Half of Americans reportedly now mentally ill

[Winston]

More ammo to prove my point:

http://nysun.com/editorials/are-we-really-ill?fark

Headline of article above:

Are We Really That Ill?
By CHRISTOPHER LANE | March 26, 2008

CHICAGO - America has reached a point where almost half its population is described as being in some way mentally ill, and nearly a quarter of its citizens - 67.5 million - have taken antidepressants.

[Jackal]

I think this is a result of the social isolation in America and a result of America's culture which demands that people always look fake happy even if they're not.

In other cultures, just talking to neighbors, friends, or relatives about their feelings is probably enough "therapy" for most people. If people no longer have opportunities to interact with others in a meaningful way, they have no choice but to talk to psychologists instead.

[jamesbond]

I think this is a result of the social isolation in America and a result of America's culture which demands that people always look fake happy even if they're not.

In other cultures, just talking to neighbors, friends, or relatives about their feelings is probably enough "therapy" for most people. If people no longer have opportunities to interact with others in a meaningful way, they have no choice but to talk to psychologists instead.

Hey Jackal that's right! I majored in psychology in college and we were taught that if you have at least one other person to talk to and share things with, you may not need to go see a therapist. Some people see a therapist just to have somebody to talk to. Therapy is expensive, usually at least $100 an hour. Why not just talk to your neighbors instead! Unless of course you really are in need of professional help, then you would need to see a shrink.

[Winston]

I've seen a couple of therapists as a child and as an adult. I always wondered what the point of it was. All they do is ask you open ended questions and paraphrase what you say, and then make an appointment for next week. They don't DO anything to help you. So how does that help?

And how come when I see movies and documentaries, they show psychologists actually doing things, like using word association (calling out a word and having you say the first word that comes to mind) or bringing a patient afraid of heights to a tall building to gradually desensitize him, using psychotherapy, or using REM treatment for post traumatic stress syndrome? But the ones I meet never do any treatment. They just talk and talk and make appointments!

[kristy_571]

I think this is a result of the social isolation in America and a result of America's culture which demands that people always look fake happy even if they're not.

In other cultures, just talking to neighbors, friends, or relatives about their feelings is probably enough "therapy" for most people. If people no longer have opportunities to interact with others in a meaningful way, they have no choice but to talk to psychologists instead.

Beautiful! I totally agree with that. I am one of those "mentally ill" americans. I have clinical depression.
I personally feel that being socially isolated, and not living up to high standards, and my rough past helped contribute to it.
But I noticed that just talking to other people, and doing good things to help others instantly makes me feel better than the antidepressants my woman psychiatrist gave me.

I don't fake happy. I say it like it is, and if more americans could just "be themselves", then I think that there would be somewhat of a relief in some of our social isolation and anger issues we are starting to have as a population. And although I am no psychiatrist, I personally think it's more than 50%. I would say more than 85% of Americans have some mental illness--including depression. But not all of us are open or honest about it, because we are afraid of others putting us down. This country just has alot of people that are unhappy.

[Grunt]

Its all failry simple. In the Soviet Union, a system developed to deal with any and all dissent. That is, anyone that questioned the glorious workers paradise...or the corruption inherent within it.

Those that expressed discontent, in the smallest degree, were declared "insane", bundled off to a sanitarium, and never seen or hear of again. Behind closed doors, they became fodder for all manner of less then ethical experiments such as radiation exposure.

Now, some may ask how such an apparatus would operate. Thats simple as well. The East German "STASI", or secret police, had an estimated 91,000 full time spies and a further 300,000 informants. Yes, you read that right, 300,000.

[More info on the STASI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi ]

Or, put in terms Americans can grasp, 1 in 7 persons was a snitch. Now, imagine that for a moment. Do you know 7 people? One of them would be a snitch, being paid to gather information on you and all your actions and opinions.

