TeenScreen Calls Physical Illness a Mental Disorder

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Sun, 19 Feb 2006 06:27:27 -0800 (PST)

[sSRI-Research] Teen Screen: Calls hypoglycemia and other

Physical Illnesses a Mental Disorder

 

 

 

 

 

Paragraph three reads: " Anxiety disorder is a good example of this. A

certain list of symptoms prompt a psychiatrist to dish out Prozac,

Xanax, Ativan, Valium, Zoloft, etc. No medical testing is necessary

for a psychiatric diagnosis. Yet these symptoms - unknown fear,

anxiety stomach, disorientation with the sensation that the body is

going to die, sweating or clammy hands are also all symptoms of

hypoglycemia, which simply means low blood sugar. A friend of mine,

also a nurse, was sent home recently from work because she was " acting

erratically " and didn't seem to know where she was. After thorough

medical testing, she found out that she has hypoglycemia. "

 

 

http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/70367/index.php

 

 

 

TeenScreen Calls Physical Illness a Mental Disorder

by Kenneth W. Thomas

 

Email: ken-w-thomas (nospam) lycos.com (unverified!) 12 Feb 2006

 

 

The symptoms of " mental illness " are real. Many of them can be caused

by genuine physical illnesses and treated with medical

(non-psychiatric) means. The diagnosis of a " mental disorder "

generally means that the patient's symptoms will now be glossed over

with dangerous mood and mind-altering drugs. Now TeenScreen is pushing

these diagnoses into our schools, targeting children as young as nine

years old. Our children deserve better treatment.

I am a Registered Nurse with 29 years of experience. I've worked in

the critical care units, emergency rooms, medical-to-surgical units,

and even psychiatric units. Based on my direct observation and

experience, many of the patients I've seen with so-called mental

illness actually have underlying physical conditions that are easily

treatable by medical, non-psychiatric, methods. Even mental health

screening programs like TeenScreen routinely mis-diagnose genuine

physical illnesses as mental illness.

 

Anxiety disorder is a good example of this. A certain list of symptoms

prompt a psychiatrist to dish out Prozac, Xanax, Ativan, Valium,

Zoloft, etc. No medical testing is necessary for a psychiatric

diagnosis. Yet these symptoms - unknown fear, anxiety stomach,

disorientation with the sensation that the body is going to die,

sweating or clammy hands are also all symptoms of hypoglycemia, which

simply means low blood sugar. A friend of mine, also a nurse, was sent

home recently from work because she was " acting erratically " and

didn't seem to know where she was. After thorough medical testing, she

found out that she has hypoglycemia. She had been suffering with that

undetected condition on and off for 15 years. She had been through the

whole regimen of expensive anti-anxiety medications in attempts to

treat it. After the actual cause of her symptoms were located, she

changed her eating habits, the symptoms did not return and no drugs

were needed to handle this condition.

 

In my work, I have seen first hand the finding of heart valve

prolapse, which had gone undetected for years in some women. This

condition causes the sensation of rapid heartbeat, fluttering in the

chest, sweating and anxiety. These are the symptoms of " panic attacks "

and many of these women had been treated with anti-anxiety drugs.

These are cases of actual undetected physical illness being passed off

as mental illness for months or years, only to eventually find that

there is a REAL cause and it can be treated and resolved. Half the

battle today is the false advertising of psych drugs to treat chemical

imbalances in the brain. A theory only with no clinical evidence,

patients are put on mood-altering drugs at the whim of a psychiatrist

or medical practitioner.

 

The elderly in our nursing homes are regularly put on anti-depressants

for their " depression " . Most of them lived 7 or more decades without

drugging away their blues. If you had just been taken from your home

and put into an unfamiliar place confined to bed or wheelchair,

wouldnt you be upset? Frankly, I would. Any loss of personal freedom

tends to bring people downward emotionally. There are many ways to

help an elderly person gain more independence and have some autonomy

even in restricted conditions such as these nursing homes and rehab

centers. Most of these elderly just need someone to talk to, not

another pill.

 

I have personally observed and spoken with many parents about their

childrens diets. I found that most parents with kids on Ritalin,

Adderal, Concerta, or any other drug given to treat attention

disorders, have no clue how refined sugars affect their kids

hyperactivity. I have watched in dismay as mothers in grocery stores

give their youngsters candy in hopes that they will be quiet until the

shopping is complete. She is likely to have a yelling, out-of-control

brat in 30 minutes for all of us to enjoy as well at the check out

line. This is a known effect of blood sugar levels and food

allergies/sensitivities. Some hyperactivity in kids, including the

inability to concentrate, can be reproduced at will with food. Most

kids with this condition have food allergies that prompt them to feel

frantic and ill. Being young and unable to voice their physical

discomfort, they go from play item to play item, get moody and

irritable, and basically try to work off the effects of the

food with activity, high amounts of it.

 

TeenScreen and other screening programs are infiltrating schools and

other institutions testing children for symptoms of mental disorders.

Those teens who answer yes to such broad questions as Have you often

felt very nervous when you've had to do things in front of people? are

likely to get a life-long label and a prescription, without any proper

medical testing or even an inquiry about their diet.

 

Those are my observations of so-called mental illnesses. Many, if not

all, can be found to have physical causes and can be handled in ways

not requiring glossing over with dangerous mood and mind-altering

drugs. Our population, especially the elderly and the children,

deserve better treatment.