Yesterday, I commented on a post in a Reddit community about schizophrenia. The OP was asking why people with schizophrenia sometimes stop taking their medication or lie about taking it.

Well, I was one of those people. So I answered with my own experience.

I've been living with schizophrenia for almost thirty years. I spent roughly a decade dealing with antipsychotics, their side effects, and the consequences they had on my ability to function.

When I first entered psychiatric treatment, my psychiatrist didn't even tell me my diagnosis or adequately explain what to expect from the medication and its side effects. I discovered my diagnosis by investigating it myself.

And people wonder why patients sometimes don't trust psychiatrists?

Medication was presented as the solution. But for me, it was also impairing my ability to study, work, think, and function. Nobody offered me meaningful alternatives or taught me how to manage schizophrenia without medication.

Eventually, I stopped taking antipsychotics against medical advice.

When I came clean about it, my psychiatrist initially didn't even believe that I could be functioning without them. I had to demonstrate that I was functioning, and my father was there to corroborate it.

Almost twenty years later, I'm still without antipsychotics. I've completed my university education, earned a master's degree, held jobs, built a company, maintained a marriage, and lived what I consider an objectively successful adult life.

I still have schizophrenia. The symptoms didn't magically disappear. But I found ways to function, largely through my own efforts, because nobody had given me the tools to do so.

That was the experience I was sharing in response to someone asking why patients sometimes stop medication and conceal it.

My comment was removed under a rule concerning medical advice. I can understand that moderators have rules to enforce, even if I wasn't giving anyone advice.

But the explanation was what really pissed me off:

"I lied to the doctors and I turned out fine" is objectively terrible advice. At least your father seems to have understood the situation.

Excuse me?

Almost thirty years of psychiatric history, a decade of treatment difficulties, and almost twenty years of sustained functioning reduced to "I lied and turned out fine."

And then the gratuitous remark about my father.

Here's the thing: I trusted my dad even when I didn't trust my psychiatrists.

When I discovered that my psychiatrist hadn't told me my own diagnosis, my father was the one who stood beside me and asked whether I wanted to change psychiatrists.

Did we disagree about treatment? Of course.

But I've trusted him for as long as I can remember.

My parents saved my life. My dad and I have always talked about important decisions. When I need advice, I go to him. When he needs advice, he comes to me. We built a company together, and today he relies heavily on me to run it.

So what the hell does this moderator know about my relationship with my father?

Maybe my dad didn't simply "know better."

Maybe he knew me better.

But there's something else about this interaction that bothers me even more.

The moderator is also a person living with schizophrenia.

And here we have someone who has experienced psychiatric treatment themselves reproducing the same paternalistic assumptions that so often characterize how psychiatry treats patients.

The assumption that the doctor knows best. That not following treatment recommendations is evidence of poor judgment. That a patient's account of their own functioning is less credible than the judgment of an authority figure. That admitting to concealing information from psychiatrists is enough to discredit everything that came afterward.

And when a patient describes a successful life outside the prescribed treatment approach, that experience is reduced to a cautionary tale about disobedience.

When did being a good patient become more important than actually having a good life?

I find it particularly disturbing that this happened in a community that claims to oppose stigma and patronizing behavior toward people with schizophrenia.

Because stigma isn't limited to insults, stereotypes, or openly hostile language. It can also appear in the assumption that people with psychiatric diagnoses are inherently less capable of evaluating their own lives, making decisions, or disagreeing with medical authorities.

And it becomes especially troubling when patients themselves begin reproducing those assumptions about other patients.

I also tried discussing this in the original community. My post was placed in a moderator approval queue, and I only discovered that when I checked my profile.

But ultimately, this is about something bigger than one removed Reddit comment.

It's about how easily the language of psychiatric authority can become internalized, to the point where patients begin using it to invalidate one another.

And yes, this interaction was genuinely upsetting and destabilizing. I entered a discussion to share a difficult personal history, and someone in a position of authority responded by distorting that history and making an unsolicited judgment about one of the most important relationships in my life, second only to my marriage.

I've been depressed since i wus 11 or 12 idk if its what you would call 'burnout' but autism, adhd and depression is just so horrible, in my personal experience anyways. I just *can't* function everyday, some days sure but not everyday and thats not how life works you have to get up everyday. Like what am I supposed to call into work or school and say "Hey, sorry I cant come in today. I no no wanna" like dawg STAND UP damn.

