The most important book ever written.

http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Epidemic-Bullets-Psychiatric-Astonishing/dp/0307452417

"*Starred Review* When Whitaker (Mad in America, 2002) learned that between 1987 and 2007 the number of Americans disabled due to mental illness more than doubled despite a whopping $40 billion annual psychotropic drug tab, it gave him pause. Given their widespread use—greater than even that of cholesterol-lowering drugs—he had believed that psychopharmaceuticals were magic bullets, knocking mental illness out of the game, returning formerly disabled people to the ranks of productive citizens. But the deeper he probed into clinical studies in prestigious scientific journals, some dating back more than 50 years, the more he noticed a shocking anomaly. Psychiatric drugs have repeatedly been shown to worsen mental illness, to say nothing of the risks of liver damage, weight gain, elevated cholesterol and blood sugar, and reduced cognitive function they entail. The reality, he says, is that, because no one knows what causes mental illness, there’s no cure or palliation to be found in these pills. What with the conclusions Whitaker draws from his assembled literature and the accusations he levels at those who consciously deceive consumers eager for magical cures, his book will either blow the lid off a multibillion-dollar industry or cause him to be labeled a crackpot and, perhaps, medicated into obscurity. At the very least, it should prod those who take the drugs to question those who prescribe them. --Donna Chavez"

Too bad that the only people who give a shit are the ones who don't matter. Scientists, researchers, advocates and "patients" - this industry is ruled by psychiatrists, social workers and state and big pharma sponsored government institutes. If the struggles between science and belief have taught us anything, there is no hope for change. Besides, you think that hundreds of thousands of people are going to put themselves out of a job by accepting the truth of this data? Besides that, the mental health industry in the aggregate is so large that it would affect millions if the drug approach toward treating mental and behavioral woes were greatly limited as the research data suggests that it should be if we cared about long term recovery and cost expenditure.

By the way, in my entire life I have involuntarily cost the U.S. tax payers more than 2 million dollars. That money is of course spread around. Think about it - legal robbery. Did any of this treatment intend to help me? No, it intended to shut me up temporarily so others around me could get back to their lives uninterupted.