In the episode, "A Growing Collective of Critics From Mental Health Pros to Psychiatric Survivors --A Changing Story on Mental Illness(S4, E15) ," I explore how the movement is indeed growing, and the voices are getting louder. The critics of psychiatry, who represent mental health professionals, psychiatric survivors, the prescribed harm collective, and many others, are speaking out. The new story about mental illness is about reclamation and renewal. But for decades, that’s not what sufferers have been told. Instead, they’ve been told they have a chemical imbalance and a lifelong brain disease. Psychiatry’s power is that of claiming authority that their treatment is the only one to “correct” and manage these symptoms. But thanks to many people coming forth to echo our concerns, an alternative perspective can be revealed.
In 2020, an estimated 14.2 million adults in US dealt with serious mental illness. But isn’t demanding there is only one way to heal, perpetuating the stigma? Oftentimes, patients who seek treatment aren’t encouraged to do anything but listen to the doctor about their label and taking the meds. Relying on a medical interpretation, many psych survivors have their free agency regarding medication and hospitalizations taken away. We are told that if we don’t agree with the doctor, we have lack of insight, which can be enough to provoke involuntary hospitalization. Meanwhile, people who claim they have healed themselves without drugs are shunned by the ones who embrace the meds and the label. But it’s a growing truth for many, and we won’t be quieted.
With statistical studies claiming that mental illnesses can be detectable years before they begin, making weak connections to causality analyzing everything from low birthweight to whether you ever visited a child clinical service, neuroscience is showing that we can in fact heal. It seems that taking the time to pay attention to it can alone be the remedy. With mental illness continually on the rise, can we finally empower people to believe that healing is possible?
#endthestigma #fakeDSM #psychmedsharm #mentalhealth #mentalillness #psychiatricsurvivor #prescribedharm #chemicalimbalance #psychiatryisnotscience #neuroscience #brainwash #psychmedstapering
Don't forget to subscribe to the Not As Crazy As You Think YouTube channel @SicilianoJen
And please visit my website at: www.jengaitasiciliano.com
Connect: Instagram: @ jengaita
LinkedIn: @ jensiciliano
Twitter: @ jsiciliano