I'm glad you heard this one too Philip. I hate that NPR is so biased on the "mental illness" front.

There was simply no mention of the obvious point that the oodles of college students with psych labels might be a result of over diagnosis and false diagnosis, even a social trend.

And it always strikes me as odd on these lets get more help for the "mentally ill" shows when the folks featured focus on how they don't want anyone to think of them as abnormal or different and how they are able to function as well as anyone else, by their own testimony, these folks are admitting they aren't "mentally ill."

We should have compassion for everyone, not just some people identified as having special sensitivities...

Have you contacted NPR directly with your very valid critiques? I've been a media activist for years and when you contact the editor or reporter or publisher directly -- especially if others do it as well -- they will often respond; at the least they should be told.

Thanks so much for drawing attention to this one-sided and incredibly naive piece on NPR. It is truly sad to see students suckered down the path of biopsychiatry, embracing it hook, line, and sinker, without one little gram of critical thinking and a journalist doing the same. I think the pills impair critical thinking for sure and this is an example of it on the students' part at least. When, oh when, is the full story going to reach mainstream media in a way it can be heard? How many more lives are going to be lost or damaged? How many Stanford grads are going to become disabled from their "treatments?" It's a tragedy of epidemic proportions and it's hitting the best and brightest of our time.

"I'm not supposed to be like this, I kept telling myself. I need to be strong. Other people come to me for help. I started to panic. What if I can't graduate? What if I have to drop out of medical school? What if I can't take care of a family?"

The paradoxical narcissism of psychiatric diagnosis: everyone is equally well-adjusted and sane except for me.

Typical of the left's "compassion" towards mental illness issues... ARGH.

Stanford sucks anyway. Go CAL!

I will copy a comment I saw a long time ago here at FS and I don't remember who did it:

GET THE FUCKING HANDS AWAY FROM THE CHILDREN!

Something to gnaw on...

Take any subject you possess a greater than pedestrian understanding of. In this case it's mental health. What do we see?

1. The media presents a superficial, talking-points, rendition. Who provides the talking points? Follow the money...

2. If the media is so obviously in the tank and clueless about this subject, the one you hold a considered understanding, what leads one to believe they (the media) are any more credible on any subject?

3. Shouldn't you be equally, if not more, skeptical of any media report that fits your world view?

It's all crap, imo.

The paradoxical narcissism of psychiatric diagnosis: everyone is equally well-adjusted and sane except for me.

love it, thanks Evelyn!

NPR = Nuanced Propaganda Radio

NAMI has sent out a Press release praising NPR for this show.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/mental_illness/public_radio/prweb3104824.htm

That's almost as good as an endorsement from the PhARMA Industry, or the Professional Hog Riders Association.

You may be asking yourself when Goodwin will be back hosting the "NAMI hour" on NPR?

It is very hard for me to read this transcript. I dropped out of college after having been in and out of hospital, and it still upsets me a bit that the professionals who were sincerely trying to help me seemed in retrospect to have no perspective, or maybe they didn't remember what it was like to be a young person. Twenty year olds are finding their identities, learning how to be adults; add to that the stresses of a rigorous college, and it is bound to be a very hard time. I don't mean to minimize my problems or that of my friends -- I was a cutter, suicidal; i had friends with eating disorders, etc., and those are serious things -- but damned if any single therapist (bar one) or psychiatrist saw me as a kid transitioning to adulthood rather than a cutter. My parents even considered putting me in a residential facility in another state, on the advice of professionals.

Actually my favorite "professional" from that time was a medical student, while i was an inpatient, who was assigned to take my history. She was a bit older for a med student, around 30. She said to me, "You know, being 20 really sucks. I hated being your age. But trust me, it does get better." Somehow i knew that she wasn't dismissing me but was sincerely empathetic, and i believed her.

She also stuck up for me later, when my (respected, highly-regarded) psychiatrist yelled at me and left the room after i said i didn't want to get better. She said, "Don't worry about him. He has spent too much time around sick people, and he's lost his perspective. I'll talk to him."

That did more for me than two years of therapy in which, despite my therapist's best intentions, i feel i was treated like a "sick" person who needed to get "well". No! I had some problems, i am sure i had serious, diagnosable problems, but also, i was growing up!

When i went back to college, after spending some time OFF meds, out of therapy, and working for a bit and gaining some perspective, i sought out a counselor with whom i could "check in" regularly. No therapy. I wanted support but was very leery about getting back into the mental health world. _I_ was going to dictate the terms of this relationship. I ended up finding a wonderful child therapist (if a bit goofy and informal!), which was great for me because she viewed her adult clients lovingly as grown-up children. She told me later that she was generally very hesitant to ascribe any diagnosis to teenagers or college students and often just marked down adjustment disorder or something, 'cause that's what they were doing -- adjusting, i.e. growing up. I thought that was great.

I am 29 now and catching up with childhood friends and hearing about how they survived their early 20s, and i think, my God, how can i make friends with some 20 year olds just so i can tell them that they're going to be okay?

I am sorry i am not making much sense, as this is still a little bit of a raw subject for me. It just breaks my heart, thinking that with all these kids have to deal with, they could be putting their faith in well-meaning, misguided professionals who are misleading them like i was misled.

Sarah, thanks so much for posting your story. I am so glad you made it!!! You make perfect sense and I wish college students everywhere were reading this thread. It's stories like yours that keep me fighting for the truth and for justice for all the kids out there who are being threatened and intimidated by routine psychiatric treatment and counseling. Just one person speaking up like the medical student who helped you can make a difference and save a life.

Actually Sarah, you're making lots of sense. Thanks.