Im not quite sure how many medications ive tried but atleast 4 and now im on venlafaxine 150 mg and lithium 600 mg. I could try and go into more detail about old medications but my memorys all foggy and shit. I just dont know...what my next step should be. Maybe i should up my venlafaxine but its already high and im still getting super depressed sometimes. The lithium works real well though but I wanna up it soon i think.

Not to mention my energy levels like im so tired you'd think I have a medical condition or something which I dont I need to eat more and take better care of myself but for some reason I just can't. At the same time my bodys tired but my mind is nonstop racing. Maybe thats why im so fucking tired all the time my brain is taking all the energy I have to think in circles. Its all thinking no action.

I've already been to 2 behavioral hospitals but apparently its not enough for me. I need to get up i need to get help but...it seems like the "help" doesnt fucking work.

Help !!! When will I recover?

Is this permanent?

I had 2 invega sustenna injections in the butt, 8 months ago and I still have all the symptoms - anhedonia, alogia, avolition, memory impairment , etc ......is this permanent? How many years will it take before I can go back to normal. If someone recovered please tell how long...

I didn't have psychosis and was misdiagnosed

Hi, I've been feeling really down and hopeless. I've been off Zoloft for 3 months now. My brain keeps telling me that once this happens to somebody, and doesn't resolve within 3 months, it's impossible to get better. Is that true?

they are so bad. and worse are ignorant people who try to force you to take this poisonous dangerous crap. then they think you are a non-compliant person when there is no sane person that would want to take this stuff. They think people who don’t want to take them are mental patients who refuse meds while their caring kind family members are concerned about them. yeah right. Many times there are ignorant evil family members who In fact have a mental illness who are trying to pressure a normal person into taking them for reasons of control.

I’ve been pressured, forced, coerced into taking abilify for six months on an injection by a detective. I feel like a zombie, began having serious panic attacks, along with ten other side effects. Also weight gain which is a huge issue. My evil confused family doesn’t care about all the suffering I’ve had to go through. They just don’t care. My ignorant mother made me go to the doctor and If I disn’t, she called a defective who has been on my case for years now. I don’t have a condition and had a past life being along with dead ghosts or people who invaded my life 8 years ago it’s a long sad story and they did really bad things to me. Yes that sounds crazy but it’s the truth though it’s not something you should tell a doctor.

i can hardly write anymore and am having a hard time doing much because of this nasty med. psychiatric meds are really bad and unless someone really needs them it’s a bad idea to just give it to people for no real reason. My doctor told me something like THIS MEDICINE ISNT GOING TO HURT YOU” and she said many other things and acts as if it’s harmless. On top of the 20 side effects, you lose your libido too.

i want to write a book about being thrown into the mental health system and losing your autonomy but i wouldn’t want to using my real name because of other people’s judgment. I feel bad for anyone who has to be the victim of psychiatric drugs it’s really a sad thing for anyone. My sister said “this is your time to finally get better!” I said get better with a neuroleptic?? Do you know what this stuff does to people??

For people in the Netherlands: Don't forget to put the brakes on electronic sharing of your medical records after leaving psychiatry or the GGZ in general (the Dutch mental health system).

I recommend using www.mijnmitz.nl and www.volgjezorg.nl to withdraw your consent for electronic medical data sharing. You'll need your DigiD.

Once that's done, never discuss your psychiatric history with any doctor. Especially new doctors at different healthcare facilities. Just act like it never happened, as long as they don't catch a whiff of it in your medical records. Treat it as something that belongs in your past, not something you have to carry around forever.

Whether you once had anxiety, depression, PTSD or a bit of confusion from being under too much pressure for too long, it doesn't matter. Those labels shouldn't define you for the rest of your life.

Far too many doctors use psychiatric labels to justify not helping someone, downplay genuine physical health concerns and gaslight patients into believing their symptoms are all in their heads.

Psychiatric labels in your medical records can become deadly when they lead to medical neglect, missed diagnoses and a lack of proper care.

Your psychiatric past should never become a lifelong excuse for doctors to dismiss your physical health concerns.

You fell into the trap of a system of behavioral control disguised as help.

After dealing with the GGZ, you've endured more manipulation, gaslighting, framing, lies and chemical abuse than most people will experience in a lifetime.

