Dr. Mercola December 08 2007 170,392 views
By Christopher Kent, D.C., J.D.
An article titled “Retail Therapy1” caught my attention. It described the results of a study where “compulsive shoppers” were treated with either the drug Citalopram or a placebo. The lead researcher was thrilled with the results, “Patients said to me: ‘I go to the shopping mall with my friends and I don’t buy anything.’” Well, this patient at least bought something -- the notion that excessive shopping is a disease to be treated with medication.
What constitutes excessive shopping? The article states that one of the subjects “owned 55 cameras.” I once collected cameras. Perhaps that makes me a “victim” of this disease. By the way, the treatment came with a price -- “some side effects, which include loss of sexual desire and sleepiness.” The study further admits, “It is not known why Citalopram is effective for treating compulsive shoppers.” With big pharma seeking new markets for existing drugs, and developing drugs in search of diseases, it is not surprising that many of life’s challenges are no longer considered legitimate components of the human experience, but are now medical conditions amenable to treatment.
The Definition of a Medicalized Society
Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary 2 defines “medicalize” as follows: “To handle or accept as deserving of or appropriate for medical treatment.”
Sato3 offers a more specific definition for medicalization: “A process or a tendency whereby the phenomena which had belonged to other fields like education, law, religion, and so on have been redefined as medical phenomena.”
Examples abound in psychiatry’s code book for psychiatric disorders and “conditions or problems ... which may be a focus of clinical attention and require appropriate coding ...” This remarkable tome is DSM-IV4. DSM-1 was first published in 1952, titled Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
My journey into DSM-IV made me think I had fallen into Alice’s rabbit hole.
Normal Human Experience Now Masqueraded as “Disorders”
Do you have difficulty sleeping after drinking coffee? The problem isn’t a product of your poor judgment in guzzling java immediately before retiring. You are a victim of 292.89 -- Caffeine-Induced Sleep Disorder F15.8. If you reflect on your shyness while tossing and turning, the problem could be the epidemic of 300.23 -- Social Phobia F40.1. Don’t worry. Drug treatment is available.
Unfortunately, if you’re thinking about your place in the cosmos or spiritual issues, you’ve got V62.89 -- Religious or Spiritual Problem Z71.8, and I couldn’t locate a drug for that.
Bad parenting is about to become a thing of the past. It’s not your fault, or your child’s fault. Besides the ubiquitous pandemic of ADHD, there are other disorders you may not be aware of.
Your ill-behaving child may be suffering from 313.81 -- Oppositional Defiant Disorder F91.3. If your child often argues with adults, loses their temper, deliberately annoys people, etc., you’re dealing with ODD. Of course, this must be differentiated from 312.8 -- Conduct Disorder F91.8, and 312.9 -- Disruptive Behavior Disorder Not Otherwise Specified F91.9.
Should the problem be getting along with a brother or sister, the condition is V61.8 -- Sibling Relational Problem F93.3. And should you argue with your spouse about whether the child should be grounded or drugged, you might be looking down the barrel of V61.1 -- Partner Relational Problem Z63.0.
If math homework is a challenge, be sure to check for 315.1 -- Mathematics Disorder F81.2. You must be careful not to confuse this with a V62.3 -- Academic Problem Z55.8. If things are OK in the math department, but you have a teen experiencing uncertainty about life goals, career preferences, values, loyalties, etc., you’re dealing with 313.82 Identity Problem F93.8. This has been downgraded from a “disorder” in DSM-III-R, to a mere “problem” in DSM-IV. I’ll bet that makes you feel better.
A Pill for Every Issue You Don’t Want to Face
A plethora of sexual issues are described as “disorders.” We are all familiar with Bob Dole making erectile dysfunction a household word, with the blue pill offering a solution. But that’s just the tip of the, um, iceberg. If the target of your libidinal interest is ignoring you, the problem may be 302.71 Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder F52.2.
Lest anyone be offended, I will not address the other disorders codified in Chapter 20. Simply be happy that there are solutions that do not require you to address issues in your relationship.
