Is Talent A Mental Illness Or Is Psychiatry A Junk Science?

Thread Starter

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
We keep hearing about the so called epidemic of the so called "mental illness" of autism or Asperger's Syndrome, however I'm very skeptical about the scientific validity of any of these diagnosis. In fact,many highly skilled people are being portrayed as being autistic and there's now a TV series about a doctor who is allegedly inflicted with autism.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Doctor_(TV_series)

Furthermore, that TV series seems to be an insidious form of propaganda and an attempt to legitimize the highly questionable diagnosis of autism and other claims of an epidemic of mental illness. Anyone who's done any reading on the subject of psychiatry should know it's nothing but a glorified witch hunt and a quack science and an illegitimate use of medical procedures.

Even much worse, I find it hypocritical and obscene that U.S. businesses claim they need more H1-B visas to hire skilled tech workers, while at the same time there are many talented U.S. born citizens who are being labeled as autistic.
 

Thread Starter

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
Anyone in the physical sciences should know that you can't render a medical diagnosis without obtaining hard evidence from a biological or chemical analysis of the purported disease or illness. Yet psychiatrists are purportedly qualified to render a medical diagnosis and prescribe powerful mind altering drugs with little if any regulation.

In fact, I can tell you that many of the people living on the streets who are labeled as being mentally ill are actually under the influence of some type of psychotropic substance produced by the pharmaceutical industry. Do a search for MKULTRA and you'll see how people were unknowingly drugged as part of a government sponsored experiment and I'm certain it's still happening today.
 

tcmtech

Joined Nov 4, 2013
2,867
Anyone who's done any reading on the subject of psychiatry should know it's nothing but a glorified witch hunt and a quack science and an illegitimate use of medical procedures.
I have come to see it as that there are two camps to the field.

One is focused on finding out how those who have legitimate mental health or cognitive capacity limitations can be helped to live more functional lives. Most often they look at using education/focused learning processes to overcome a limitation or drugs to augment a definable neural chemical imbalance and thusly take a more conservative and cautious approach to any diagnosis.

The other half are those who view everyone who is not like them or up to their self defined standards to have a mental disease even though by their own definitions they are the ones with more problems than most.
They are also the ones that will pretty much drug anyone out of their mind who is not seen to fit their socio-behavioral standards and are who I feel are largely responsible for the widely unnecessary proliferation of false diagnosis and rampant unwarranted drug administration to those who don't actually need them being they are most often extremely liberal on defining, anyone who is not like them or behaving by their standards, to have some condition or disease even when they actually don't.

That's my views on the subject. Not all people of the psychology/mental health profession are quacks but there are enough of the second group to have given too much of the field a bad reputation.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
I actually installed an A/C for an autistic physician. He did strange things like wait until the job was almost finished to say he wanted one room colder than the others. (Too late. A dozen ducts would have to be replaced to do that and you aren't going to pay extra, so forget it.) Then he installed a wall to make one room into two and wondered why the room with no delivery grilles wasn't cool. Then his girlfriend told me about his mental problems. I blurted out, "No wonder I can't read him...he isn't transmitting." But he's still a physician and he is good enough at his job to pay $20,000 for new air conditioners.;)

On the other side of the coin, there was a time in 1989 when I was very lethargic for a week. I had a fever of 102 and vomiting. Some ER doc tricked me into driving to "Horizons" and I didn't know what that place was about. They said they were going to treat me for cocaine withdrawal.:confused: Thirty days at $1000 per day. Bull hockey! I've never seen cocaine in any form, and as far as I know, drug withdrawal doesn't cause a fever with vomiting.:mad:

On a side note, I found it amusing to be told I was in denial and I would be back because nobody can kick cocaine alone.:p

So, yes. It works both ways. Autism is real and a thousand doctors have gotten rich prescribing Ritalin to children for acting like children. (If you've ever seen a kid on a sugar high, you would think about Ritalin, too.:D)

Personally, I think most of your allegations need Twilight Zone music in the background. I hope you find enough information to get your Bell curves adjusted.
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
13,086
So, yes. It works both ways. Autism is real and a thousand doctors have gotten rich prescribing Ritalin to children for acting like children. (If you've ever seen a kid on a sugar high, you would think about Ritalin, too.:D)

Personally, I think most of your allegations need Twilight Zone music in the background. I hope you find enough information to get your Bell curves adjusted.
+1
Autism is unfortunately very real.
 

tcmtech

Joined Nov 4, 2013
2,867
Autism is unfortunately very real.
I can say I have only ever met 2 - 3 kids with legitimate autism and I get it but on the other hand I have met way too many others who were claimed to have it just so that their, usually near useless single parent mother, had an excuse for being a weak parent who wouldn't discipline their kid when they needed it the most. :mad:

Wide ranging social observations imply a pretty strong correlation between 'bad parenting' and kids being falsely labeled 'autistic' these days and it appears there is as much experience and documentation on that known correlation as there is on legitimate autism.:(

https://www.google.com/search?q=aut...3.69i57j0l5.8450j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
13,086
I can say I have only ever met 2 - 3 kids with legitimate autism and I get it but on the other hand I have met way too many others who were claimed to have it just so that their, usually near useless single parent mother, had an excuse for being a weak parent who wouldn't discipline their kid when they needed it the most. :mad:

Wide ranging social observations imply a pretty strong correlation between 'bad parenting' and kids being falsely labeled 'autistic' these days and it appears there is as much experience and documentation on that known correlation as there is on legitimate autism.:(

https://www.google.com/search?q=aut...3.69i57j0l5.8450j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Excuses are like you know what. Bad kids with bad parents and a medical diagnosis of legitimate autism are worlds apart. What people in public see are the external behaviors, not the 7/24 effort that's needed for years to make an 'autistic' child who acts up into an adult that can work and live something close to a normal life with minimal help and financial support.
 

tcmtech

Joined Nov 4, 2013
2,867
Excuses are like you know what. Bad kids with bad parents and a medical diagnosis of legitimate autism are worlds apart. What people in public see are the external behaviors, not the 7/24 effort that's needed for years to make an 'autistic' child who acts up into an adult that can work and live something close to a normal life with minimal help and financial support.
I have family that have worked in the public school system all their lives going on 40 - 50 years now and they have told countless stories about dealing with the legitimate cases Vs the bad parenting ones to which as of now the bad parenting issue are overrunning the legitimate cases a good 10:1.

