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The press! spot light on hillmorton hospital and psych services treatment of the mentally ill !!!

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The press! spot light on hillmorton hospital and psych services treatment of the mentally ill !!! Empty The press! spot light on hillmorton hospital and psych services treatment of the mentally ill !!!

Post by snow white Sat Apr 27, 2013 10:24 pm

hello all. well ive always said i wanted to expose the system and now i have finally been given the chance. i was contacted the other week to go along to a press interview with my friend, (she has been treated like utter crap by the services and has alot of anger) i thought oh yeh ill come for moral support and add my ten cents, when we meet with the press journalist she seemed really interested in what i had to say and my story. still interested in my friends story but realising there might not be a story, like i said shes angry and wants revenge basically and it might not have been the best way of doing this, however i pointed out that i wasnt on a witch hunt, i just wanted the system to take responsibility and see change for every poor soul who has to deal with them, the journalist was more keen on this idea. so after our first meeting she asked me to email all the information i had. below you will see what i sent through, thoughts and opinions will be greatly appreciated guys, i know no one knows who iam on here so i feel safe to put this up. i have this sinking feeling that i dont have much time left, if this is the case than i know im leaving with putting it out there to the public which kind of makes me feel ok. so here it is, ive blurred out the name of my friend. keep an eye out for the press, will let you all know when the story gets published, it will be interesting to see how the journalist words it.

Hi *%#@
*%#@ here. we meet on tuesday about the mental health system, im really not so sure i want much of myself or my history to be in this report and wish to remain nameless, as i fear the system would treat me alot worse if they figured out that it was me who spoke to the press, im really paranoid it would come back to haunt me, As im still in their services and even something so signifigant like 'i work with horses' they will know exactly who iam and the horse comunity talks, everyone knows everyone. iam however happy to Provide you with imformation to help form a story. i would just like to be the voice for others. im sure there is away to hide my identity, there must be some way of doing this? my appologies for my terrible spelling.
after many years of trying to deal with depression on my own i was shocked to learn how i would be treated when i finally did reach out to the people in a so called position to help. in and out of psychiatric care since 2010 i have been humiliated, punished, and let down time and time again over the course of this period. once i was "diagnosed" borderline personality disorder the care and treatment i would receive turned to custard due to the stigma surrounding the diagnoses it is the recipient of so much professional disregard.
My own personal experiences with mental health services have been tramatic to say the least, from forced druggings to have been given medications that should never have been administered in conjuntion with other medications a mistake which could have been fatal, to a nurse covering up how much blood i had lost and how long she had left me alone for just to cover her own arse the list goes on.
But my main concern is for the people that have to suffer at the hands of the proffesionals. The neglect, misconduct, and gross incompetence of the mental health system in christchurch needs to be adressed. I believe that drastic measures need to be taken to educate and reorganize the doctors and staff of the cdhb mental health system, I would like to see the system at a standard where people in need of help would actually want to and feel safe to ask for help. And above all, respect for the rights and dignity of the person being treated. propper health care shouldnt be a privilege but a right of every citizen in New Zealand regardless of their illness..
Somthing i would like to raise is the administering of drugs when paitents are in hillmorton hospital. when you are in hospital all you are doing is waiting, waiting to see the dr, or waiting to leave. your basically just paper work being handed on to the next person. the nurses in charge of your care it seems its top priority for them to feed you up on pills, regardless of what is actually wrong with you, if you look iritable, tired, upset or nothing wrong at all, they want you to take lorazapam, which is a powerfull bendoziazapam, a highly addictive drug which is the equivilant of drinking a glass of wine. they call this prn a term they use for 'use as required' another drug they give is a sleeping pill called zopiclone, or immivane, also highly addictive. the problem with this is some paitents are admitted for months at a time, i know many that have been there for up to a year. they become dependent on these drugs and when they finally leave, there body goes into withdrawl which can cause all kinds of problems, so they seek out these drugs, and are refered to as being drug seekers, which in turn they are in a scence black listed And they often just give up on them. staff are doing more harm than good, creating addictions and dependencies. they dish out these drugs like candy because that is their only treatment but so many mistakes happen with this due to just pure neglegence i know for a fact that many staff dont botter to read patients notes and get it wrong more times than i dare to count, i myself have had one nurse try and give me another patients meds because she had someone elses paper work, she insisted that i was on this drug and made me really doubt myself, when it was proven they were not mine she would not accept fault. This is not a mistake that can be made in the hospital setting when dealing with serious psycotropic drugs
Another thing that needs the spot light is psychiatric emergency services, these people work front line, dealing with people that are in crises. when you are in trobble and you have no idea how to cope, and fear for your own saftey and the saftey of others, one would assume you call the professionals but the reception you receive either by phone or in person is often inhumane and noncompasionate. i have been told 'i have had to deal with people like you all night and im sick of it' it felt like such a personal attack that when i told her i was going to make a formal complaint she had security remove me. for someone in a fragile state this could be enough to tip them over the edge. someone i knew was in desperate need of help she was told to go home by the psych services and an hour later hung herself. this is just not acceptable, especially when she seeked help.
There have been soo many unnecisary suicides under the systems care that could have so easily been prevented. at risk individuals that have been left alone, or not taken seriously, many of these suicides have occured after discharge and its just not right, people are admitted into their care bcauase they are a danger to themselves or others. but if a paitent does harm themselfs while on the ward, it is viewd as acting out or attention seeking, and for this behaviour (due to their mental state of mind) they are punished and discharged immediatly despite being very unwell at the time. Patience are encouraged to take responsibility for themselfs, but for some individuals this is just not possible at this time because when your in an unwell state logic and conciquences go out the window, it was my understdanding that you come to hospital becuase you cant take care of yourself and need suport! but instead those with the highest mortality rate and those most vunerable are thrown to the wolves which to a patient can feel like the system failed them, left to think they cant get help, which is a heartbreaking and lonley feeling when you are rock bottom.