Men can obtain testosterone cream if a doctor determines that it’s “right for you.” The stuff is said to work well. According to an ad in JAMA5, “Sexual enjoyment and satisfaction with erection duration were improved vs. baseline, but these improvements were not significant compared to placebo.” The ad shows a couple dancing, a couple riding a motorcycle, and two pictures of men swinging golf clubs (alone) and smiling.
Perhaps the next version of DSM will have a category for “golf disorders.”
REFERENCES
First, I want to thank Dr. Kent for this article. He is a good friend, and one of the leaders in the chiropractic profession. He runs the Chiropractic Leadership Alliance along with another good friend of mine, Dr. Patrick Gentempo who is one of the leading chiropractic educators in the US today. Patrick and I regularly spend time together and enjoy a brotherly relationship in that we are both aligned in our mission to transform this fatally flawed medical paradigm.
ADHD – The Poster Child of Over-Medication
Dr. Kent is one of the wittiest and brightest medical teachers I know of. His article is a masterful collection of just how much conventional medicine has been able to get away with in creating labels that justify the use of even more unnecessary drugs.
It’s unfortunate that so many get stuck on the issues of ADD/ADHD, and feel singled out when they read about unnecessary drugging, and the over-diagnosing of people’s problems, because the fact remains that a vast majority of these new “disorders” and “dysfunctions” are NORMAL life occurrences, NOT signs of disease that require drug interventions.
ADHD, for example, is a significant and real problem that some people are challenged with. However, the symptoms for diagnosis are so broad and vague that you’re hard-pressed to find a child who doesn’t fit the highly non-specific profile. This of course is used to justify the use of highly toxic and dangerous pharmaceuticals. It is the rare clinician who will address this with simple dietary changes.
About 10 percent of all school age children are “diagnosed” with ADHD. Production of Adderall and Dexedrine, just two of the drugs used to treat ADHD, has risen 2,000 percent in nine years.
And, according to the study Trends in the Prescribing of Psychotropic Medications to Preschoolers, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last February, psychotropic medication use tripled in preschool children ages two to four over a five-year span.
Something about these equations just doesn’t add up.
I just don’t buy the idea that that many of U.S. children are in need of amphetamines to function “normally.” It also strikes me as truly bizarre that our society condemns street-drug amphetamine use, yet has no qualms about giving it in massive doses -- under legalized brand names -- to two-year-olds who are in their prime physical- and mental developmental years.
How Does Disease Mongering Work?
One of the key strategies that make medicalization of society work, is by targeting your news media with stories designed to create fears about the condition or disease, and draw attention to the latest treatment. This has led to problems on several key levels:
Rather than focusing more time and attention on your health as you age, or as you see degeneration setting in, you might settle for a “diagnosis” and the latest medications. The only winners are the ones who profit financially.
Worst of all, many now seek passive medical intervention for both physical and mental wellbeing, rather than actively participating in it.
When symptoms arrive as a result of how poorly you've neglected your body and mind, rather than taking personal responsibility for your own wellness (restoring wholeness) and trusting in the God-given recuperative powers of your body, many seek those who are now only too willing take on this role for you.
As a result of handing over the full authority of your life over to the industry of medicine, the pharmaceutical and medical establishments have become so bloated, profitable and powerful, we're now witnessing it getting completely out of control.
The harm that the present health care delivery system causes now outweighs the good. It's time that balance gets restored -- taking the good of medicine and replacing the bad with new ways of thinking and more appropriate ways of taking care of your body.
How Can You Help Restore Balance?
Dr. Bruce Lipton offers encouraging and enlightening advice on how to do this, and reminds us that conventional medicine is in fact referred to as “the central dogma” in medical schools. And dogma literally means, “A belief based on religious persuasion and not scientific fact.”
How ironic is that?!
We are currently experiencing a parallel view of biological medicine, aptly similar to what happened in 1925 when Newtonian physics -- the concept that a material universe rules the world – was discovered to be completely incorrect; that we do not live in a universe based on matter, but actually a universe based on energy -- because atoms are not made out of “atom,” they’re made out of energy.
Hence, EVERYTHING that is material is made, or created out of energy.
