Psychiatric Disability: Myths and Realities
Judi Chamberlin, Director of Education and Training National Empowerment Center, Inc.

As someone who was labeled with a psychiatric disability, and who has recovered to lead a full and satisfying life, I am frequently assumed to be somehow atypical, or told that I was "misdiagnosed." The fact is that people who have been labeled with "schizophrenia," "manic-depression/bi-polar illness," "clinical depression," and other severe psychiatric diagnoses are capable of complete recovery and achieving self-determination in their lives. Like people with other disabilities, sometimes the biggest thing that holds us back are negative attitudes.

MYTH: People with severe mental illness diagnoses don't get better.
FACT: Many people with these diagnoses are functioning well; they are going to school and to work, living integrated lives in the community, forming relationships, parenting children, and doing all the other things everyone else aspires to. Even more would recover if the mental health system was recovery-based, and if they were not held back by stigma and discrimination.

MYTH: Mental illness diagnoses are scientifically valid and descriptive.
FACT: Psychiatric labels are just that - labels- They tell very little about people's innate capacities. They focus on weaknesses, rather than strengths. Although they are assumed to have scientific validity, they are theoretical constructs. There is no test-no blood test, brain scan, X-ray, or the like - that can distinguish people labeled mentally ill from those without these labels.

MYTH: Psychiatric drugs correct disordered brain chemistry.
FACT: Just as there is no verifiable evidence that mental illnesses are brain diseases, there is no evidence that people with specific diagnoses have specific "chemical imbalances" that are corrected by psychiatric drugs. While some people may experience some level of symptom relief with these drugs, their main effects are generalized sedation, and they have numerous unpleasant side effects. Psychiatric drugs are also widely used in prisons, nursing homes, institutions for people labeled "mentally retarded," and juvenile detention facilities, which clearly illustrates that their main purpose is social control.




 

MYTH: People with mental illness are dangerous and unpredictable.
FACT: Numerous studies have shown that people diagnosed with mental illness are no more dangerous than other people whom they resemble demographically. Alcohol and drug abuse are actually much better predictors of future violence than is a history of mental illness.

MYTH: People with mental illnesses can't advocate for themselves and don't know what they want and need.
FACT: Most people diagnosed with mental illnesses, like most other people with disabilities, can far more accurately describe what they want and need than can social workers or other professionals. Most people diagnosed with mental illness want the opportunity to live integrated lives in the community, and will seek out those services that can help them achieve their goals.

MYTH: People diagnosed with mental illnesses need others (such as mental health professionals, and family organizations) to speak "for" them.
FACT: While organizations like the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) often claim to speak "for people with psychiatric labels, they in fact represent interests that are often diametrically opposed to what people want for themselves. Both APA and NAMI support forced drugging and forced institutionalization, which violate the human rights of people with psychiatric disabilities. Through our own organizations, such as the National Empowerment Center (www.power2u.org), Support Coalition International (www.mindfreedom.org), and many others on the statewide and local level, we can and do speak for ourselves.