I wish to reply to Deamon who had an entry from two days ago. It is quite a thorough and impressive list. You originally had 17 items. I am reacting to 12 of them. I was never institutionalized, thank God, never drugged, but still had a God awful experience with my psychiatrist: 1. Selective attention; Narrative distortion a. Both result in confirmation bias b. What doesn’t fit the distorted view is either omitted or rewritten c. The so-called “information” is used against you rather than to help you I am imagining that confirmation bias is the lifeblood of all that comes after. I think early on with my psych I distinctly recall that his whole MO was to distort the truth and use my information against me. He never had any desire to actually help. 2. Triangulation a. Peer workers or team workers brought in with the goal being more to add pressure than to collaborate b. You become surrounded by voices all conveying the same message. In the case of certain patients, that message might be “take the drug”. As I said I find this really fascinating, and when psychs and social workers are not treated as independently, this is how “teamwork” is manifest in the experience of others. I had the former type, and yes, they kind of sniped at each other in subtle ways. Working as a team never appears to mean that they are on your side as an ally and defender. Maybe some workers on the team stick up for you – there are always rogue elements. 3. Blame “the illness” a. if you are telling doctors the therapy is making things worse, staff will downplay it or blame “the illness”. b. The system remains pure, the patient becomes the problem. That is something I distinctly sensed. They are definitely not here to help in any way that I would benefit. 4. Ordinary pain, heartbreak, fear, and confusion are turned into disorders. What I sensed here was an utter lack of empathy to the point that I never bothered to tell my psych my problems after a while. I was still confused, and still dawdling in his office each week wasting both of our times. That was until I mustered up the courage to fire him. It wasn’t so much characterizing ordinary human life stress as disordered, but engaging in a concerted effort to rid my narrative of its humanity. 5. Deflection and Topic Shifting. I had trouble placing this one. But I think this one falls under my psych being generally a weasel. If I confront him about past sessions, he would not remember, and generally make hand-wavy remarks about “context”. Weasel words. I didn’t catalogue any, but “context” is one that stands out. 6. Shifting the blame. If someone becomes suicidal after taking a prescription, it’s explained as “the illness getting worse.” Never the drug, never the process, always the person. I hear a lot of this. For me, it was in my interactions with others: it was always my fault; asking what was I doing wrong, rather than dealing with the fact my feelings were hurt. The presumption is that it was always my fault. 7. Gaslighting. You describe what you feel, and they subtly question it until you no longer trust your own body, memory, or perception. There is that “technique” my psych had. This is where I would talk about something positive and life-affirming, and I would be cross-examined about it. I got to the point where I could confront him immediately about it, and he would sit stone-faced – a “face set like flint”, as they say. Not only non-reactive, but barely acknowledging my presence. I guess you can call it a technique. Farting with your armpit takes a certain talent too. But I wouldn’t brag about it or put it on my resume. 8. DARVO (Deny, attack, reverse victim and offender) When you confront them with wrongdoing, they deny it, attack your tone, and flip the roles. Suddenly you are the aggressor, and they are the victim. I don’t recall any DARVO. That sounds like a league beyond my experience. I just get gaslighting from a person who seemed talentless in every other way. 9. Intermittent reinforcement: After periods of coldness or deliberate misunderstanding, they suddenly act kind and empathetic. That brief flash of warmth keeps people hoping, waiting, cooperating. It’s emotional conditioning disguised as care, and proof that a parasite never kills its host. I know it well. It was my psych's MO as a fake therapist. It is the kind of emotionally manipulative activity that makes them feel like therapists but are really not therapists. 10. Framing Emotion as Risk: Every reaction is weaponized against you. That’s a bit extreme for my experience. But I can still think of an anecdote characterized by more “normal” therapists and recalling my remark that a lady I once knew said she was mixed up because "maybe she was seeing a psychiatrist" hit too close to home for a later good therapist I had, and he immediately ended the session, escorting me to the door. It was the last session we had, and I didn’t care for another session, although I am sure I could have arranged another one, but just didn’t care to. It was also the last time I saw Angel in person. 11. Jargon as Armor. It is the air they breathe as professionals. But this is a side issue. 12. Narrative Hegemony - Psychiatry doesn’t fight for truth, it fights for ownership of the story. Whoever owns the story, owns the power. And here I am after 40 years of diary writing, owning the story. I know the whole thing about power. As a follower, you give power to leaders you trust. When you no longer trust them, you can simply choose to no longer follow them. It is a very simple philosophy. Sarah Knight 8 years ago, in a Ted Talk referred to all of us as having a “f*ck budget” for the sake of things we care about, and thus only so many “f*ck bucks” to spend. You certainly wouldn’t want to waste your f*ck bucks on people and situations that are toxic, cause problems, and have no benefit. Those end up being the people you shouldn’t give a f*ck about.