William Hardt Barbary

This is my personal story. This was a podcast I did about 10 months ago. During this time, I was still on probation and couldn't speak about certain things, but now I will. One thing is that during my last time in jail from mex withdrawal psychosis, I had to agree (forced against my will) to get back on medication in order to be released or else I would have to remain in jail for another year and 2 months until my probation was over. I agreed and even the jail psychiatrist was confused why I wanted to get back on medication after having no symptoms during this 3 months in jail off of the medication. I pretended to take them my last week to get out and upon release, I remained off. A few weeks after I was released, I began working with a psychiatrist who believed she was weening me off. Looking back at the tapering schedule I was given, if I was actually taking the medication, more than likely the cycle would have continued. CYS (Children Youth Services) wanted to eliminate ALL my parental rights if I didn't agree to certain conditions as well. I would NEVER be able to see my daughter again if I didn't agree against my will & better judgement. I hope certain people who read this truly think about that, especially if you have children. This is why we don't need a system that provides "more access to mental health services", we need a whole new paradigm shift in mental health, far away from what is the norm now. Once again.... think about not being able to see your child or children....EVER AGAIN.....EVER.....due to medical and legal systems that rely on the opinions of doctors based on a flawed, corrupt, unscientific mental health system. With my daughter loosing her mother over the summer, who was also involved in the same "medical" and legal systems as myself, contributing to her early passing, imagine that little girl having no parents. The key takeaway... 3 months in jail, away from everything after psychosis allowed the physiology of my brain to return to normal. If this happened while I was in jail, imagine if there was a place with a more naturalistic holistic setting to do this in. 🤔 youtu.be/fqTD6om3DN8?si…

Patient: "How did psychiatry convince people to believe the way they feel is a brain disease rather than a normal overactive nervous system response that developed during Adverse Childhood Experiences and severe traumatic events, and worsens due to their current economic, relational, career, social, and environmental stressors & situations?" Psychiatrist: "See, back in the day, we had this brilliant idea called the DSM. A bunch of us well-paid experts in nice resort conference rooms (funded generously by our pharmaceutical friends) sat around and voted on which normal human responses to trauma and stress should now be called 'disorders & diseases.' We lumped a bunch of overlapping symptoms and gave them fancy names. Mainly to have a billing code name for insurance companies. Our pharma friends donate billions in 'education' grants, advocacy groups, research designed to favor outcomes for their products, ghostwritten studies, hiding negative studies and paid key celebrities and opinion leaders to "eliminate the stigma." We turned psychiatry into the perfect storm of a business model: have the pills have the same side effects as the symptoms of the diseases they are supposed to be treating!!! We will say "We just need to find the right cocktail" to make it sound fun and like we are on an adventure. Because if we admit it's mostly trauma & stress causing nervous system dysregulation combined with shitty life conditions... well, then people might realize they aren't diseased or disordered at all and demand change or fixing society instead of becoming lifelong customers to shut them up." #MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthMatters #MentalHealth

