Anti-depressants, Kids and Death

It’s time to address, again, the connection between school shootings, other murderous incidents and psychiatric medications.

***********************************************************

In April of 2007, America was horrified by the shootings at Virginia Tech, where over 30 people were slaughtered by a lone gunman with a history of taking psychiatric medications.

More recently, on February 14, 2008, another lone gunman with a history of taking such medications, burst into a geology class at Northern Illinois University, killing 5 students and wounding many others before killing himself.

But these were just the latest in a long string of shootings in past years by individuals taking these drugs: Westside Middle School in 1998, 5 dead; Columbine High School in 1999, 15 dead; Red Lake, Minn. in 2005, 10 dead, to name a few.

MEDIA COVERAGE

It is interesting to note how the news media have treated these incidents through the years. Often it is several days before it comes to light that the killer has been taking some type of psychiatric drug—usually one or more anti-depressants.

With this last incident, however, at Northern Illinois, it was less than 24 hours before the word got out about the shooter’s psychiatric drug history.

Perhaps the reality is beginning to sink in.

As I watched the early reports, I fully expected to hear the news anchor say to the reporter at the scene, “Do they know yet which types of medications the shooter had been taking?”

Based on the history of this type of incident, that would not be an unreasonable assumption. It certainly is always my first thought when confronted with such news.

It is simply a fact that, in nearly every one of these cases, psychiatric medications are involved.

COMMON RATIONALE

Now, I understand the argument that says “Of course he had a psychiatric history, he was mentally unstable.”

It’s true that psychiatrists have positioned themselves as the “experts” in the field of mental health, so any troubled individual will be referred to a psychiatrist for diagnosis and treatment.

But let’s examine the methods psychiatrists use to “treat” these problems, and let’s look at the actual results.

We can start with the fact that, by their own admission, psychiatrists do not claim to know what mental illness is nor do they claim that any cure is possible. (Reference: http://www.flixxy.com/psychiatry-no-science-no-cures.htm)

CATALOG OF MENTAL “DISORDERS”

What they do offer is a laundry list of observed symptoms and behaviors that they consider to be “abnormal.” (See the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – DSM.)

These “disorders” are carefully cataloged and numerically coded for billing purposes. They are actually voted on by psychiatrists for inclusion into the manual. There is no objective test. It is by consensus, by opinion.

So much for the scientific method.

CHEMICAL IMBALANCE

After these labels are dreamed up, the psychiatric profession offers the theory that these “disorders” are caused by an imbalance in one’s “brain chemistry,” for which the inevitable treatment is some kind of drug—one they hope will restore the “brain chemistry” to a “normal” state.

So, let me see if I have this straight.

They don’t really know what mental illness is.

They think it is a chemical imbalance in the brain but they have no medical test or proof of this.

Then the pharmaceutical companies concoct a variety of drugs which the psychiatrists prescribe and administer to alter the chemistry of the brain, not really knowing how they work or what the result will be—except it has become increasingly obvious that a substantial number of people who are given these drugs, particularly young people, will be aggressive or suicidal, and a noticeable number will commit mass murder.

TARGETING CHILDREN

The major tragedy of this situation is that more and more children are being given these drugs. This is setting up the prospect of whole generations mired in this insanity—the insanity of a “solution” that greatly worsens the problem.

In fact, it is already upon us.

“BUT THE DRUGS WORK ON SOME PEOPLE!”

Yes, and a beer might calm you down, or a couple of martini’s at lunch can help you through the day, or a stiff shot of scotch when you get home can take the edge off.

I’ve known pot smokers who swear by it and the 60s offered wonderful pills to pop that made us more “peace loving.” Who can dispute the occasional “good trip?”

But what about the bad trips? What about the ruined lives? What about the late Heath Ledger and Brad Renfroe and River Phoenix and Jimi Hendrix and Janice Joplin and Jim Morrison, and, and, and…

Just watch an E-Channel documentary about some rock group—ANY rock group—and tell me the drugs were a good thing.

Anyone who has looked squarely at this area of people taking drugs and the overall effects, will tell you it is insane and destructive to go down that road. Look at Britney Spears!

Yet, through the drugged-out madness of the 60s and 70s, everyone, including the most depraved rock star, agreed that you do not give mind-altering drugs to kids.

BIG PSYCH/PHARMA

So what does this tell us about the character of the people who are now pushing these drugs into the general populace in the guise of “help?”

Your friendly heroin or cocaine dealer is offering you a “high.” He’ll make you feel “good.” He does it for money. If you O/D at some point, that’s your problem.

The “legitimate” drug industry and the drug-pushing psychiatrist are really in the same business and for the same reason. It is an enormously profitable enterprise.

That they gleefully target school kids, the elderly, pregnant women, toddlers and now even pets, to expand their markets, puts the psych/pharma people into a class by themselves.

The 14th century poet, Dante Alighieri in his Inferno, would have had something choice to say about these folks, but his levels of hell did not go that far down.

SOME LIGHT AT THE END OF A DEEP, DARK TUNNEL

So what do we do about it?

It starts with raising public awareness.

There is more attention being given the problem by some segments of the media and there are people in government who have a genuine concern. They need the help of grass roots public and energized groups to keep this on the front burner.

And enlightened members of the psychiatric community need to work within their own ranks to take responsibility for the profession and clean up the mess.

WHY DO THEY KILL?

It will help greatly if people know exactly what it is about these drugs that turns people into killers.

With that in mind, I have written another blog entry called INHUMAN BEINGS – The Chemicalized Personality.

You might know someone for whom this could bring some clarity and understanding. It could save a life. Pass it on.

Tags: anti-depressants, chemical dependency, drug problem, psychiatric drugs, Psychiatric Medications, school shootings