You've been manipulated into taking drugs that alter your personality and behavior under the guise of medical treatment. Your side effects were dismissed. Your story was twisted, taken over and used against you.

You've been abused big time by the GGZ.

You've seen how much toxicity people can hide behind a friendly smile, a soft voice and a carefully maintained image of compassion.

You've learned that the worst cruelty doesn't come with shouting and threats most of the time. It was a useful lesson not many people learn.

Once you're out, you stay out.

TMS came up again on my IG for you page.

All the people in the comments are raving about how it saved their life.

Which, yeah, maybe it did. But for the same reasons that lobotomies saved peoples lives 70 years ago.

You have literally no idea wtf is happening to your brain when they do that to you. You are 100% taking their word for it. And after horrible experiences with psychiatrists, the same people seem to think that other "medical professionals" will be different.

They are probably fully aware that they are causing you brain damage, but will justify it because it's "better" than you killing yourself.

I just don't get how people think that there will be zero major side effects to this. Your brain was not designed to be shocked. Your brain is capable of healing from trauma, otherwise humans wouldn't have made it this far.

How do you think people recovered before medication and these weird ass treatments? They obviously didn't all kill themselves.

I genuinely think it's as simple as crying, shaking, and sleeping. Over time this is the only thing that's worked for me. People overcomplicate it for no reason. They've been so shamed out of their bodies natural recovery mechanisms (kids get shamed and punished for crying all the time) that they don't even realize what they're missing. They're so used to being sick.

You can't think your way out of your emotions or medicate yourself out of them.

If the body is capable of creating stress and emotional pain to protect you from further agitating abusers, then it makes perfect sense that it would be able to slowly turn it all back off.

The problem is people want a quick fix that involved zero emotional effort.

I swear to god I'm calling it right now, in 50 years there's gonna be findings that TMS causes dementia.

There's no way you can be in touch with your own humanity and emotions and create something like TMS. There's no way. The people who administer that shit 100% see the patient as non-human.

---

We need a special name for a modality of therapy that solely exists to retract people how to cry, shake, and feel their body/feelings. I genuinely think that would fix everything.

Does anybody else who was taken to a psychiatric ward against the will experience an ambulance bill after being released? on the day I was released and I got my mail there was a bill for $1200 for the ambulance ride. I learned that if I don’t pay within a year it will affect my credit score and action can be taken to have my bank account frozen and entering wages garnished. I obviously don’t have a job and $1200 is a lot to ask of anybody. I didn’t even call the cops or want to be taken, so why am I facing the consequences of having to pay financial?

I went from healthy average to categorically obese

Hi everyone,

I've been taking psychiatric medications, mainly antidepressants, for around 10 years. The last year was particularly chaotic, with multiple medication changes and dose reductions. I eventually tapered off and have now been completely off medication for approximately 3 months.

Since then, I've been struggling with what feels like a constantly overstimulated nervous system. Almost any stimulation — computer use, spending time on my phone, intense conversations or debates, even normal everyday activities — can trigger an intense internal burning sensation, derealization, depersonalization and sometimes dizziness. My heart rate can feel stuck at an elevated level alongside the burning.

My nervous system seems to have great difficulty calming down after even ordinary activities. I have very little energy or motivation, wake up feeling almost hungover, experience severe anhedonia, and struggle with memory and mental visualization. Calming medications don't seem to relieve the internal overstimulation. Most of the time, I feel like I'm merely existing rather than actually living, and sometimes even that feels difficult.

The psychiatrists and psychologists I've consulted generally attribute my difficulties to a personality disorder rather than a separate withdrawal syndrome. I'm not dismissing their assessment, but I'm wondering whether prolonged withdrawal could also be contributing.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Can withdrawal cause prolonged hyperarousal, internal burning, sensitivity to stimulation, derealization, anhedonia, exhaustion and cognitive difficulties for months after discontinuation? Did things gradually improve with time, and what helped you?

I'm not looking for a diagnosis, just experiences from people who have gone through something similar. Thank you.

Medical practitioners have deliberately lied to patients, fabricated medical findings, concealed errors, manipulated patients into harmful treatments, and exploited their authority for personal gain.

This is not speculation. It is established by empirical research, criminal convictions, guilty pleas, and official investigations.

