More than twenty years ago, a sociology professor addressed an important issue in one of his books: how otherwise reasonable people can be 'convinced' of the impossible:
The current example of statistics: child and adolescent mental illness. I first noticed this on a blog written by a person who described herself as a 'mental health advocate.' There was an infographic on her blog titled MENTAL HEALTH FACTS: CHILDREN AND TEENS. The infographic stated: “1 in 5 children ages 13-18 have, or will have a serious mental illness... 20% of youth ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition.” Not sure which caught my eye first: the seemingly-impossible statistics- or the terminology.
Clearly the blogger had not made this up herself, so the logical approach was to look for the original source. The “National Alliance on Mental Illness” is basically a consumer organization started by two women who each had a schizophrenic child. However, while the infographic bears their logo, upon approaching NAMI, I found they were not the original source, either.
I was directed to two other sources, one of which did not appear to have statistics or data on their website, and the other of which had some really interesting information. In addition to the usual behavior and conduct issues, 11.7% of adolescent 'mental disorders' were listed as the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. Logically, adolescents (and others) should be discouraged against using these products- but are they 'mental disorders,' or simply mistakes that can have serious complications/consequences?
Go back to numbers 2-5 in the list at the top of this article, and it should not be difficult to see how it can worsen. In one particular state, a self-described “parent-led coalition” refers to the state's “current children's mental health crisis.” This includes: “Over 20% of children have a seriously debilitating mental illness during their lifetime. Over 45% of children have had any mental illness.”
And if that isn't enough: “Treatment of mental illness... is most effective during the brain's development from birth to age 26.”
“From birth”? And what is the source of this dangerous approach? While I unfortunately did not think to include the link, one source I quoted in an article nearly three years ago stated: “It is estimated that between 9% and 14% of children from birth to 5 years of age experience social and emotional problems that negatively affect their functioning and development.”
This was explained in a CCHR newsletter: “There is a concerted push in the psychiatric and pharmaceutical industries for the global implementation of a new mental health paradigm called 'preventative mental health'- pre-diagnosing and pre-drugging children before they show any signs of a mental disorder. In other words, if we wait to administer drugs to them it may be too late.”
I will take this opportunity to echo CCHR's advice: “Please express your outrage to your government representatives.”
Unfortunately, while statistics can be pulled out of thin air, in some cases they are not. One particularly alarming set of statistics shows both how serious an issue this is, and that while the issue is worsening it is not new: “In 2005, an Ohio newspaper published statistics for the previous summer in its state; listing only statistics for children who were on Medicaid, psychiatric drugs had been prescribed to more than 39,000 children. Even more outrageous, 740 of those children were three years old and under. This included antidepressant drugs, anti-anxiety drugs, and anti-psychotic drugs for children who were under three years of age.”
More recent statistics and data, courtesy of CCHR, covers psychiatric medications prescribed for children in 2013: in the age group from birth to five years, 1,080,168 children. This included 274,804 children under one year old.
And while the rate of drugging increases with age, it covered 8,389,034 kids between birth and seventeen years of age on psychiatric drugs.
It is time we stopped allowing the most innocent, vulnerable members of our population- children- to be used as guinea pigs. It is time we all began to take the responsibility seriously to protect, rather than endanger, kids' health, safety, and lives. And it is certainly time otherwise-reasonable adults learned to “take it from the source” rather than taking everything one reads or hears as 'fact.' Yes, the United States truly does have a “children's mental health crisis”- and the spreading practice of drugging children is it.
If you're not yet convinced that this is a very serious problem, continue reading here:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/05/prweb11872059.htm
- 'Statistics' are contrived- created- pulled out of thin air;
- When something is said or read, it spreads like wildfire;
- It often does not take long for these contrived 'statistics' to be both presented as and accepted as 'fact;'
- And, on some topics, the net is cast far enough and wide enough to include virtually everybody;
- And it reaches the point that few people question its validity- or are even aware of its original source.
The subject of statistics takes me back to an expression from an older generation: “Take it from the source.” What this means: a) if you hear or read something particularly unusual, determine whether or not the source of the information is reliable and trustworthy; and b) if the source is not the original source, find out where the statistics/information originally came from.
The current example of statistics: child and adolescent mental illness. I first noticed this on a blog written by a person who described herself as a 'mental health advocate.' There was an infographic on her blog titled MENTAL HEALTH FACTS: CHILDREN AND TEENS. The infographic stated: “1 in 5 children ages 13-18 have, or will have a serious mental illness... 20% of youth ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition.” Not sure which caught my eye first: the seemingly-impossible statistics- or the terminology.
Clearly the blogger had not made this up herself, so the logical approach was to look for the original source. The “National Alliance on Mental Illness” is basically a consumer organization started by two women who each had a schizophrenic child. However, while the infographic bears their logo, upon approaching NAMI, I found they were not the original source, either.
I was directed to two other sources, one of which did not appear to have statistics or data on their website, and the other of which had some really interesting information. In addition to the usual behavior and conduct issues, 11.7% of adolescent 'mental disorders' were listed as the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. Logically, adolescents (and others) should be discouraged against using these products- but are they 'mental disorders,' or simply mistakes that can have serious complications/consequences?
Go back to numbers 2-5 in the list at the top of this article, and it should not be difficult to see how it can worsen. In one particular state, a self-described “parent-led coalition” refers to the state's “current children's mental health crisis.” This includes: “Over 20% of children have a seriously debilitating mental illness during their lifetime. Over 45% of children have had any mental illness.”
And if that isn't enough: “Treatment of mental illness... is most effective during the brain's development from birth to age 26.”
“From birth”? And what is the source of this dangerous approach? While I unfortunately did not think to include the link, one source I quoted in an article nearly three years ago stated: “It is estimated that between 9% and 14% of children from birth to 5 years of age experience social and emotional problems that negatively affect their functioning and development.”
This was explained in a CCHR newsletter: “There is a concerted push in the psychiatric and pharmaceutical industries for the global implementation of a new mental health paradigm called 'preventative mental health'- pre-diagnosing and pre-drugging children before they show any signs of a mental disorder. In other words, if we wait to administer drugs to them it may be too late.”
I will take this opportunity to echo CCHR's advice: “Please express your outrage to your government representatives.”
Unfortunately, while statistics can be pulled out of thin air, in some cases they are not. One particularly alarming set of statistics shows both how serious an issue this is, and that while the issue is worsening it is not new: “In 2005, an Ohio newspaper published statistics for the previous summer in its state; listing only statistics for children who were on Medicaid, psychiatric drugs had been prescribed to more than 39,000 children. Even more outrageous, 740 of those children were three years old and under. This included antidepressant drugs, anti-anxiety drugs, and anti-psychotic drugs for children who were under three years of age.”
More recent statistics and data, courtesy of CCHR, covers psychiatric medications prescribed for children in 2013: in the age group from birth to five years, 1,080,168 children. This included 274,804 children under one year old.
And while the rate of drugging increases with age, it covered 8,389,034 kids between birth and seventeen years of age on psychiatric drugs.
It is time we stopped allowing the most innocent, vulnerable members of our population- children- to be used as guinea pigs. It is time we all began to take the responsibility seriously to protect, rather than endanger, kids' health, safety, and lives. And it is certainly time otherwise-reasonable adults learned to “take it from the source” rather than taking everything one reads or hears as 'fact.' Yes, the United States truly does have a “children's mental health crisis”- and the spreading practice of drugging children is it.
If you're not yet convinced that this is a very serious problem, continue reading here:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/05/prweb11872059.htm