I've had good and bad experiences in this industry. I agree with your ethics assertion. I would contend that the field is presently dominated by the non-ethical. All of these silly overused diagnoses of ADD and ADHD point to that. I don't see these diagnoses as advances..I see them as crutches, setbacks, and stigmatizing. I believe them to absolutely be financial opportunities for unethical people.
From a personal standpoint, I've seen a close relative sucked into a black hole of a system. Diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, he was prescribed so many meds when he was living outside of institutions and halfway houses it would be nearly impossible for the meds to be administered properly in the most controlled environment. To ask a mentally ill person to take double-digit meds at prescribed times with successful intentions is patently silly. I believe that he became a guinea pig and a permanent institutional figure by design. In seeing the meds, my sister, a PHD in this field, saw meds to counteract other meds.
I believe ADD and ADHD are diagnosed with similar ethics and callousness. The notion that if we're not always focused we're mentally ill or have a learning disability is silly and dangerous. The notion that if a child is hyperactive he/she is mentally ill is more dangerous and sillier. Like Brick said so perfectly, this is clearly a catch-all "condition".
Maybe I talk in platitudes. But I'm around the effects of the gross overreaching that is ADHD. I mentor a third grade class and help with students who are behind in reading. I see ritalin as a substitute for parenting. I can pick the children out of my class on it blindfolded. As a rule, they are relatively lethargic and mostly behind. They also gravitate to individual attention because as a rule, they don't get it at home. They are simply slower to react. Very very sad.
Concerning bipolar. I'm listening to what's being said in here because I don't have the same amount of exposure to people diagnosed with the "condition". The reason I come to the same conclusion is that I believe it's being diagnosed with the same breakneck speed that ADHD is. Therefore, I see the same ethics.
I hope Delonte gets traded to a strong organization. I think Cleveland has a strong organization. But I think tolerating the behavior (just the three gun episode) with what appears to be a close team sends the wrong message. He seems like a good kid. He needs definite consequences.
It really isn't the schools that benefit from this, though, as Neurotic Guy pointed out -
I wholeheartedly disagree with that assertion. But the your post is excellent. There is a definite financial windfall to public schools with children "afflicted" with this "illness".
I appreciate your explanation and am sorry to hear about your experiences. Unfortunately many people with schizophrenia never recover or live a normal life, no matter what type of treatment they receive. The drugs have a large number of serious side effects, especially the traditional "typical" antipsychotics. These side effects are called "extrapyramidal effects" and affect motor control/movement, leading to problems similar to those in parkinson's patients. The newer "atypical" antipsychotics also have some other major side effects including weight gain immunosystem problems. Psychiatrists often have to try various combinations of these antipsychotics at various doses until they can hit upon something that works for a particular person because schizophrenia is a highly variable disease. In fact, many psychiatrists are now calling for the term "schizophrenia" to be changed because they believe that there are a number of different diseases and not one "schizophrenia", so you can imagine how difficult it must be to treat it. In addition, no one really knows how any of the antipsychotics work to relieve the symptoms. They have some ideas, but there is no definitive mechanism as to how any of the drugs help relieve schizophrenic symptoms. That may explain all of the medications your friend had received and why they never really helped.
As for bipolar disorder, lithium is by far the most effective treatment and people with the disorder can lead normal, productive lives if they stay on proper medication. The problem with lithium however is it is highly toxic over time and eventually leads to renal failure and death (in a ~20-30 year period). Newer mood stabilizers such as valproic acid can be combined with lower doses of lithium or even often used successfully in place of lithium to prevent toxicity. Again, the actual mechanism by which lithium relieves symptoms of BD is not known. There is current research indicating it can affect the circadian rhythm in people with BD through a molecule called GSK3beta, and that in turn may "correct" the circadian rhythm of people with BD and improve their emotional and cognitive function.
Both SZ and BD are real, biological diseases and are not overdiagnosed. A diagnosis of either one carries a very heavy stigma that will remain for life. The diagnosis is not easily handed out, and most people don't want it. It also comes with some very nasty medications, and they do make people "numb", "slow", and sick. Although treatment is far from perfect, it is much, much better than even 30 years ago, and is rapidly improving.
I hope this helps.
Topic: More trouble with Delonte West (Read 20028 times)