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FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. — Robbie and Alissa Parker, whose daughter Emilie died in the shootings at Newtown's Sandy Hook Elementary School, said in a CBS interview aired Friday morning that shooter Adam Lanza's father holds the "keys" to understanding the Dec. 14 massacre.
CBS aired the second part of the interview with the Parkers Friday. The first part was shown Thursday. Alissa Parker told CBS about the hour-long meeting with Peter Lanza.
"I guess the best way to put was I wanted to tell him that there was a lot of hope and opportunity to gain from this that he held the keys to," she said, "that there was information and things to be learned from what happened and without his cooperation it would go nowhere."
Comments (17)
I found this a very interesting string of entries on psychiatric/psychological care. There is an assumption made that Mr. Lanza's actions were the result of side effects of psychiatric medications and that these are bad - an approach strongly promoted by the Church of Scientology, has some foundation for some people but shows what I think is a more severe problem.
When taking psychotropic drugs, there must be a team approach with the prescribing doctor. This would be true when taking insulin for diabetes or a statin for cholesterol. Psychotropic drugs affect the function of the brain, its stability and how the world is perceived which makes it even more important that physicians moderate intake. I have not seen any reports, however, that Adam Lanza had this catastrophic reaction due to improper dosage or monitoring of mood altering drugs.
I looked up Dr. Abram Hoffer, read his autobiographical statement and Wikipedia entry. The reason there has not been a wide adoption of his approach is that his successes are merely claims as they have not been able to be replicated. That would be with the exception of niacin for lowering the "bad" cholesterol which is a widely accepted alternative to taking statins.
Orthomolecular medicine, however, is as commercialized as any "big pharma" practice with plenty of opportunities to buy mega-doses of various vitamins to improve health. The claim at "truehope.com" is they have helped as many as 90,000 people with their approach: the NIMH statistics on the number of people struggling with mental health in America is 57.7 million people over the age of 18. In addition, vitamin therapy is also not benign and has many side effects for those who many have compromised neurotransmission, as with schizoaffective disorders, or other health issues, e.g., adrenal problems.
I am not a big fan of the pharmaceutical industry either and find their aggressive marketing, courting of physicians and veritable takeover of medical practice in America repulsive. At the same time, many people have brain wiring that needs help and this is what we have got.
I tried all of the various "natural" modalities myself before reluctantly joining the big pharma ranks. Defective brain wiring in my family is genetic - my mother suffered horribly from mental disease and, if she had had the opportunity to take medications that would have helped her, well, let's just say, I wish she could have. Her life would have been improved immeasurably.
Meds are a pain to take and have side effects but, at the same time, allow many, many people suffering from mental illness to have lives in their respective communities. We may not like how they are delivered to us, wish they were further along in research studies to maximize their effectiveness and minimize their discomforts but feel lucky to have them at all.
I lived in California when Reagan was Governor and released all of the long term care mental patients to what was supposed to be community living in half way houses. Those were never established - funding was not forthcoming nor did communities want identified mentally ill people, and thus began the large homeless issue costing California far more in policing, imprisoning and providing scattered health care to released patients. Penny wise, pound foolish and one of the more egregious moves ever made by a California state governor.
Temperance - Thank you for the thoughtful post. ..... None of us will ever know whether the medication which Lanza was taking in fact played a role in his behavior or in the heinous act he committed. It is perhaps significant to note however that in approximately 80 percent of these types of violent incidents, the perpetrator has been taking psychiatric medication. When one couples this with the fact that 'many' who are or who have been put on psychiatric medication do in fact describe experiencing very negative effects upon their general state of mind and general behavior, one should take notice. One can do a search on youtube or simply go to the truehope site itself to view and listen to the countess numbers of individuals describing their experiences along these lines. The medication/team approach did not seem to work out too well for these many individuals. In addition you can view the film that the Discovery Channel did on the product here (copy & paste);
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G6dWIvxlhw&list=PLA54194E008A00905&index=11
I am aware that for some individuals, medication works for them. Even truehope states on their web site that their product does not work in all cases. They do have documented medical research available on their site however to support the efficacy of their product. One should also note that their product is a 'micro nutrient' formula and is not the same as the typical multi vitamin product on the market. It is designed to deliver specific ratios and amounts of nutrients and in the most readily available form for the body to assimilate. The only side effects they have observed is occasional stomach problems assimilating the formula. That is a significant difference compared to what many often experience with medications.
