Examining the Bio-Chemical Explanation of
Schizophrenia & Other Dysfunctional Behaviors
* * * *
schizophrenia - bipolar disorder - PTSD - veteran affairs
an interview with Thomas Szasz, M. D.
~ author of The Myth of Psychotherapy ~
The Dopamine Hypothesis*
By Tom Shepherd
* A hypothesis is a provisional theory or an assumption. It is not a fact.
It has been hypothesized that individuals who have excessively high levels of the neurotransmitter [brain chemical] known as "dopamine" in the brain will experience the feelings of persecution, fear and anger of (Type I) paranoid schizophrenia in times of stress. Thus, it has been hypothesized that paranoid schizohrenics have an overactivity of dopamine in the brain's limbic system.
While excessive doses of amhetamines, which greatly increase brain dopamine levels, can result in behavior indistinguishable from paranoid schizophrenia in normal people, relatively small doses of amphetamines can trigger a wide range of symptoms or worsening of existing symptoms in paranoid schizophrenics, suggesting that paranoid schizophrenics have either an overactivity of dopamine in the brain's limbic system or a higher level of brain dopamine in the brain than do other people.
Although genetics are hypothesized to perhaps play a role, stress alone, according to evidence, plays a major role in activating brain dopamine and in the development of schizophrenic symptoms. Thus, it is hypothesized that schizophrenia is induced by prolonged and intense environmental stress. The stress of military regimentation can indeed induce schizophrenic or bipolar reactions in predisposed individuals.
Deprivation of sleep often coincides with a schizophrenic or bipolar episode. Biochemical changes thus take place in which catecholamines (adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine) are produced in superabundance causing a hyperaroused state of waking dreams or inaccurate perceptions: illusions, delusions or hallucinations.
The problem in using neuroleptic drugs in the treatment of schizophrenia is that the neuroleptic drugs used to lower the amounts of dopamine may adversely affect other neurotransmitters and are most likely to produce tardive dyskinesia, side-effects mimicing Parkinson's disease: tremors, pin-rolling of the fingers, shuffling gait and a masklike facial expressions. [Individuals suffering from Parkinson's disease have abnormally low levels of dopamine.] Neuroleptic drugs can also lower one's white blood cell count and cause restlessness, double vision, and weight gain.
Another study reports that SSRIs increase the likelihood of suicide and/or homicide. Still another study reveals that patients who are on psychiatric medication for schizophrenia.do not form new relationships. The above findings are documented in a paper by Dr. Karon, The Effects of Medicating or Not Medicating on the Treatment Proces (2003). Highlight and click the above to view Dr. Karon's paper. Dr. Karon has also written a foreword for John Modrow's book, How to Become a Schizophrenic: The Case Against Biological Psychiatry.
The use of antidepressants in the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can induce a psychotic manic episode. Drugs commonly prescribed to treat ADD (attention deficit disorder) are basically amphetamines, which can also induce psychotic behavior.
Milieu therapy is a holistic approach to psychiatric treatment, in which the goal of therapy is to restore sleep cycles naturally by enhancing the client's self esteem, encouraging the client to exercise regularly and to practice sound nutrition (consuming albacore tuna, salmon, sardines, fresh fruits, vegies and soy on a daily basis, plus avoiding caffeine and alcoholic beverages).
Note: Regular physical exercise releases endorphins (the body's natural opiate) or activates enkephalin, a neurotransmiter which is believed to produce a calming effect. Interestingly, when individuals ingest pharmaceuticals containing external opium or derivatives or use cocaine or other recreational drugs, the brain ceases to produce its natural internal opiates.
Meditation therapy: Meditation is a useful tool for reducing stres, developing intuition and unlocking creativity. To learn methods of meditation, click/view The Worldwide Online Meditation Center.
~ Carl Jung, Swiss psychoanalyst ~
Schizophrenia is an umbrella label given to a group of behaviors in which deterioration of functioning is marked by severe distortion of thought, perception, and mood, by bizarre behavior, and by social withdrawal. No two individuals exhibit the same symptoms.
The label schizophrenia is commonly used to stigmatize and disenfranchise a relatively normal individual who is simply unable to conform or comply with the demands of unreasonable parents or other authority figures. While a chemical imbalance involving the brain's neurotransmitters (especially dopamine and serotonin) is believed to exist in anyone diagnosed with shizophrenia or any other so-called mental illness, the building blocks of neurotransmitters (vitamins, minerals and amino acids) are found in food, not in pharmaceutical drugs. In fact, according to Peter Breggin, M.D. and other leading scientists, pharmaceutical drugs (including phenothiazines, anti-depressants and mood stabilizers) are more likely to cause long lasting or permanent brain damage, as well as to EXACERBATE symptoms of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, than to stabilize the nervous system.
