ryubyss@yahoo.com

Below is an article in the _PASADENA
WEEKLY_ about the ongoing Fast for
Freedom in Mental Health. The hunger
strikers are now in DAY 9 protesting the
drug company takeover of mental health.

Please forward this, especially to media.

The hunger strikers are encouraging everyone
-- especially media -- to ask the American
Psychiatric Association to comment.

CONTACT the American Psychiatric Association's
PR director Laurie Oseran at LOseran@psych.org or
her direct phone number (703) 907-8540.

For more info: http://www.MindFreedom.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~

23 August 2003

Mad as hell

Hunger strikers protest drug industry's
stranglehold on psychiatry

http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cityBeat/citybeat2.html

By Michel Cicero

Last weekend, five people left their homes in
various parts of the country to starve themselves
in Pasadena. As ex-psychiatric patients, they're
having trouble swallowing the theory that all and
sundry human emotional disturbances are
biologically rooted and best handled with
medication.

Using the time-tested hunger strike as a
mechanism for change, they intend to rattle the
main institutions of psychiatry -- namely the
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI),
the American Psychiatry Association and the US
Surgeon General -- into coughing up some real
scientific evidence to support the prevailing
medical model in mental health treatment.

The hunger strike, or "fast," is sponsored by
Mind Freedom Support Coalition International, a
human rights umbrella organization that advocates
for individuals who have suffered under the care
of the mental health system. Prior to the fast,
Mind Freedom called more than 9,000 supporters to
action, urging them to contact the target
institutions for answers. A phone call to NAMI
confirmed that media relations personnel were
unavailable to respond to the deluge of calls
they received. As of press time, no one from NAMI
returned a call from the Weekly.

Pasadena resident and Mind Freedom member Mickey
Weinberg, one of the fast's organizers, along
with solidarity strikers throughout the US and
abroad, will join the self-described "psychiatric
survivors" in the fast.

Weinberg, a retired social worker who has no
history of mental illness, pioneered the use of
grassroots organizing strategies within the
psychiatry survivors movement after witnessing
numerous human rights abuses under the auspices
of mental health care. Institutionalized patients
were "fair game for all sorts of medical and
psychological experimentation," Weinberg
explained.

Weinberg believes the hunger strike, while
somewhat of a last resort, is a valuable protest
tool. "It was necessary to find something that
was traditional and dignified," he said, "and
couldn't be tarred with charges that these are
just crazy people behaving in a crazy way."

While historically hunger striking hasn't always
yielded optimal results, it tends to draw
awareness to the issue at hand, inevitably
leading to progress. In the mid-'80s, a homeless
activist water fasted for 51 days. Though he
nearly died, his actions led to the construction
of a $14 million shelter.

Comedian-turned-activist **** Gregory once said
that in the US, "where more people die from
overeating than under eating," almost nothing
will "get the attention of the masses faster than
fasting."

The "Freedom Fasters" allege that the drug
industry currently dominates psychiatry and is
able to do so because of the widely held belief
that subtle brain chemistry disturbances are
responsible for an array of symptoms and
behaviors generally labeled "mental illness." And
these "illnesses" respond best to medication. That
model for health treatment is referred to as
bio-psychiatry, one of the most profitable of all
industries and one that is rapidly globalizing.

" We want the public to see that there's another
point of view, and that that other point of view
is legitimate," said Weinberg. The Mind Freedom
fasters contend that while medication does help
some people deal with psychological problems,
they are not curing any diseases. Additionally,
there is no straightforward evidence to prove
that psychological ailments are biological
diseases. Without a real disease to cure,
arguments in favor of medication hold no water.
If schizophrenia, depression and the myriad other
"diseases" increasing numbers of people are being
medicated for were actually caused by abnormal
brain function, then they should be treated by
neurologists.

Mind Freedom activists are not alone in this
thinking. Weinberg says even the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders,
psychiatry's Bible, hints that psychiatry is not
a science and diagnoses are sometimes
indiscriminate. "It's like saying, 'You may have
diabetes or you may have cancer, we're not sure,
but we're going to give you insulin,'" he said.