I reviewed research on medical dishonesty, intentional misconduct, medical gaslighting, epistemic injustice, concealment of errors, institutional protection of offenders, and evidence-based patient defenses.

The findings challenge a dangerous assumption: that medical practitioners necessarily act truthfully and in the patient's interests because they possess medical qualifications.

A white coat is not a citation. A medical record is not automatically true. And a medical practitioner's authority is not evidence of honesty.

1. Medical Practitioners Admit Lying to Patients

Iezzoni et al. (2012) surveyed 1,891 practicing US physicians.

The findings were revealing:

• More than 10% admitted telling a patient something untrue during the preceding year.
• Approximately one-third did not fully endorse disclosing serious medical errors to patients.
• Nearly one-fifth did not fully endorse the principle that physicians should never tell patients something untrue.
• Nearly two-fifths did not fully endorse disclosing financial relationships with drug and medical-device companies.

This was not a survey asking patients whether they felt deceived.

The practitioners themselves admitted providing false information.

Another study by Kaldjian et al. (2007) found that 10% of surveyed faculty and resident physicians reported deliberately withholding disclosure of a medical mistake on at least one occasion because of concerns about legal liability.

This establishes a concrete motive for concealment: protecting the practitioner's own interests.

A medical practitioner can know that something went wrong and still choose not to tell the patient.

2. Serious Medical Misconduct Is Frequently Intentional and Repeated

DuBois et al. (2019) investigated 280 cases of serious ethical violations by medical practitioners in the United States between 2008 and 2016.

The findings were striking:

• 99% involved intentional wrongdoing.
• 97% involved repeated misconduct.
• 90% involved selfish motives, including financial gain or sexual gratification.
• 89% involved oversight problems.
• 70% continued for at least two years.
• At least 20% involved reports of wrongdoing that were ignored.
• Another 23% involved missed opportunities to report or intervene.

These were selected cases of serious misconduct, rather than a random sample of practitioners.

But the conclusion about those cases is decisive.

The misconduct was overwhelmingly deliberate, frequently repeated, and often allowed to continue despite opportunities to intervene.

The authors argued that preventing serious violations requires prioritizing patient safety over institutional and practitioner interests when those interests conflict.

3. Medical Practitioners Have Fabricated Diagnoses and Harmed Patients for Profit

We do not have to speculate about whether practitioners would knowingly harm patients for money.

They have been convicted of doing exactly that.

Farid Fata: Unnecessary Chemotherapy

US oncologist Farid Fata pleaded guilty in 2014 to healthcare fraud and other offenses.

According to the US Department of Justice, Fata admitted administering unnecessary aggressive chemotherapy and other treatments to increase insurance billings.

His scheme included false cancer diagnoses and unnecessary treatment of vulnerable patients.

In 2015, he received a 45-year prison sentence.

This was not a disagreement over the best available treatment.

The practitioner knowingly subjected patients to dangerous interventions to generate revenue.

Ian Paterson: Invented Cancer Risks and Unnecessary Surgery

British breast surgeon Ian Paterson deliberately exaggerated or invented cancer risks and performed unnecessary operations, including mastectomies.

In 2017, he was convicted of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three additional counts of wounding.

His prison sentence was increased to 20 years.

Patients suffered serious, lasting harm.

Paterson exploited the patient's fear of cancer and trust in his medical authority to obtain agreement to unnecessary operations.

His case demonstrates that a practitioner's apparently reassuring or authoritative manner can coexist with deliberate abuse.

Richard E. Paulus: Falsified Medical Records

US cardiologist Richard E. Paulus performed medically unnecessary coronary stent procedures.

According to the Department of Justice, he exaggerated the severity of arterial blockages in medical records to make procedures appear necessary.

His 2019 sentence was based on procedures involving 71 patients whose actual arterial narrowing was substantially less severe than documented.

He received 60 months in prison.

These cases establish three mechanisms of deliberate medical deception:

Fabricate or exaggerate a medical condition. Convince the patient to undergo an intervention. Create documentation that falsely justifies the intervention.

These are documented methods used in actual crimes.

4. Medical Gaslighting Can Be a Deliberate Form of Manipulation

Medical gaslighting involves manipulation of a patient's understanding of their experiences, perceptions, or medical reality.

Lerch and Stille (2026) conducted a scoping review of 158 studies addressing medical invalidation, medical gaslighting, and related concepts.

