Welcome to the December 2009 issue of the Psychology Debunked
newsletter!
Concluding our focus on ways we can improve our marriages, here is
Commandment #10 of our "Ten Commandments of a Blessed Marriage:"
10. Above all, let love lead.
Wrap everything in love, and your marriage will prosper. Let love
motivate and permeate every thought, word and action. In the end, only
love will matter; everything else will fade away and be forgotten.
1Cr 13:4
Love suffers long [and] is kind; love does not envy; love does not
parade itself, is not puffed up;
1Cr 13:5
does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks
no evil;
1Cr 13:6
does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
1Cr 13:7
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things.
1Cr 13:8
Love never fails. But whether [there are] prophecies, they will fail;
whether [there are] tongues, they will cease; whether [there is]
knowledge, it will vanish away.
Eph 4:1
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of
the calling with which you were called,
Eph 4:2
with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one
another in love,
Eph 4:3
endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
1Pe 4:8And above all things have fervent
love for one another, for "love
will cover a multitude of sins."
When we say, "I love you," biblically speaking we are saying, "I am
patient with you, kind toward you, happy when you benefit, humble toward
you, considerate of you, self-sacrificing, not easily angered at you,
believing only the best about you, rejoicing in the good in your life,
protective of you, faithful and hopeful for our future, and persevering
through trial."
Many of us fail after the first two on the list. Perhaps that is why
Paul later repeats this theme of bearing with one another: the degree of
love present in the relationship can be measured by the amount of
patience--literally "long-suffering"--that person shows the other. Most
marriages fail because one or both partners are not willing to "suffer
long"--they want the benefits of the resurrection life without the cross
that comes with it. It is an honorable thing to suffer long with a
spouse, and do it as unto the Lord with a kind and humble spirit.
By not reacting to your spouse's sins, this godly love effectively
"covers over" or hides their sins, just as God's love and grace covers
over ours. We may find that over time, we see those sins in our spouse
less and less as he/she responds favorably to our godly and
unconditional love.
This month, we take a holiday break and review the best news headlines
and articles from 2009. We hope you enjoy the issue and time spent with
family and friends this Christmas season.
In God's long-suffering love,
Lisa and Ryan Bazler
Lilly pays doctors $22M in Q1 2009 for promoting their drugs
Some priviledged doctors get to speak to their peers about Eli Lilly's
psychiatric drugs. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, except that
they present exactly what Lilly tells them to, and Lilly pays them
thousands to do it. Remember that the next time your doctor
recommends you use a psych drug.
"The following Tampa Bay area physicians were paid more than $15,000 by
Eli Lilly & Co. in the first quarter of 2009. None of the doctors
returned phone calls or e-mails seeking comment. $54,400 Dr.
Maria Carmen Wilson, Tampa (Neurologist) $31,000
Dr. Robert Levin, Dunedin (Internal Medicine) $30,775
Dr. Hardeep Singh, Tampa (Psychiatrist) $30,300 Dr.
Eric Kaplan, Lutz (Psychiatrist) $22,637.50
Dr. Lucila Ramiro, Tampa (Internal Medicine) $20,400
Dr. Kenneth Pages, Tampa (Psychiatrist) $15,300 Dr.
Brian Keefe, Tampa (Psychiatrist)"
more »
FDA approves more antipsychotic poisons for children
Completely ignoring the largest DoJ settlement in U.S. history--$1.4B
against Eli Lilly for hiding lethal side effects of Zyprexa--the FDA
has again sided with drug companies over consumers and put profits ahead
of safety by recently approving the marketing of three more
antipsychotics to treat children and adolescents with schizophrenia and
bipolar. Zyprexa, Seroquel, and Geodon join Risperdal and Abilify as
five of the most toxic medications used to "treat" children for these
"diseases."
For the FDA, it doesn't matter that they know these antipsychotic
drugs cause weight gain, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hormonal
and sexual malfunction, hyperglycemia, cardiovascular and liver
abnormalities, and sudden death in adults. When half of the FDA's
budget is paid by the drug companies themselves, safety takes a back
seat to politics and power. After all, the benefits outweigh the risks
for this age group, and sacrificing of the few is worth treating of the
many, right?
more »
FDA: 2X risk of suicide with mood stabilizers / anti-epileptic drugs
The FDA has ordered a label update for all anti-epileptic drugs (aka
"mood stabilizers") warning patients of an increased risk in
suicidal thoughts or behaviors. Test data showed a 2X risk over
placebo.
more »
FDA: ADHD Drugs Cause Hallucinations in Children
FDA researchers warn that ADHD drugs can cause hallucinations in
children, including believing that worms, bugs and snakes are
crawling on them, and running into walls that don't exist.
more »
ADHD drugs linked to sudden death
"Some parents believe new study reinforces link between stimulants,
cardiac death" says this new ABC News report. "...those who died
suddenly were 7.4 times more likely than not to have been taking the
stimulant medications."
more »
Study: Increase in heart defects in newborns of moms taking
antidepressants
Of course, GSK denies this finding related to their drug Paxil, even in
the face of 600 cases filed against them for this very reason, the first
resulting in a judgment against GSK:
"GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. must pay $2.5 million to settle a claim that its
Paxil antidepressant caused severe heart defects in a 3-year-old
Bensalem boy, a Philadelphia common pleas jury ruled today.