Now, before anyone breathes a sigh of relief that this isnt East Germany, I have some bad news. In 2004, the creator of the STASI, General Marcus Wolf, was hired by the American Department of Homeland Security to act as a consultant. Homeland Security also hired KGB General Yevgeni Primakov in that regard.

[More info on Wolf and Primakov: http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Jan05/Whitney0121.htm ]

One can only guess at what pearls of wisdom Wolf and Primakov shared with their American counterpart, dual-citizen Michael Chertoff (whos name in Russian loosely translates to "servant of the devil"), but since that time we have seen the advent of oppressive procedures regarding travel, overt surveillance of internet and phone traffic, and massive growth in the police state.

Now, for those that would ask how this can effect them at an individual level, let me paint a scenario. Local police, having been conditioned over the last 30 years to view the public as "the enemy", are the new STASI. So how does the machine work? Easy!

Police, in conjunction with local gangs, (just as in the Soviet system, the KGB and the mafia are one in the same) manufacture and distribute illegal narcotics. The distributors themselves are "protected" be they hells angels bikers, or garden variety street thugs.

Those that are not "protected" are swept up into the judicial system, then given two choices. Go to jail, or become an informant. Obviously, most choose the latter. Over a short period of time, a small army of informants can be created. This group will, eventually, be set upon dissidents when deemed necessary.

This will most likely be after a large weapon of mass destruction attack (perpetrated by the U.S. gov't itself...again) in the near future. At that time, the police from federal, county, and local will rely upon the dossier's being created right now.

Those unlucky enough to be caught in America when this occurs will spend their few remaining days in the Halliburton (Vice President Cheney's company, for those that are wondering) built detention camps that have been built, and fully staffed, in every state in America and even Canada.

[More info on Halliburton detention centers: http://www.ww4report.com/node/1940 ]

So now you know why the "mental health" "profession" is running each and every person through the mill, and designating one or more of a growing list of "disorders". Its being done for a reason, and as Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way."

[DiscoPro_Joe]

My guess is that about 65% of the mental illness problem in the U.S. is physiological (resulting from nutritional deficiencies and too many toxins in the body), and about 35% of the problem is psychological (resulting from too much stress and social isolation).

You can read an article I wrote two years ago about my transition into an organic lifestyle, entitled, "Your Health is your Ultimate Freedom" by clicking here and then scrolling way down. Throughout the article, I highly recommend Kevin Trudeau's Natural Cures book, which totally changed my life.

Anyway, to better understand this widespread American mental-health problem, I'll post an awesome Natural Cures newsletter article right here. Enjoy!


--------------------------------------------------------
THE SECRET TO LIVING LONGER
By Kevin Trudeau


I am writing this article from Germany. I have been here for over a month researching secrets of longevity and anti-aging techniques being practiced by doctors throughout the country. It is important to note that America is not a very healthy nation. Americans consume over 70 percent of all non-prescription and prescription drugs manufactured in the world. According to pharmaceutical companies, this should mean that we are the healthiest country, and have the longest lifespan. This should also mean that we have less disease than other countries. This is categorically not true. America is one of the sickest most disease-ridden nations in the world. We have more types of diseases, and more sick people than in most other nations, and disease is on the rise. More people in America catch colds and flu, and have headaches, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, heart attacks, arterial-sclerosis, high blood pressure, chronic pain, cancer, acid reflux, depression, and other health conditions, than people in other countries do. As I walked the streets of Germany, one of the most significant observations was the huge number of both men and women in their 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s riding bicycles throughout the village streets. These same people walk, work in their yard, and engage in all types of physical activity. In the Alps of Bavaria I noticed many Germans and Austrians in their 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, hiking up the mountain trails. I talked to many of these people and told them I was researching information for my newsletter. I asked them about their health. Not surprising these people did not have diabetes, or arthritis or back pain, and they did not take any non-prescription or prescription drugs. These people were active and alive. They were not overweight, depressed or ridden with illness, such as diabetes. They were not on diets; they ate all types of food, and drank beer regularly. They were athletic, thin, happy, healthy and without disease. In contrast, statistics show that over 95% of Americans in their 70’s, 80’s or 90’s take at least five prescription drugs, every single day. The vast majority is overweight or has arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure or another form of disease. They could never ride a bicycle or hike up a mountain.

