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Have the Mental Health Professionals Failed the Autism Community?

As far as the mental health professionals are concerned, I feel they

  • Have it right and are doing a good job.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Have totally failed those on the spectrum.

    Votes: 9 30.0%
  • Have failed all with mental health issues.

    Votes: 9 30.0%
  • Are doing okay, but need to continue to improve since it’s not an exact science.

    Votes: 12 40.0%

  • Total voters
    30
  • Poll closed .
True. But how much has this changed those "theories of treatment"?

Kind of my point. They (psychiatric community) are simply unable to keep pace with technology/discovery.

I see it as a larger part of their failure, though not entirely in their control... thus the "to be fair" bit.
 
This is something that varies from country to country, and each person has a completely different experience with it. Here, there is still very little autism awareness and a lot of social taboo concerning autism and mental health issues, so many people who have problems don't seek help and are undiagnosed. Adult ASD diagnoses are almost unheard of and I'm sure that there are a lot of undiagnosed adults around, with various issues, backgrounds, life stories and mental health issues.

Here, the doctors and psychiatrists just ask you what your problem is, then prescribe you medication - they don't offer therapy, I believe one has to go to a psychologist for that.

Unfortunately, mental health is an industry with big bucks behind it - they charge extortionate amounts for their drugs, discourage the use of natural remedies or any remedy that can't be patented by them and a profit made out of it, the doctors are their puppet and they pull the strings. Drugs are commodities to be consumed, and patients are the consumers. It's dehumanizing.

In this country, there was a huge scandal about politicians accepting bribes to allow the pharma companies to basically charge what they like, extortionate amounts for drugs like cancer drugs, wherever there is big money there is also big corruption.
 
A pet peeve of mine (just in case anyone hasn't noticed :eek:) is that there is so much helpful information out there now, utterly pertinent to my interests, and I am taking advantage of it as much as I can. Thanks to such easily accessed management and treatment ideas, I am slooooooowly clawing my way out of the pit of ill health incompetent doctors combined with my undiagnosed Aspieness put me into.

All my suffering was completely preventable. Because this is information the medical and psychiatric and psychological professions are supposed to know. It's their flippin' JOB.

Yes, we have found one of my special interests :D
 
This is something that varies from country to country, and each person has a completely different experience with it. Here, there is still very little autism awareness and a lot of social taboo concerning autism and mental health issues, so many people who have problems don't seek help and are undiagnosed. Adult ASD diagnoses are almost unheard of and I'm sure that there are a lot of undiagnosed adults around, with various issues, backgrounds, life stories and mental health issues.

Here, the doctors and psychiatrists just ask you what your problem is, then prescribe you medication - they don't offer therapy, I believe one has to go to a psychologist for that.

Unfortunately, mental health is an industry with big bucks behind it - they charge extortionate amounts for their drugs, discourage the use of natural remedies or any remedy that can't be patented by them and a profit made out of it, the doctors are their puppet and they pull the strings. Drugs are commodities to be consumed, and patients are the consumers. It's dehumanizing.

In this country, there was a huge scandal about politicians accepting bribes to allow the pharma companies to basically charge what they like, extortionate amounts for drugs like cancer drugs, wherever there is big money there is also big corruption.

Though on rare occasion, justice is served. :cool: :)

'Pharma bro' Martin Shkreli sentenced to 7 years in prison — says, 'This is my fault'
 
That's good news. It's not mental health related, but there's a "T3" medication that I believe I really need for my underactive thyroid because "T4" medication isn't working, but I'm getting fobbed off over it with the UK National Health Service, this is most probably because the drug has risen in cost by literally 1000s of percent recently for no apparent reason and this fraud obviously goes on all the time. I have to say I'm rather surprised at the conviction however because the pharmaceutical companies usually have their corruption pretty well covered with extremely expensive lawyers at their side, although nothing was done while the drug company was actually in business and people obviously suffered. I'm not saying that Martin Shkreli doesn't deserve it, but I'm also kind of surprised by the sheer length of the prison sentence when he's not really a direct danger to the public and is unlikely to re-offend under supervision.
 
I'm not saying that Martin Shkreli doesn't deserve it, but I'm also kind of surprised by the sheer length of the prison sentence when he's not really a direct danger to the public and is unlikely to re-offend under supervision.

His sentence was for securities fraud. What he did with the drugs? Not illegal.

And I think he deserved more, actually. If you look at how much he hurt people by stealing their money... we have always been too light on white collar crime. And now it is about to drown us.
 
His sentence was for securities fraud. What he did with the drugs? Not illegal.

And I think he deserved more, actually. If you look at how much he hurt people by stealing their money... we have always been too light on white collar crime. And now it is about to drown us.

True. Sadly in the big picture Martin Shkreli is "a little fish". Though at least his own greed put himself on the radar of the SEC to prosecute and convict him. It may serve as a warning for such corporate arrogance. Make your profits, but tread lightly, because society is watching.

However it does nothing relative to the present cost of pharmaceuticals, medical care in general and health care insurance, which seems completely out of control at this point.
 