Now things are changing with the services, more people are being left in the comunity to function. as this is their aim to intrigate people back in to the general public when many of these people are just not capable and very very sick. i can appreciate wanting to make those suffering from illness feel more normal and less segregated but there are some extreamly unwell people that need to be hospitalized and being left to their own devices in the comunity is going to have more cons than pros for example inpatients at princess margaret hospitals seger clinic have free run, it is an open ward and they are alowed to come and go as they please, in an area where there are alot of ill elderly people and school children. i have often observed paitents hownding the public for ciggeretts and money at the bus stop in front of the hospital, verbally and sometimes phycically abusing the public. they are free to go out and get readily availible things like synthetic cannibis and alcahole and the result is never good. i lived in cashmere not so long ago quite close to princess margeret hospital and had unwelcomed, rather undesirible patients coming up to my flat and wondering the property at 11:00 at night, when i complained i was flogged off and told to call the police if i was concerned. why were paitents that are concidered dangerous. that they were responisible for out so late and unacounted for? what is going on?
All and all anyone can suffer from metal illness at any time in their lives, but being put in the system. they are treated like children, belittled, dignity goes out the window and they are made to feel sub human, whcih can worsen their health. the industry is ecaxtly that a money making industry, it would seem the cdhb is more concerened about money and cutting costs than the well being of those effected my mental illness. iam not on a witch hunt, or wanting to get revenge, I just want to see change becuase i have seen so many lives ruined by the system. the horror stories you hear about the treatment of the mentally ill back in the day of insane asylums, the horror is still very real today its just more modern, a chemical form of mistreatment.
Now, @#%*, the other girl you spoke to has been given a raw deal, and unfortunantly yesterday found out she is going back to jail for her behaviour when she was unwell, she practically begged them for help but they only see her as being difficult and angry, they have just left her and now she is the one who has to suffer in a prison cell which is really sad, becuase no one deserves that. she was never able to handle being out there on her own after being institutionalized for such a long period of her life to just being thrown back into the world, it would seem they are washing their hands of her. she has for weeks left and fears for her saftey during this time, but the hospital have turned a blind eye.
so #$%* i hope this imformation helps you to create a story Below i have also included imformation about modern psychiatry and medication, which does aply to new zealand becuase those very same drugs are being used here. please take the time to read it and view these videos below as they will also give you an understanding and may even shock you to learn these thing.
If you could contact me about the privacy issue also.I also have other people that are willing to tell their stories aswell if you would like to make contact. and if you have any further questions would greatly appreciate hearing from you
02@#$4%@#%%
sincearly #*@#*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgCpa1RlSdQ medication exposed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zhu8rsumBw Psyciatry exposed. now this is part one there are a few other parts to this story i hope you find time to watch them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFhm-xhQocM Diagnostic & Statistical Manual: Psychiatry's Deadliest Scam

This is an excellent story detailing how the psychiatric drug industry was born and its powerful and profitable partnership with the drug industry, which has turned psychiatry into an $80 billion drug profit center,

* But is any of it based on real medical science?

* How valid are the psychiatric diagnoses being handed out?

* And are the drugs safe?

Unfortunately, the evidence is overwhelmingly stacked against psychiatric drugs. It’s becoming ever clearer that most of today’s psychiatric diagnoses and subsequent drug treatment is a sham, successfully promoted to make you believe it’s based on some scientific truth.

But it’s not…

What Causes Psychological Distress?

Answering this question is the holy grail of psychiatry. Even before there were psychiatrists, such troubles were blamed on things like evil spirits, or an imbalance of “humors.”

