Mental Health Industry Corruption Within The Usa!

[anni]

Yes, and those who are diagnosed with PTSD are 100% covered by private insurance, to be sure. The Conservatives are doing their best to reverse Obama's health care plan, as incomplete as it was, on the grounds that nobody actually needs it. Yea. Many of our mentally ill population, of which I am sure there is a nice percentage of PTSD sufferers, can be seen sleeping on our city streets where they moved after the mental hospitals closed and quite literally booted them out 20 years ago. These diagnosis are entirely about corporate greed- the insurance companies, the pharmaceuticals, private hospitals and institutions. It's scary here these days. Most of the population lives between one serious illness ( or diagnosis ) and the streets and doesn't realize this. You lose your job, sure, you can pay a zillion bucks a month for Cobra-who can afford that? There is nothing, then see how quickly those diagnosis go away. You're not a PTSD patient any more then, you're just an anxious homeless person.

There isn't a soap box big enough to scale for this subject, but thank you for at least drawing the diagnostic line in the sand for the forum. I wish there were a way for other countries to lean on the US to clean up it's act across the board, but greed outweighs the need for integrity, it seems- or shame.

 

[Sterre]

Researching DID, PTSD and CPTSD for instance, no other country in the world has significantly changed in the levels of patients diagnosed, ie. if you stub your toe, your not diagnosed with PTSD, or because you feel sad, depression, etc. It seems only the US is having these epidemics of PTSD, CPTSD, DID and so forth.......

Living in The Netherlands I have to disagree with what you wrote here. I dont have the numbers but it's my geuss that the last three years there are more diagnosed people with PTSD here. It has to be, because only two years ago they opend a instiution /therapycentre for people diagnosed with PTSD, CPTSD that is not related to warcrimes. It's the only specialized trauma centre in Holland. ( besides a war trauma centre). The fact that they opend this trauma centre has to do with increasing numbers of people diagnosed with PTSD. ( Wich we call PTSS)

 

[anthony]

Sterre, that is not necessarily an increase due to diagnosis, but more they finally met a requirement to cater those who were diagnosed. There is obviously population increases, so numbers increase with that. You have to review this as per capita, and the Netherlands has not had a 150% increase per capita, nor any other European country. The US has... and that excludes its soldiers. Awareness brings slight peeks and troughs, but nothing like the misdiagnosis that is occurring within the US at present.

The APA agree that they didn't put the utmost thought into the diagnostic criteria at the time, back in 94, though it has also taken the last 15 years for them to obtain more statistical and theoretical information to improve it for its next release. At the time, it was best fitting; now, its not. The most change has come due to the significant increase in diagnosis within the US, which is counter-productive at the health level in itself, so they have to fix it just to stop it being handed out like candy within their own country in order to save the insurance system, let alone it being misdiagnosed. There are repercussions internally within any country for misdiagnosis upon country health system resources.

Building a building to cater PTSD is not a huge cry that its an epidemic though... the Netherlands have actually always been one of the leading researchers on trauma and childhood sexual abuse, as a good majority of the studies come from the Netherlands and Germany.

 

[anthony]

Anthony, can you explain where the PTSD rate of 30% comes from?

Found another interesting little tidbit today... got bored, and went looking at overall stats. Could only conclude from 2004 successfully, so no doubt to 2011... its only worse, but based on 2004 stats:

USA population: 299,398,000
PTSD Rate: USA 58 per day per 100,000 citizens

299,398,000 / 100,000 = 2993.98 * 58 = 173,650 US citizens per day get PTSD in 2004.

173,650 / 299,398,000 * 100 = 0.06% daily rate * 365 = 21.9% annual rate in 2004 of PTSD.

Then from that, around 5% - 7% obtain permanent, lifelong.

Imagine those sums today based on 2010 stats? And that's the stuff that is being reported... let alone things not being reported. Scary figures...

 

[becvan]

Being very close to the Americian Border, I can see this influence in Canada. I've ran into at least five people in the last six months alone, that are claiming PTSD. When I started asking, who gave you the diagnosis? I get the doctor, I have trauma. I ask, well what tests have you undergone for the diagnosis. I get told none. The answer is.. I have a trauma therefore I have PTSD. This is the doctors conclusions! Then they are handed happy pills and that's the last they ever hear of it.

