Thomas Szasz on The Myth of Mental Illness

Psychiatrist and social critic Thomas Szasz unsettled the psychiatric establishment in the 1960’s, challenging its foundational notions around normalcy, mental illness and treatment. By watching this pair of riveting interviews, Dr. Szasz will challenge you to explore and question your own cherished beliefs around diagnosis, psychotherapy and freedom; deepening your empathy for even the most challenging clients.'

#mentalhealth #mentalillness #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters

[lordofthegremlins]

This bullshit "putting a label on everything, getting your psychiatry paycut" element of psychiatry made a massive comeback. We heavily need another Thomas Sczaz

[capresti]

Szasz was a freedom and human rights fighter, a legend and respected man.

[planetagonzo]

This man make me feel so good after all this scammers aka “psychiatrists”, fuck my life. The only decent psychiatrist I know.

[dastreetspart]

Thomas Szaaz is brilliant. Too brilliant for the interviewer.

[nicmart]

As an erstwhile friend of Dr Szasz, I recommend the following of his books to start:

1. Insanity: The idea and its consequences
2. The Meaning of Mind
3. Cruel Compassion

The Myth of Mental Illness was written for a professional readership, while those above are for general readers.

[seanlheeger]

when someone doesn't like something that you do. Boom! you're CRAZY and you need to freebase kittens.

[Alf]

you can go to every psychiatrist and get a different diagnosis based on the psychiatrist perspective..

[sleepwalker]

People always call me crazy when they realise I don't like them. Just a way of discrediting people.

[ronlentjes]

Well said! Truth takes but a few words. Spot on!

[jackcarney]

Great clip of a great man, thank you. RIF, Rest In Freedom

[bekkahrj]

Intelligent man. I took this abnormal psychology class when I was in 12 grade and I explained this precise thing. You cannot be unhappy and/or depressed when you are fighting for your life or something like that...there is a hierarchy. Also what he means is once a person has everything....I guess it could disturb the balance..
We Are Not Supposed To Have Everything.

[A_Dopamine_Molecule]

Basically, we know nothing about how mental illness works, or even how consciousness works. We're still prescribing people the same primitive crap they've been feeding people since the 60's, and even good psychiatrists have very limited knowledge. It's a field of science that is still in its infancy. I just hope it grows up soon.

[kimlec]

Szasz tells it like it is. Molestation is often what occurs.

[grimsobad]

I’m a student, lately during the cold winters I used to get very sleepy, like even after sleeping for 10 hours but at that time I was unsure what was causing it (I later found out that I had no sleeping issues during the summer), but when I consulted our school psychiatrist the first thing I got was “are you depressed” or “it might be cause of an “”underlying”” depression” I stopped taking them seriously ever since.

[heretic]

Got to love Thomas szasz. The dude having the privilege of interviewing doesn't know it, and from observation is stoned out his ffkin face

[charliedemosmusic]

I agree 1000%. POWERFUL about Freedom versus Happiness.

[АлександрСмоляков-ою]

Thomas Sas. The physician’s job, inter alia, is to help: cure disease with the consent of the patient. The judge’s job, inter alia, is to harm: punish lawbreaking without the consent of the defendant… Wardens who carry out sentences imposed by judges harm their prisoners, regardless of the cause of the intervention. Psychiatrists who carry out sentences imposed by judges also harm their patients, regardless of the cause of the intervention… The difference is that jailers do not claim to be their prisoners’ benefactors, whereas psychiatrists insist that they are the benefactors of their involuntary patients… Most persons experience their coerced psychiatric treatment as punishment. That is why psychiatrists insist that the persons subjected to psychiatric coercion are psychiatric patients, not psychiatric victims; that psychiatric coercion is treatment, not punishment; and that individuals who oppose their “benevolence” are wicked enemies of caring for the sick, not defenders of liberty and justice. He who controls the vocabulary controls social reality. The erosion of our liberties is not a mystery. Overwhelmingly, it is the result of the alliance between medicine and the state, intensifying people’s dependency on pharmacratic authority and psychiatric controls, fostering and fostered by a hyperinflationary definition of disease and treatment. When the government controls religion, not only religious liberty but all liberty becomes a chimera. When the government controls health, not only medical liberty but all liberty becomes a chimera

[aaronolson]

I just watched the full interview. Excellent conversation.

[witchofbabylon]

i came here to find out how to pronounce his last name

[matejblaha]

One thing is psychiatry, and another one is psychology. The thing is that mental illness historically was a way to stigmatise people that fell outside of normal, and that should change. It doesn't mean that there are no mental health conditions and that there shouldn't be mental health services, it's just that the system needs to change to serve people. Many of not most prisoners who have serious mental health issues do not receive proper treatment, and if they do they might be forced to get drugs alone because it's just easier than proper psychological care.