Why is this? An interesting phenomenon I observed while visiting a lovely village in downtown Bavaria that is full of outdoor cafés is how the Germans, Austrians and Swiss ate. I observed most of them drinking beer during their afternoon meal for starters, and eating veal, meat, chicken, various types of sausages, lots of bread and butter, and ice cream. These are foods that Americans would call fattening and unhealthy, yet these people are not fat, nor unhealthy, they are actually full of vibrant health! This is because all of the food these people eat is fresh, unprocessed, natural food. These people are eating food free from the chemicals used in the American manufacturing processes. The ingredients used in the beer have not been sprayed with pesticides and herbicides, as it is in America.

The beer is not loaded with preservatives the way that beer is in America. The beef, poultry, and other meat products do not contain any bovine growth hormone or antibiotic injections, as virtually all beef and poultry does in America. The cheese, milk, and other dairy products, including the ice cream do not have high fructose corn syrup, bovine growth hormone or antibiotics, and it was not pasteurized and homogenized. The food in America is laced with pesticides, herbicides, and is heavily processed using chemicals, bovine growth hormone and antibiotics. Much of the food in America is irradiated, or processed with other fancy high-tech techniques that alter our food and lead to disease. These people were not fat. I saw a table filled with visiting Americans that were not drinking beer; they were drinking Diet Coke that they brought with them! It was surprising to see fat and overweight Americans drinking their Diet Coke®. In the Natural CuresTM book I talk about how Diet Coke® as well as all diet products containing artificial sweeteners actually make you fat, this is true. I asked a German why you couldn’t find Diet Coke® in the local store and was told that nobody drinks Diet Coke®, and that dieting is a notion they found silly and foolish. How right they are.

On one occasion I was visiting a castle. It was a short walk up a slight hill to the castle. You could either take the 15- minute walk or take a bus. I decided to walk. Many people were walking. I listened to their conversations. They were all European: Germans, Austrians, Italians, Swiss or French. I then watched and observed the people getting out of the bus. They were almost all Americans. It was fascinating to me that none of the Americans could handle walking 15 minutes up a slight grade. This is a good indication of the lack of health in the American population. Fast food restaurants are not very common here. I actually found a McDonald’s®. I decided to visit and observe the people eating in McDonald’s®, most were again, Americans and Canadians. Everyone in the McDonald’s® was fat! Doesn’t this tell you something? I walked down the street to a Bavarian restaurant, where people were eating freshly made foods, such as potatoes and gravy, vegetables, meat, enjoying beer, strudel and ice cream for dessert. No one was fat. Doesn’t this tell you something?

Our food supply in America is one of the worst in the world. Our food makes us fat and gives us disease. Remember it’s not specifically the food that is bad, just the way the food is grown and processed. We have chemicals in the food, and they are destroying us. This is why the rule of thumb for longevity, health, and eliminating and curing disease is to eat 100 percent organic food. It is always best to buy food that is not in cans, jars, or boxes. Buy fresh food. It’s interesting that people don’t even understand what the word “fresh� means any more. Years ago, royalty were the healthiest people because they had access to the freshest food. Fresh food meant that the meat came from animals that were slaughtered that day. The milk and dairy products were from milk that was gathered that morning, bread that was baked the same day, fruits and vegetables that were also picked within a day or two. This was fresh food. Poor people did not have access to fresh food. They had to rely on ways to preserve food and eat it over a long period of time. Things such as canning, smoking, and salting were common ways of preserving food. Preserved food was always considered unhealthy, but it was the only food available for the poor. This resulted in malnutrition, which leads to illness and disease.

