Psychology: Science or Religion?

[sherr34]

tv1a,
Your correct. There are times where I wonder if my head is going to explode of to much information. When I was working I couldn't concentrate at times and that would get frustrating for me and also I would be distracted at times.

[Trouvere]

Originally Posted by ManOfWord

Here's my theory, it may be full of hot air, but then again, it may not either:

We are killing ourselves and creating more and more people with chemical imbalances in their brains due the US's food supply being FAR from the natural mineral content etc, and the use of chemicals to enhance growth for profit.

No amount of counselling or scripture will fix a chemical imbalance outside of a miracle, which I fully believe in. In that respect, psychiatry & psychology can help.

I just recieved word tonight that a man committed suicide who was seemed to be an excellent Dad and husband. He even got everything in order in regards to paper work, insurance etc. He had been receiving some counselling, but apparently, too little too late. This is so sad.

If he only could have received some "smarmy" comments about taking two scriptures and everything being OK.

That is such a sad story brother.People are what Jesus died for.We live in such a time that people want the ministry for a career but don't like people.What a shame that he could not have found deliverance from the depression.We can only do what we can and God has to do the rest.

Originally Posted by sherr34

Chan,
Whatever!! Chemical imbalances are real. I personally think you need to get your head examined and learn a few things. What would you do if you where diagnosed with Bipolar.

No, not "Whatever"! There are no objective diagnostic tests (such as PET scans, blood work, etc.) that show these "chemical imbalances" or, more to the point, that it is these chemical imbalances that are specifically causing conditions such as "bipolar disorder." Note the following regarding the term "chemical imbalance":

"It is not used in scientific literature as it does not reflect current knowledge. A criticism of the use of this lay explanation is that explaining mental illness in terms of 'chemical imbalance' implicates a chemical solution. For example, insufficient availability of insulin in type I diabetes is treated with insulin. By analogy, it then appears that the appropriate treatment for insufficient (imbalanced) neurotransmitter levels is a chemical that fixes this balance. However, unlike Type I diabetes, chemical insufficiencies have never been identified in patients diagnosed with mental disorders, and other treatments are available for mental illness, and medication is often most effective when supplemented with other treatments."

SOURCE

Psychiatrist David Kaiser said, "Patients [have] been diagnosed with 'chemical imbalance' despite the fact that no test exists to support such a claim, and … there is no real conception of what a correct chemical imbalance would look like." The words of the President of the APA should also be noted. Mr. Steven Sharfstein said, "We do not have a clean-cut lab test [to detect chemical imbalances in the brain]." SOURCE

Here's what the Food and Drug Administration has to say:

"Direct to consumer advertising misleads the public by claiming their normal reactions to life experiences *MAY* be caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. But consumers don't hear the 'may' - they hear the overall message the drug companies want them to hear, and they take a pill for a chemical imbalance that doesn't exist.

Since the 1960s, researchers have been unable to prove that any of the 374 mental disorders listed in psychiatry?s bible, the DSM, are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain. Regarding depression, researchers have not been able to prove their theory that any of the depressive disorders is caused by an imbalance of serotonin...A big tip-off that psychiatry has not proven their chemical imbalance theory lies in the fact that no lab test exists to detect a chemical imbalance in a person?s brain?admitted by American Psychiatric Association President Dr. Steven Sharfstein in the July 11th issue of People magazine. If there were a chemical imbalance, then people would be taking a test to see what chemicals they lack and how much they lack. Instead, people are subjectively interviewed, diagnosed, and prescribed an antidepressant in as little as five minutes, as I have witnessed firsthand as a mental health professional.

With many studies debunking the chemical imbalance theory, and not one study proving it, then we must ask, why would anyone take a drug to correct an imbalance that no one knows is there in the first place? Why would someone diagnosed with depression take an antidepressant, when the antidepressant tries to fix something in the brain that is not broken?

What occurs in the brain when we introduce drugs to try to fix a problem that is not there?when we give a normal brain an abnormal foreign substance? Common sense says the brain will have an adverse reaction, which is exactly what happens. Antidepressants cause chemical imbalances in the brain, and frequently result in outward manifestations of various mental disorders - even suicide and murder, as the FDA has warned with their black box labels.

For these reasons, psychiatric drug direct to consumer advertising is false advertising, pure and simple. These drug companies have made mental conditions physical diseases without a shred of evidence, have convinced the general public that they have a physical disease without an objective test to prove it, and have made billions from their drugs that do nothing more than placebo at best, and have caused the tragic deaths of thousands at worse." SOURCE

Originally Posted by sherr34

Chan,
Also like I said I have the Holy Ghost and I have been baptized. I was raised apostolic all my like. I have a very strong faith in God. You dont know what it is like having Bipolar is just not emotional it is physical. How would you like it if you could even function from day to day. Or you cant work because you cant function physically. I pray that the Lord will open your eyes.