They have said many times that they have never met the parents of a legitimate autistic or special needs case kid who were bad parents that were not looking for the right kind of help. However with the others in pretty much every case it takes about 5 minutes with the parent who bothered to show up for a meeting (too often neither ever do) to see they are looking for/making excuses for not having to be responsible and raise their kids properly themselves.

As they explain it, when you work with large numbers of kids every day of your life you get to know who has what and why and now too much of the problems are social/discipline based not medical/genetic. It's also why most public schools are cracking down and using the zero-tolerance policies on kids who act up. It forces the bad parents to have to show up for school meetings about their kids so they can be reviewed for who they actually are and to what effect the do or do not work with their kids at home plus puts them in a position where they have to deal with what their kid does in school.

The parents of the real special needs and like kids rarely ever disappoint on that end whereas the others get what's coming to them like having their kid kicked out of the school for the remainder of the year or even permanently.
 

DickCappels

Joined Aug 21, 2008
10,152
I know of a few autistic adults including a family member, a close friend, a former co-worker and one of my intellectual property clients (this one is a true genius). In general they are among the most intelligent and observant of those I know, but they tend to "think different" as Apple chose for a slogan when Jobs came back in '97. In any case there are many people "on the spectrum" who may seem odd at times but are completely capable of living and enjoying their lives. We all probably know autistics whom we have not identified as such.

From what I have read there are those so stricken that they cannot relate to others. These are the ones I worry about.
 

tcmtech

Joined Nov 4, 2013
2,867
In any case there are many people "on the spectrum" who may seem odd at times but are completely capable of living and enjoying their lives. We all probably know autistics whom we have not identified as such.
I often wonder how many are actually autistic or more that, is autism overdiagnosed and too many who are normal get incorrectly grouped in as such due to overly liberal diagnosis from doctors that feel that everyone who does not fit their biased personal view of normal is afflicted with one or more disorders because it both justifies their self righteousness plus gives them a obscene financial kickback for putting everyone they deal with on some sort of drug simply because they can?

Too me that's the side of the business that give the profession the bad image of being little more than certified drug dealers with a legally backed excuse for their actions.

Years ago one of the more prominent local psychologists got busted for such actions and in both his medical board and legal case review actually failed his own standards and testing processes to which he then lost his licence, got fined and sued for malpractice, then spent some time in his own psych ward plus served jail time too.

Thanks to that he single handedly gave the psychological profession as a whole in my area a black eye and feeling of distrust that lasted for years. :(
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
13,086
Sure, too many kids are diagnosed but ASD is generally considered to be a life-long, disabling (unless addressed early) neuropsychiatric condition that a child does not shed as childhood progresses. Part of the problem is we are trying to be “politically-correct” gender-neutral with young boys and girls as they mature, that's a big mistake as boys on average mature slower. Most of the mild autism over-diagnosed boys will outgrown their behaviors.
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
I've seen The Men Who Stare at Goats and Stranger Things, therefore I know MKULTRA is real.
Thanks. I need regular reminding that our government knows no limits...in any direction.

But, mainly, I am posting to say this is a Most Excellent Thread. I don't think there is a psychiatrist in our group, but there hasn't been an intellectually dubious response yet. Keep up the good work. It does me proud to be associated with you.
 

Thread Starter

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
From my personal experience, people (including myself) in the science and art fields tend to be over diagnosed as having autism.

However, the "symptoms" of autism may be just a by product of the highly regimented life style that is required for to work in any highly technical field. Although I've never worked in a Silicon Valley environment, I'm quite aware of the mantra "You have to run as fast as possible just to stay in the same place" and "Today's innovation is tomorrow's garbage". Therefore, I can appreciate the fact that many tech professionals must spend most of their off work hours planning for the next innovation and they may not have time for a social life -as the average person knows it.

Furthermore, social skills are largely perceived relative to the overall group of which a given person is a member of. Technical people tend to be very social with persons with technical interests, but not very social with persons outside their group. The same goes with people that are highly interested in sports and athletics. Football and basketball players (and ordinary people who casually engage in or watch sports in their spare time) aren't much interested in depth social encounters with scientists and engineers.

However, the social Bell Curve is based on the thinking patterns of the majority of people in a given society and in the U.S., hence people in science and engineering are in the minority and they represent an extreme part of the curve. Also, where a person fits of the Bell Curve is related to the specific culture where they are situated. Someone who is off center of the curve in the U.S. might actually be right on center in another culture. For example, I can relate to -and socialize with- someone from an Asian or Japanese culture much, much better than I can relate to most people in the U.S.
 

Thread Starter

Glenn Holland

Joined Dec 26, 2014
703
You sound a lot like a Scientologist. :rolleyes:
Although Scientologists may seem like they have extremist viewpoints, they can also be right on many things too. Their comparison of the role of modern day psychiatry to the abuses perpetrated in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union are in fact quite valid.

By the way, I know nothing about Scientologists (or their view points on psychiatry) and my opinions are based on first hand knowledge of the abuse that people have suffered at the hands of this pseudo science.
 
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