Today’s food in America is quite different than other places in the world. Amorning breakfast of eggs has many problems. The eggs you get are not from chickens and roosters producing a fertile egg. They are instead artificially inseminated, fed chemicals and given injections to increase production. These eggs contain abnormal levels of toxic ingredients, and are artificial. Many eggs today are also pasteurized or irradiated, which kills all of the living enzymes in the eggs. These are not healthy to consume. Fresh natural eggs produced by free roaming chickens, grazing on organic feed, unsprayed greens and weeds contain minerals, enzymes and vital nutrients that produce health and longevity.

The most outrageous manufactured food product in America is bread. I visited a supermarket in America recently and examined over 100 loaves of bread from various manufacturers. Every single one of the breads produced contained some form of sugar. Most contained high fructose corn syrup or other processed, refined sugar that make you fat. The breads also contain preservatives that made the bread “stay fresh� for well over a week. This is bizarre to the people here in Germany and other parts of Europe. Bread is best when made every day. Day old bread is for feeding to the birds or for the very poor who cannot afford it. Bread never contains any form of sugar. It contains three or four ingredients; whole grain flour, from rye, wheat, or other whole grains, water, yeast, and a little salt – that’s it. Try to find bread in the supermarket that contains only four ingredients and you will be seriously challenged. The refined, processed bread found in America is made primarily from bleached white flour, and is a major cause of obesity, allergies, slow digestion, gas, bloating, heart disease, and cancer. In health food stores, local bakeries that bake with whole grains, and ethnic markets, you can often find simple whole grain breads. Seek freshly made bread or bake your own.

In observing Europeans in their 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s who have no disease and take no non-prescription and prescription drugs I found that to varying degrees, they all practice the list of do’s and don’ts found in Chapter 6 of the Natural CuresTM “They� Don’t Want You To Know About book. Again the secret to preventing and curing disease and living a very long, healthy, happy life with no illness is doing as many of the things in Chapter 6 as possible. The evidence proves that those items are truly the secrets of longevity and anti-aging.

[Jackal]

DiscoJoe,

Your information about your organic lifestyle sounds logical. It doesn't sound flaky at all. I know that in modern America we're all exposed to all kinds of weird chemicals all day long. You should start your own thread on the food board.

Tell me, why does coconut oil help with digestion so much? I am looking to lose about 10 to 15 pounds so I could use any tips.

What kind of meat do you eat? Any kind of organic meat? I stopped eating any type of ground meat about a year ago (except the occasional hamburger at a restaurant) because I didn't trust what was in it after reading all those stories about the meat industry and I kept finding shards of bone in my ground beef and turkey--I want meat that is above dog food quality.

[Jackal]

It's not much different from today's America where you can end up in prison for defending yourself in your own home because the perpetrator was black or some other reason that doesn't coincide with the government's version of normal human relations.

I hope at the same time that you don't think that being robbed by a minority automatically gives you a license to kill. While some high profile cases might get lenient treatment under the law, I think you will find that our justice system in generally discriminates against minorities. Most of our prisoners are minorities, and 33% of the prisoners executed in the US since 1976 have been black eventhough blacks make up less than 14% of the US population. I do agree, however that racial issues often get too much attention at the expense of the broader issue of poverty in the US in general.

The U.S. government's oppression of those who want to express themselves, like Ernst Zundel, is part of the everyday suppression of freedom of expression which is taking us to ruin little by little and will not end until we have no more freedom of expression.

Eh, Zundel's a Holocaust denier? I'm not going to endlessly flame you over this, but I have an equal right not to approve of his work. While it's true that governments that supposedly uphold free speech may have treated him overly harshly to gain points with their constituents, I have to ask what difference does it make whether X million or Y million people died in the Holocaust? Whatever the exact number, it was tragic enough; and, in my opinion, our energy is better spent in preventing such future tragedies from occuring.