To compare the percentage of actual application or use of micro nutrient treatment of psychiatric illness against the enormous incidence of mental illness in our society as a invalidation of Orthomolecular Medicine makes little sense to me. Our society has been well conditioned and trained to believe in the pharmaceutical model of treatment. That is where the money on research is spent because that is where the big money is made. One of the reasons for this is because of the fact that synthetic medications can be patented. Natural supplements cannot. This is also a reason for why or how a medication can be priced so astronomically and often at criminal levels. Along with this it is important to note the significant influence that the industry has on medical school training, medical research and individual doctors in general in conjunction of course with legislators.
As an aside, you may not be aware of what is unfolding as we converse here, in the area of food production and genetically modified crops and other forms of food. Industry is moving and plotting to take control and ownership of our food supply by owning the patents to the seeds that grow our food. It is scarey to note the fact that farmers have actually been put out of business because traces of patented seed was found in their crop that had in fact simply blown onto their field from a neighboring farm during growing season. We have Monsanto to thank for such atrocity. The average farmer does not have the funds to fight a corporate monster such as Monsanto in court. ... nor do they have the funds to lobby the support of conogress in Washington the way Monsanto as well as the pharma industry does.
I would have to say that over the years I have observed many cases where an individuals prescription of psychotropic medication is only monitored by one physician and not a team. ...... I have also observed the typical scenario with many schizophrenic patients where their symptoms periodically re-emerge and as a result the individual is re-hospitalized and their medications are changed and or increased etc. The side effects include significant weight gain, significant dental problems often due to negative loss of saliva in the mouth, sleep disorders, mood disorders etc. The original presenting symptom has been suppressed once again, but at what cost to the general health and well being of the patient?
The often typical scenario is that these medications may establish a suppression of the presenting problem, but this has been replaced with an assortment of other health problems which are often treated with additional symptom suppressing medications. ... Not to mention that the fact that these drugs are synthetic compounds which causes them to build up in the liver and tissues in the body that consumes them. I have observed more than one case involving a patient who was prescribed a lifetime regimen of antidepressant medication who in fact as a result developed a cirrhotic liver. ..... If the true effect of these medications was in fact to restore balance, as is the typical industry claim, then there would not be side effects present in the body. Side effects are caused by imbalances, not balances.
Again I must state here that I am aware that there are those who are happy with the results they have obtained from medication. I am simply attempting to inform that there are options. These are in fact options which when correctly applied, are in fact working extremely well for many individuals. If you do not believe this just spend some time on the truehope site viewing the numerous video testimony and the media coverage about the product.
You might also ask yourself why it is that when a farmers livestock begins to display behavior problems the industry approach to treatment is to apply specific micro-nutrient supplement. They do this and have been doing this for decades, because it works. .... So why is the official approach to treatment with humans expensive side effect producing pharmaceutical medication? ..... Could it have anything to do with the money? .. not to mention the fact that all the side effects produce a boon for the industry as a result of all the other medications that are prescribed to attempt to address (suppress), the side effects. This is not only the scenario with psychiatric illness. It is the scenario with all forms of chronic illness under the pharmaceutical model of treatment. In my opinion there is a role for medication in medicine, just not the exclusive and dominant role that it has at present.
I would also note that the lack of scientific validation for the claims of the approaches of Dr Hoffer is typical of what takes with respect to natural forms of healing. If you believe and trust what is reported by industry research perhaps you should investigate for example what has taken place regarding the FDA in recent years. Did you know that an article in the Wall Street Journal back when Obama first took office reported how a group of researchers from the FDA had petitioned and pleaded with Obama to please clean up the agency because the corruption at the administrative level was so bad, they were/are unable to do or report true and valid findings. .... Not at all surprisingly, nothing was ever done about it.
meatball - I, likewise, am aware of the heinous organization the FDA represents particularly in the development of durable medical equipment that makes surgical practice so much less invasive and recovery quicker. Often, the tools that MD's use, like laparoscopic or micro surgeries, took years and years to pass through the approval process at the FDA while being tested and used on humans successfully in Europe.
