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Old Nov 16, 2014, 01:36 PM
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vital vital is offline
Grand Poohbah
 
Member Since: Oct 2014
Location: Boston
Posts: 1,589
Quote:
Originally Posted by zinco14532323 View Post
I am sure that is true for lots of people. I am not sure it is fair to say that about a lot of people who come to this site. Usually they are venting and looking for understanding and we don't really know what all they have tried and are doing.
This is possibly my most important point, I think, zinco. If someone asks me for advice and they are depressed and doing nothing but taking drugs, I feel morally obliged to point out that there are alternatives that always should be tried. I think it essentially never makes sense to take drugs alone for depression.

Quote:
Originally Posted by zinco14532323 View Post
You don't think his statements about universities, NIH, NIMH, the AMA, the American Psychiatric Association, all being totally corrupted by big pharma is extreme? Big Pharma is the puppet master and the whole community dances to their tune? He is disparaging a lot of people.
I do find these claims shocking, but, very unfortunately, apparently justified. See this article in Nature

Paxil study under fire : Nature News

Healy estimates that up to 50% of the "scientific" literature on drugs is ghostwritten by drug companies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Healy_(psychiatrist)

This is just a video, but it makes detailed disturbing claims which are not dismissible without an investigation



including

o Corrupted or ghostwritten scientific studies
o Disease/drug combinations created with marketing campaigns like SAD/Paxil
o The relationship between the fragmentation of the DSM and the drug approval process
o Underinforming patients of the risks of drug dependence, side effects, long term toxicity and severe withdrawal symptoms

It's not my field, but I am a scientist myself and I find corruption of science to be very, very disturbing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by zinco14532323 View Post
I see a lot of good work coming out of universities. Psychiatry is a medical profession. Of course they focus on biology. A psychiatrist has to become a medical doctor first, then even more school. Psychology is a different field although they overlap and should work together.
There are many wonderful and brilliant and honest medical professionals doing great work at universities. I totally agree.