Reddit reviews The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry

Is it the Book of Woe? ?

I suggest you read ADHD Does Not Exist by Dr. Richard Saul. The Book of Woe by Dr. Gary Greenberg is another enlightening book about mental illness.

Go tell your doctor that you’re crushing & snorting your Ritalin, and taking far more than you’ve been instructed to take. Your doctor could put you on Strattera, or some other non-stimulant medication. Or, you can try to manage your symptoms without medication.

I was diagnosed with ADHD, too. I also snorted my Ritalin. Today, my personal belief is that “ADHD” is a very much a bullshit disorder, and giving people stimulant medication does more harm than good, more often than not. People like us, who like to snort our Ritalin, should not be prescribed Ritalin.

I recall reading (somewhere) that stimulant drugs help with ADHD symptoms...very temporarily. After you’ve been taking methylphenidate or dextroamphetamine for six months, you’re no better than you were BEFORE you started taking it; you’re just drug-dependent.

No, I agree with Thomas Szasz (www.szasz.com) that psychiatric illnesses are metaphors, and that they can't be objectively identified like actual illnesses.

I've read his books. Have you studied him, or the other (non-Scientologist etc.) serious critics of psychiatry? Maybe some of the recent well-reviewed books on the topic?

Like The Book of Woe by Gary Greenberg? [1] Anything by Peter Breggin?

Or are you just going to nip at me like a small cat?

[1]http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Woe-Unmaking-Psychiatry/dp/0399158537

Thank you for your well-wishes. I have been practicing vipassana and attending retreats for about eight years now, and only this most recent retreat had the most intense "mystical" experiences, most of which I discarded as sensation, sound, etc. I felt safe the entire time as my sangha is extremely supportive, compassionate and kind, and they have an openeness toward mental health issues that other sanghas might not (they also have a big recovery community -- in fact most people are former punks now in recovery from their addictions). I'm well aware of the dangers of vipassana retreats for people like me, however a bunch of the teachers know me by now and are also aware of my condition. I even got to talk to Noah Levine, the founder of the community, about my psychosis, and he was really chill. It takes a loving, warm compassionate environment to safely navigate these experiences.

As it comes to "social justice to the P-doc's office" it's not quite so simple as that. I've had wonderful relationships with psychiatrists and general prescribers who were willing to understand and listen. I have not and have never been diagnosed with schizophrenia. It's always been a tossup between Bipolar and Major Depression with psychotic symptoms (psychotic depression).

My first major episode was induced by a medication for bipolar, when I was fifteen and thought I only had depression. I fought with my parents when I became a teen, became very anti-authority, had insomnia, internet addiction and depression directly post-9/11 and my parents thought my rebellion against them (somewhat traditional people) was unusual. They told my first psychiatrist of my behaviors and without really speaking to me the psychiatrist decided I had bipolar and gave me depakote. That's my major beef with psychiatrists and trying to tell them that my first episode was induced by medication. When I got out of that first hospitalization, I was given the diagnosis "Major Depression with psychotic symptoms." however I have to deal with a broken system that makes you change your psychiatrist constantly based on insurance, etc. They're damned ready to tell me "it was going to happen anyway," and give me more bipolar meds, or deny that it's MD with PS. I feel no. No, had I not been inaccurately prescribed an epilepsy medication which was pushed by pharmaceuticals during the 2003 era of bipolar popularity (see the book "Book of Woe: the DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry"), then I would never have had psychosis, and I would not be writing these posts. My feeling of being "victimized" is much less so than it was then, because I am empowered by my story which I have shared with many and I have made many connections in the mental health community, as well as in mindfulness-based mental health. I've already gotten future career opportunities offered to me for when I finally graduate. I see Eleanor Longden (see her TED talk) as a source of inspiration that I too can help be a part of a movement which is growing to redefine psychosis, (see websites like Mad in America) in a more compassionate way. I have a professor who told me the language of psychosis is currently shifting. I believe I can be a part of this.

tl;dr I have been doing vipassana long enough and never had a break while on retreat or a result of a retreat, and I am a part of a very loving and compassionate recovery-based sangha. My "social justice" regarding psychiatry isn't quite so simple; I'm aware of the pitfalls of trying to change a system, of course I was being hyperbolic when I said I want to "change" things. sorry, I am notoriously long-winded and verbose

edit: a few words and links