[momopi]

From Amazon.com:

Don't think that buying a cheap bread maker means you get something that is very basic; you won't. Take the Sunbeam 5891 machine for example. It retails for around $40 yet you still get 12 baking and dough cycles including, sweet breads, and express 1-hour baking, to cakes and dough preparation - you can even make jam with it. The machine can also make large loaf sizes of 1.5 and 2lbs. One other feature included is the 13 hour delay bake, so you can wake up to the smell of freshly baked bread.

Another good quality but cheap bread machine is the Toastmaster TBR15. Again, it retails for about $40 and comes with 8 cycles including, whole wheat, French, sweet and fast bake. The size of loaf it can bake is 1.5lbs and it has a power failure feature, so that if you lose power for anything up to 10 minutes it will resume baking from wherever it was in the cycle.

http://www.breadmachines4you.com/sunbea ... achine.php
http://www.breadmachines4you.com/toastm ... achine.php

If you don't like the artificial sugar they put into your bread, you can bake your own with honey:

http://southernfood.about.com/od/breadm ... 71128e.htm

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk
* 3 tablespoons honey
* 3 tablespoons melted butter
* 3 cups bread flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

PREPARATION:
Add ingredients to the bread machine pan in the order recommended by your bread machine manufacturer.

Use basic and medium crust settings.
Makes 1 loaf.

[Jackal]

Don't think that buying a cheap bread maker means you get something that is very basic; you won't. Take the Sunbeam 5891 machine for example...

Er, is a bread machine a metaphor for something?

[Jackal]

Gordan,

I think we both interpret each other's position as being more extreme than it actually is. The usual pattern is that you say something that I find pretty extreme. I question you about it, and then I usually find out that your position is more moderate than it had sounded in your previous post.

I never directly called you a Nazi. I was merely concerned that you might be a white supremacist, but your reply allayed my concerns. Therefore, I now do not think that your are a Nazi, and I'm sorry if you interpreted it that way.

I'm glad to hear that you wouldn't automatically kill a thief just because he was a minority. I agree that there are situations in which people have to use deadly force to defend themselves and the race of their attacker should not matter. I guess my hope is that minimum necessary force could be used (i.e. shoot them in the arm or leg instead of the head) because I think the loss of any human life is tragic eventhough sometimes it can't be avoided.

The fact that blacks commit a big portion of the crimes in the US does not tell me anything about their race, but it does tell me about the effect of the social environments in which they live. If you took a black baby from the US in raised him in Sweden or Dubai, I think he would turn out much differently in that social environment.

The statistics I cited were not meant to imply that blacks are always victims, but I think it shows that they are often treated very harshly, and, outside of some high profile cases in the media, they are not getting any special treatment. It's not like every African American has a peachy life and is on a scholarship to the University of Michigan.

I don't think that the discrimation that minorities experience is enough of an excuse to absolve them of their crimes, but I think as I society we should do what we can to eliminate the root causes of crime. I think many studies have linked poverty and lack of education to crime. In think the most important thing we can do in the US is to improve our educational system, especially in poor areas. And clearly our criminal justice system isn't working. Few convicts actually come out "rehabilated" and our prisons are at maximum capacity. Clearly we need to do something besides building more prisons and executing more people.

Gordan, what are your ideas to improve society and reduce crime?

I didn't say that I love black people, but I think that we should try to improve social conditions rather than give up on them. I've had a black English teacher who was fantastic and I had a black friend in high school. No, I don't go into poor black neighborhoods because they are indeed dangerous. However, I attribute this danger to poverty and not to their race. And lord knows, there are lots of poor white people who turn to crime as well.

As I said, I agree that Zundel has a right to free speech and that he was probably treated unfairly. In fact, if you want to explain why you think his work was important and why you admire him, I'm all ears.