Mary Boyle Ph.D., head of the doctoral program in
clinical psychology at the University of East
London, challenged the bio-psychiatry model as it
pertains to schizophrenia in a paper published by
the British Psychological Society. She revealed
that little credence is given to psychological
traumas that precede the onset of schizophrenic


disrupted relationships, etc, are routinely
presented as consequences of having a serious
mental disorder,'' where they should be
acknowledged as potential causes of the patient's
psychological discomfort and associated behaviors.
This type of treatment yields a predictable
result: a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and at the
very least, a prescription for potentially
dangerous, mind-altering medication.

Weinberg claims that if medication that dealt
with real diseases had the problems that the
psychoactive drugs can have, they'd be pulled off
the market quickly. "These drugs aren't meant to
cure anything," he said. "What they're meant to
do is control people and make them more
acceptable to other people."

Although the Mind Freedom fasters don't know
what, if any, response they'll get from their
nemeses in bio-psychiatry, they will consider
eating again if public interest and inquiry
reaches a critical mass.

In a nutshell, "We want the public to begin to
question the authority they've given psychiatry,"
said Weinberg.

For more information, visit
http://www.mindfreedom.org.

[For photo in above article see by Joe Piasecki:
http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cityBeat/citybeat2.html.]

- end -

Fast for Freedom: http://www.MindFreedom.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~

PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL APPROPRIATE PLACES
ON AND OFF THE INTERNET, ESPECIALLY MEDIA!!

THE HUNGER STRIKERS ARE ENCOURAGING
EVERYONE -- ESPECIALLY MEDIA -- TO ASK
THE APA FOR A COMMENT ABOUT THE FAST FOR
FREEDOM SCIENTIFIC PANEL'S STATEMENT!

The APA is directing people to their web site for
"more info," but there is no comment there!

CONTACT the PR director of the APA, Laurie Oseran:
LOseran@psych.org or direct phone number (703) 907-8540.

For more information about the Fast for
Freedom in Mental Health including photos,
daily updates, solidarity strikers, message
board and more go to http://www.MindFreedom.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

anon e. mouse

* SNIP the rest of the bullshit *

It's pronounced the same as the $ in $cam.

CCHR, Narconon, etc. all Scientology front organizations looking for
weak-minded twits they can program and **** as much money from as they
can.

Go away, go on a permanent fast. **** off.

A.E.M.

ryubyss@yahoo.com

Below is an article in the _PASADENA
WEEKLY_ about the ongoing Fast for
Freedom in Mental Health. The hunger
strikers are now in DAY 9 protesting the
drug company takeover of mental health.

Please forward this, especially to media.

The hunger strikers are encouraging everyone
-- especially media -- to ask the American
Psychiatric Association to comment.

CONTACT the American Psychiatric Association's
PR director Laurie Oseran at LOseran@psych.org or
her direct phone number (703) 907-8540.

For more info: http://www.MindFreedom.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~

23 August 2003

Mad as hell

Hunger strikers protest drug industry's
stranglehold on psychiatry

http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cityBeat/citybeat2.html

By Michel Cicero

Last weekend, five people left their homes in
various parts of the country to starve themselves
in Pasadena. As ex-psychiatric patients, they're
having trouble swallowing the theory that all and
sundry human emotional disturbances are
biologically rooted and best handled with
medication.

Using the time-tested hunger strike as a
mechanism for change, they intend to rattle the
main institutions of psychiatry -- namely the
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI),
the American Psychiatry Association and the US
Surgeon General -- into coughing up some real
scientific evidence to support the prevailing
medical model in mental health treatment.

The hunger strike, or "fast," is sponsored by
Mind Freedom Support Coalition International, a
human rights umbrella organization that advocates
for individuals who have suffered under the care
of the mental health system. Prior to the fast,
Mind Freedom called more than 9,000 supporters to
action, urging them to contact the target
institutions for answers. A phone call to NAMI
confirmed that media relations personnel were
unavailable to respond to the deluge of calls
they received. As of press time, no one from NAMI
returned a call from the Weekly.

Pasadena resident and Mind Freedom member Mickey
Weinberg, one of the fast's organizers, along
with solidarity strikers throughout the US and
abroad, will join the self-described "psychiatric
survivors" in the fast.

