An Industry of Death

Today, Nicole and I visited the world-famous museum of psychiatry in Hollywood. Some of this information I already knew, whether due to my questioning nature or by by personal experience with various medications over the years. However, I had no idea of the complexity and deception that is the psychiatry world. It is a pseudoscience based on nothing but theories. Interviews from the world APA convention held in Toronto in 2003 showed that even psychiatrists themselves, while medicating patient after patient, reveal that their own occupation has no cures documented whatsoever and admit that there is no actual laboratory proof of any of their methods.

The museum is located on Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood and is international headquarters of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, an organization that was started by the church of Scientology, a rather dangerous cult if I dare say. Nonetheless, it is promoted by influential members of Hollywood's elite, most notably John Travolta and Tom Cruise, and miscellaneous other lesser-known characters behind the scenes. But I digress...

The exhibit itself was shocking and further solidified my convictions in being substance-free.

Let me back up a bit.

I was diagnosed with ADD or ADHD when I was in high school. I had the typical symptoms: inattention, lack of organization, restlessness. So we took the appropriate action, prescribing medication after medication including Paxil, Wellbutrin, Lexapro, and ultimately, Adderall. Yes, Paxil, that same drug that was linked to depression and ultimately suicide in several people, and Adderall, virtually a legalized version of speed. Luckily, I survived my time on these medications, but others aren't so lucky, as the exhibit graphically portrays. From patient abuse in nursing homes and psych wards and accidental overdoses to psychiatry's link to schools of thought that eventually led to Nazi Germany. And don't think America is exempt in this. Oh no, au contraire my friends.

After several years switching from med to med, I began to grow weary of the side effects, particularly from Adderall. These included dry mouth, loss of appetite, bowel problems, trouble sleeping, a rapid heart rate at times, and the one that I cared about most, a stifling of my creativity, the very core of my personality. I lost weight because I had no appetite and the drug made my heart beat faster, burning more calories.

After some research, I made the decision to go cold turkey off the drug, against my doctors orders. The withdrawel was fairly severe. I was moody, it was extremely tough to wait it out, but it was worth it, because I got myself back. Like some had said all along, I didn't really need the drug. Sure, I had problems getting organized, who doesn't? Sure, I didn't manage time well, but there are classes for that. Yes, I had trouble concentrating, but with a willing heart to work at it, just a little more tenaciously than most, I overcame such obstacles.

I now carry a planner, just a faux leather, but it helps me organize my life...but only when I use it. Once I realized there is no shame in writing things down (this is a daily struggle, since I stubbornly continue to try and remember everything), my life becomes more organized and less chaotic.

Certainly at the forefront of this transformation is the One who created my brain so complex and unique, so vivacious, so utterly unfathomable-my Savior. Like the psalmist so truly spoke, God designed me that way, wired me to be all that I am! He knew my inner parts, and He created me to be who I am. May I be that man without fear that I am somehow inadequate because of my creative quirks. Thanks, Jesus, for my sound mind and a brain that functions well, for I never want to take for granted the mind that I have been given; there are many in the world who would gladly take what some may consider rubbish. Let us never forget that.