I've known people who have so-called "bipolar disorder." I know that sometimes one's emotional state does exhibit itself in physical symptoms (such as pain). But even the Food and Drug Administration says that there is no proof that "chemical imbalances" in the brain cause mental "illness."

Originally Posted by sherr34

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But there is good news: bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.

About 5.7 million American adults or about 2.6 percent of the population age 18 and older in any given year,1 have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood. However, some people have their first symptoms during childhood, and some develop them late in life. It is often not recognized as an illness, and people may suffer for years before it is properly diagnosed and treated. Like diabetes or heart disease, bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person's life.

"Manic-depression distorts moods and thoughts, incites dreadful behaviors, destroys the basis of rational thought, and too often erodes the desire and will to live. It is an illness that is biological in its origins, yet one that feels psychological in the experience of it; an illness that is unique in conferring advantage and pleasure, yet one that brings in its wake almost unendurable suffering and, not infrequently, suicide."

"I am fortunate that I have not died from my illness, fortunate in having received the best medical care available, and fortunate in having the friends, colleagues, and family that I do."

Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., An Unquiet Mind, 1995, p. 6.
(Reprinted with permission from Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.)

As soon as Dr. Jamison comes up with lab tests or brain scans that specifically show that there is something going on physiologically in the brain and that this something is specifically causing this cycling between mood extremes, she might be able to claim this is a "brain disorder."

Originally Posted by sherr34

Brain-imaging studies are helping scientists learn what goes wrong in the brain to produce bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses.8,9 New brain-imaging techniques allow researchers to take pictures of the living brain at work, to examine its structure and activity, without the need for surgery or other invasive procedures. These techniques include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). There is evidence from imaging studies that the brains of people with bipolar disorder may differ from the brains of healthy individuals. As the differences are more clearly identified and defined through research, scientists will gain a better understanding of the underlying causes of the illness, and eventually may be able to predict which types of treatment will work most effectively.

It is conspicuous that they don't use these brain imaging tests to actually diagnose bipolar disorder. Besides, what's to say that it isn't the emotional state that is causing the changes in the brain? How did they decide someone had bipolar disorder other than by simply asking the person to describe his or her symptoms? There is still no objective testing that can be done to specifically show that a person has bipolar disorder, i.e. that it is specifically something going on in the brain that is causing the cycling between emotional states.

Originally Posted by MrRight

If God made our minds, why is it wrong to study and try to undertand it?
Is it wrong to wrtie about what we understand an study?

I guess I don't get the big deal.

It is the underlying philosophy or world view from which one is studying it that is at issue. Psychology is based on a secular world view and has its basis in various worldly philosophies. The only valid source for the study of the mind is the word of God.

Originally Posted by tv1a

Chan's philosophy lacks biblical precedence since the Apostle Paul cited pagan poets in messages, and his epistles. Psychology lining up with scripture is no different than quoting pagan poets. If every word in the Bible is divinely inspired by God, than God used a pagan poet on more than one occasion to display a biblical truth. One doesn't have to throw out the baby with the bath water.

BTW, who ever says there is no physical evidence people are bi-polar have'nt looked at pictures of brain activities of bi-polar people. There is a noticable scientific difference.

Paul cited a POET, not philosophy. In fact, what did Paul say about worldly wisdom (philosophy)? He said it was foolishness to God.

As for the so-called "physical evidence," you're basing it on the notion of first declaring that a person has "bipolar disorder" and then doing a brain scan (which really doesn't show something in the brain specifically causing the bipolar disorder). The words of the President of the APA should also be noted. Mr. Steven Sharfstein said, "We do not have a clean-cut lab test [to detect chemical imbalances in the brain]."

[sherr34]

Chan,
If God made the mind then why cant it be studies. I think you are foolish. What would you do if you where Bipolar??

Originally Posted by sherr34

Chan,
If God made the mind then why cant it be studies. I think you are foolish. What would you do if you where Bipolar??

Did you bother to read my reply to MrRight? If you had, there would be no basis for you to make such remarks as the ones in your post. Here's what I said:

"It is the underlying philosophy or world view from which one is studying it that is at issue. Psychology is based on a secular world view and has its basis in various worldly philosophies. The only valid source for the study of the mind is the word of God." (Underlined for emphasis).