The “new biology” (it’s actually been around for 20 years, but it takes time to turn the tide of brainwashed beliefs) has proven that our current view of biology is just as incorrect as our pre-1925 view that we live in a material universe.
Whereas the current medical dogma states that you are ruled by your genes, and therefore you are at “risk,” you are a victim of your genetic makeup. But the new biology has already dispelled this idea as a myth, a belief that is not based on scientific fact. In truth, your genes do not predispose you to any ONE particular fate. Something else, which you have total control over, rules over your genetic expression!
What is that thing?
Your MIND.
As Dr. Lipton said in my recent interview with him, “… the new biology is going to take us from a world today of crisis and ill health, and a failing environment and world, and take us to another level of masterful control, where we -- in our consciousness and our experiences of life -- will actually have power over our own lives and not be the victims that we were programmed to be.”
You’re in control. All you need to do is to “get with the times,” and accept it.
me too. I try to take reasonably good care of my health, having inherited the gift of 'good genes and good health' from my father's side of the family. After having been given approximately $300 worth of prescriptions, including an asthma inhaler full of cortisone(which I never filled) for a bad bout of the flu several years ago, I simply tell them I'm uninsured and can't afford it. That basically gets them off your case. Sometimes you do need a medical doctor, only sometimes, but in the end you determine your own level of involvement. Using simple, non-drug means to recover from disease, I think, in the greater scheme of things, makes you stronger and healthier simply because you begin taking responsibility for your own health and not cruising till a breakdown.
I think Dr. Mercola suffers from AMMES worse than all of us. They'd better not quarantine him!
I suffer from Being My Own Doctor (BMOD), formerly known as Self Reliance (SR). I refuse all treatment.
While we twiddle our thumbs, the plan goes into effect.
The plan, outlined by Aldous Huxley many decades ago:
cuttingthroughthematrix.net/.../Alan_Watt_CTTM_LIVEonRBN_48_They_Grow_Your_Culture__So_Pick_Your_Cult_Dec072007.mp3
Here a college professor casually explains the method for lobotomizing 6 billion people using weak EMF. Note how the students just take notes dutifully. Maybe mass tranquilization is not necessary:
opposingdigits.com/vlog
Anathema - I was so touched by all you have said - I know some of the frustration that you are feeling. My daughter hasADHD and I can't tell you how many times I got bad looks or someone would step in and tell my child to do what I JUST told her not to do (in fear of keeping her in control) and even offering candy when she would act up (as if that will help anyone!) I have found that SO MANY believe that they have all the answers when it comes to parenting a child, but have also noticed that the very best of parents don't offer unless they are asked (that, alone, says a lot) Also, I have a child with CP and I, also,worry about his vulnerability when I am gone. I have trouble sleeping most nights and many morning I wake up crying. I am in a spot of not trusing doctors (because of MANY bad experiences) and wanting to believe that good doctors do exist because there are times when they are necessary. A person who is not experiencing this type of situation could EVER begin to understand the frustration and pain involved. One would think that blame and criticism should easily be replaced with empathy, but I find (so often)that is not the case. Best Wishes...
Oh, how I understand. My oldest, with ADD, finally graduated from high school when he was twenty. Doctors gave him Ritlin twice. He had bad reactions. I pulled him off fast both times. It's never been easy. He has learned to structure his work life and eat a hypoglycemic diet. He's built his own small art business on the internet and gotten some international recognition. He's working on his MFA at the other end of the country now. My autistic son is nearly 34. He too has a seizure disorder. I feel bitter about the drugs that have been foisted on him in residential care, not by the program but by the physicians. Prozac started the seizuring. Risperdal made him gain 60 lbs. Keppra made him violent. Haldol made him disconnect more than before. Now, a new doctor claims, at 33, he is sczophrenic which is absurd. They've got him on Abilify which, as with Risperdal, is contraindicated for those with familial diabetes. It's rampant on both sides with his father having died from the complications. I don't know what they are going to give him next. I cannot physically care for a 6'1" 200 lb man no matter how much I'd like to. I'm caring for my mom. He's usually sweet but stubborn. I pick and choose the windmills to tilt at. How do I second-guess the doctors?