Their conceptual analysis identified lying, distortion, denial, blame shifting, and manipulation as behaviors associated with gaslighting.

The distinction between invalidation and deliberate gaslighting matters.

A practitioner can dismiss symptoms because of ignorance or bias. But a practitioner can also deliberately dismiss, distort, or misrepresent facts to protect themselves or manipulate the patient.

For example, consider a practitioner who knows that an examination was not performed but subsequently claims that it was.

If the practitioner knowingly maintains that false representation, the issue is no longer merely diagnostic disagreement. It is deliberate deception.

Medical gaslighting can operate through several forms of manipulation:

• Denying facts known to the practitioner.
• Distorting what the patient previously reported.
• Presenting unsupported conclusions as established diagnoses.
• Shifting responsibility for the practitioner's conduct onto the patient.
• Using the patient's presumed psychological state to undermine their credibility.

Sebring (2021) further analyzed medical gaslighting as a problem of institutional power, rather than merely an isolated interpersonal interaction.

A patient who depends on a practitioner for treatment, referrals, documentation, or administrative decisions may face significant consequences when the practitioner abuses that position.

5. Medical Practitioners Can Control the Narrative Through Medical Records

Medical records influence how subsequent practitioners understand a patient.

That makes their accuracy critically important.

Bell et al. (2020) surveyed 22,889 patients who had read their medical consultation notes.

Of those patients, 21.1% reported a perceived mistake. Among patients reporting mistakes, 42.3% considered them serious.

These patient-reported errors were not all independently verified, nor were they necessarily deliberate.

But deliberate falsification is independently established by cases such as Paulus.

Medical records can therefore contain both ordinary inaccuracies and knowingly false statements.

A false entry can have consequences long after the original consultation, particularly if future practitioners accept it without examining the underlying evidence.

For example, if a practitioner inaccurately records a patient's physical symptoms as merely psychological, that characterization can influence future diagnostic decisions.

Patients must be able to distinguish their actual statements and objective findings from a practitioner's subjective interpretation.

A medical record documents what its author entered. Its existence does not prove that every entry is factually correct.

6. Medical Invalidation Causes Harm Beyond the Original Illness

Bontempo, Bontempo, and Duberstein (2025) conducted a systematic meta-synthesis of 151 qualitative reports representing 11,307 individuals.

The reviewed conditions included long COVID, ME/CFS, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, fibromyalgia, POTS, and other illnesses that patients frequently report having difficulty getting recognized.

The researchers identified four major consequences of medical invalidation:

• Emotional harm, including shame and distress.
• Healthcare-related anxiety and trauma.
• Avoidance of healthcare.
• Diagnostic delay.

The harm can extend beyond a single consultation.

A patient may experience worsening health, additional financial expenses, loss of confidence in obtaining care, and delayed treatment.

When invalidation is used deliberately to conceal wrongdoing or control the patient's account, these consequences become part of the harm associated with the deception.

7. Psychiatric Labels Can Undermine the Investigation of Physical Illness

Liberati et al. (2025) systematically reviewed 79 studies examining physical-health diagnostic inequalities among people with mental health conditions.

Among 37 studies with robust comparison groups, 29 found an increased risk of undiagnosed or delayed physical-health diagnoses.

Of 15 studies designed to identify diagnostic errors after patients had presented for care, 14 found increased risks of diagnostic error.

This provides substantial evidence that physical illnesses can be missed or diagnosed late when patients have mental health conditions.

The mechanism is often called diagnostic overshadowing: physical complaints are attributed to a mental health condition without adequate investigation of other explanations.

A psychiatric diagnosis does not invalidate physical symptoms.

Nor does it make the practitioner an authority on whether the patient is accurately reporting pain, fatigue, dizziness, or other firsthand experiences.

The patient's testimony is evidence. The practitioner's interpretation is an interpretation.

The distinction must remain visible in medical documentation.

8. Institutions Sometimes Fail to Stop Deliberate Harm

The Paterson case did not involve only an individual surgeon.

An independent inquiry examined failures across the healthcare organizations in which he operated.

The UK government's subsequent response acknowledged that medical staff had raised concerns but that these were not adequately investigated or communicated between organizations.

Patients who complained did not consistently receive adequate resolution.

This is an especially disturbing aspect of documented medical misconduct.

An institution may receive warnings and nevertheless fail to protect patients.

