Life as we know it: 8/14/11

Submitted by Susanna Agardy <susannaa@dodo.com.au>:

Letter to Prof Colin Blakemore: 'Disease of the brain, not the mind, has
no stigma' ( 'The Times', 2 August 2011)
by Susanna Agardy

Dear Prof Blakemore,

Re: 'Disease of the brain, not the mind, has no stigma' ( 'The Times', 2
August 2011)

In your article I note an unfortunate sidestepping of major issues in
'CFS' in which you include ME. From a discussion of 'CFS' you segue into
a discussion of mental illness. You seem to try to console 'CFS'
sufferers by saying that once neurology and psychiatry have been
reunited the stigma of their (mental?) illness will retreat. This
ignores the fact that ME is already considered a neurological illness
without being a psychiatric one, by the WHO.

As a sufferer, I would venture to claim that ME sufferers are not
affected by shame as you imply, but rather by feelings of neglect and
invalidation which their misdiagnoses and missed diagnoses inflict on them.

Patients with ME have been diagnosed with a psychiatric condition purely
on the basis that they have a physical condition – an intractable one
for which there is no simple test or explanation as yet. A group of
psychiatrists of whom Wessely is a leading member have invented a
diagnosis of somatisation or dysfunctional cognition for which there is
no evidence, and substituted it for the experience and symptoms of
patients, ignoring or reframing physical symptoms such as orthostatic
intolerance and post-exertional malaise. As a result, motives such as
malingering have been attributed to patients.

The psychiatrists then invented the CBT/GET treatment for this invented
diagnosis. Yet, CBT/GET is 'a purely pragmatic approach and without
theoretical foundation' as Prof Sharpe has cheerfully admitted. So, the
MRC has been supporting research on a treatment for which there is no
theoretical basis (with seriously adverse consequences already known to
patients and clinicians) for a condition of which the underlying
features were admittedly unknown to it and which has been reframed as a
psychological theoretical construct. All in the name of science and the
taxpayer.

You seem to be saying that it was too hard for the MRC to get a handle
on this multi-faceted condition. So, the MRC settled on the assumption
that it is psychological even in the face of numerous findings of
physiological underpinnings by independent scientists many years ago. It
seems the MRC endorsed Wessely et al's prescription that 'No
investigations should be carried out to confirm the diagnosis.' In
addition, the Wessely school's claim that the more patients protest that
they have a physical condition the more they are thought to be
psychiatric purports to box in patients so that the psychiatrists can't
be proven wrong by scientific testing. This behaviour indicates an
active turning away from the physical aspects of 'CFS' by the MRC. No
wonder 'CFS' patients were protesting. We hope that the current
allocation of funds at least begins to repair the situation.

Patients do not generally attack researchers who approach their
condition with respect and a genuine open-mindedness to discovering the
source of their problems. The Wessely school has not shown this respect
nor any scientific open-mindedness. They insist on their psychosocial
model, ignoring the biomedical abnormalities in spite of the mounting
evidence for these. All the while they parade themselves as experts in
'CFS'. It is also widely ignored that Wessely has been insulting and
provoking ME patients for many years and sneering at their disappointments.

If one or more persons have unfortunately overreacted to his
provocation, is that an occasion to invite the media to ridicule and
denigrate an entire group of ill patients? Is this in accord with the
standards of behaviour in psychiatry? Wessely himself stigmatizes mental
illness in the course of his crusade against ME patients.

Wessely claims to have given up research on 'CFS' 10 years ago. How is
it then that we seen his name on at least two recent publications? (He
features as participanting author in the PACE study and the study of
XMRV and CFS with M McClure et al, both published in the past year.) His
recent publicity-seeking in relation to 'CFS' also does not indicate
retirement from the field.

Wessely has been widely quoted as saying that he now goes to Iraq and
Afghanistan to feel safer. This claim would appear to be grossly
disrespectful to the many thousands of civilians and soldiers who have
been killed and maimed there. I wonder if the maimed and the relatives
of the dead would agree with him? It would seem that Wessely is willing
to trivialize these large-scale, tragic conflicts to dramatise his own
sense of victimhood.

What benefit does Prof. Wessely hope to gain from lashing out at very
ill ME patients in this way?