It is indeed tragic that we are not preventing the holocausts of today from happening (Kosovo, Darfur, Iraq, Palestine, our military operations in South America during the 80s etc.). I do not concentrate on the Jewish Holocaust (and for the record a lot of people of other ethnicities died during WWII: Gypsies, Poles, Russians, etc.). I am not "brainwashed" by any means; I am as concerned with current tragedies in the world as you are.

Once again, Gordan, I think you and I are not as far apart in our viewpoints as we always seem at first.

[kristy_571]

Don't think that buying a cheap bread maker means you get something that is very basic; you won't. Take the Sunbeam 5891 machine for example...

Er, is a bread machine a metaphor for something?

yup. It's either what a man that works 15+ hours a day to satisfy his wife's shopping addiction is called, or a machine that will bake your bread for a man because his wife is too lazy to get up off the couch and quit eating bon-bons.

just had to put a lighter air here. It's getting mighty serious.

I personally hate bread machines. For the rare times I make bread from scratch, I would rather knead it on my own, and just stick it in the oven.

[kristy_571]

Gordan, what are your ideas to improve society and reduce crime?
.

I will throw in my two cents. I think helping to bring back family values, and making the home a safe place for our children will help. Helping to put an end to violence will bring down drug use and crime as well. Helping to reduce poverty would also help.

[Jackal]

Gordan,

I can't understand where all your hatred for black people comes from unless you've actually been robbed by black people, beat up by black people, or feel that you didn't get into the school of your choice because of policies designed to help black people. I know that I have often thought that if I were black and everything else about me were the same that I could have gotten into a top college instead of a state college, but it does no good for me to dwell on hypothetical situations in the past. My personality just doesn't fit in in America and changing my skin color wouldn't really do much to change that.

At my high school, one quarter of the students were black and mostly from poor areas (but these areas certainly weren't as bad as those in our major cities). I was a bit unnerved at first, but eventually I got used to it. The black students mostly stuck together and most of them were in the lower level classes, so I didn't meet too many of them but I made friends with a few of them. I didn't see many black kids get into fights. In fact, most of the time it was white girls fighting eachother over a boy.

I'll tell you why I believe in black people: because I've met so many nice ones. I've met black teachers, neighbors, students, martial arts students, co-workers, artists, and random people on the street who were all very good peope who treated me decently. Why just a few months ago, I was in Boston and I was trying to decide which subway track to go to and a black woman who sitting on a bench kindly gave me directions because she saw that I looked confused. During this same visit, an Arab man held an elevator door open for me. There is a lot of racial harmony in downtown Boston, although the surrounding areas can get pretty rough.

So why is it that you can go into a poor area with other races and not feel like you are going to be the subject of violence?

I would feel just as uneasy in a poor urban latino neighborhood.

You know for a fact that you would not feel more in danger in a poor white neighborhood than a black one so don't kid us.

Yes that's true, but only because I am white and therefore I attract less attention in white neighborhoods. I'm sure latinos feel safer in latino neighborhoods, etc. There are also a lot of poor white people that have adopted a lot of black ghetto culture (rap, baggy pants, etc.) and act very similarly to poor black people these days. To be honest, I feel nostalgia for the 80s when white trash were still cool and appreciated a good guitar solo.

Do you believe in Jesse Jackson and his ilk? If so, let us know.

I don't know enough about Jesse Jackson's policies and viewpoints to comment on him much. However, when I saw him interviewed on the news, he seemed intelligent.

You sound like the typical liberal Jewish sympathizer to me.

Well, there are many definitions of the word "liberal" and I certainly fit at least one of them. However, we each have our own unique viewpoints and I think the labels "liberal" and "conservative" are stereotypes that oversimplify things.

I have met only maybe four Jewish people in my whole lifetime. Due to Middle Eastern Teaching Assistants in college, I think I've met far more Muslims in my lifetime. I am neither for nor against Jews. In fact, I have a far more balanced view of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict than you might imagine.