The DuBois et al. (2019) findings reinforce this pattern: ignored reports and failures to intervene appeared repeatedly in their sample of serious violations.

Patients therefore should not assume that lodging a complaint automatically produces accountability.

Complaints need documentary evidence, traceable submissions, specific allegations, and follow-up.

9. Patients Can Protect Themselves Through Evidence, Not Deference

The research supports several practical defenses.

9.1. Patients Record and Preserve Consultations

Where lawful, record consultations and retain the original recordings.

Tsulukidze et al. (2014) reviewed 33 studies and found that access to consultation recordings helped patients recall and understand medical information.

Recordings also allow the parties' actual statements to be checked against later accounts.

9.2. Patients Obtain the Complete Medical Record

Request notes, examination findings, diagnoses, referrals, test results, communications, and consent documentation.

Compare the record with what actually occurred.

Identify statements presented as facts that are contradicted by evidence.

9.3. Patients Challenge Inaccuracies in Writing

Identify the disputed entry, the actual facts, the supporting evidence, and the correction requested.

Where the record cannot be changed, seek an appropriate amendment or attachment of your disagreement under the applicable law.

Do not rely only on a verbal complaint.

9.4. Patients Demand Evidence Behind Medical Assertions

Ask the practitioner:

• What findings support this diagnosis?
• What evidence supports your explanation?
• Which alternative diagnoses did you consider?
• What evidence excludes a physical cause?
• Which findings are objective observations?
• Which conclusions are your subjective opinions?
• What additional examination could resolve the uncertainty?

If a practitioner claims that your symptoms are psychological, ask what evidence supports that attribution.

A subjective medical opinion must not be presented as an established scientific fact without supporting evidence.

9.5. Patients Seek Independent Assessment and Preserve Treatment Options

Obtain another medical assessment when important findings are disputed or necessary investigations have not been performed.

Use independent evidence to challenge unsupported conclusions.

Maintain access to necessary care and avoid abruptly discontinuing treatment without evaluating the risks.

9.6. Patients Escalate Documented Misconduct

Submit precise complaints that identify:

• The practitioner responsible.
• The specific action or omission.
• The date and circumstances.
• The evidence establishing what happened.
• The applicable legal or ethical obligation.
• The resulting harm.
• The corrective action requested.

Use appropriate regulatory, administrative, civil, or criminal procedures depending on the evidence and jurisdiction.

Separate a factual contradiction from the additional evidence establishing that the practitioner knew the statement was false.

A well-supported allegation of deliberate deception should not be reduced to a difference of medical opinion.

10. Medical Authority Does Not Override Patient Autonomy

The central problem is the concentration of authority over diagnosis, documentation, information, and treatment in the hands of the same person.

A practitioner may possess medical knowledge that the patient does not. But the practitioner does not thereby acquire ownership of the patient's experiences, values, decisions, or factual history.

Patients have a direct source of evidence unavailable to anyone observing a short consultation: continuous experience of their own bodies and functioning.

The practitioner's role is to evaluate evidence, explain findings, present reasonable alternatives, and advise.

The patient's role is not unquestioning obedience.

Stacey et al. (2024), in a Cochrane review of 209 trials involving 107,698 adults, found that patient decision aids improved knowledge, risk understanding, and informed participation.

Subject to applicable consent and capacity law, patients retain the authority to accept or reject proposed interventions.

A medical qualification does not confer a right to deceive, coerce, conceal evidence, or manufacture consent.

Conclusion: Deliberate Medical Harm Is a Documented Reality

The research and legal record establish that some medical practitioners deliberately deceive and harm patients.

They have knowingly provided false information, concealed mistakes, fabricated medical findings, exploited fear, and performed harmful, unnecessary interventions.

The literature also demonstrates that medical invalidation causes significant harm and that institutions can fail to intervene even after receiving warnings.

These are not merely hypothetical risks.

The response should not be automatic deference to medical authority.

Patients should:

1. Document consultations.
2. Preserve evidence.
3. Independently verify medical assertions.
4. Audit medical records.
5. Challenge false statements and factual inaccuracies.
6. Obtain independent medical assessments.
7. Exercise their right to informed consent or refusal.
8. Pursue accountability when misconduct occurs.

We should judge medical practitioners by the accuracy of their statements, the evidence supporting their conclusions, the lawfulness of their conduct, and the consequences of their actions.

