyone else miserable)” father-in-law with bipolar disorder. He’s managed to lose all but one of his friends due to being a jerk, yet he actually talks about how crazy some of his daughters are and doesn’t seem to get the irony and/or causality? Some families are toxic and/or crazy enough to manage to do the absolute wrong thing in a given situation, including letting someone hang out to dry when they need help and then overreacting at the worst time. Others may feel guilty about their past inaction and flip out at the next sign of potential problems. **KGS** , good luck with getting decent medical help. Hit a website like [MEDLINEplus](http://medlineplus.gov/) and check side effects/interactions before starting a new medication, so that way if something happens you’re aware of the problem more quickly and can call a doctor for advice. Sometimes the drug’s website has more information, if that or the packaging isn’t informational enough. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/39 "2008-10-30T13:45:06Z")
Dammit, took too long editing. Here’s my follow-up. That being said, **Hentor** is probably right about how the prescription came about - the social worker was doing an “exit interview” of sorts and merely passed along the evaluation and prescription. I might question how accurate the evaluation was considering the context - if they apparently didn’t contact your other doctors, they might well **not** have had access to previous records, or only incomplete records (working in the medical field I know how tough it is to get records, figure out where someone’s been seen, etc., even when you have the rights to get the info), so anyway, good on you for continuing your medical care even though you’re pissed at how you were treated then. “ER”-style visits are very much intended to just get you on your feet and have the continuous care-type doctors (i.e., non-ER) actually fix you up, and it sounds like this is what you experienced. It’s like when I broke my wrist; I got an x-ray, a splint not a cast, a scrip for Vicodin (which made me vomit), and sent out with a referral to an orthopedist. They got you out of that episode, gave you a scrip that you had bad side effects from, and sent you out with a referral too. You don’t have to follow all of their recommendations, like I found my own orthopedist and have learned that the one they referred to has had a lot of unsatisfied customers; likewise you should go with a doctor you’re comfortable with. Emergency doctors aren’t always right about their diagnoses, especially if they don’t have your whole history to work with, but they save your life, and it’s the next doctor’s job to really work on what’s wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225/40 "2008-10-30T13:51:19Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Earlier this week, I was hospitalized for [acute creatine kinase](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatine_kinase) – which is, to my understanding, an enzyme that goes awry and starts eating away at your body muscle instead of fat reserves. It’s usually a first indicator of diabetes, but afaik my case was studied closely and I was determined NOT to be diabetic (thank God!!) Apparently my illness was triggered by a 10-day cycle of near-zero sleep…been working on a new novel lately, and this hyper-manic period sometimes results; rarely to this extent, though! (By the way, can you imagine having .9% saline solution pumped through your body for three days straight? SHEER HEAVEN!! I feel soooo relaxed now…) > > However, since my hospital visit was technically a 5150 hold (CA-speak for being 72 hours against your will – the only way my friends could get my spaced-out self into an emergency room) I had to, by procedure, consult with a staff social worker before I could be released. The guy who examined me (if you can even call it that) asked only a few questions, and gave me a 'script for Risperidone (anti-psychotic) _with the statement that I’ll be on it for the rest of my life._ > > He also referred me to some county-paid psychiatrist in West Hills. No specific doctor, just a form with instructions on how to make an appointment. > > All this with less than five minutes consultation. Please, convince me is was not just one big scam. > (By the way, I did take one pill just to see if it got me high. It did not. Flushed the rest.) Have you considered getting audited? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-psychiatry-is-a-scam/470225.md?page=3)