The Marketing of Madness--Are We All Insane?

From the time we are born, society begins programming us to fit in. If a person rebels against that programming, there is a good chance that they will be labeled mentally ill. But, not to worry. There is cure for social misfits--just give them a pill and disregard the fact that many of society's so-called social misfits have been geniuses that improved the world we live in.

Much of our society seems to subscribe to the axiom, "better living through chemistry," as they swallow a pill to put them to sleep, a pill to wake them up, a pill to calm them down, a pill to lift their spirits--literally, a pill to cure whatever ails them.

From personal experience, I know children, who as young as six years old, were placed on anti-psychotropic drugs. Did they really need these drugs? Or was this the easy answer to bad parenting? Society, generally, has been convinced that psychiatrists know best.

And yet, human rights groups are beginning to question the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), used by most psychiatrists. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is one such group. In an award winning documentary, "The Marketing of Madness--Are We All Insane?" CCHR explores the conflict, particularly as it relates to the apparent influence of Big Pharma over the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

Indeed at least 18 DSM committee members who decide on the manual's content have fully documented financial ties to pharmaceutical companies.

The proposed disorders in DSM-V have already raised eyebrows. Says psychiatrist and author Niall McLaren, "The entire DSM project is an exercise in the politics of committees funded by the drug industry... Without an understanding of the physical, scientific causes of disease, the rest is just shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic."

Medical doctors are the lifelines upon which many patients rely. For this reason, "Marketing to MDs--The easy sell," Chapter 7 in this documentary, reveals how doctors are misled by the psychiatric-pharmaceutical alliance, whose biased information serves little more than their own vested interests.

For those interested in watching this documentary, go to cchr.org to obtain a free copy of the DVD. For more information, visit their social media website at cchrint.org.

Sources:

Carla Moxon, The Citizens Commission on Human Rights