This note was created by Rosie Cox. it is about Ms. Gurl Bagnall, one of our staunchest advocated for M.E. patients over the past 25 years! Gurl has now been placed in Hospice! let's all pray for her.. xo TMH

Rosie Cox created a doc.

GURLI BAGNALL

I think many of you will know the name Gurli Bagnall who has provided wonderful advocacy for people with ME from her outpost in New Zealand. Gurli is very very unwell at the moment, and is presently in a Hospice. Should you wish to send cards to her you can reach her at this address:

PO Box 717, Blenheim 7240, New Zealand

This is an example of her advocacy via thw written word:

Permission to Repost

http://www.meactionuk.org.uk/H

iding-Head-in-Sand.htm

HIDING YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND IS DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH.

Gurli Bagnall

25/07/10

".the reduction of intelligence is an important factor in the curative

process.

I say this without cynicism.

The fact is that some of the very best cures one gets

are in those individuals whom one reduces to amentia [simple mindedness]."

- Dr. Abraham Myerson

As human beings we have the tendency to hide our heads in the sand when

something unpleasant looms on the horizon. Nowhere is that more true than

in the medical field and for those who think it will never happen to them,

it is time to wake up and pay attention to what is happening to others

before it is too late.

There was a time when we rarely heard of adverse consequences to medical

treatments, but with the introduction of the internet, the reporting of

medical scandals has increased to the point of being a daily event.

The latest to come to light here in New Zealand, was the subject of this

week's TV documentary, "60 Minutes". It told the story of a 56 year old

farmer who had been diagnosed with swine flu. He was extremely ill and the

hospital informed the family that the life support that had kept him alive

for three weeks, was to be disconnected. There did not appear to have been

any discussion; it was simply a bald statement of intent.

To add to the family's woes, was the discovery that during the three weeks

on life support, the patient had developed leukaemia.

As a last effort to salvage the situation, the family asked that before

disconnecting life support, the doctors administer high doses of Vitamin C

intravenously but the request was rejected outright. When asked what harm it

would do since the doctors intended to remove life support anyway, they

reluctantly agreed to give it a try.

The lung xrays had been "misted" to the point where no details of their

structure could be seen. Two days after commencing the high doses of

Vitamin C, the lungs were clear. Not only that, but there was now no sign

of the leukaemia.

One would expect that members of the healing profession would be ecstatic

about the results and their international implications. Instead this body

of people whose business is health and fighting disease, gave every

indication of displeasure and that it would have suited them far better if

their patient had die.

The family kept a vigil and documented everything. To their dismay, they

found he was once more deteriorating and on investigation, were amazed and

angry to discover that when the dramatic improvement became apparent, the

doctors stopped the Vitamin C.

To cut a long story short, the family called in the legal heavy-weights and

the hospital felt it prudent to recommence Vitamin C and slowly the patient

started once again to recover - slowly, because the doctors were still

flexing their muscles and abusing their powers by refusing to reinstate the

initial high dosage.

Should there have been a criminal prosecution? If there had been no doctor

involvement, would the perpetrators face some sort of charge? Attempted

murder perhaps? There is a sinister aspect to cases like this which make

parents who withhold life-saving treatment from a child on religious

grounds a negligible offence by comparison.

Watch the documentary on the following URL and ask yourselves what the

medical agenda was. Certainly it had nothing to do with restoring and

preserving a healthy life. Could it be something to do with the death of

the patient being more convenient to the vaccine-pushing authorities than

publicity about the curative properties of Vitamin C?

http://www.3news.co.nz/Living-Proof/tabid/371/articleID/1713

28/Default.aspx

The man who had been destined to die, was restored to his family and to

full health with all that goes with it.

Regrettably, where health is concerned all are open to dangers which can

mean anything from genuine, unintended and deeply regretted error, to murder

carried out with utmost cruelty for some self-serving purpose

Historically, sufferers of conditions such as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)

and Gulf War Illnesses (GWI), are amongst the victims who have with cold

deliberation, been subjected to medical abuse for many years.

Healthy people seem unable to envisage themselves in such a situation and

while they may be momentarily horrified when reading about it, they quickly

move on to the next item on their daily agenda.

When the axe falls unexpectedly and with agonising sharpness, the subject is

faced with medical hostility as the blame for their loss of health, earning

capacity, mobility and even life itself, is placed squarely on their own

shoulders.