I find some of what they have allowed versus what they have "held up" in terms of medical practice criminal e.g., medications not yet thoroughly tested for side effects but representing huge profits released and humans becoming the monetary guinea pigs. Big pharma and the FDA work hand in hand.
Likewise, I am very familiar with the effects Monsanto has had upon big-ag and their tactics. I believe it was last year in the Hudson River Valley that organic farmers' crops were being contaminated by the pollen from pea fields, the pea seeds being genetically modified with the so-called "killer gene" that does not allow regeneration of crops by seed collection for the following year. (One of many reprehensible practices on behalf of Monsanto's profit margin.)
"It is perhaps significant to note however that in approximately 80 percent of these types of violent incidents, the perpetrator has been taking psychiatric medication." Can you please provide a citation for this number? Prisons have become de facto mental hospitals but, I would think, violent incidents would occur due to withdrawal or not taking medication that has a leveling behavioral effect.
I think I must have been unclear about the "team" approach for administering psychotropic medications. The "team" is the patient and their doctor, the latter not just a dispensary of meds but a monitor of their effects. Honestly, MD's who dispense (and we know that prescription medications are abused more than illicit drugs countrywide) without monitoring of effects are simply drug pushers. A harsh statement, I know, but I have seen so much of this that it not only frightens me, it makes me angry.
Prescription pads should be secured like guns because, ultimately, if a human being with a brain gets the wrong kind, wrong amount or combination of medications it is like sticking a gun to the head and is well documented in leading to violent behavior or self-destructive behavior and suicide. (I am not quantifying the numbers here because I think most are underestimates.)
Orthomolecular Medicine is not a new paradigm to me. I am afraid it is as subjective to quackery as main stream medicine and that is too bad. You are right about research dollars and medical training and it is a sort of Catch 22. OM needs more research yet the very research it needs to qualify it as a mainstream practice is not available to it. (Although NIH has an "Alternative Medicine" division now that is well funded.) While I also am aware of the lack of patenting for "natural" substances, big-pharma has certainly co-opted this to their advantage by selling lines of vitamins and micro-nutrient formulas much to my disgust but not to my surprise.
Medicine does not necessarily suppress symptoms but, as far as can be ascertained, redirects or re-paths the neurotransmissions that cause the symptoms. (In a lot of cases, they do not know why whole classes of medications work.) The brain changes just like the rest of the body with environmental factors especially stress - this is why medicines for the brain need to be monitored and not simply administered. Unfortunately and to the detriment of the reputation of psychiatry, there are many doctors out there who simply pull out their pad and prescribe based on a standardized practice of presenting symptoms and not on the individual's needs.
So, I see it this way and I am a lucky person/patient I know: get an MD that will be open to nutrient deficiencies and tests for them. I take Mg and D as a result of this as well as Melatonin to supplement sleep meds. I also take several psychotropic meds that are carefully monitored by my MD (I keep charts.) I have been through an OrthoM program at one time (not successful long term) as well as other approaches to brain wiring malfunctions and have learned to bridge programmatic paradigms: big-pharma, yes, but also natural substances that address the whole body.
It is still not easy to be one of the millions who suffer mental illness or disease and I do wish there was a way every one who had one could walk through an FMRI enroute to their MD's office with a good, verifiable set of diagnostics in hand but neurology and neuro-psychiatry is not there yet.
In the meantime, I know how difficult it is to navigate the waters and, when not addressed appropriately, whatever method works for the person's brain malady, know how damaging it can be. Our country's medical system, society, and government really, really needs to get their collective heads around this.
Thank you, meatball, for your additional information and lengthy reply. I appreciate the thoughtfulness it represents and wish there were more comments like yours - mental health really needs this kind of dialogue in America.