Even though I"m in the C-PTSD category (that doesn't exist,) I'll be happy with the changes. I can live with just PTSD and DDNOS (or whatever you call it.) Tighten up the rules and get rid of this crap!

bec

 

[anthony]

Damn straight bec... it doesn't piss me off that people come here with the belief they have PTSD due to stubbing their toe, but because some stupid physician diagnosed them in the first place / told them they have PTSD because their partner cheated on them, then as you say, are given happy pills.

Medication spiked in one area here recently, and immediately the Australian Medical Association (AMA) where on it like white on rice... they wanted to immediately know why something had spiked, what its was, and it fell to misinterpretation and prescribing pills to similar diagnosis, but not what they where designed for. They stopped it immediately because excessive pills where being prescribed for illnesses they were never designed to used upon, but a group of physicians had decided to give it a shot nonetheless, without any clinical trials or study. They worked on the presumption that the medication had been cleared, so it could be taken, without further clinical testing.

The industry has some crack pots coming through within it... plus some real bright one's. I just hope the bright one's outweigh the crack pots.

 

[becvan]

Can I come live where you are? LOL. It is so bad here Cops are now investigatiing docs because our prescription abuse has just exploded. I now live in the worst city in Canada for crime and prescription drug abuse (and that is without considering the numbers that are hidden!) and it's because the docs are handing out pills like candy. Our Docs are our drug pushers now! I think every doc handing out any pill or diagnosis like this should be stripped of their license for life.

 

[jesse]

Hi Anthony I'm glad you posted this. I have been to various medical professionals in the U.S. (I'm a U.S. citizen) and had great results with most with the exception of psychiatrists. I have seen psychiatrists since I was about 16 yrs old and have only seen one good one in 23 years!! I have truly found them to be very cold people and downright strange. I don't know that it is capitalism or just that the mental health field is attracting the dredges of medical schools. I don't have the answer but for me it has been limited to mental health. The best people I have found to help me with meds are family physicians and nurse practitioners. I try to avoid psychiatrists like the plague.

 

[anni]

I ran across a hugely interesting back and forth between primary care docs on the interent, on a sort of professional forum discussion. It was on an off-shoot of a self-diagnosis topic. One doctor was infuriated by the rising tendency on the part of colleagues to prescribe meds to patients solely on the say-so of the patient. He claims that the doctor will ask the patient if they are depressed, or have xyz symptom of any of a number of mental disorders and allow the patient to diagnose themselves with the 'yes' by way of a positive response. They were not speaking of physical conditions in this case, but mental symptoms, with the doctor reacting to only the patients report of 'what was wrong' by whipping out the prescription pad, not a referral to some place for further testing. It's this willingness to medicate with no proven basis ( when the means of proof exist ) which drove the doctor posting this insane.

PTSD was not mentioned specifically but as Anthony mentioned in another thread PTSD is the worst end of the diagnostic spectrum encompassing an awful lot of other things. Another twist to this aspect of doctors so loosely 'diagnosing' based on patient only reports is that what if a patient self-diagnosis themselves right out of a badly needed PTSD diagnosis? One patient describes their symptoms, they 'match' PTSD, are 'diagnosed' sans tests, medicated by these goofballs and leave. Another is seen, only mentions the depression ( on the list of PTSD criteria ) although they may be suffering from PTSD and be in need of treatment desperately, is not tested so falls through this same lack-of-testing crack. That patient will no doubt leave the office medicated but not treated for PTSD while so many others with a false diagnosis will.

On the subject of those wild stats, I came across someone while looking around for material on the whole 'Self Diagnosis' thing and thought I'd found someone I could use for an example. This person had sprained something in gym class some years ago and 'had' PTSD as a result so I thought 'Ah-ha!'.I ah ha'ed to soon. It transpires they had in fact, according to the blurb provided been diagnosed and was now bravely struggling through life thus encumbered.

 

[anthony]

There was a study run with some college students, and the scary part is that over 80% of them all with zero trauma, where able to fake a diagnosis from physicians of PTSD. They did this to test diagnostic ability and experience, unbeknownst to the treating physicians... and with only letting the students read up on PTSD and what they should be saying, doing, etc... 80% + pulled the diagnosis from the treating physician.

That's how scary we are now dealing with diagnostic issues from the USA right now.

 

[jesse]

Do you think it is only limited to the USA?

 

[anthony]

Its not, no.... but the USA is currently the only country showing such a dramatic increase in misdiagnosis and prescription medication dispensation. If you look at country stats for these factors uniquely, the USA is the only one clearly identifiable with significant change, ie. +500% and further in some instances over a decade period.