1/2 America's Psychiatric Drug Crisis: A Ticking Time Bomb Worse than the Opioid Epidemic The shocking U.S. overconsumption statistics expose the crisis. The United States, home to just 4.2% of the world's population, comprises a shockingly disproportionate share of global psychiatric medications: Overall Psychotropics: 25–30% of world volume Antidepressants: 20–25% Antipsychotics: 40–50% ADHD Medications: A horrifying 70–80% (America's childhood ADHD explosion dominates global stimulant abuse) Anxiolytics/Benzodiazepines: 20–30% Mood Stabilizers: 30–40% This is setting the stage for a devastating public health catastrophe, especially the ADHD Generation, driven by misinformation, dependency, withdrawal effects, severe irreversible harm, that parallels the deadly opioid epidemic. Just as Big Pharma's aggressive marketing and overprescription ignited the opioid crisis—killing hundreds of thousands through addiction and overdose—the same forces are propelling psychiatric drugs toward epidemic status. Direct-to-consumer ads (legal only in the U.S & New Zealand) bombard vulnerable people, inflating demand for pills over therapy, life style changes, and other treatments. As marketing increases, dependency spirals, polypharmacy explodes, and illicit markets emerge (street benzos, diverted stimulants). We're barreling toward widespread chronic illness, exploding disability claims, workforce collapse, and untold premature deaths—a slow-motion disaster that will dwarf the opioid epidemic. The opioid epidemic killed hundreds of thousands through overprescription and addiction – psychiatric drugs are following the exact playbook: aggressive marketing, minimized risks, denying patients experience, hiding negative research with exploding long-term side effects and dependency. This isn't "treatment" – it's a pharmaceutical trap driven by relentless direct-to-consumer advertising, overdiagnosis, and a system that pushes pills as the easy fix while ignoring safer alternatives. While the rest of the world exercises caution, Americans are being poisoned at unprecedented rates – and the long-term toll will be, and for many already catastrophic (including myself). If you're one of the one in five American adults or one in ten children currently taking psychiatric medication—or caring for someone who is—please know this comes from a place of deep concern and compassion. Many of us trust our doctors completely, and they genuinely want to help. Yet the system they're working within can sometimes lead to treatments that feel like the only option, even when the full picture is more complex. You are not “broken” for needing support, and you are not wrong for having taken medication—it may have been exactly what you needed at the time. But you also deserve to know all your options moving forward. The goal here is simply to share important information so you can feel empowered to ask questions and explore what’s truly best for your long-term well-being. Consider asking your doctor the following questions and looking into them yourself: “How long is it typically safe or helpful to stay on this medication?” “What are the known long-term risks, and how can we monitor for them?” “Are there non-medication approaches (therapy, lifestyle changes, support groups) we could try alongside or instead?” “If I ever wanted to reduce or stop, how would we do that safely?” If your doctor seems unsure about these questions or deprescribing, which many are, it’s okay to seek a second opinion from someone experienced in careful tapering. Many doctors simply haven’t had the time or training to stay fully updated on the latest long-term outcome studies or safer deprescribing guidelines (Slow Hyperbolic Tapering vs 10% weekly reduction).

2018 Psych doctor: "You have been an alcoholic for 20 years and you are going through a divorce and custody issues and you quit your job? Even though you came in drunk, you are Bipolar." 2019 Psych nurse: "If you don't take your meds, you won't get out of this psych ward." 2020 CYS: "If you don't take your meds, you won't see your child." 2021 Social Worker: "If you don't take your meds I will tell your probation officer. I can make your life easy or a living hell." 2022 Probation Officer: "If you don't take your meds, you won't get out of jail and will remain in jail for another 14 months. You are a danger to yourself and the community. You have to admit you have a disease. It's not your fault. You have a chemical imbalance. This is something you are going have to deal with for the rest of your life." 2023 Psychiatrist: "You aren't Bipolar, you have PTSD!!! You were misdiagnosed!!! Our bad. Psychiatry is more of an art than a science." Me: "That's ok. I didn't mind spending a total of 15 months in jail, a year and a half on house arrest, paying over $20,000 in fines, court cost, and supervised child visits, losing 6 years of proper child parent bonding, being charged with a DUI from med withdrawal and authorities thinking my meds were opiates losing my driver's license for a year trying to run a business, and numerous other criminal charges from the effects of the meds. I'm just glad I didn't get that lifelong diagnosis strain of mental illness." Psychiatrist: "Here are some letters that should make up for all that. Just don't make them public to discredit our "life long" diagnose and medicate business model. It might give people hope and question the legitimacy of the current mental health modalities." Obviously I am paraphrasing, but some are actual quotes. You can hear the whole story in the first 8 minutes of the video in my pinned post. #MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthMatters #MentalHealth

@tahiniok Thank you. ❤️

@HardtMasonry Omg. I’m so sorry this happened to you and your family. Good for you for taking the path that kept your daughter safe while not continuing to poison yourself with their drugs. There are no words for the outrage I feel reading this. You did so good. You made the best choice. 💪

