forward the light brigade

(from the Heelers emails)


To: Senator Joan Freeman.

Morning Joan.
Fine Gael's fetish for killing unborn children notwithstanding, I saw you on television, hence this email.
You seem to have developed a critical attitude to the prevailing pharmaceutical solutions to mental health issues.
My own opinion is that mental suffering has been wrongly understood by those claiming it results from brain chemistry disorders or from genetic dispositions.
People like you Joan, who are offering a more dignified, more humane, more insightful (and also actually more scientific and indeed more practical) view of human mental suffering are very important in the present situation.
There is a book by Robert Whitaker called Anatomy Of An Epidemic which I would send you, if you'd read it.
Irish doctor Terry Lynch has also been to the fore in advocating the possibility of healing for mental pain through pragmatic action and compassion and again insight, rather than through chemical dosage. The American Peter Breggin too. And Dr David Healy in Britain.
A revolution is taking place.
People are realising that the medical profession and academia have been colonised by the pharmaceutical industry. An immense wrong turn has been taken.
The practice of giving Ridilin to children is only the latest in a category of disasters.
Anyhoo Joan, if you read this, feel free to contact me. I'd like to send you the book. And I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for a chance to help in creating a culture of healing.
To do this we must swim against the tide of dehumanising pharmaceutical ideologies which has engulfed our culture and is drowning our citizens.
James Healy

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On Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 3:16 PM Joan Freeman <Joan.Freeman@oireachtas.ie>
wrote:

Dear James,

Many thanks for your email. For the record I am an independent - I am with no political party whatsoever.

Yes, I have followed with great intent Terry Lynch and Peter Breggin.

Interestingly, as Chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Mental Health, we have invited witnesses to our meeting tomorrow to speak about over prescription of mood alternating medication as well as the often overlooked and ignored therapy through talking.

Many thanks for your very kind words,

Kind regards

Joan
Senator Joan Freeman
Seanad Éireann
Leinster House
Kildare Street
Dublin 2
01 6183569

***********************

From: James Healy
Date: Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 8:19 PM
To: <Joan.Freeman@oireachtas.ie>


Morning Senator.
Rather thrilled with your reply.
I am often tempted to fall silent about the sanctity of life when I lobby
someone, so I like to do it in the first line, otherwise I may chicken out.
You're not a Fine Gaeler, but you were appointed to the senate by Enda
Kenny, who has probably been singlehandedly more responsible than anyone
else for the parliamentary legalisation of the killing of unborn children here
and the current efforts to legalise and promote more of it.
The meeting you are chairing today offers some hope for advancing knowledge
of the primary issue re mental health, ie that it is being completely
misunderstood by a medical profession that itself has been manipulated by
salesmen from the pharmaceutical industry. The phrase "over prescription"
covers a multitude. How can we over prescribe poison? There's the nub. If
anti depressants and anti psychotics (so called by those who market them)
are actually chronicating mental suffering, atrophying brain tissue and
inducing early death, why on earth would we prescribe them at all?
Joan (first name for a moment) these are the unsayable realities that Mr
Breggin, Dr Lynch, and most importantly Robert Whitaker are unearthing.
There are two factors that I would ask you to bear in mind as you chair the
meeting.
1. Depression, mania and even schizophrenia are not proven to be brain
chemistry or genetic disorders.
2. Anti depressants and/or anti psychotic substances do not rectify brain
chemistry. They block the person's capacity to experience themselves. The
brain compensates by generating more dopamine or more serotonin and
consequent disruptions to the person become chronic, life long and almost
incurable precisely because of the medication.
Good luck Senator.
A lot of hope rides with you.
James Healy