Devious mental health professionals

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I've had this longstanding mistrust of psych professionals in general, ranging from psychiatric social workers on up to psychologists and psychiatrists.

I was diagnosed as autistic in early childhood and was diagnosed with "childhood schizophrenia" at age 13, and that diagnosis stood until I was about 21 years old, when it was replaced with Asperger's Syndrome. Although I'd been considered "autistic" all along, continuously, since early childhood. It's just that nobody told me I was autistic until I was a teenager and also a schizophrenic, and they'd known I was AS for many years before they just kind of mentioned it to me one day. I'd never heard of it and I was like... "uhhhh... what's that?"

I've dealt with a great variety of professionals. Some of them have been the most manipulative, devious, insidious, borderline sadists that I've ever encountered.

Also, I'm getting my PhD in sociology. Sometimes I find myself mingling with my counterparts over in the psychology department. And they can be some real manipulative, arrogant pieces of work. It's like they hone in on perceived "chinks in the armor" and try to worm their way in... for their own amusement. Psychology must really attract a certain kind. I realize that there's many others who aren't that way... but there are many who are.

Does anybody have similar experiences and prejudices?

oh..this "Adult ADD clinic" I went to....They did not accept ANY insurance (this was when i actually had insurance and could not find a single clinic that took my coverage who would deal with adult ADD)....I spent $250 to have a interview with a psychologist who said I needed a battery of tests that would cost another $550 dollars....it was insane...the interview was very humiliating...and cold and a huge waste of money....oh yeah..and it seemed that the guy who was interviewing me was hopped up on goofballs....I was given all these packets to fill out and for my friends to fill out about me and I wrote him a huge long letter of protest (which unfortunatley I did not send)
A short time later I met a registered nurse who explained tome that the whole "Adult ADD clinic" was mostly a money making scheme and took me to see an MD who dignosed me right away..(it was a great relief at the time)

I went into psychology when I was in college because of how "messed up" I was.Being constantly suicidal,I thought,it would either teach me how to "fix" myself and then I could go onto help others find some relief for this or...It wouldnt help and I could just kill myself and be done with it.(I hadnt counted on the wonderful opportunities to further research my own alcoholism in such a drink friendly environment.Thus delaying my suicide by several decades until it became mostly mute.)

I think this may be the case for many entering the field,a desire to "fix" themselves,only problem is most of psychology is just cult mentality masquerading as science.Nothing is fixed,just out grown sometimes.The only field that out strips it in "double speak" is politics.They quibble about the details but seem to have an aversion to anyone who questions the base premises on which their cult is founded.I have seen the field go from the worship of the unconcious,(I am skipping the whole demon possession start where they mostly just used various forms of physical torture to "treat" patients.....scary history lesson),to the worship of running rats through a maze and making dogs salivate,to the worship of chemical intervention.I still see all three batteling it out but I think pharma has the best lobbies,so they will probably win.

I gave up on the idea of being a counslor,as I couldnt agree with most of my "colleges" on to many issues and was afraid that if a suicidal person came to me,my own suicidal history would make it hypocritical to tell them not to do it.Maybe some situations,death is preferable to existence.Who am I to say?

well if i remeber correctly the last doctor i saw was a guy named dr. stewart at the guidance center. he was the typical, How are you today richard?" doctor that im shure since my mother was in the room was being much nicer than he usually is, (ive seen this doctor before and he was rude as hell) fell like killing yourseklf today? no ok how are things going in your life? have a job yet?? blahblahblah.. that was right before i had my hernia sergury a few months ago

Wildman! You are luckier than *I* was! I saw a psychiatrist for the better part of a day, because of lack of social interaction. I had LOTS of tests! It must have been wierd because I remember almost EVERYTHING! That was in 1969. He determined I was smart, and mentioned to my mother that I was interested in girls. I was pretty young. OK, I WAS interested in girls(I knew it and my mother probably did), but they WERE the most obvious match for the pictures he showed me. Later, I was diagnosed ADHD and perscribed ritalin which was never taken because my mother knew I wasn't hyper. At least YOU got a REASON for your problem, and probably good help/sympathy.

As for YOU? AS wasn't an official diagnosis in the US until 1994!