Hi Anathema. I thought you might be interested in article written by a mother of an ADHD child that I found when researching natural therapies for ADHD on request of one of my customers. This mother has had very good success with using magnesium sulphate (Epsom Salt) in eliminating her son's over activeness and settling his mood. She did her trials and found that after a week of daily treatment (2 cups of Epsom salt in a hot bath, in which he soaked for 15 minutes) she was able to pull it back to a treatment every other day. The magnesium in this form is abosorbed through the skin and into the blood stream. Magnesium is vital for correct nervous system function amoungst other things. It might help with your daughter's seizures, I'm not 100% sure on this but a seizure can be from a misfire or cross-connection of nerve pathways, so it might help.
I told my customer this information and she never needed me to develop anything for her in the end. I like it when I can make my customers life easier and for them to do so safely and as cheaply as possible.
I hope this will be of some help.
Anathema, many people realize there must be legitimate conditions in some children and I'm sure that even the doctors sounding the alarm because of overdiagnosing and overmedicating children is not intended to minimize a real situation. Try not to take it personal. Most of us that have been in personal situations where parents claim their child is ADHD(and blame the so-called disorder)can also see that some of these children have parents that will not set boundaries. If the shoe doesn't fit, don't wear it. Just think of all of the children that are being medicated simply because their parents, or single parent, is distracted or unwilling to do any real parenting. These same situations also leave a child vulnerable to not being fed properly because of the same distraction, unwillingness, or even lack of understanding on the part of an unprepared parent.
I hear you loud and clear. My 5 yr old was diagnosed with ADHD. I am trying to deal with it without drugs, but it is very challenging and exhausting!!! He is like a tornado wrapped inside a hurricane!! You sound very devoted and I tip my hat to you.
I truly do understand where you are coming from but I also agree with Dr. Mercola on this one. My son was diagnosed with ADHD and autism at a very young age. My husband refused to put him on any medication although I have to admit that I wanted to some of the time. Then we got serious about doing everything that we could naturally without drugs. We used a very healthy diet, daily exercise, vitamin and mineral supplements, tough love (and soft love), tutoring, and constant reinforcement and sure enough, after many years, my son is a high functioning teen in a college prep high school who consistently gets all A's and is a member of the National Honor Society. Here is a boy that wasn't suppose to "graduate" from 1st grade! No one believes now that he has learning disabilities, social challenges or ever had behavioral issues, but aside from the behavioral issues (which are gone) the learning and social challenges are still there but he's functioning within the norm now. We still role play every social situation that we can, we encourage social interactions with friends, and we keep his environment very safe and structured. As I said, we had a lot of tough years leading us to the current time period, but now my son has a chance. I guess my message to you would be to not throw in the towel with holistic and natural medicines....it does work and my son is proof, but it may just take a longer time to see the results. Good luck.
Anathema,
I am the parent of children with ADHD, I teach children with ADHD and I also was recently diagnosed with ADHD. I found this article to be extremely ignorant and offensive. Obviously there is an agenda here. I began taking medicine after struggling with ADHAD for 44 years. It was like I was blind and can now see. I could write a book on the problems I have had all of my life, struggling with this "ridiculous disoredr" (as stated so smugly by the above article.) My college-age daughter went from receiving D's and Fs, almost dropping out and worse, wanting to end her life, to climbing to the top of the dean's list and receivng a scholarship on medication. Each day I see kids get suspended from school or drop out with failing grades because they absolutely cannot focus and either sit and do nothing or blatantly cross the line. I am appalled that the author of the above articles points to parenting as the cause. This person was obviously fortunate enough not to have had personal experience with ADHD. Before going on meds I tried natural foods, eliminating foods, natural hormone replacement, chiropractic (they almost killed me! Oh....and by the way, chiropractors misdiagnosed my husband. Worked on his "sore shoulder" for years...missed the fact that he had a malignant pancoast lung tumor. It spread to his brain and he has been dead for 13 years. So please don't even GO there with me.)
Keep your chin up, Anathema. You are obviously doing the best you can do. do not let morons who have NO IDEA what a typical day is like for you tell you what you are doing wrong.