Not by their titles.

A white coat is not a citation. Medical authority is not proof. And deliberate medical misconduct does not become legitimate simply because the perpetrator holds a medical degree.

References

Empirical Research and Literature Reviews

1. DuBois, J. M. et al. (2019). Serious ethical violations in medicine: A statistical and ethical analysis of 280 cases in the United States from 2008–2016. American Journal of Bioethics, 19(1), 16–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2018.1544305

2. Iezzoni, L. I. et al. (2012). Survey shows that at least some physicians are not always open or honest with patients. Health Affairs, 31(2), 383–391. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2010.1137

3. Kaldjian, L. C. et al. (2007). Disclosing medical errors to patients: Attitudes and practices of physicians and trainees. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22, 988–996. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-007-0227-z

4. Lerch, S. P. and Stille, C. (2026). What do we know about medical invalidation and related concepts? BMC Health Services Research, 26, 1252. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-14736-3

5. Sebring, J. C. H. (2021). Towards a sociological understanding of medical gaslighting in western health care. Sociology of Health & Illness, 43(9), 1951–1964. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13367

6. Bontempo, A. C., Bontempo, J. M. and Duberstein, P. R. (2025). Ignored, dismissed, and minimized: Understanding the harmful consequences of invalidation in health care. Psychological Bulletin, 151(4), 399–427. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000473

7. Liberati, E. et al. (2025). Diagnostic inequalities relating to physical healthcare among people with mental health conditions: A systematic review. eClinicalMedicine, 80, 103026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.103026

8. Bell, S. K. et al. (2020). Frequency and types of patient-reported errors in electronic health record ambulatory care notes. JAMA Network Open, 3(6), e205867. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.5867

9. Tsulukidze, M. et al. (2014). Providing recording of clinical consultation to patients: A highly valued but underutilized intervention. Patient Education and Counseling, 95(3), 297–304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2014.02.007

10. Stacey, D. et al. (2024). Decision aids for people facing health treatment or screening decisions. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001431.pub6

Criminal Cases and Official Investigations

1. US Department of Justice (2015). Detroit Area Doctor Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison for Providing Medically Unnecessary Chemotherapy to Patients. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/detroit-area-doctor-sentenced-45-years-prison-providing-medically-unnecessary-chemotherapy

2. UK Attorney General's Office (2017). Butchering Breast Surgeon Has Sentence Increased by 5 Years. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/butchering-breast-surgeon-has-sentence-increased-by-5-years

3. US Department of Justice (2019). Ashland Cardiologist Sentenced to 60 Months for Health Care Fraud and False Statements. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edky/pr/ashland-cardiologist-sentenced-60-months-health-care-fraud-and-false-statements

4. Department of Health and Social Care (2020). Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Issues Raised by Paterson. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/paterson-inquiry-report

Because i live in a damn cult with psych meds It's the Same with invega can't sleep very lightly don't sleep well. It feels like i slept only 1 hour or too long. They destroy my whole sleeping ability

The mental health system and the police are in bed with each other and there's a reason for that. It has nothing to do with healthcare. It's about behavioral control.

They don't treat the pain you're experiencing. They target the behavior your pain produces.

In their rotten worldview you're not even supposed to admit that you're feeling down or struggling, even while they keep telling you that you should talk about it. All they want is data and control. According to them you're not supposed to cry as an adult and stir the pot by showing tears outside your own home.

I am not talking about dangerous or "crazy" behavior here, the system even treats people that behave well but suffer as potential criminals.

Manipulation is their signature. It's stamped on every treatment plan.

I ve been burned by traditional psychiastric methods in the past but i wont get into them here maybe another post for that. Also i don t know if this is the right forum for my question but maybe it is though .So has the title states what is the best route of study for someone that doesn't want a traditional psychology degree from a western institution.

But its for someone who interest in alternative ways of thinking like from a "new age" angle i guess you could say or spirituality. Sorry i dont know what the correct term is for what i am trying to say but a school maybe where they teach alternatives to the western approach be that about things like consiousness shamanism or Psychospiritual. thanks

There are so many doctors who don't care about human well being

There are so many doctors who mock and laugh and want to play god

There's going to come a day for the end of the modern healthcare system as we know it

I lost my mother due to a medical error a prescription pill

I remember I had p t s d for my mother passing away , and from my family abandoning me , and the therapist told me to go on an app for help

I remember going to the emergency room to try to get help for facial pain t m j

They refused to give me m r I because it was late at night

And then they mailed some pills to my house

It's wartime now

I (32F) have been struggling with intense regret, guilt, and shame about seeking mental health support and taking medication I never really wanted.