BTW I was recently relocated to a room(the last one was hurt by a storm), and I was LUCKY that I noticed the button, and tried it. It was a "deaf" room!! !! !! The button led to an alarm that was basically a fire alarm. Even OUTSIDE the room, etc... it caused me pain even just because of the frequency. I can't help but wonder if maybe "normal" people aren't so badly affected. I relocated to a smaller room in an attempt to save my hearing.

Still, I HATE doctors in general, and hate psychiatrists. HECK, doctors....

1. Delivered me with every hernia in the book.
2. Circumcised me.
3. Nearly killed me by giving my mother bad advice.
4. Did the garbage above.
5. Didn't understand the Krebs cycle which would have made a problem obvious, and treated me like a hypochondriac! That led to LOTS of problems.
6. One possible such problem might have been the dissected aorta I got which they fixed in a destructive way WITHOUT my informed consent!
7. After fixing the aorta, gave me ANOTHER hernia, which I still have and may until I die!

Is it any wonder I HATE doctors?

Steve

I have only met one mental health professional I like, respect and trust. Out of hundreds. Pretty bad odds.

Hernias are not the doctors fault. Sorry you got stuck being born with hernias, though.

2. Circumcised me.
Blame your mom for that one. She told them to do it.

5. Didn't understand the Krebs cycle which would have made a problem obvious, and treated me like a hypochondriac! That led to LOTS of problems.
I have a hard time believing you would have a better understanding of the Krebs Cycle than a doctor, and how that could possibly be related to all your medical problems.

6. One possible such problem might have been the dissected aorta I got which they fixed in a destructive way WITHOUT my informed consent!
You can die from a dissecting aortic aneurysm without medical intervention. You were lucky you had a doctor to help you. And doctors always get consent unless it's a life-threatening situation, in which case ethics call for them to save your life if you are physically unable to give consent.

7. After fixing the aorta, gave me ANOTHER hernia, which I still have and may until I die!
Do you have Marfan's syndrome? Your medical problems are from your body, not your doctors.

Actually, Stress against some areas(like in delivery) CAN cause them!

I was big enough that they should have STRONGLY suggested a C section!



My family is NOT jewish! The *****MEDICAL***** community lied and said it was better!

They shouldn't LIE!

5. Didn't understand the Krebs cycle which would have made a problem obvious, and treated me like a hypochondriac! That led to LOTS of problems.



WHY is that? If doctors are SO blasted smart, how could they be smart? SORRY, they LEARN, or are supposed to. I can learn just as well. Still, I found the deficiency. At least it cured the immunity, muscle pain, headache problems. Sadly, I STILL have arthritis, etc... Besides, to tell you the truth, it was DUMB LUCK! I scanned a body building magazine in a store, and someone described the SAME symptoms I had. THAT doctor helped him out! With ME, they acted like I was NUTS. \

ONE even SUPPOSEDLY gave me some hush hush test.(I had to go out of my way to find the results) In retrospect, he might have tested me for aids or something. That would be RIDICULOUS though, as I am at *****VERY***** low risk for aids, and would have died by then if I had it. Still, that is the kind of garbage I expect doctors to do. Everything said my immunity was fine, though it wasn't.

They should have TRIED!

6. One possible such problem might have been the dissected aorta I got which they fixed in a destructive way WITHOUT my informed consent!



DUH, but I didn't have to have it. An immunity problem would EXASCERBATE the problem that caused the problem that caused the aneurysm.



Just being told the truth would have been good.

7. After fixing the aorta, gave me ANOTHER hernia, which I still have and may until I die!



NOPE! In fact, my aorta was just about 1"!(Actually 2.4cm That was the size of the valve stem given in the medical writeup by the cardiac surgeon) That is WELL within normal! My arm span and features are also not marfan like! The problem was caused by the aortic valve being infected, and becoming a bicuspid.(THE attending cardiac consultant told me this after examining the film of the operation) I went to doctors off and on for a few YEARS to find out the problem. They didn't even take me seriously, let alone try to find the problem!



OH, so NOW you are calling doctors QUACKS? I mean if they can't help the body, and the body isn't affected by their actions, then what good are they?

Steve

I distrust professionals, especially at the lower levels, such as school psychologists and those trained in the area of giving intelligence tests. My kindergarten teacher misdiagnosed me as hyperactive. The other kindergarten teacher at my school thought I was fine and even very intelligent. I wonder what I might have been doing today had that other teacher been mine. I wouldn't trade my life today. I think it is very good. However, how much more could I have accomplished? At 42, I'll probably never know.

