Half of You Reading This May Have a Mental Disorder or Illness – And Your Kids May Have One Too

According to a speech Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius gave in December 2009, between 10 and 20 million Americans are suffering from mental illness and didn’t have resources to treatment. (That was before the healthcare bill was passed so who knows if that remains true).

In a Washington Times article written that same month, the authors site the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as saying that number is much higher. In fact, the APA says as many as half of ALL Americans will suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives.  That’s over 150 million people, folks. That means there’s even odds that’s you – or your kids. In a family of four, two of you may be considered mentally ill at some point during your lives.

Here are a few of the disorders listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) according to the Washington Times article:

Antisocial Personality Disorder (DSM-IV Code 301.7)

Avoidant Personality Disorder (DSM-IV Code 301.82)

Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety (DSM-IV Code 309.24)

Alcohol Use Disorder (DSM-IV Code 305.00)  

By the way, according to the APA, half of all college students have had a psychiatric disorder in the past year, including that last one – also known as heavy drinking.

Getting drunk is a disorder; it’s not just for fun anymore.

“Typically, psychiatrists label those unhappy people they concede have no physical illness as having “social anxiety disorder” or some other equally benign “disorder.” Such people can be in costly, insurance-covered therapy indefinitely. As one psychologist told us, “Anyone who comes in with any problem can be diagnosed as having ‘adjustment disorder,’ ” it said in the article.

So, the article goes on to ask – what’s normal?

If half of us have something wrong, is it really wrong or is it just an excuse to jam psychotropic drugs down our throats and our kids’ throats?

Last year, Congressman Dr. Ron Paul introduced a resolution into the House of Representatives called H.R. 2218 Parental Consent Act of 2009, where, like most legislation, it got stalled in committee.

The act is meant to provide federal protection for parents who do not want their children’s mental health evaluated at their local schools and to be required to administer pharmaceuticals if their children are diagnosed with a disorder or illness.

According to the website www.ablechild.org 24 states offer some sort of protection to parents who do not wish to administer drugs to their children. Does yours?

The laws mostly protect the children from being required to leave the school if unmedicated or having parents lose their children if they refuse to administer drugs.  Many also prohibit school personnel from requiring administration of drugs.

Able Child exists to help support parents and other caregivers who wish to have protections against subjective psychiatric labels and drug treatments for children. A majority of their board of directors are doctors who believe we are over-medicating for normal childhood behaviors.

Paul’s consent act further protects children from being evaluated at school by prohibiting federal funds from being used to establish mandatory mental health screenings.

According to Paul’s speech he gave on the floor, The New Freedom Commission on Mental Health “has recommended that federal and state governments work toward the implementation of a comprehensive system of mental-health screening for all Americans.” And that baseline starts in the schools.

The problem is there is nothing in the recommendation requiring parental consent for this evaluation. Would you be comfortable with a school psychologist evaluating your child and putting them on medication without your consent?

Paul , who is an OB/GYN, goes on to say “too many children are suffering from being prescribed psychotropic drugs for nothing more than children’s typical rambunctious behavior. According to Medco Health Solutions, more than 2.2 million children are receiving more than one psychotropic drug at one time…total spending on psychiatric drugs for children exceeded spending on antibiotics or asthma medication.” (emphasis added).

Wow. Parents are actually being threatened with child abuse charges if they do not allow their children to be medicated. And something many media sources do not discuss are the negative research findings regarding drugs – violence, dependence, weight gain, even mania, according to Paul’s speech.

So we’re drugging our children because they are “rambunctious,” possibly harming them in the process and we are most likely sporting some sort of disorder ourselves.  The good news is you’re in good company with at least 150 million other Americans. What do you think?