Temperance - ... Thank you for your further reflections on the issue. ... You may find the information on the following link and the links offered within it related to the issue of school shooters under the influence of psychiatric drugs to be of interest. There has been some peer reviewed research done on the issue of violence associated with the use of psychotropic medication. Unfortunately the percentage of incidence that is actually reported versus what is believed to take place is extremely small. It has been suggested that police records could provide the greatest source of data on the issue but this has yet to be utilized; -
http://www.cchrint.org/school-shooters/
The understanding of the effects of most medications actually serving to suppress or 'manage' symptoms rather than resolve causes is a big topic of discussion. I could write pages and pages on this but it would perhaps not be appropriate here. .... I will say however that as I have observed, when it comes to emergency medicine, modern medicine is a wonder and we are fortunate to have it. When it comes to understanding and addressing chronic illness however, in my opinion modern medicine is still severely lacking and over the long run in many cases is doing more harm than good, but, as I stated previously, the cash cow that this produces results not only in little motivation to change this, but even serves to promote policies which act to suppress it from happening. Fortunately we live in a free enough society that consumers are able to explore other options. As a result it is in fact the consumers who are gradually impacting the medical model as they have been discovering the value and effectiveness to be found in certain other forms of healing. ... If it were not for the resistance from industry we might be further along now than we are.
In my opinion where side effects of medication are concerned, this is essentially a result of the fact that rather than restoring balance to the system, the medication is chemically forcing or inducing the body/mind to change it's behavior. It is not assisting the body in doing what it innately already knows how to do and is already attempting to do, ... which is to find and re-establish balance. This is what symptoms are the expression of. ...... The conventional medical model is a product of a very 'mechanistic', scientific foundation view of the body. It is severely lacking in a deeper awareness or understanding of the very fluid and connected oneness and innate wisdom of the whole system.
I would also say that once science and modern medicine comes to understand that the mind is not the brain, ... then we will have made a significant level of progress towards understanding the body/mind and how to approach healing. ....... I am happy to say that there are signs that this understanding is beginning to develop.
At this point and as I am sure you understand, where mental illness is concerned, medications are being used to manage symptoms and that is all. The underlying problems are not being addressed or resolved. If they were the patients would not need to remain on the medications indefinitely, nor would patients be experiencing numerous negative side effects from those medications. ......
I appreciate hearing of your experiences and understanding with these issues in your own life. It is good to hear of your integrated approach. I know it is not easy.
I remember when Reagan enacted the bill, and I ponder how he passed away with his mental issues surrounded by his loved ones in his own bed while others affected were condemned to the streets...
Also, consider placing a ban on the ultra-violent video games. These games seem to push people that are on the border of sanity, over the edge.
If you choose not to use firearms for self defense, that's fine.
Banning "High Capacity Magazines" and "Assault Weapons" from those that will use them for self defense infringes upon our rights.
If you think "High Capacity Magazines" and "Assault Weapons" are not needed for self defense then why do police demand their use?
Th Victim is the true first responder to an attack /attackers, restricting the abilities for the people to defend their lives is an infringement to their rights.
Gun free zones simply make the people that occupy them unarmed targets for the criminals that choose to exploit them. If given the choice of sending my children to a gun free zone school or one with an armed SRO I would choose the latter.
We all share the same rights and those include the right of life and the ability to defend it. We share the same rights in defense of our lives to be equal to that of police or any government angent.
Are the rights of the People different than police or government angents?
Are the lives of my own children not worth the same as those of the police?
Are all men created equal except police?
The answer is No, we all have the rights to armed with tools equally sufficient as those of police and government angents.
Irrational fear of firearms gives you no right to infringe upon the rights of others.
It is abundantly clear to our union members. Guns don't belong in schools. Ban all assault weapons and large clips. Connecticut elected officials don't let our your teachers or families down! Act now! Enough already!
