Doctors Who Jumped Ship (Part 2: Peter Breggin)

Peter Breggin, M.D., Psychiatrist

Who else made the list?  Check here. 

Dr. Breggin deserves to be first on my list because I came across his book Toxic Psychiatry in 1995 when I was in the midst of my own bumpy journey.  

Ironically, Dr. Breggin was a psychiatrist who helped me discover the chiropractic profession.  He didn't know it, until I wrote him a letter about 12 years later. 

Back when I was working as a mental health therapist I was beginning to spin myself into a cocoon.  

Like a maturing caterpillar who needed to face new scenery, I was conflicted by the biological theory that espoused drug therapy to help the brain.  Deep down I knew that was something not for me personally and I was grateful I didn't have a mental illness.  

Being a fairly new graduate from my counseling program, I was enthralled with the techniques of Alfred Adler, Albert Ellis, and the Gestalt followers.  I was looking forward to forming the supportive relationship people were lacking in order to help them reach their goals with confidence.   

It didn't take me that long to realize my clients were not improving. In general, we were trashing their dignity. My clients were looked down upon.  They were not encouraged to stretch their minds to strive towards a meaningful life of independence.  They were coached to just get through the day and eek out some type of existence on a meager disability payment.  Yes, they were chronically mentally ill with deep patterns of dysfunction, but they were short changed by lazy professional attitudes.  

If I had someone in my family struggling with his or her emotional balance  I would be on them like a hawk.  Why?  because I am very wary of the mental health system so I don't want my family member talked into something unhealthy.  Doesn't that sound odd coming from a mental health therapist?  Maybe not.  As someone on the inside, I knew in my heart how I would want myself or a loved one cared for.  Someone in the middle of a personal crisis needs understanding, a thoughtful ear, and reassurance that they are going rise above it with a new strength.  

Someone in a fragile state doesn't want to be questioned in an impersonal office setting or emergency room worried that their answers will be misinterpreted.  No one wants to be given a stigmatizing label and treated as if they cannot be trusted.

So, at a time in my life where I was at a crossroads realizing there has to be a better way to reach people, I discover a book by someone with the same idea. 

I was in a library one day where Toxic Psychiatry was propped up on a shelf of new releases.  I grabbed it and voraciously read it from cover to cover. Here was a psychiatrist who didn't use psychiatric medications.  It was refreshing and exciting to see my thoughts were validated by someone who has dealt with this longer than I have.  

Peter Breggin's book is written in an autobiographical style as he gives a chronological story of his experiences helping people reclaim their lives without the risky option of psychiatric medication. 

What struck me with Dr. Breggin's narrative, is that he does not fear people. He is comfortable with them.  He welcomes them and is eager to hear their stories. Doctors are programmed to get to the solution as quickly as possible, which in a psychiatric scenario, it is usually medication or hospitalization.  Dr. Breggin is not in a rush to that kind of treatment.  He is able to draw out of his patient's their strengths and weaknesses so they can work out a therapeutic plan that the person can work through with a clear mind knowing where to go for appropriate support. 

Dr. Breggin speaks out about the disabling effects of psychiatric drugs.  These types of drugs do not allow someone to accomplish any goals.  Rather they are numbing to the brain and have unpleasant side effects.  He has been an expert witness for malpractice trials and works tirelessly on reforming psychiatry.  

At the time I was considering a career in psychiatry, but his book helped me look elsewhere.  I knew there was an important connection between the mind and the body and I realized I needed to learn more about the physical body.

At my position as a mental health therapist I was frustrated to watch my clients struggle with mental and physical complaints.  The psychiatrist would refer them back to their physicians who would report that blood work and other tests were normal.  When my clients came back to their follow up appointments they would say they are supposedly fine physically so their concerns were all in their head.  They were falling through the cracks and no one could help them.

I had also stumbled into a challenging  experience with situational grief and was offered the same drugs my clients were taking.  After all, there was a lock box full of complementary samples provided by the generous pharmaceutical reps.  My immediate response was a polite, "No, thank you.  I need to feel this.  I need to learn from this."

So that self talk lead me away from the mental health environment on to a drug free path.  Now, I realize I was not prescribing medication to my clients, but it was such a roadblock to helping people learn self management, it could not participate in it or tolerate it.  To me, that was unfair to my clients.  I had to be part of a group that could be free to employ natural means to assist the innate healing ability.