This article has good points on how we are tricked into taking a bunch of "not helpful" medication. But, the problem is that illnesses really are on the rise and in epidemic proportions. Lyme disease and toxins seem to be the main cause. They damage areas of your immune system, allowing many pathogens and toxins to stock-pile in you, causing many different illnesses, to include ADHD, and autism. Thus check into research on "autism lyme", and "lyme-ADHD", and you will learn several options on how to rid them of these diagnoses. This goes for all illnesses. There are many ways to rid illnesses that one's doctor won't mention, mostly due to "not-knowing", but also probably fear.
Here, here I totally agree with you! To just say that all they need to do is follow a special diet and it will be all right it ridiculous! Yes, there are those that probably could benefit greatly from an altered diet, but for those that truly suffer with it-they need that extra help not a heavy dose of guilt by others who really don't know what it is like for a child with true ADHD.
I am a good mom too. I do not believe that we need to take a pill for everything that ails us, that good nutrient, sleep, play etc are good for children. My kids love their veggies and fruits, they don't have all the video games to play with, they are very physically involved in sports and yet I have one who can not function academically without the help of medication. He is not physically hyper so you would not know that he is ADHD but his mind is going so fast and pays attention to everything that he can only “stand still”, if you will.
It’s easy to rant and rave over these things and for the most part I agree. We must remember that there is always a time and place that medications are needed and warranted. We have to remember that so we are not just "beating up" people and causing more problems for them. It's kind of like the young adult that is not married and has no children that wants to tell parents of four how easy it is to do (fill in the blank). When we do this, we lose credibility with others because of our naïveness.
Please remember that not ALL diagnoses of ADHD are bogus, nor are all “cured” by a diet or other regime. If they are perhaps those are the ones that are not true ADHDers.
Anathema, I wanted to say that I totally agree with you. My oldest has ADHD and is currently not medicated. We got 2nd, 3rd and 4th opinions, ruled out other learning disorders and neuroligcal problems our diet is good, he has had excellent tuturing, gets lots of exercise and sleep, gets 1:1 help with homework, I switched to working at home so that I could be there more for him, we use charts, schedules, incentives, etc. and all of the best intentions in the world can't change the fact that for most of his school day, he lives on another planet in his head and cannot mentally attend to things long enough to learn. I don't think ADHD is 'over-diagnosed' - I think we are seeing an epidemic of pediatric neurological problems created by, well take your pick - vaccines? food additives? chemicals in our food chain? diary hormones? Like you I think that ADHD is a symptom of something else - too bad I can't afford the $5- $10K out of pocket to go to one of the more advanced comprehensive diagnostic centers to find out what I can do.
A woman here was kind enough to respond to a post from me a couple of weeks ago and recommended NRT (Nutrition Response Testing). A naturopath in my area does initial testing for $120 with follow up visits for $30. The real expense will be the whole food supplements they recommend - we just went yesterday so I don't know what they will recommend but it will be good to have someone recommend specific things at specific doses for specific results over a given period of time. Hopefully this will be the end of my fridge and cabinets full of supplements that I had no idea what to do with and got no results from. Anyway, it is a bit of an expense but certainly not the astronomical expense of other alternative treatments and may be an option for your child. My brother has a seizure disorder and I definitely think there is a link between different neurological problems in my family. You have your hands full - good luck!
Anathema, do your children have mercury fillings? Mercury can cause these symptoms. If so please get them replaced with white composite fillings. Also make sure they don't eat fish or get vaccinated, both of which have high amounts of mercury. Make sure your drinking water is mercury- and lead-free.
I believe that toxins are the root of all disease. Mercury, lead and other toxins can cause these symptoms. I hope that helps. Wish you all the best.