Alot of things could have saved those lives. Its unfortunate but the most obvious, most common sense thing isnt mentionable. Removing the gun free school laws from the books. We can postulate about what MIGHT have happened, based in most cases upon nothing but conjecture, or we can look at the reality and the one thing which consistently ends attempted mass shootings with boring regularity. A good guy with a gun. Just days before the Sandy hook massacre another idiot with another Bushmaster opened fire in an Oregon mall. But only 2 people were shot, instead of dozens. The reason? He spotted a regular citizen with a gun and he used the next bullet on himself. Thats not theory, its not conjecture or thoughts of what MIGHT have been, its what DID happen. We can only guess what might have gone on had somebody in Newtown had a gun that day. But at least its an educated guess, the rest of these proposals have NOTHING backing them up. Theres no evidence anyplace suggesting that magazine limits would matter, or gun bans, or background checks. They sound good but no place ever initiating any of them has seen a noticeable drop in violence or crime. However, every single time a gun has come into play resisting a would be mass shooter, that I'm aware of, it stopped right there & right then.
We shouldnt play politics with lives in such a direct manner. Kneee jerk flawed laws cost lives & its very likely that the gun free school law in CT cost those 26 people their lives much more than did 30 round mags or any perceived lack of gun control.
We can wonder about if Lanza should have been locked up, but not every one of these shooters was a looney bird so at best fixing mental health laws would prevent some of these things. However allowing people to be armed and care for themselves would be effective against all of these type shooters.
Does anyone think that those poor, heroic teachers, about to die protecting their children, were comforted by the fact that they were in a "gun-free zone" ? Would they have gone to their deaths pleased that they were in such a zone, had no gun themselves; and that there was no "good guy with a gun" to save them? What do you really think?
Ken
The more you type the more ignorant you sound..
Peter Lanza certainly understood the "keys" to this horrible event, and acted upon them, getting far away from his overprivileged barfly wife and raving lunatic of a son, who should have been institutionalized years ago, an act which would have saved all those lives.
Institutionalization was ended by Reagan some time ago. That was the beginning of the significant homeless problem in the US, but also the beginning of managing mental illness exclusively via psych. medication. ... Lanza is a terrific example of how well that is working out for us. .... Most of the population has no idea that such behavior as Lanza demonstrated is often in fact generated or promoted by the side effects of psychiatric medication. ... There are other more healthy, positive and much less expensive options, but the very wealthy and powerful pharma industry has much of society duped and the medical system under it's control. Aint that par for the course.
Meatball, I believe that you are referring to the Patient's Rights Act, which may actually pre-date Reagan. However, I couldn't find the actual date of the Connecticut bill online. But you are correct. The Act allowed psychiatric patients to appeal their commitment and to refuse treatment. Many was discharged AMA (against medical advice) and slipped off the radar.
Like you, I have strong concerns about the effects of the psychotropic medications that many people are on. I've seen people take strong steroids without question "because my doctor told me to take these" but question non pharmacutical remedies often referred to as "home remedies" (baking soda, vinegar, olive oil, honey and other common staples) that were often used before the advent of the major pharmaceutical corporations being allowed to advertise on T.V. Amazing, simply amazing.
Norwalk, thank you for your response. ..... It's all about the money. ... It always is.
Where options to the pharma model is concerned, check out www.truehope.com. (hope I'm not breaking any site rules here). The Discovery Channel did a film (available on truehope site), on their very successful product. The science is called 'Orthomolecular Medicine'. Treating illness with nutritional supplement instead of drugs. It works wonderfully and has been freeing thousands from the negative impact of pharmaceutical drugs for some time now. ... They even won a legal battle in Canada where the Canadian equivalent of the pharma controlled FDA attempted to shut them down. If it hadn't been for the loud protests of their many happy customers declaring their need for the product, they would have been defeated.
Orthomolecular Medicine was started by a Dr Abram Hoffer who began successfully treating alcoholics with primarily mega doses of Niacin.
.... Oh and by the way, did you know that the women who were burned at the stake for being accused of "witchcraft", .. were actually the mid wives and herbalists of their time? A wealth of healing knowledge was buried as a result of that. Fortunately it has been re-emerging for some time now.