In the ME community psychiatrist, Simon Wessely, is well known for his

activities in this regard; he and his colleagues are responsible for the

denial of appropriate care and financial support, and outright cruelty -

especially towards seriously ill children.

Since the mid 1900s, the situation has worsened and become more bizarre

with every passing year. The level of professional honour and ethics is

such that those who have suffered at the hands of medical ignorance and

abuse turn to their peers for support - peers whose only training is

personal experience in having survived one or more disastrous medical

interventions .

Just as the Catholic Church lied and cheated from top to bottom in an effort

to cover-up the wide-spread paedophilia within its ranks, so the medical

profession protects its wrong doers and woe betide those who try to work

within ethical guidelines or blow the whistle on blatantly damaging

behaviour and treatments.

Without the help of those who have already been through medical trauma or

witnessed loved ones go through it, there would be a far higher incidence of

suicide than there currently is.

But that is not the end of the story for those who abused at every level of

the medical system, infiltrated some of the support agencies rendering them

useless at best and dangerous at worst. We have seen it in ME where one

faction is set against another causing serious internal upheaval.

We have seen the hi-jacking of support groups by funding bodies - mainly

from the pharmaceutical industry, with medical and political backing.

Typically and as an example, on the one hand, the "funding body"

manufactures carcinogenic toxins and on the other hand they produce the

"treatments" for the cancers when they occur. The object of those who

orchestrate such groups is sales and profits. It has nothing to do with

patient welfare.

The winners are the drug companies and others with conflicts of interest;

it is they who call the shots and bank the cheques. Their lackeys who front

the groups, are there with hands outstretched, ever ready to do their

master's bidding for a cut of the spoils.

The losers are the many group members for whom the advice on offer,

sometimes represents a long-term to life-long illness/disability, or a death

sentence.

The major medical journals prefer to white-wash scandals if at all possible,

so when they actually publish concerns about the widespread incidence of

medical error the rest of us had better pay attention.

It is rare for medical articles to discuss the effects that iatrogenic

(doctor caused) disease, disability or death have upon the victims and their

families. The main concern is that those responsible should not be named,

blamed and shamed; that the "error", having occurred, will be a lesson

learned.

Unfortunately that is rarely the case for such "errors" are repeated over

and over again, accumulating one victim after another.

Those of us who are already adversely affected by medical treatment, have

learnt that none can afford to ignore the lesson. No one has immunity.

On 7 October, 2000, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published a paper

entitled "Uncomfortable Viewing" and it had this to say about medical harm.

"It is estimated that 320,000 adverse medical events occur in the United

Kingdom each year. Of these 40,000 result in the death of the patient, a

figure 10 times greater than the number of people dying in road traffic

accidents." It should be noted that these figures are based on hospital

records only and are far from complete.

In the same year, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) had

this to say about doctor caused (iatrogenic) deaths [Quote]: "...225,000

deaths per year constitutes the third leading cause of death in the United

States, after deaths from heart disease and cancer." (Is US Health Really

the Best in the World?, Vol. 284, No.4, July 26, 2000)

It is not so much the odd doctor like Myerson whose self-serving beliefs

make the blood run cold. It is the fact that views of this nature are

shared by so many within his field. The assault upon the brain of a patient

and the immorality of reducing that patient to a vegetative state is bad

enough, but when that patient has had a physical condition misdiagnosed as a

mental disorder, what hope does he have to escape permanent damage?

Regrettably psychiatrists are not renowned for their diagnostic skills and

particularly so when that which is at stake is the maintenance of personal

status, wealth and power. All it takes is a stroke of a pen, to

lobotomise a patient by chemical, surgical, insulin or electrical means.

Those who are seriously damaged or killed along the way, are of no concern

to such "operators".

One would hope it were not so, but unfortunately the voices of those in the

mental health field who practice with due regard to ethics, compassion and

integrity, are rarely heard. The old adage about empty drums making the

most noise is certainly true here. Those falling into this category are

devoid of intellectual thought, logic and common sense. The treatment they

dish out to children who suffer ME, is particularly heinous.

Common complaints are the snatching of children from their homes and sick

beds for incarceration in mental institutions where they may or may not be

allowed parental visits. There desperately sick children are forced to

attempt tasks beyond their physical capabilities; to put it bluntly, many

of them are literally tortured by psychiatric staff.

