It Is Your Suffering

Transcript

Still I think many would benefit from this alternative perspective because a lot of the time its very monocultural or homogenous when it comes to the mainstream view on psychiatry so let’s talk about this.

Welcome beautiful thinkers, let’s talk about how its your suffering.

I read this book the other day over the course of a few weeks called Cracked and its a critique of the pharmaceutical industry and it goes into great detail about the shady practices which occur. Problems with the broken brain hypothesis that they have some sort of chemical imbalance within the brain that when you take certain drugs will correct it.

If you look in some detail you will find this isn’t an accepted hypothesis in the psychiatric industry and the psychiatric industry is trying to distance themselves from it.

At one point it was quite popular.

If you look at a pack of Xanax for example it will say it is not known how antidepressants or drugs work exactly, however it is believed that they help restore healthy chemical balance in the brain.

They don’t make any specific claims about it.

I remember I had a friend who went into a psychologist and my friend was under a lot of mental distress and anguish and my psychiatrist said “I don’t know what we can do but we can try psychotroopic drugs. They are the sledgehammer of psychiatry and at least I could say that psychiatrist was honest. A lot are not quite so honest.

People do repeat these myths like “A diabetic cannot produce enough insulin, they need insulin and therefor they inject insulin. Psychotroopic drugs are the same thing for your brain. If you’re in a bad mood all the time, lack motivation, sex drive and other clusters of symptoms then you likely have this disorder.

These things are far from proven and at least you can see this one perspective, one crituque of that in this book Cracked. I recommend it. It does say also in the appendix it goes into detail about antipsychotic drugs and it talks about how the people who refuse the drugs that are more likely to get better in the long term.

I forget the statistics exactly. 30 percent of people that don’t take it are likely to have another psychotic episode. 70 percent of people who take antipsychotic drugs are likely to have a psychotic episode.

Similar comparisons talking about if they later have jobs or have wellbeing and I just have to think there are so many things going on in the world trying to betray a simple version of happiness. Like this hollow version of happiness, maybe it involves material wealth, sex drugs or other things.

Things that might be easy to attain but of course when you get material wealth it does solve some problems but not everything it’s hyped to so we are left with this void where we start to question what is really going on here?

My life is going so well, I might have a great partner or a great job but I don’t feel happy. In that situation some turn to psychotropic drugs but those moments are actually precious.

If you are somehow desensitized or you cant feel joy or you don’t remember what it’s like to feel joy then you move into pain, into mental suffering and into anguish. Well perhaps this world has taken so much from you, your joy, your revelation and enjoyment and pleasure.

Well all you have left is your suffering, all you have left is your pain. They’ll give you those drugs and take that from you too.

No is my perspective. I know there’s a lot of nuance that doesn’t apply in every situation.

But when you have that pain and that suffering and it’s all you have left don’t let them take that from you. When you have that existential confusion of having some kind of shamanic awakening, psychotic episode or seeing things in a strange light and being trapped in delusions.

No, that is yours. Just as Napoleon Hill taught us “In every adversity lies the seed of an equal or greater advantage or benefit. Yes these experiences are powerful, full and difficult.”

Don’t you remember so many times in your life where you went through something difficult, some challenge so profound that it rocked you to your core and you didn’t know you were gonna get through it.

When you look back months or years later and you say those are some of the best times of my life. Thats when I lived on the edge, when I had to overcome that.

I have to give these disclaimers, don’t take this too seriously.

Of course there are there these times when some substances might be necessary to give someone a break or try to figure out a way if things are too dire but its also important to remember these are not the only way and as much as we try to be numbed by society, your pain and your suffering absolutely is a gift with wisdom, knowledge and potential contained within it.

Please remember that, please add that to the context of the conversation.

It is your suffering and it is for you.