Weinberg, a retired social worker who has no
history of mental illness, pioneered the use of
grassroots organizing strategies within the
psychiatry survivors movement after witnessing
numerous human rights abuses under the auspices
of mental health care. Institutionalized patients
were "fair game for all sorts of medical and
psychological experimentation," Weinberg
explained.

Weinberg believes the hunger strike, while
somewhat of a last resort, is a valuable protest
tool. "It was necessary to find something that
was traditional and dignified," he said, "and
couldn't be tarred with charges that these are
just crazy people behaving in a crazy way."

While historically hunger striking hasn't always
yielded optimal results, it tends to draw
awareness to the issue at hand, inevitably
leading to progress. In the mid-'80s, a homeless
activist water fasted for 51 days. Though he
nearly died, his actions led to the construction
of a $14 million shelter.

Comedian-turned-activist **** Gregory once said
that in the US, "where more people die from
overeating than under eating," almost nothing
will "get the attention of the masses faster than
fasting."

The "Freedom Fasters" allege that the drug
industry currently dominates psychiatry and is
able to do so because of the widely held belief
that subtle brain chemistry disturbances are
responsible for an array of symptoms and
behaviors generally labeled "mental illness." And
these "illnesses" respond best to medication. That
model for health treatment is referred to as
bio-psychiatry, one of the most profitable of all
industries and one that is rapidly globalizing.

" We want the public to see that there's another
point of view, and that that other point of view
is legitimate," said Weinberg. The Mind Freedom
fasters contend that while medication does help
some people deal with psychological problems,
they are not curing any diseases. Additionally,
there is no straightforward evidence to prove
that psychological ailments are biological
diseases. Without a real disease to cure,
arguments in favor of medication hold no water.
If schizophrenia, depression and the myriad other
"diseases" increasing numbers of people are being
medicated for were actually caused by abnormal
brain function, then they should be treated by
neurologists.

Mind Freedom activists are not alone in this
thinking. Weinberg says even the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders,
psychiatry's Bible, hints that psychiatry is not
a science and diagnoses are sometimes
indiscriminate. "It's like saying, 'You may have
diabetes or you may have cancer, we're not sure,
but we're going to give you insulin,'" he said.

Mary Boyle Ph.D., head of the doctoral program in
clinical psychology at the University of East
London, challenged the bio-psychiatry model as it
pertains to schizophrenia in a paper published by
the British Psychological Society. She revealed
that little credence is given to psychological
traumas that precede the onset of schizophrenic


disrupted relationships, etc, are routinely
presented as consequences of having a serious
mental disorder,'' where they should be
acknowledged as potential causes of the patient's
psychological discomfort and associated behaviors.
This type of treatment yields a predictable
result: a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and at the
very least, a prescription for potentially
dangerous, mind-altering medication.

Weinberg claims that if medication that dealt
with real diseases had the problems that the
psychoactive drugs can have, they'd be pulled off
the market quickly. "These drugs aren't meant to
cure anything," he said. "What they're meant to
do is control people and make them more
acceptable to other people."

Although the Mind Freedom fasters don't know
what, if any, response they'll get from their
nemeses in bio-psychiatry, they will consider
eating again if public interest and inquiry
reaches a critical mass.

In a nutshell, "We want the public to begin to
question the authority they've given psychiatry,"
said Weinberg.

For more information, visit
http://www.mindfreedom.org.

[For photo in above article see by Joe Piasecki:
http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cityBeat/citybeat2.html.]

- end -

Fast for Freedom: http://www.MindFreedom.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~

PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL APPROPRIATE PLACES
ON AND OFF THE INTERNET, ESPECIALLY MEDIA!!

THE HUNGER STRIKERS ARE ENCOURAGING
EVERYONE -- ESPECIALLY MEDIA -- TO ASK
THE APA FOR A COMMENT ABOUT THE FAST FOR
FREEDOM SCIENTIFIC PANEL'S STATEMENT!

The APA is directing people to their web site for
"more info," but there is no comment there!