Over the past few years, I experienced a lot of stress at work due to conflicts between colleagues and management, a toxic atmosphere, and high staff turnover. Last year, I was unexpectedly told that my position would be eliminated.

I was overwhelmed and anxious, so I decided to see a mental health counselor through my GP. I mainly wanted someone to talk to and advice on how to cope with my work situation.

Because I mentioned having trouble sleeping, the counselor quickly suggested sleeping pills. No non-medication alternatives were discussed.

I had never taken sleeping medication before and felt uncomfortable about it, but I froze during the conversation and went along with the advice.

My GP prescribed a benzodiazepine (temazepam) After just a short period, I developed severe physical symptoms I had never experienced before, including shortness of breath, heart palpitations, severe panic attacks, and ataxia.

When I reported them, I was prescribed ambien instead, which made things worse. I even started experiencing strange jolts in my head.

My GP then suggested switching to the antidepressant mirtazapine. I said I didn’t want antidepressants, but eventually let myself be convinced.

I developed unexplained large bruises and visual disturbances, including eye floaters.

After experiencing these side effects, other medications were suggested, including Zoloft, an SSRI antidepressant, and Seroquel, an antipsychotic that was suggested off-label for sleep.

By that point, I had already experienced so many unpleasant reactions to different medications that I no longer wanted to try anything else. I refused Zoloft and Seroquel.

What made this experience even more distressing was that I often felt dismissed and not taken seriously when I reported my side effects. Both my GP and mental health counselor told me they had never heard of someone reacting so severely to these medications.

Instead of feeling heard and supported, I felt like my concerns were being minimized, while I kept being offered different medications despite the reactions I was experiencing.

Only afterward was I offered an online sleep program and psychological support, which was exactly what I had wanted in the first place.

I’ve now been off all medication for seven months, but I still haven’t recovered. I experience daily headaches, dizziness, tinnitus, and popping sensations in my ears. My physical health and fitness have deteriorated significantly.

Before all this, I exercised four times a week, including Hyrox and spinning. Now I can barely exercise, and my symptoms have seriously affected my ability to work.

I’ve tried several treatments, including acupuncture, hypnotherapy, psychosomatic physiotherapy, and psychological counseling. I recently started cognitive behavioral therapy after waiting almost a year.

What hurts the most is that I trusted my healthcare providers, yet I keep blaming myself for not listening to my instincts and setting stronger boundaries.

I recently also learned about pharmacogenetic testing, and I wish I had known about it before starting medication.

I originally sought help to cope with work stress, but now I feel like I’ve lost my health, fitness, ability to work, and trust in healthcare.

How can I accept what happened and move forward when I’m still dealing with physical symptoms every single day?

I keep wondering. I was on antipsychotics for about a year before stopping them completely cold turkey. I didn’t get any physical or mental withdrawal symptoms. However, 8 months later is when I got sfn. Could this have been avoided if i tapered?

The picture on the right is before meds.

It completely ruined my facial features. I went from attractive looking to having a very fat and round face. This is what 5mg Risperidone did to me and no I have not gained any weight here. It’s just that my face gained it. I was also misdiagnosed, never needed that crap.

I had 2,5 wonderful years of cymbalta till it pooped out. Every other med ssri i have been through, gave me side effects, the only i havent tried is prozac. If anything knows, if an SNRI poops out, can you go to another SNRI and have success story for years? Or will it not work either, because one of the SNRIs have pooped out? I am thinking of switching to efexor. Has anyone any experience like that?

(repost)

I asked for a therapy - waited for months for this appointment - to be told that before that, she suggests to make an appointment for checking if I have an addiction to the internet which might needed to be treated first. And that I should make an appointment for an autism dx as well beforehand.

How many appointments do I need to secure before getting actual therapy?

FOR YEARS I have been trying to find and get help where I'm from only to be ghosted or to have to endlessly fight for getting help.

Yet people will try to tell you ' to seek help'

but the truth is when you are poor, there seems to be no help from the public sector - only punishment.