There have been professionals, however, that I have trusted. They were actual medical doctors. I found that the lower down on the food chain they are, so to speak, the bigger the egos they have.

You're right about that! There are several levels of nurses and, in the US, only about the highest level have any appreciable amount of relevant education. Even then, most don't seem to care.

Steve

I have had enough fun with psychologists and psychiatrists to know to stay away from them. When I was in school I went to a doctor who was a Jeckyl and Hyde type. Real nice in front of everyone but not so keen when you were alone with him. I could just tell though so I wouldn't even talk to him during the sessions. I would just blank out or occassionally watch him go from various fake manipulative techniques to try and gain my trust.

As an adult I have also seen two psychiatrists who were very manipulative and a therapist who was completely coo-koo. Amazing when you realize you are the sanest person there and you have the labels.

My life isn't a bed of roses either.

I also know how to listen to this kind of thing.

You see, I am interested in mental disorders. I am not here to list and name symptoms!

I see that these disorders are actually part of life. Other people see themselves as broken and do not see the sky above where the potential lies within our differences. (what ever that mean) So they do not see anything "different" in them or the world because of their flaws.

I was diagnosed with autism as a young child, schizophrenia when I was about 11, i became a problem in high school due to the death of a friend, which somehow resulted in the label of schizophrenic being dropped, phew. About 14 it was at 'very autistic tendencies, but too high functioning to be on the spectrum' then after nearly dying of weight loss at 15, I got the diagnosis of Aspergers.
I do not intend to ever go to a doctor again. I suppose I feel quite upset at having been thought schizophrenic in the past, though everyone makes mistakes, some have a tremendously bad impact on your life.
You should be able to trust medical professionals, sadly this is often not the case.

I dislike all doctors, even my primary one, who's very nice. I avoid all of them unless I'm extremely ill, which is rare. My first experience with a shrink (now my ex-shrink) has completely screwed me up.

May take me quite some time before I feel strong enough to even contemplate seeking help again.

I don't trust psychologists and psychiatrists whatsoever.

I spent so many years seeing therapists. From childhood into my teens.

I never recieved any help from therapists. All I was was something to observe. I was a lab rat for them. All that ever happened is that they would ask me q question, I would answer them and they would sit quietly for 15 minutes straight scribbling things down in their ledger. 1 question. 1 reply and 15 minutes of dead air and that scribbling sound of pen and paper. No one ever offered a solution for anything.

The last time I decided to go to see a therapist, I went in with a VERY predujiced attitude. But I had went in with this two-fisted and agressive approach that I wanted help and they had damn well better use all of their training and knowledge to heal me and get me patched up as fast and as succinct as they can because I didn't have the next two years to sacrifice as the therapists sat around playing 20 questions ever session. I wanted results and I wanted them FAST. It turns out hey they were ineffectual as ever and never got anything done. I remember the very last session I ever had, the therapist may have asked me 8 questions and spent the entirety of 40 minutes writing things down in his ledger. It took a total of 4 mintues to answer every one of his questions.

I will never go back to a therapist.

I don't trust psychiatrists as they are often glorified drug pushers, at least the one I saw for PTSD/depression was. He only sees paitents long enough to write out a prescription, and even put someone's MOM on something, when treating her teenage son for bipolar disorder. I made the mistake of mentioning that bipolar disorder runs in my family, and even though the ONLY symptom I had was depression, he put me on Zyprexa. BIG mistake, as it made me too drowsy to function as a college student, where I slept for a couple days straight, and missed classes. I managed to let him get me off that nasty drug, and eventually was able to get him to start weaning me off Paxil.

Because of that experience, the term "once bitten, twice shy" definitely applies to me when it comes to psychiatrists. I got the diagnosis of Asperger's eventually, but there's no way in hell that I'll ever take another psychiatric medication again. I'd rather treat anxiety by other means that don't screw with my brain.

I have found that very many medical professionals in general are not anywhere as knowledgable as you'd think and as they probably should be. I am fascinated with health care and research alot of issues, diseases, etc. because of my interest and have worked in offices. I am continually frustrated in going to the doctor only to find I know more about what he's talking about than he/she does when it comes to the physiology of disease, current treatment, latest research, etc., etc. I have also received information and advice I knew to be severey outdated and sometimes even inaccurate.
And I only have a lowly associates degree and am paying THEM.