Dr. Breggin's book helped me see there was another niche worth pursuing.  Around 2008 I found out he had relocated from Maryland to New York and I wrote him a letter informing him how influential his personal calling and book were to me.  I met him and his wife, Ginger, some time later.  Their strong desire to relieve people of their emotional and mental suffering keeps them busy. Their perseverance is truly needed in our society.  

Read one of Dr. Breggin's articles here  https://www.madinamerica.com/2019/06/a-smashing-victory-and-an-insidious-new-threat/

I have more names of doctors who jumped ship.  Stay tuned.  

Doctors Not Moved By Drug Company Lies

(Image: Don't Try This At Work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxyhG58b9Gc)

If Doctors Really Supported Patient Rights, Pharma Would Close Down Forever.

Call to Action: Evaluate how much you tolerate dishonesty when it comes to allopathic professions that focus on peer pressure rather than doing no harm. 

I can't speak for any individual physician, and I certainly can't speak for other chiropractors.  Yes, I admit I am not interested in much of what the current chiropractic associations promote.  (That's another topic.)

The truth is out there, but it is ignored.  There is so much fraud and dishonesty with the regulation of pharmaceutical products, I can't understand why there is such a high worship of drugs.  

Safety regulations are completely violated If physicians really acknowledge this, they would refuse to write another script.   Listen to Pam Popper's explanation of this huge disservice.   I am stunned by this information.  But not surprised.  Really, if your doctor stood up for you, there would not be another drug given out.  The track record of the regulators is so poor and it has become a joke behind the scenes.  If this was how airplanes and cars were sold, we'd all be riding bikes. 

Why do I speak about this?  Because drugs don't heal you.  Your own healing ability within your physiology does the hard work.  You are the healer.  And if you have trouble believing it, you will have trouble healing. 

It's not a secret that drugs do harm.  They are toxins, but that tends to be downplayed in an attempt to manipulate body systems. The government's regulations are not followed and the consequences for law breakers are not handed out.  

The blatant disregard of safety should make the pubic angry.  People are unwittingly taking drugs assuming they are safe.  

Darren Schmidt's video on Akathisia -- What's That? Black Box Warning.

What else can I say about this?  This is why I am here.  This is why we have drug-less healing professions such as chiropractic.  

If you truly are ready to take a different approach, I invite you to take part in Ready For Different: BFA Coaching.

Chiropractic Saved Me

 

My x-ray in 1995 was similar to this

one.  The curve was reversed from 

a head injury as a child in 1971.  I 

was forming bone spurs in my mid- 

twenties.  I had a 20-30 year head 

start on arthritis.

This resembles the beginning of 

very debilitating fibromyalgia and 

other pain syndromes.  Also, 

studies of mild brain trauma are 

showing a correlation with 

depression and bipolar disorder, 

especially in teens who play sports.

It wasn't back pain or a headache 
that brought me to chiropractic.  In 
fact, I was pain free when I 
received my first adjustment.

I had a condition more painful than a physical injury 
because it was not physically obvious.  I had a certain 
arrogance that would have taken my health away if I 
hadn't been exposed to chiropractic thinking 17 years 
ago.

I was arrogant about health and healing because I 
was young. I took my health for granted because I 
thought nothing would make me sick.  I thought I 
knew how to take care of myself.  Boy, was I wrong!  

I  worked with people who were challenged by the 
label of mental illness. They were told they had a 
brain imbalance and they needed a steady supply of 
brain altering drugs to keep them "normal" by 
society's rules.

No one proved they had brain problems.  No one 
measured brain improvements to check if  the drugs 
really helped.  No one gave them an option to stop 
taking these drugs.   It was all one sided and my 
clients were actually getting worse.

If you or someone you know

has suffered under the psychiatric system

become a member of the 

Study of Empathic Therapy, Education & Living

I started teaching a few of my clients about stress 
reduction techniques and dietary changes.  Much to 
my surprise, they were improving and gaining  self 
confidence.  While I was addressing their physical 
health I began to see how the state of the body has a 
great deal of influence on mental function.

I realized my job as a therapist was a joke. If the 
body isn't healthy, the mind stays stuck (more like 

trapped).