The latter was treated by bloodletting, which is perhaps the longest running tradition in medicine, originating in the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Greece, persisting for some 2,500 years through the Industrial Revolution. It was the “aspirin” of the day, used for just about every conceivable condition from pneumonia to depression. Yet, there was never any evidence that it did any good, and many times the patients died. Of course, it was always assumed it was the disease that killed them, rather than the treatment.

Interestingly, we now know that there was good reason why this may have helped men or postmenopausal women. If they had high iron levels this would have been able to reduce their load and thus improve their overall health.

Finally, 19th century scientists began to question its value and medical statisticians who tracked case histories discovered that it wasn’t helping much of anything.

The blanket prescription of drugs for every conceivable psychological hiccup has become the bloodletting theory of the 21st century… Of course, in the case of psychiatric drugs, there’s tremendous profits to be made by maintaining the status quo and not admitting the error of their ways.

The fact is, psychiatry STILL doesn’t understand what causes psychological distress, and the primary theory proposed; the idea that unwanted behavior and depression are due to an imbalance of serotonin and dopamine in your brain, has NEVER been proven.

On the contrary, research has proven the theory is WRONG, yet this evidence has been swept under the proverbial rug.

Despite what the slick advertisements say, psychotropic drugs have no measurable biological imbalances to correct—unlike other drugs that can measurably alter levels of blood sugar, cholesterol and so on.

“How can you medicate something that is not physically there?” they ask in this documentary.

The answer is, of course, you can’t!

Doing so anyway is a dangerous game.

The Physical Dangers of Medicalizing a Non-Physical Condition

One significant danger of psychotropic drugs is that they can upset the delicate processes within your brain needed to maintain your biological functions. This risk simply cannot be overstated… The documentary cites some staggering statistics attributed to psychiatric drugs:

* 700,000 adverse reactions per year

* 42,000 deaths per year

How in the world can drugs that cause over 40,000 deaths a year be permitted, let alone handed out like candy?

Even if you DO have a serious psychiatric issue, such as PTSD for example, drugging it away is risky—especially if you’re taking multiple drugs. Since the average American takes 13 drugs per year, this is a serious issue.. A number of military personnel have died in their sleep, for example, after taking a prescribed combination of Paxil, Seroquel, and Klonopin. These deaths were NOT due to overdosing, but rather “each case involved a sudden cardiac incident and resulting death,” Jed Shlackman wrote in an article for the Examiner last year, adding:

“This adds to growing concern about serious adverse effects of psychiatric medications commonly prescribed to emotionally disturbed or traumatized soldiers.”

Several studies have demonstrated the potential for lethal cardiac side effects. For example:

* A literature review of studies from 2000-2007, published in Expert Opinion on Drug Safety in 2008, found that “Antipsychotics can increase cardiac risk even at low doses, whereas antidepressants do it generally at high doses or in the setting of drug combinations.”

* A study published in January 2009 in the New England Journal of Medicine found that antipsychotic drugs doubled the risk of sudden cardiac death. Mortality was also found to be dose-dependent, so those taking higher doses were at increased risk of a lethal cardiac event.

* Another study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that same year also found that antidepressants increase the rate of sudden cardiac death.

Are Emotional Symptoms Really Signs of Mental Illness?

Clearly, there are “real” mental illnesses that can destroy any semblance of normalcy in a person’s life. But are you mentally ill when you’re sad for more than a couple of weeks?

Is losing zest for life a sign of mental illness?

Where does the normal grieving process fit into our modern lives—is it something that should be drugged, or is it a normal phase of life that everyone on the planet has to move through? And when does an emotional phase go from being a natural part of the changing emotional landscape that is life to a problem that needs to be “fixed”?

Many are quick to defend their choice to take drugs. No one wants to “feel bad.” But are these drugs destroying lives rather than saving them?

I believe the answer is a resounding YES at this point.

Rather than helping people address the root cause of their suffering, psychiatry has now simply resorted to a chemical form of lobotomy to “make the problem go away.”

Drug therapy has been the conventional therapy of choice in the psychiatric field since its beginnings. Insane asylums during the early 19th century employed drugs like morphine and opium to quiet patients’ outbursts. By the turn of the 20th century, heroin was peddled as a cure for psychiatric problems, and Sigmund Freud wrote articles promoting the use of cocaine for spiritual distress and behavioral difficulties.

Today, these drugs have become “illicit” and anyone resorting to cocaine to ease their troubled mind is called a junkie… But in essence, all the industry has done is replacing a few dangerous drugs with other dangerous drugs.

The Truth about the “Chemical Imbalance” Theory


Most of you have probably heard that depression is due to a “chemical imbalance in your brain,” which these drugs are designed to correct. Unfortunately for anyone who has ever swallowed this marketing ploy, this is NOT a scientific statement.

