A line in the book 'Starship Troopers' springs to mind: "Nothing scares the NCOs more than a dithering, uncertain officer" [paraphrased from memory].
Early on, the unspoken rule of such institutions is that you MUST show confidence, even when you don't feel it. Throw in the inevitable God Complex, and they soon start to believe their own infallibility.
That mentality lead to the deaths of millions of WW1 Tommies, utterly, meaningless, pointless, horrific deaths. And anyone who refused faced a firing squad.
Thorsten Veblen, 1915: "Nothing could be more profoundly and meticulously deliberate than the measured footsteps of a man who no longer knows where he is going, though he is on his way."
I wonder whether psychiatry is prone to the "backfire effect" which operates to further entrench adherence to an established paradigm in the face of a proposition which upends the status quo.
I also wonder whether practitioners are conflicted by their responsibilities under the various mental health acts under which they are obliged to act in the interests of public safety. It is well known how dangerous long term use of psychotropic drugs are. That is a fact that can hardly be disputed. However, no one wants a suicide or homicide on their conscience, so perhaps drugs are the means by which practitioners see themselves as fulfilling their professional duty, even though they know the effects seriously suck, to put it mildly.
The net effect surely, is that millions of people around the world are having their lives shortened, hospitals are still overflowing, and decades of drug prescribing has produced populations of obese people who are more or less inebriated. They are not the same person that they would be without the drugs. If whatever precipitated their crisis has not been resolved, they are much worse off.
Maybe a starting point could be give honest, accurate, clear language descriptions of how horrible the effects are of long term usage. Box warnings go some way to inviting caution, but are too ambiguous. The medical profession has a poor track record of de-prescribing. Opiods are a case in point.
"no one wants a suicide or homicide on their conscience..." In fact, it's "nobody wants a suicide or homicide on their record." Consciences are always assuaged by everybody agreeing: "Well, he had a very bad mental disorder, we did what we could but nature won." The only risk that is managed is that it will reflect badly on the hospital or individuals, not the risk that the patient will lose 20yrs of life due to the drugs and have a shit time until early death. Will check those links, cheers, JMcL
A line in the book 'Starship Troopers' springs to mind: "Nothing scares the NCOs more than a dithering, uncertain officer" [paraphrased from memory].
Early on, the unspoken rule of such institutions is that you MUST show confidence, even when you don't feel it. Throw in the inevitable God Complex, and they soon start to believe their own infallibility.
That mentality lead to the deaths of millions of WW1 Tommies, utterly, meaningless, pointless, horrific deaths. And anyone who refused faced a firing squad.
The similarities should be obvious.
Thorsten Veblen, 1915: "Nothing could be more profoundly and meticulously deliberate than the measured footsteps of a man who no longer knows where he is going, though he is on his way."
If this hasn't crossed your path yet Niall, I am 99.9999% certain you will appreciate this recent read.
Directly related to your reply above, not random.
https://warwickpowell.substack.com/p/post-liberalisms-funhouse-mirror?publication_id=1965102&post_id=178474751&isFreemail=true&r=szqta&triedRedirect=true
Thanks, I don't follow his substack but keep an eye on his other work.
Thanks for the Warwick Powell tip; I thought this was exquisitely relevant:
'voters are constructed as tribes to be mobilised, not citizens to be housed, employed and empowered.'
He hit so many nails on the head, it was like Thor on speed. ;)
I'm a proud Liberal, left-leaning, but his criticisms across the board were absolutely spot on.
I wonder whether psychiatry is prone to the "backfire effect" which operates to further entrench adherence to an established paradigm in the face of a proposition which upends the status quo.
I also wonder whether practitioners are conflicted by their responsibilities under the various mental health acts under which they are obliged to act in the interests of public safety. It is well known how dangerous long term use of psychotropic drugs are. That is a fact that can hardly be disputed. However, no one wants a suicide or homicide on their conscience, so perhaps drugs are the means by which practitioners see themselves as fulfilling their professional duty, even though they know the effects seriously suck, to put it mildly.
The net effect surely, is that millions of people around the world are having their lives shortened, hospitals are still overflowing, and decades of drug prescribing has produced populations of obese people who are more or less inebriated. They are not the same person that they would be without the drugs. If whatever precipitated their crisis has not been resolved, they are much worse off.
For more on that watch
https://medicatingnormal.com/
For more on how group think can go badly wrong, try
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/bigideas/the-dark-side-of-collaboration-simon-longstaff-bundanon/105527454
Maybe a starting point could be give honest, accurate, clear language descriptions of how horrible the effects are of long term usage. Box warnings go some way to inviting caution, but are too ambiguous. The medical profession has a poor track record of de-prescribing. Opiods are a case in point.
"no one wants a suicide or homicide on their conscience..." In fact, it's "nobody wants a suicide or homicide on their record." Consciences are always assuaged by everybody agreeing: "Well, he had a very bad mental disorder, we did what we could but nature won." The only risk that is managed is that it will reflect badly on the hospital or individuals, not the risk that the patient will lose 20yrs of life due to the drugs and have a shit time until early death. Will check those links, cheers, JMcL