Vets feel abandoned after secret drug experiments

[beautiful_seclusion]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/01/health...tml?hpt=he_t2#

Besides being utterly horrible that this ever occurred and making me wonder if it still does, it made me wonder about some more general things. If these veterans had sought mental health treatment before this information was released, they most likely would've been diagnosed as paranoid, psychotic, etc. It made me wonder, how do you define what conspiracy theories are paranoia and what are not? Of course a psychiatrist looks for symptoms aside from paranoia, but even if you were looking for odd behavior, odd speech, etc., those could easily occur from being so traumatized (as well as from the drugs themselves). So how do we know what is paranoia and what is just something really bad that happened that has been hidden from society? Wouldn't it have harmed them worse to tell them it was just in their head? How can the mental health system help people who really are mentally ill while not harming those that really just have had something unbelievable but true happen? What really determines paranoia?

[whirlpools]

I don't have a good answer for you, but I think it's a damn good question and something which irritates the hell out of me.

The definition of 'paranoia': Paranoia is an unfounded or exaggerated distrust of others, sometimes reaching delusional proportions. Paranoid individuals constantly suspect the motives of those around them, and believe that certain individuals, or people in general, are "out to get them".

Source: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedic...y.com/paranoia

Now, I don't know any mental health professional/team which really goes ahead and disproves a person's 'paranoid' theories before diagnosing or medicating them with/for a mental illness.

Some people may have good reason to be suspicious of those around them. Even concerns which sound like 'bizarre delusions' could be based very much in reality... can we really trust the government? My frustration is not so much that people don't believe my beliefs - that's their prerogative, but that they are arrogant enough to tell me that it absolutely can't be true (whilst telling me to strive for an element of doubt!) and then force their meds on me.

Okay so that turned into a bit of a personal rant, which I wish I could have put more articulately (but I can't, so) - basically, I agree it's a grave concern.