The opening paragraph of: "THE PSYCHOPATH - The Mask of Sanity" states:

"Imagine - if you can - not having a conscience, none at all, no feelings of

guilt or remorse no matter what you do, no limiting sense of concern for the

well-being of strangers, friends, or even family members. Imagine no

struggles with shame, not a single one in your whole life, no matter what

kind of selfish, lazy, harmful, or immoral action you had taken."

http://www.cassiopaea.com/cass

iopaea/psychopath.htm Add stupidity and

arrogance to that definition and see how well the whole melds with the

majority of psychiatrists.

The realization of the philosophy espoused by Myerson became blatant during

the reign of George Bush Jr. in the USA. He and like minded senators pushed

for legislation to test and treat every man, woman and child in the country

for mental disorders. Further, legislation was enacted to protect the

pharmaceutical and allied industries from being sued. To believe that the

large financial stake the Bush family and other senators had and have in the

pharmaceutical industry is a co-incidence, stretches credulity too far.

Bush plans to screen whole US population for mental illness. (BMJ)

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content

/extract/328/7454/1458

Stop Mandatory Psychiatric "Mental Health" Testing

http://www.conservativeusa.org

/mentaltesting.htm

Bush to Impose Psychiatric Drug Regime

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2004/06/23/bush_to_impo

se_psychiatric_d

rug_regime.htm

A smart smack on the behind or an investigation into allergies and a host

of other possibilities, was largely successful in dealing with the bad

behaviour of children in previous generations. Now Attention Deficit

Disorder and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has become

a diagnosis pinned to a huge percentage of children, particularly in the US

where teachers have been trained to diagnose it and to insist parents take

their children to a psychiatrist for treatment.

(Quote):"It is unjustifiable to misdiagnose over a million children with

ADHD. Psychiatry claims ADHD is a serious disease like cancer and our

schools have become a marketing distribution channel for this false data."

(Sheila Matthews, co-founder of AbleChild)

Spearheading this move, were the wealthy and influential who had direct or

indirect financial interests in the pharmaceutical industry. They pushed

to have smacking outlawed claiming that it was abuse. Thanks to them, bad

behaviour in children is no longer regarded as a normal nuisance to be

endured and dealt with as best able.

We are all different; we are individuals. There will be the bad, the good,

those who respond to a smack and those who don't. It is not logical to lump

all "bad behaviour" behaviour together and label it as a mental disorder to

be "treated" by dangerous, toxic and highly addictive chemicals. What does

that say about adults?

In many places, parents who refuse to expose their children to such drugs,

are threatened with expulsion of the child and/or their own prosecution for

neglect.

Do those who go through the psychiatric hoops at a personal level ever

wonder how the doctor knows they have a chemical imbalance in the brain when

no blood, or tissue has ever been taken and tested for it? Do they ask

themselves how the doctors can be so sure it will take a month for the drugs

to "kick in"? Answer: It will probably take that long for the patient to

become hooked.

Pregnant women in particular were and are targeted and once they are

addicted, new born babies start life enduring the agonies of drug

withdrawal and the neuronal damage that that process inflicts.

If this is not fulfilling Myerson's cherished dream, what is?

Almost every unpleasant event one can think of, has escalated from

occasional to epidemic proportions during the last decades. It takes very

little investigation to discover that psychiatric treatment is involved in

most of these cases. Apart from the induced aggression that triggers school

yard and work place massacres, there are side effects involving the central

nervous system as well as heart failures that have killed a number of

children and adults alike.

Violence and Psychiatric Drugs.

http://www.ritalindeath.com/Vi

olence-Drugs.htm

The Link Between Psychiatry, Drugs and Suicide.

http://www.teenscreentruth.com

/psychiatry_drugs_suicide.html

What You Should Know About Psychiatry and Psychiatric Drugs.

http://www.outlookcities.com/p

sych/

Psychiatrists sit in judgement on the characters and behaviours of others

often resulting in catastrophic outcomes for innocent people. Yet,

amongst its practicing members, this branch of medicine alone harbours more

irrational behaviour and criminals than any other. Broken

marriages/relationships, suicides and addictions are commonplace; there is

no shortage of cases of sexual abuse of patients including children, and

fraud in billing practices etc.

Here in New Zealand, the psychotic behaviour of psychiatrist, Colin

Bouwer, as he plotted and carried out the murder of his wife has recently

been dramatised - probably because he is nearing the end of his prison

sentence. It is a story of arrogance, stupidity, manipulation and more.

