Thank you for reading my article and taking the time to write a comment. All the way from Australia no less! So, greetings from the UK. Which part Australia are you from if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve had the opportunity to visit Sydney and the Blue Mountains. Beautiful city. And I’ve heard from friends a beautiful country …
Thank you for reading my article and taking the time to write a comment. All the way from Australia no less! So, greetings from the UK. Which part Australia are you from if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve had the opportunity to visit Sydney and the Blue Mountains. Beautiful city. And I’ve heard from friends a beautiful country in general.
You have picked up on a part of the article that used imprecise language… I said the dose makes both the benefits and the poison (borrowing from a common phrase), when really I should have said the dose makes both the benefits and the toxicity.
Thank you for sharing your experience. This topic must mean a lot to you, and it seems that despite what sounds like a supportive experience with psychiatrists, you are well aware of the many pitfalls in the psychiatric system. Has your awareness been through seeing friends go through it? Or some other personal experiences?
It also sounds like you related to Laura’s book. Would you be comfortable telling me what about it you felt related to you? (bear in mind I have not yet had the chance to read it!)
Y’know, there were periods of time where I would curse the names of my psychiatrists. Where I felt powerless, alone and I felt like none of my psychiatrists cared whether I lived or died. I felt like there was no system, no strategy of what medications were being prescribed. My care was left up to me.
Most of my writing so far, in fact I think all of it, has been focused on trying to improve the psychiatric system (some of them are linked in this article). And this will remain the case for the future.
The reason I am holding Cooper, Laura and ICI to the same account as psychiatrists is because I don’t believe it is any old website. One is because of the publicity it has received, through articles in the New York Times and Washington Post, along with Delano’s book (plus previous high-profile articles and profiles of Laura Delano in the past). Two, in my opinion they have positioned themselves as educators, and if the reporting I have read is correct, Laura charges people for her expertise on discontinuing medication. The ICI is in a position of power, which if it is not held responsibly, could potentially lead to harm.
I want to communicate that despite the current state of the psychiatric system, there are a lot of people trying & working very hard to improve it (including me!). Lived experience advisory committees have provided me a window into how much psychiatric & psychotherapeutic researchers value the patient perspective. As someone who resides in the UK I don’t know of the Patient and Public Involvement organisations in Australia, but I would be more than happy to enquire if it is something you would be interested in? It sounds given your extensive experience within the psychiatric system you would add a lot of value.
I have no reason to argue with you Heather. As a fellow patient, numerous articles have caused me to feel angry to the point of wanting to write something.
I only add this as a public interest info for anyone else out there who has read this far down which is now a very long comment! I define poison as a substance intended for harm. And toxicity as the dose of a substance that can cause harm. Also yes, too much water can kill you. But so can no water. I have written this article specifically for the patients where a treatment out there is helping with their symptoms, and could be persuaded to come off of it unnecessarily due to misleading statements.
Hi Heather,
Thank you for reading my article and taking the time to write a comment. All the way from Australia no less! So, greetings from the UK. Which part Australia are you from if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve had the opportunity to visit Sydney and the Blue Mountains. Beautiful city. And I’ve heard from friends a beautiful country in general.
You have picked up on a part of the article that used imprecise language… I said the dose makes both the benefits and the poison (borrowing from a common phrase), when really I should have said the dose makes both the benefits and the toxicity.
Thank you for sharing your experience. This topic must mean a lot to you, and it seems that despite what sounds like a supportive experience with psychiatrists, you are well aware of the many pitfalls in the psychiatric system. Has your awareness been through seeing friends go through it? Or some other personal experiences?
It also sounds like you related to Laura’s book. Would you be comfortable telling me what about it you felt related to you? (bear in mind I have not yet had the chance to read it!)
Y’know, there were periods of time where I would curse the names of my psychiatrists. Where I felt powerless, alone and I felt like none of my psychiatrists cared whether I lived or died. I felt like there was no system, no strategy of what medications were being prescribed. My care was left up to me.
Most of my writing so far, in fact I think all of it, has been focused on trying to improve the psychiatric system (some of them are linked in this article). And this will remain the case for the future.
The reason I am holding Cooper, Laura and ICI to the same account as psychiatrists is because I don’t believe it is any old website. One is because of the publicity it has received, through articles in the New York Times and Washington Post, along with Delano’s book (plus previous high-profile articles and profiles of Laura Delano in the past). Two, in my opinion they have positioned themselves as educators, and if the reporting I have read is correct, Laura charges people for her expertise on discontinuing medication. The ICI is in a position of power, which if it is not held responsibly, could potentially lead to harm.
I want to communicate that despite the current state of the psychiatric system, there are a lot of people trying & working very hard to improve it (including me!). Lived experience advisory committees have provided me a window into how much psychiatric & psychotherapeutic researchers value the patient perspective. As someone who resides in the UK I don’t know of the Patient and Public Involvement organisations in Australia, but I would be more than happy to enquire if it is something you would be interested in? It sounds given your extensive experience within the psychiatric system you would add a lot of value.
I have no reason to argue with you Heather. As a fellow patient, numerous articles have caused me to feel angry to the point of wanting to write something.
I only add this as a public interest info for anyone else out there who has read this far down which is now a very long comment! I define poison as a substance intended for harm. And toxicity as the dose of a substance that can cause harm. Also yes, too much water can kill you. But so can no water. I have written this article specifically for the patients where a treatment out there is helping with their symptoms, and could be persuaded to come off of it unnecessarily due to misleading statements.
Thanks,
Alex