After prayerful consideration to change careers, I 
looked at chiropractic.  I had no pain or health 
problems, but I volunteered in a chiropractor's office 
to learn about this drug free approach.

Not much of a science buff, I was awe struck when 
my new chiropractors (a married couple) taught me 
how the nervous system controls every cell, organ, 
body function, thought and emotion.  The nervous 
system is also considerably affected by the condition 
of the spine.  

It was also a major revelation when I learned how 
damage progresses for years but we don't feel it.

They showed me my X-rays and explained how 
mechanical disruptions of the spine adds incredible 
stress to the brain and spinal cord.  A sample X-ray 
above is very similar to my own X-rays.

This was a big mind shift to me.  I thought spinal cord 
damage was paralysis like Christopher Reeve.  I 
never considered milder forms of damage could have 
such an impact on disease and mental status.

If I never addressed this 17 years ago, I would have 
suffered from a gradual and progressive degenerative 
process. Pain doesn't show up until damage is fairly 
permanent.  Combine it with a stressful life style and  
poor nutrition and chronic disease takes hold.

I also learned chiropractic gave mental patients great 
results in the early 1900's before drug therapy 
became the monopolizing treatment.  It is now 
showing great promise for addiction recovery.

I often think about my therapy clients who felt 
helpless and defective.  Their nervous system/life 
force was stifled and no one offered them the release 
chiropractic can provide.

Chiropractic is not about pain relief.  Pain is  part of 
being human.  Chiropractic is about knowledge, 
personal power and being given options.  

My first interest is in mental wellness.   

Inside the mind are the sparks that ignite great 

ideas.  The body is the engine that allows us to push our ideas forward.  

They work as a team.

In my work as a mental health counselor I saw a serious separation 

between this awesome team.  

When physical health is not properly addressed, it clouds the mind.  

The body often 

gives us important clues.

Chiropractic rejoins the mind and body in an extraordinary 

way as the adjustment  enhances how the nervous system

 fosters innate intelligence.

Thanks for being curious.  

It means you are  looking for something new to try.  

You are in the process of a personal evolution.   

It's a superb journey!

I can't convey much more of it on a website.  Come to a health talk, come in for 

an appointment, or let's chat on a phone-coaching session.

Read more about my journey here.

Watch the New Member Orientation Video Here

BACK to DrHomic.com

Chiropractic's Mental Illness Cure

I gave a talk this week on the depression trap. I spoke on chiropractic's early history of chiropractic mental hospitals. No drugs were used! Probably there was a lot of kindness, empathy and of course...adjustments! Plenty of adjustments!

This article, Chiropractic in Mental Ailments, published in 1957 used the word "cure" because it was highly successful. The statistics showed nearly a 99% rate of improvement. A judge who saw inpatients in his courtroom, tried to pass new laws to include chiropractic in all hospitals.

Because this article used the word "cure" I see nothing wrong with using the word today. We know the scary history of psychopathic drugs and Peter Breggin, M.D., spent his career speaking out on the brain damage caused by medicine's psychiatric treatments. Read his blog. I am always bewildered why folks submit to damaging their own brains.

In the 1957 article, a physicist states very clearly that people are in mental distress when their nerves are physically irritated. It is not in their mind. It is in their bodies! Why should people feel bad about themselves and feel as if they really have little control, especially when told to snap out of it!

The recent discovery that the limbic system extends into the spinal cord absolutely changes how we look at emotional health. It is more physiology than psychology. The spine actually fuels the brain like a windmill generating nerve energy. A lifetime of spinal restrictions is going to have a negative effect. Spinal care is critical for total health.

The group I was speaking to was completely astonished when I showed them old photos of chiropractic mental hospitals located all over the country. Look here for the photos.


They were also astonished when I said I never learned this in chiropractic college. I sought out this information on my own because of my own interest in promoting mental health in a way that is empowering.

Sadly, these hospitals are gone for numerous reasons. Drugs seemed to be the quick fix and chiropractors in the 1960's through today decided to put themselves in the limiting box of back care. To me this does a terrible disservice to those who are suffering with mental stress resorting to prescription pills that steal their freedom.

For more information, ask me for a consult. I will post future speaking engagements in my newsletter.

See you at the table...the adjusting table.

--Dr. Lisa
Your Health Freedom Advocate

......................

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