Individuals who have been traumatized as a result of bad parenting (neglect and/or abuse) typically exhibit symptoms of schizophrenia, although such individuals may be labeled or diagnosed with one of the more avant garde psychiatric terms, such as post traumatic stress or traumatized identity syndrome. While ideas of reference, unusual perceptions, anxiety, paranoid fears and social isolation typify the behavior of those diagnosed with schizophrenia, PTSD or even bipolar disorder to the point that they are unable to form satisfactory personal and work relationships, they do not necessarily experience hallucinations. As far as delusions go, anyone who believes in God, a Supernatural Power, is suffering from a delusion, which would include probably 99% of those practicing psychiatry, clinical psychology or social work. An agnostic is as superstitious as a true believer. The only individual who is least likely to be suffering from delusions would be the conscientious, sober athiest, who in all probability is the only truly sane, intelligent human being.
The study of schizophrenia has resulted in the arbitrary division of schizophrenia into two types or categories of symptoms: Type I is characterized by positive symptoms: hallucinations, delusions, and bizarre or disorganized behavior. Type II is characterized by negative symptoms: poverty of speech, flight of ideation, and withdrawal and apathy.
However, research indicates that other neurotransmitters may be involved in schizophrenia, including norepinephrine (a chemical relative of adrenaline) and serotonin.
The more obvious positive symptoms of one diagnosed with schizophrenia may only surface during those times when the individual is experiencing environmental trauma or stress.
There is no objective test for determining if an individual is actually experiencing auditory hallucinations [imaginary voices] or if he or she is merely pretending to be experiencing auditory hallucinations.
Since neurotransmitters tend to increase or decrease naturally as an individual reacts to varying degrees of environmental stress, some scientists believe that schizophrenia can best be treated with milieu (environmental stabilization) therapy and by educational therapy (educating the patient to practice habits of sound nutrition) rather than with neuroleptic drug therapy.
The dangers of psychiatric drug therapy (so-called "side effects") are commonly minimized and the benefits are commonly exaggerated by psychiatrists and by the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry. Thus, psychiatric drug therapy could be considered a highly dangerous game of Russian roulette between the therapist and the patient. Patients treated with drug therapy are more likely to engage in homicidal or suicidal behavior than are patients who are NOT treated with drug therapy, according to latest scientific studies.
It must be kept in mind that diagnosis and treatment methods used by professionals to treat schizophrenia are based on mere theory and that there is no conclusive evidence to support the claimed causes of schizophrenia (or bipolar disorder, for that matter) or to justify the treatment methods used to treat these behaviors.
Since the building blocks of neurotransmitters are the amino acids found in protein foods, not in drugs, it would seem that best preventive and healing medicine for schizophrenia or any other emotional disorder is proper nutrition. A serving a day of salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna or herring, all high in omega 3 fatty acids, calcium, niacin and B-12; and fresh fruits and vegetables, which contain vitamin B-12 and folate; soy foods (soy milk, tofu, miso); and nonfat live culture yogurt will not only build healthy neurotransmitters and maximize sound mental health, but reduce the risk of arthritis, heart disease, cancer and diabetis.
Victims of severe psychological trauma, of head injuries, of brain tumors and individuals who have undergone brain tumor surgery will often exhibit behavior symptoms identical to those of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Brain surgery itself can cause permanent brain damage to the patient.
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the medical model vs. the diathesis-stress model vs. the existential viewpoint
read
The Veterans Administration
The pharmaceutical corporations that manufacture neuroleptic drugs have a controlling influence on psychiatric treatment methods utilized by psychiatrists because they make generous gifts to medical schools. The West Los Angeles Veterans Hospital is affiliated with the UCLA Medical School Neuropsychiatric Institute and used as a drug experimental laboratory by the pharmaceutical industry, as well as an intern placement center for UCLA medical students. The psychiatric treatment methods employed are primarily drug oriented.
Note: Research indicates that dreams, imagination and intuition originate in the right brain. Verbal skills and logic originate in the left brain. In schizophrenia, the mechanism that activates only the left or right apparently breaks down, causing a spillover of dreamlike images into the normal waking consciousness.
Neurologists have discovered that surgical removal of the left brain or parts thereof [as a result of a tumor] or damage to the brain as a result of head injury can impair one's ability to reason and communicate with others effectively, resulting in behavior characteristic of schizophrenia.
The Right Brain: a new understanding of the unconscious mind and its creative powers by Thomas R. Blakeslee