CONTACT the PR director of the APA, Laurie Oseran:
LOseran@psych.org or direct phone number (703) 907-8540.

For more information about the Fast for
Freedom in Mental Health including photos,
daily updates, solidarity strikers, message
board and more go to http://www.MindFreedom.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

catimp99@yahoo.com

by this reasoning, only endrocinologists are qualified to treat
diabetes. again, insulin doesn't "cure" diabetes, afaik, so a
non-medical treatment is called for? a cure for SP, medical or
otherwise, is ideal, but why must lack of a cure preclude medical
treatment to alleviate symptoms? i'm tired of meds being condemned
because they only alleviate syptoms. there's no cure for aids, either,
but medical treatments that improve quality of life are a good thing,
aren't they, even if drug companies profit from them.

btw, i'm entirely in favor of letting people choose the treatment they
wish, but despite claims of the domination of the "bio-psychiatry"
model, psychotherapists haven't all hung up their shingles yet, have
they? not to mention numerous alternatives to both psychology &
psychiatry. this is a bit OT, but read recently of an autistic child
who suffocated while undergoing some kind of exorcism. of course, i
don't know for a fact that the child wasn't taking medication, but
non-medical treatments aren't necessarily riskfree.


dr. weinberg was begging the question if he drew a distinction between
"real diseases" and those psychoactive drugs purport to treat. reminds
me of behavioral psychologists asserting that thoughts and feelings
don't exist, ie. aren't real, because they can't be observed/measured.

there, i've stuck my neck out. maybe someone will respond, eh? it's a
sad state when even your posts to assp get ignored.

john jay

If these people are indeed former psychiatric patients and they are
having a hunger strike they should be arrested and put in a mental
health facility as they are clearly a danger to themselves.

I agree with several of the points these protesters bring up but this
sick ploy to bring attention to their ideas is not the way to go about
it. It discredits those ideas.

catimp99@yahoo.com

hey, john jay, you made my day. i got a response, and it wasn't
negative!

i certainly don't go around telling people i'm on lexapro, natch. but
2 things really bugged me about this post. first, there's a
non-scientology group, mindfreedom/SCI, pulling a scientology-like
publicity stunt. then there's this comment,

the only positive statement in the entire piece about meds, but it's
qualified with the caveat that they don't cure anything. hence, i had
to point out that any number of "real" incurable diseases have medical
treatments.

anon e. mouse

* SNIP the rest of the bullshit *

It's pronounced the same as the $ in $cam.

CCHR, Narconon, etc. all Scientology front organizations looking for
weak-minded twits they can program and **** as much money from as they
can.

Go away, go on a permanent fast. **** off.

A.E.M.

john jay

Why shouldn't an organization which dislikes certain things fund
intiatives to get what they don't liked stopped?

lilithomalley

First of all, Scientology is not an organization, it is a cult. A cult that
brain washes gullible people into giving huge amounts of money to them. The
founder, Elrond Hubbard killed his own son.

This is one of the only cults to be completely outlawed in Germany.

As for their stand on psychotropic medications, they talked one women into
stopping her medication and she died during one of their 'audits'.

This information is all online, just do a Google search. Lil

lilithomalley

Hello,
One area I studied extensively was religious cults. Scientology is one of the
worst.

From the Cult Watch network :
The Church of Scientology is a vicious and dangerous cult that masquerades as a
religion. Its purpose is to make money. It practices a variety of mind-control
techniques on people lured into its midst to gain control over their money and
their lives. Its aim is to take from them every penny that they have and can
ever borrow and to also enslave them to further its wicked ends.
It was started in the 1950s by a science fiction writer named L. Ron Hubbard in
fulfilment to his declared aim to start a religion to make money. It is an
offshoot to a method of psychotherapy he concocted from various sources which
he named "Dianetics". Dianetics is a form of regression therapy. It was then
further expanded to appear more like a religion in order to enjoy tax benefits.
He called it "Scientology".

Scientology is a confused concoction of crackpot, dangerously applied
psychotherapy, oversimplified, idiotic and inapplicable rules and ideas and
science-fiction drivel that is presented to its members (at the "advanced"
levels) as profound spiritual truth.

http://www.xenu.net/