When I reclassified from 11H (heavy anti armor weapons infantryman) in the army to 91B (medical specialist)I was given a choice to to continue and become a 91G (behavioral science specialist) which I regretfully accepted. So no I don't receive compensation, but I'm not ignorant enough to dismiss something by reading a book or some blogs online. I left psychology after less than one year of working in the field. I preferred anything other than....went back to being a medic till I ETS'ed.
Mental illness exists and is real...stating otherwise is ignorant and selfish. Schizophrenia is genetic and passed down....your lack of knowledge in this field is willfully ignorant. And I see you glossed over catatonics and manic stages of bipolar...well whatever makes your argument framed for your self benefit. LOL
I don't really want to get into it, but catatonia is simply a state of extreme fear, literally scared stiff, you see this behaviour in the animal kingdom all the time when animals are presented with a serious threat (and nobody labels them schizophrenics). Life is scary and for some people they literally freeze up with fear.
As for manic phases, some people get extreme bouts of motivation and creativity, it may well be outside of the usual range for the majority, but what's wrong with that, if they aren't harming anybody. Mania is associated with extreme creativity in many famous artists, some people resist societies efforts to force them into a repetitive monotonous routines, these people probably experience more mania than most. There are also more than likely dietary and drug reactions involved as well. But what's wrong with Mania. And I dare say, If you explore humans evolution, manic phases would have been crucial to our survival.
And as for calling people who label Psychiatry as a fraud as ignorant, just show some proof. If I went to the doctor and he said I had cancer, and he could test me and show me undeniable proof of what I have, then why can't psychiatrists do this.
In spite of over a hundred years of research and many billions of dollars spent, we still have no clear evidence that schizophrenia and other related psychotic disorders are the result of a diseased brain. And yet, anyone who takes a close look at the actual research will simply not be able to honestly say otherwise. And not only does the brain disease hypothesis remain unsubstantiated, it has been directly countered by very well established findings within the recovery research, it has demonstrated itself to be particularly harmful to those so diagnosed (often leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy), and is highly profitable to the pharmaceutical and psychiatric industries (which likely plays a major role in why it has remained so deeply entrenched in society for so many years, in spite of our inability to validate it).
I think if you look at the history of psychiatry , such as labelling black slaves who ran away as suffering from drapetomania, you will get a real indication of what psychiatry is all about. It's a control mechanism to get people to conform to a rigid societal structure.
“Contemporary human problems are real enough. It is the labels we give them that concern me, and, having labelled them, what we do about them.” Ideology & Insanity, Szasz
