Welcome to the November 2009 issue of the Psychology Debunked newsletter!
Continuing our focus on ways we can improve our marriages, here is Commandment #9 of our "Ten Commandments of a Blessed Marriage:"
9.Frequently forgive. Forgiveness is the gauge of your spirituality. A sinner saved by grace will easily forgive others. A self-righteous, self-sufficient person will hold grudges and become bitter, to their own detriment. As God’s forgiveness knows no limits, neither should yours for your spouse.
Luk 17:3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. Luk 17:4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
Mat 18:21Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Mat 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Luk 6:37Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
When we don't forgive others, it shows our lack of understanding of the depth of God's forgiveness toward us. After all, He is perfect and holy, and we're not. If anyone has the right to not forgive, it is God. But He does nonetheless, and then we withhold it from our fellow man. This certainly cannot please God!
The more we see God's mercy in light of our own sinful state, the more we will appreciate the magnitude of God's forgiveness, and the more we will be willing to extend that forgiveness to others. If anyone on earth should show forgiveness for his fellow man, it is the Christian changed by God's grace.
Forgiving our spouse's sins also means forgetting them, and this can be difficult. Of course, we cannot blank our memories (is there a drug for that yet?), but we can choose to see our spouses the way God sees them: hid under the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, with their sins gone "as far as the east is from the west" (Ps 103:12) and "remembered no more." (Heb 10:17). Far be it from us to bring up sins of the past already buried by God in the depths of the sea (Mic 7:19). Instead of bringing our spouse's past into the present, we can pray for him/her, expecting God to work in our spouse's life.
We must also not forget to balance this teaching on forgiveness with other biblical teachings on wisdom. For example, a victim of an abusive spouse should not continue to get beaten just because her drunken husband always says "I'm sorry" the next day. We still forgive from the heart, but outwardly we take practical steps--like counseling or separation in this case--to avoid harmful situations for ourselves or our children.
This month, we call your attention to an excellent blog posting from Chris Kesser on The Chemical Imbalance Myth. He pulls from credible sources to debunk the commonly held belief that mental disorders are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. If mental disorders are truly mental and have no brain-based cause, then taking a brain-altering drug is useless (and it is).
Also this month, more healthcare madness from Washington... another shooter on psych drugs... the real truth on HPV vaccines for cervical cancer... elderly drugging on the rise... medical testing saves boy from further psych abuse... massive weight gain on antipsychotics... candid remarks from a psychiatrist... only Jesus can heal lunatics... and psychiatric drug experiences and withdrawal programs in the Q&A and Letters section.
We hope you enjoy the issue!
Forgiven and cleansed in Christ,
Lisa and Ryan Bazler
CCHR: Healthcare bill filled with psycho/pharma agendas
It's nice to know at least someone has read the 2,000 page healthcare bill that just passed the House of Representatives. CCHR summarizes the pro-psychiatric/pharmaceutical portions of the bill here, and it has only gotten worse since the initial versions of this bill. Amerikans Pelosi and Reid have managed to slip in the Mothers Act, which we wrote about in a prior issue. Summary of bill »
Orlando engineering firm shooter on psych drugs
"Rodriguez's former mother-in-law told Fox News over the phone that Rodriguez was on medication that affected his mind. She said he acted paranoid, thinking people were out to get him.
'He would imagine things sometimes,' his former mother-in-law said. 'From what I understand they had him in a mental institution six months ago.'"More of the story »
Doctor: Cervical cancer vaccine unnecessary, and safety unknown
At a recent International Public Conference on Vaccination, Dr. Diane Harper, lead researcher in the development of two human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, said "It is silly to mandate vaccination of 11 to 12 year old girls" given the lack of efficacy and safety data.
"I came away from the talk with the perception that the risk of adverse side effects is so much greater than the risk of cervical cancer, I couldn't help but question why we need the vaccine at all," said Joan Robinson, Assistant Editor at the Population Research Institute. Get details »
Illinois elderly get "chemical straightjacket" with psych drugs
"Frail and vulnerable residents of nursing homes throughout Illinois are being dosed with powerful psychotropic drugs, leading to tremors, dangerous lethargy and a higher risk of harmful falls or even death, a Tribune investigation has found.