Once again I emphasize the word "stupidity" for doctors are generally

considered to be amongst society's most intelligent citizens.

Bouwer's stupidity was such that he lectured students on the art of

committing the perfect murder and then went on to "prove" it by putting it

into practice.

Featuring prominently in this sad sage, was a female colleague with whom

Colin Bouwer had had an affair and at his sentencing, she vowed she would

wait for him. The prospect of a long wait lost its appeal apparently for

within a few weeks, she took off to greener pastures with a new lover.

What personal qualities do such people have that could possibly qualify them

to judge the behaviour of others?

The final paragraph in a report published by the New Zealand Herald, put

the situation in a nutshell.

"It is chilling enough when a husband poisons his wife, and watches her

suffering, with such cunning premeditation. There can be no greater personal

betrayal. But it is a public betrayal, too, when that man is also a doctor

with that profession's power over life and death, a power Colin Bouwer so

schemingly abused."

The Colin Bouwer case: a fatal betrayal

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/n

ews/article.cfm?c_id=1

<http:>

id=229850>

&objectid=229850

When it comes to ME, the behaviour of the psychiatrists and GPs who follow

the Wessely theory, is no better. They may not blatantly carry out the

deed, but every ME sufferer who, in utter despair, has taken his or her own

life, did not commit suicide. They were murdered.

It was and continues to be the influence of those who preach mental disorder

for it is their false judgments that cut off medical and financial help. It

was and continues to be their actions that forced the blade to cut, the

noose to choke and the drugs to stop the functioning of the heart and lungs.

And like all psychotics, they simply couldn't care less.

Medical torture has been kept under wraps but during the last years,

information on this shameful subject has the headlines. The following is a

quote from: The Lancet,

<http:>

/PIIS0140-6736(0

0)X0242-5> Volume 357, Issue 9268, Pages 1609 - 1611, 19 May 2001.

(Quote): "Torture still exists today. Modern torture is becoming more

scientific, often with doctors' help or complicity. Anniversaries of

anti-torture declarations are proudly celebrated despite the fact that

torturers are still at work. Explanation of the original function of torture

will clarify why doctors have been involved in torture since the 16th

century and how the former role of doctors differed from their present

participation in torture."

Chemical torture for the political dissident is identical to the chemical

"treatment" of those deemed to be mentally disturbed, be they infant or

octogenarian. Ingested chemicals do not generally leave visible bruises or

abrasions .

Wikipedia describes it this way:

Medical torture (also known as a medical interrogation) describes the

involvement and sometimes active participation of medical professionals in

acts of <http:>

Torture> torture, either to judge

what victims can endure, to apply treatments which will enhance torture, or

as torturers in their own right. Medical torture may involve the use of

their expert medical knowledge to facilitate

<http:>

Interrogation> interrogation or

<http:>

Corporal_punishment> corporal punishment, in

the conduct of torturous

<http:>

Human_experimentation> human experimentation

or in providing professional medical sanction and approval for the torture

of prisoners. The term also covers torturous scientific (or

pseudo-scientific) experimentation upon unwilling human subjects.

The above barely scratches the surface of what is called medical "error".

As already mentioned, such error can range from genuine mistakes to criminal

offences. Doctors who carry out acts which would land a lay person in

prison, rarely get as much as the proverbial slap on the wrist

Lack of funds is the common excuse for poor service but the truth is that

the profession creates almost half of its own business through "error". It

is left to the unaware tax payer to pick up the tab and clean up the mess.

The system needs to change. Doctors need to be held accountable and for

their own protection, patients and/or their families need to be alert and to

ask questions. If the doctor 's response makes you feel like a fool,

consider who the fool was in the case of the farmer with swine flu.

Finally, we cannot afford to ignore the BMJ when it states: " .the more

closely we examine patient care, the more error we find. No setting is free

from hazards and no specialty is immune, and patients are at risk no matter

what their age, sex or health status." ("Epidemiology of medical error"

British Medical Journal, Volume 320, 18 March 2000.)

Gurli Bagnall

New Zealand

18 August, 2010

End Note:

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to those within the medical

profession who do their utmost to live up to the oath they took at the

beginning of their careers. We have seen many face career-destroying

retribution for so doing.

Life as we know it

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