I believe they have failed. I will change my vote when someone finds an Dr. with Autism/Aspergers.
Totally agree, as I've said in the past the only people who truly understand autism are autistic people and therefore there should be autistic people working as doctors and in other high places to help other autistic people. Similarly the best drug councillors are ex drug addicts themselves.
 
I pretty much stopped caring about the opinions of the "professionals" years ago, most of them don't know what they're talking about and just make it up as they go along IMHO.

Also, outside of the Medical profession itself and people who NEED to know about Autism in general, nobody is aware of or knows anything about it, hence I get a wall of confusion when I bring it up at job interviews and such like.

Also, when I was about 10 or 11, so over 30 years ago, I had to go through the experience of several Foreign Doctors poking about my body to find out what was "wrong" with me, I had no choice but to consent to it as I was just a lad, but I was literally like, WTF is this?
 
They are so atraciously bad at working with autism that we are actively discriminated as a meme everywhere. They get to ruin lives only to add to their own accomplishments. That is the thing. They don't actually care about helping us. It is more about reputation than expanding on knowledge of autism. Just look where they are still today building all of their facts off of. Asperger himself. I want to fix it. Speed me up through time so I can revolutionize. I am sure my curiosity would jump up to absurd lengths winding up as the world's leading psychologist or at least one of them. I'm not speaking out of ego but out of frustration as a humble enabler of people. I don't like the spot light. I'm so self conscious I'm even end up like this talking about myself writing word blocks. Insecurity I know but if I don't speak up nobody other than me with take that mantle, that burden. (Like literally a whole half is just me talking about myself... Ok focusing.) I could point out flaws in dmv IV versus dmv V but the books cost a lot of money. And also expanding on my knowledge is also frustrating because people tend to never consider a possibility. Very few people I have known actually have an open mind. Its like a global agenda to stagnant, tell everyone they are wrong about everything and further slow future innovations.
 
I'm still doing the self conscious thing in my mind... (Thank you rex for pointing it out to me)((a someone i know))
 
Despite all the caring, extremely hard working and well-meaning professionals out there, the system just doesn't work and the cuts to the services in the UK have made my county's service officially not fit for purpose...

We have all the problems that non-autistics have with mental health services plus the fact that I think we DO need care that is all-encompassing, taking both issues into account.

The NHS won't fund many AS assessments, yet refuse to realise that a lot of the MH problems many of us have are essentially trauma/emotional damage connected with these traits in one way or another, and conditions that we're also probably predisposed to due to autistim/possible autism... psychotherapy or anything like therefore doesn't really seem to reach the core of the problem. Undiagnosed aspies are often diagnosed with co morbid conditions first, or may be diagnosed wrongly with BPD or something else.

I know of several people with AS and mental health problems who just get next to no help, and can't keep a job/are discriminated against at work for several reasons and really struggle to do basic things, go out and enjoy their lives. And of course because people around them often can't understand they are blamed for it all, so it's easy for them to get very depressed and loose all self-esteem.
 
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It most definitely does not work in the US, there are caring people that want to help but the resources and logistics just aren't there in face of an apathetic public/incompetent government so our suffering sadly goes unnoticed or unacknowledged. I could have been better than I am but I've been abandoned by this country for my whole life so it's not any different.
 
However it does nothing relative to the present cost of pharmaceuticals, medical care in general and health care insurance, which seems completely out of control at this point.

This is not an accident. This is on purpose.

As good as we are at trauma surgery and acute situations (and the world has never seen better) we are exactly that bad at chronic illnesses.

For treating diabetes we are actually going backwards, telling patients to eat lots of carbs and “cover” with insulin. Heart disease is treated with statins and avoiding animal fats, when statins slowly kill you and animal fats are protective. Auto-immune diseases are caused by cortisol resistance, from an already too-high level of cortisol in the body, and they are treated by more steroids and drugs which shut down the immune system.

And don’t get me started on how “mental health” is now all about the drugs. Some are beneficial, for some people, but treating everyone with the same kinds of drugs and ignoring any problems the person has is like a science fiction dystopia where everyone is drugged into being happy.

Look at all the kids who were wholesale given Ritalin and wind up with addictions to similar drugs because this predisposed their brain to need these substances.

The best thing to come from my official diagnosis was my diagnostician warning me that (based on my history) psychiatric drugs don’t work on me, and I should avoid them. I am far from the only one; the difference is other people are cycling on and off in vain attempt to find one that works... when there might not be one that works.

I know I am a mutant :rolleyes: but I have done wonders for my own auto-immune illness, insomnia, and terrible anxiety with supplements and sleep hygiene tactics.

I can’t be the only mutant this works for, all I’m saying.
 
I know I am a mutant :rolleyes: but I have done wonders for my own auto-immune illness, insomnia, and terrible anxiety with supplements and sleep hygiene tactics

What's your take on vitamin supplements?

My local doctors surgery put in a cycle rack for their "customers".

When I stopped laughing, I figure out why.

They are "promoting health"
 
To be clear, I am not saying medical professionals are going BWAHAHA like super-villains and doing this on purpose. But career and ego considerations, big money from pharmaceutical and food companies, and outright government corruption is subverting science and ruining lives.
 

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