So where did it come from?

The low serotonin theory arose because they understood how the drugs acted on the brain; it was a hypothesis that tried to explain how the drug might be fixing something. However, that hypothesis didn’t hold up to further investigation. Investigations were done to see whether or not depressed people actually had lower serotonin levels, and in 1983 the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) concluded that

“There is no evidence that there is anything wrong in the serotonergic system of depressed patients.”

The serotonin theory is simply not a scientific statement. It’s a botched theory—a hypothesis that was proven incorrect.

The fact that this fallacy continues to thrive is destroying the health of millions, because if you take an SSRI drug that blocks the normal reuptake of serotonin, you end up with the very physiological problem the drug is designed to treat–low serotonin levels. Which, ironically, is the state hypothesized to bring on depression in the first place.

In 1996, neuroscientist Steven Hyman, who was head of the NIMH at the time, and is today Provost of Harvard University, published the paper Initiation and Adaptation: A Paradigm for Understanding Psychotropic Drugs, in which he explains this chain of events. According to Dr. Hyman, once your brain has undergone a series of compensatory adaptations to the drug, your brain operates in a manner that is “both qualitatively and quantitatively different than normal.”

So, it’s important to understand that these drugs are NOT normalizing agents. They’re abnormalizing agents, and once you understand that, you can understand how they might provoke a manic episode, or why they might be associated with sexual dysfunction or violence and suicide, for example.

How Did it Ever Get this Bad?

Part of the puzzle explaining why we now have a pill for every emotion and psychological trait is that psychiatrists were originally not considered “real” doctors—they couldn’t actually “do” much to help their patients, and they certainly couldn’t cure them. They realized that to increase their status, they had to make the field more scientific, and it was this decision that gave birth to the medicalizing and drugging of every conceivable behavioral tendency.

Medical journalist and Pulitzer Prize nominee Robert Whitaker explains the history of the treatment of those with severe mental illness in his first book, Mad in America. His latest book, Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America focuses on the disturbing fact that as psychiatry has gained ground, mental illness has skyrocketed.

Part of the problem is that the criteria for diagnosis has expanded exponentially—you can now be diagnosed as being “ill” if you have trouble controlling your shopping habits, and a child who often argues with adults can be labeled according to the diagnostic code 313.81 — Oppositional Defiant Disorder. A staggering array of normal human experiences now masquerade as “disorders,” for which there is a drug treatment available.

Another factor is the fact that psychiatric drugs CREATE more serious forms of mental illness…

What Does the Science Really Say about the Effectiveness of Psychiatric Drugs?

First of all, when looking at the research literature, short-term trials show that antidepressants do NOT provide any clinically significant benefits for mild to moderate depression, compared to a placebo. As you know, all drugs have benefit-to-risk ratios, so if a drug is as effective as a placebo in relieving symptoms, it really doesn’t make sense to use them as a first line of defense.

And yet doctors all over America prescribe them as if they were indeed sugar pills!

However, it gets worse. Research into the long-term effects of antidepressants shows that patients are no longer really recuperating from their depressive episodes as was the general norm prior to the advent of modern antidepressants. The depression appears to be lifting faster, but patients tend to relapse more frequently, turning what ought to have been a passing phase into an increasingly chronic state of depression.

Long-term studies now indicate that of people with major depression, only about 15 percent that are treated with an antidepressant go into remission and stay well for a long period of time. The remaining 85 percent start having continuing relapses and become chronically depressed.

According to Whitaker’s research, this tendency to sensitize your brain to long-term depression appears to be the same both for the earlier tricyclic antidepressants and the newer SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors).

In addition, SSRI’s have been shown to increase your risk of developing bipolar depression, according to Whitaker. Anywhere from 25 to 50 percent of children who take an antidepressant for five years convert to bipolar illness. In adults, about 25 percent of long term users convert from a diagnosis of unipolar depression to bipolar.

This is a serious concern because once you’re categorized as bipolar, you’re often treated with a potent cocktail of medications including an antipsychotic medication, and long-term bipolar outcomes are grim in the United States. For starters, only about 35 percent of bipolar patients are employed, so the risk of permanent disability is great.

Another risk inherent with long-term use is that of cognitive decline.

It’s Time to Stop the Insanity…

Every year, 230 million prescriptions for antidepressants are filled, making them one of the most-prescribed drugs in the United States. Despite all of these prescription drugs being taken, more than one in 20 Americans are depressed, according to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The statistics alone should be a strong indication that what we’re doing is simply not working, and that instead, these drugs are contributing to other serious health problems


snow white
snow white

Number of posts : 14
Age : 36
Location : chch
Registration date : 2012-10-07

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