Mental Health Care in Australia: Free Garth...

It's a mess. I know a man, quite well, who for years had a responsible job, a wife, three daughters, and was on mandatory meds for schizophrenia. Then the laws were changed by people who were convinced that millions were being medicated for no valid reason. My friend went to the clinic to get his meds and was presented with a document explaining that he was no longer required to take his meds. So, he didn'. He had them sitting by him and intended to take them at the first sign of his nuttiness. Unfortunately, one of the first symptoms were that the meds were bad and those wanting him to take the meds were the enemy. He's been living on the street for 25 years now, if he's still alive. He's fighting the Nazi/communist/Jewish conspiracy to take over the world. And, no one can do anything.

I am not a fan of mental health professionals. Once you're labeled the odds of a subequent examination refuting the first is near zero. On the other hand, in criminal trials you always have "expert" witness swearing that the defendant is batty as a bedbug or sane as a judge depending on who's paying them. When I last visited Hawaii I was given the names of two "professionals" who would sign anyone up for disability payments for a price.

One last comment. Many of the "professionals" take mentally ill as the default. Everyone is mentally ill, especially if referred to them, unless there is some evidence to the contrary.

 

Thank you for your concern and your comments Patrick. There is so much I could say, I hardly know where to begin. Suffice to say that I've been hanging out with "the schizophrenics" for close to a decade now. I have a child who has been through some experiences similar to Garth's (which is why I can identify so easily with the pain of his family) and I am also someone who is supposed to be a schizophrenic. In my own case, I made a full recovery without hospitals, medication, or doctors.

In spite of which, I have spoken with many people who self-identify medication as beneficial to them. There's a great deal that could be said about that too, including the role of Big Pharma and public expectations but the bottom line is: The most effective treatment is the one that works for that particular individual. We run into problems when we act from extremes of: No one should have medication or Everyone must have medication.

Garth has been harmed by the idea that everyone must have medication; your friend has been harmed by the idea that everyone can function fine without medication. In either case, the shoe does not fit no matter how much the politicians attempt to present it as otherwise. That means that more people suffer and more people die. Garth's parents desperately do not want their child to be the next victim of a cruel and inept system of "health care".

If anyone has it in them to jot an email to Dr. Ruth Vine at one of the following addresses, please do so. If you are appalled by the treatment of the mentally ill -- from pre-schoolers being given electroshock treatment to the presumed benefits of solitary confinement as a treatment for psychosis -- please share your disgust, your outrage, your fear, your astonishment, etc. The woman has earned some honest criticism.

Meantime this family is desperate. Please jot an email to Dr. Ruth Vines at one of these email addresses. If you are appalled, outraged, shocked, horrified, disgusted, etc. -- let her know.

ruth.vine@health.vic.gov.au

ruth.vine@dhs.vic.gov.au

 

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