"The verdict is the first in 600 cases alleging that London-based Glaxo
knew Paxil caused birth defects and hid those risks to boost profits.
"The drug, approved for U.S. use in 1992, generated about $942 million
in sales last year, 2.1 percent of Glaxo's total revenue."
more »
School shooter in Germany murders 15 before killing himself -
antidepressants stopped
"[17-year-old Tiim]
Kretschmer had been receiving psychological treatment for depression,
but according to the police, he had recently abandoned his therapy."
The world asks "Why?" but we know exactly why. Starting, stopping, or
changing antidepressants puts you at very high risk of homicidal and
suicidal thoughts and behavior, especially for children and teens who
are still developing physically and mentally! How many more Columbines,
Virginia Techs, and "Winnendens"
do we need before people start listening?
more »
Virginia Tech shooter's missing medical records found... stashed in
psychiatrist's home
When we heard that a student had mass-murdered 30 people on campus, we
knew psychiatric drugs were involved, and so did the powers behind
them--so much so, that Cho's medical records were mysteriously lost,
until now.
more »
Chimp on Xanax Disfigures Owner's Face; Poodle on Prozac Attacks Former
French President
Surely all the warnings about the extreme dangers of psychiatric
drugs--including aggression and violent behavior--don't apply to
animals... or do they?
A Stamford, CT woman gave her pet chimp the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, and
is now in critical condition from the chimp's attack.
video »
Former French President Jacques Chirac was rushed to the hospital from
wounds inflicted by his Prozac-popping poodle.
more »
Michael Jackson was on a lethal drug cocktail
"When Michael died he was on a lethal cocktail of drugs. The deadly mix
included painkillers, anti-depressants, muscle relaxants and
anti-anxiety pills. The full list of drugs he was on were Vicodin,
Dialudid, Xanax, Soma, Prilosec, Paxil, Demerol and Zoloft."
more »
Should you get the Swine flu (H1N1) vaccination?
With the swine flu "pandemic" in full swing according to mainstream
media, many readers have asked us about it, and the vaccines to treat
it. We are not the experts in this area, but as a service to our
readers, we have included links below to useful articles and web
sites written by others who have nothing to gain except the satisfaction
of benefitting their fellow man:
Depression gene a psychological myth, says NIMH study
"One of the most celebrated findings in modern psychiatry — that a
single gene helps determine one’s risk of depression in response to a
divorce, a lost job or another serious reversal — has not held up to
scientific scrutiny, researchers reported Tuesday."
more »
Gay gene debunked by APA
"The attempt to prove that homosexuality is determined biologically has
been dealt a knockout punch. An American Psychological Association
publication includes an admission that there's no homosexual "gene" --
meaning it's not likely that homosexuals are born that way." Just
like the Bible says, homosexuality is a moral issue, not a medical one.
more »
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 »
What is causing my mental disorder?
If mental disorders are not caused by chemical imbalances in the brain,
then what causes them? We cover this subject in past newsletter issues,
but in addition to spiritual causes, mental disorder symptoms
frequently stem from nutritional or medical factors.
This web site helps you identify the appropriate lab test to ask
your doctor for, in order to find the true cause of your mental problem
or medical disease.
more »
8 New Ways You Might Be Insane
How many more descriptions of human behavior can psychiatry add to their
mental disorder bible before everyone in America is officially declared
mentally ill and need of treatment? DSM authors aren't too far away from
that goal:
"Midnight snacker? Compulsive shopper? Bitter? The new edition of the
mental health bible may classify you as having a psychological
disorder."
more »
Support proven more effective for schizophrenics than hospitalization
and drugs
This paper in PSYCHOSIS "reviews the only five studies of what happens
when people diagnosed ‘schizophrenic’ are given psycho-social support
instead of anti-psychotic drugs in the first few weeks of treatment.
All five found better long-term outcomes than the traditional approach
of hospitalization and medication."
more »
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 »
Do we love our spouses?
Most of us think we do, but how do we measure up to the Bible's
definition of "love?" The article "Assessing Love in Marriage" by
Jeremy Lelek, President of ABC, helps us gauge our current condition and
areas needing improvement.
more »
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.
Do you have a question relating to secular or "Christian"
psychology, mental disorders/diseases, psychiatric medications,
or biblical counseling?
Ask us.
Would you like us to speak about psychology at your church,
a local event, or a media outlet?
Contact us to book a date.
Have you recently discovered a web site or news article that
would be of interest to us and our readers?
Send us the link,
and we may include it in future newsletters (Note:
We do not necessarily agree with or endorse all of the material
on websites to which we link).
We read and
appreciate every email but are unable to respond to every one.
This newsletter is freely distributable to others. To remove your
address from this list,
unsubscribe.
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.