From your response it is clear that you haven't, and still aren't having an easy time, and because of your overwhelming situation it is possible that you have not fully understood Dr. Kent's article. He correctly chooses the right tone to demonstrate exactly how ridiculous is the process psychiatry uses to decide something is a "disorder". They literally just sit around and vote to decide if it is a "disorder" and put it in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. That is it. They don't have any scruples in providing any scientific proof or facts to back up what they claim. The diadgnosis process is simply searching for behavior that is usually normal for any kid. That is why the "disorder" that psychiatry has created, ADHD, does not exist. That does not mean that you and your children are not suffering. Yet, we all have to be careful, not only you, not because we are weak willed people and for this others can feel morally superior, but because since we as a society have decided that they are the experts on this matter. We have to come to understand this error, for it is a deadly choice. This is the true beginning to finding a solution: KNOW WHO WE ARE DEALING WITH! If you research the history of psyciatry, you will discover how they have demeaned all humanity, and it is psychiatry itself that puts you in a position where you feel that you do not have any choices. Yet, you do have a choice. You don not need so called "experts" telling you what to do with your children You, who are with your children every day know better than anyone else what is wrong, and know what works for them. The first step is knowing the right information.
There is an organisation that beats epilepsy without medicines.
Then why is it that so many people are refused coverage for legitimate and sometimes very serious illness or injury? Was it just coded wrong? Hardly!
More on this another time.
I just want to stress that among the original intentions of creating a DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), which is the criteria by which symptoms are classified into "labels" for "emotional disorders," was simply to create a shorthand of sorts to communicate about a range of symptoms. In other words, if a group of symptoms tends to show up often enough, it may merit a diagnostic label such as those referred to in this article. But my response is: "So what?"
I happen to be a professional and licensed psychotherapist. I treat symptoms, not disorders. For the record, I do not prescribe medications--not because I absolutely DON'T endorse them (though I do believe they are often overused and abused), but because I am not licensed to prescribe. I am neither in full support of or fully opposed to the use of psychotropic medications, but that is really not even the point of my comments.
I am not a big fan of "labels," but when I must use them, I minimize any inherent significance they may have and focus on treating the symptoms. The symptoms would exist regardless of what you call them. Whether or not there are better ways to treat the group of symptoms (i.e. the "disorder"), you still have to know what symptoms you are dealing with in the first place--thus the labels.
I suggest that making a mockery of the symptoms (labels) does not serve to help those who struggle with those symptoms. Perhaps suggestions on what to do about those symptoms (which are very real to those who suffer with them) could be made without making a mockery of the symptoms, which may leave many people feeling mocked themselves or shamed for their personal struggles.
This point is well taken
I work in an inpatient facility for teen boys put there as an alternative to juvenile prison
I have to have some diagnostic code to describe a problem in order for them to remain in our facility rather than return to REAL prison.
Most of my boys are terribly wounded by a personal history of abuse so vile that it is incomprehensible. They would be destroyed in prison
We do not medicate except when needed for real and measurable symptoms.But how nice that I can abreviate as ODD oppositional defiant disorder and not have to say---" angry and unruly due to being abused as a child with cigar burns and watching his family beat his sister to death in front of him"
Don't assume that all codes are used to make things sound worse than they are
Treating is frequently complicated -sorry we have to condense life into a computer data sheet to get paid or help someone
Thank you, Shesamazing. I have Asperger's Syndrome, which is a high functioning form of autism. Nothing wrong with me - most people don't even know I have it (the only ones who do are ones I've told!). It's taken years, but I do at last accept it as who I am, and to be honest it's a good thing - it means I see things a little differently than the mainstream, and although there are times when it can get tough it's mostly brilliant. Plus it explains all my little quirks. I can't do maths to save myself but my written language is far above average, I can learn languages fluently within a month or two, my music is brilliant... some of the best minds in history had AS so I take it as a compliment! Certainly not a 'disorder' or 'disease' or something that 'needs a cure'.
If everyone was the same then the world would be incredibly dull and boring - what would be the point? Diversity is what makes this ride so interesting. So what if you've got ADHD, or epilepsy, or you're a bit autistic, or you're blind... you make the most of what you have and do things as best you can. Nobody's perfect, but variety is the spice of life!
Shesa...
There are so many degrees of Autism (as well as Asperger's). It is a unique disability and requires a great deal of understanding. These are my most difficult students because they sometimes do not appear to have a disability and then teachers feed off of bullsh-t like the above article and condemn these kids because they "are just used to getting their own way" or "they just need to learn how to act."