"Thousands of elderly and disabled people have been affected, many of them drugged without their consent or without a legitimate psychiatric diagnosis that would justify treatment, state and federal inspection reports show." Individual stories »
Eight year-old FL boy saved from psychiatry
Eight-year-old Anthony was labeled by the state of Florida as mentally retarded, bipolar, was put in a straight jacket and force-fed psychotropic drugs. Anthony's mother didn't give up on him, and real medical testing proved the state wrong. Inspiring news clip »
Kids blow up like balloons on antipsychotics, study shows
"Young children and adolescents who take the newest generation of antipsychotic medications risk rapid weight gain and metabolic changes that could lead to diabetes, hypertension and other illnesses, according the biggest study yet of first-time users of the drugs.
"The study, to be published Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, found that 257 young children and adolescents in New York City and on Long Island added 8 to 15 percent to their weight after taking the pills for less than 12 weeks. The patients, ages 4 to 19, added an average of one to one-and-a-half pounds a week." Specific drugs tested »
Still believe in the theory of chemical imbalances?
"There is one (rather large) problem with this theory: there is absolutely no evidence to support it. Recent reviews of the research have demonstrated no link between depression, or any other mental disorder, and an imbalance of chemicals in the brain (Lacasse & Leo, 2005; Valenstein, 1998).
"The ineffectiveness of antidepressant drugs when compared to placebo cast even more doubt on the “chemical imbalance” theory. (See my recent articles Placebos as effective as antidepressants and A closer look at the evidence for more on this.)
"Folks, at this point you might want to grab a cup of tea. It’s going to take a while to explain the history of this theory, why it is flawed, and how continues to persist in light of the complete lack of evidence to support it. I will try to be as concise as possible, but there’s a lot of material to cover and a lot of propaganda I need to disabuse you of." Get de-propagandized »
The Bible and Psychology: What Does God Say About Solving Man's Problems?
Continuing Victor Storkel's series of articles comparing psychology and the Bible, this month features the article "Only Jesus can heal lunatics."
Q&A
This reader asks,
"How can I help my Christian friends get off of psychiatric drugs?"See our answer here.
Letters
This Christmas season, do you want to convince family or friends to avoid psychology and psychiatry? These readers will encourage you to speak up, because those around you are at great risk physically, mentally and spiritually.
"In his book, Valenstein clearly and systematically dismantles the chemical imbalance theory:
* Reducing levels of norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine does not actually produce depression in humans, even though it appeared to do so in animals.
* The theory cannot explain why there are drugs that alleviate depression despite the fact that they have little or no effect on either serotonin or norepinephrine.
* Drugs that raise serotonin and norepinephrine levels, such as amphetamine and cocaine, do not alleviate depression.
* No one has explained why it takes a relatively long time before antidepressant drugs produce any elevation of mood. Antidepressants produce their maximum elevation of serotonin and norepinephrine in only a day or two, but it often takes several weeks before any improvement in mood occurs.
* Although some depressed patients have low levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, the majority do not. Estimates vary, but a reasonable average from several studies indicates that only about 25 percent of depressed patients actually have low levels of these metabolites.
* Some depressed patients actually have abnormally high levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, and some patients with no history of depression at all have low levels of these amines.
* Although there have been claims that depression may be caused by excessive levels of monoamine oxydase (the enzyme that breaks down serotonin and norepinephrine), this is only true in some depressed patients and not in others.
* Antidepressants produce a number of different effects other than increasing norepinephrine and serotonin activity that have not been accounted for when considering their activity on depression."
--Chris Kresser, "The Chemical Imbalance Myth" Nov 10, 2009 posting on his blog here.
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The mission of this ministry is to inform mental sufferers and those from whom they seek help of the physical, mental and spiritual dangers of mental health disorders and treatments, and to encourage them to pursue a drug-free, psychology-free, Christ-centered life. Visitors to this web site taking psychotropic drugs who wish to discontinue use are strongly advised to consult a qualified physician for assistance and supervision before starting the discontinuation process. This ministry and web site provides information to help visitors make the most informed decisions about their mental health, and should not replace the advice of a medical doctor.