This is my personal story. This was a podcast I did about 10 months ago. During this time, I was still on probation and couldn't speak about certain things, but now I will. One thing is that during my last time in jail from mex withdrawal psychosis, I had to agree (forced against my will) to get back on medication in order to be released or else I would have to remain in jail for another year and 2 months until my probation was over. I agreed and even the jail psychiatrist was confused why I wanted to get back on medication after having no symptoms during this 3 months in jail off of the medication. I pretended to take them my last week to get out and upon release, I remained off. A few weeks after I was released, I began working with a psychiatrist who believed she was weening me off. Looking back at the tapering schedule I was given, if I was actually taking the medication, more than likely the cycle would have continued. CYS (Children Youth Services) wanted to eliminate ALL my parental rights if I didn't agree to certain conditions as well. I would NEVER be able to see my daughter again if I didn't agree against my will & better judgement. I hope certain people who read this truly think about that, especially if you have children. This is why we don't need a system that provides "more access to mental health services", we need a whole new paradigm shift in mental health, far away from what is the norm now. Once again.... think about not being able to see your child or children....EVER AGAIN.....EVER.....due to medical and legal systems that rely on the opinions of doctors based on a flawed, corrupt, unscientific mental health system. With my daughter loosing her mother over the summer, who was also involved in the same "medical" and legal systems as myself, contributing to her early passing, imagine that little girl having no parents. The key takeaway... 3 months in jail, away from everything after psychosis allowed the physiology of my brain to return to normal. If this happened while I was in jail, imagine if there was a place with a more naturalistic holistic setting to do this in. 🤔 youtu.be/fqTD6om3DN8?si…

@CLTdysphagia 💯! Secular American culture, education, economics, entertainment, and politics cause more problems than not.

@HardtMasonry Modern life is really challenging for mental health and neurologic function in general. Suboptimal.

Psychiatrist: "Your symptoms need to be managed. Here is a medication that will manage (blunt) your emotions and feelings rather than getting to the root cause. Now go talk to a therapist to see how they are working." Therapist: "Let's talk about your feelings and emotions to get to the root cause of these symptoms." Patient: "I don't feel anything anymore." Psychiatrist: "You must have that medication resistant strain we discovered by conducting zero lab tests, but rather invented out of thin air....like the other non biological diagnostic definitions for mental diseases. Try these meds and stop those other ones. We have no idea how the mixing and stopping of different meds affect the brains neurochemistry, but we will deny they are causing you more symptoms and harm." #MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthMatters #MentalHealth

@CLTdysphagia Meds also can cause mitochondria damage over time leading to inhibited energy production and increased free radicals causing more problems.

@HardtMasonry Simple, better version. Specific neural pathways govern how we process emotions, perceive threats, and experience rewards. When the wrong ones become strengthened, we struggle to function. Meds help to reset pathways while we figure out how to regulate better.

Patient: "I heard fasting and exercise can be good for my mental health." Psychiatrist: "Don't look at their benefits. Especially if you combine them. Luckily our medications cause food cravings and low energy that eventually leads to lethargy, lack of motivation, and weight gain causing more emotional stress and cortisol release causing mitochondria dysfunction, inflammation and cognitive decline that fasting and exercise will be the last thing on your mind." Patient: "Thanks doc, I definitely won't look at the list below that could reverse the symptoms over time. They might even help me if I decided to hyperbolic taper rather than taper the way most psychiatrist taper patients that causes protracted withdrawal." #MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthMatters #MentalHealth

@Limessa_67 Thanks...trying something new and entertaining

@HardtMasonry I'm lovin' these patient/psychiatrist conversations you're having....pure GOLD!

Patient: "So the side effects of the medications you are prescribing are similar and sometimes worse than the original symptoms they are supposed to treat?" Psychiatrist: "Yes. Take for instance SSRI's. If you take them and have mania, that means you are now magically Bipolar, which is a lifelong diagnosis that can never be cured but only managed with more medication. Good thing we catch those diagnosis." Patient: "Are these medications addictive?" Psychiatrist: "No, but if you try to stop taking them, you will have withdrawal effects that also mimic and are usually worse than the original symptoms, making you believe you need them. They cause physical dependence, not addiction." Patient: "Do you know how to safely taper patients off their medication if they choose to stop?" Psychiatrist: "🤣. If I did, I would lose four 15 min patient med check appointments per hour that I charge each patient's insurance companies for an hour or half hour appointment. We don't have any guidelines, we just wing it and hope for the best. Plus, if you want to get off your medication, we will gaslight you and say you are in denial of your disease we have no biological proof exists." #MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthMatters #MentalHealth

@Jaeja_Vu That's like asking which lab tests prove someone is going bald

@HardtMasonry Remind me again which lab test(s) diagnose PSSD ?

Psychiatrist: "You have a lifelong diagnosis" Patient: "What did the lab results say" Psychiatrist: "We don't do that, we just know your neurotransmitters are imbalanced. You need medication like a diabetic needs insulin" Patient: "How did the diabetic know he needed insulin?" Psychiatrist: 🤬🤯 Patient: 😉🤷‍♂️ #MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthMatters #MentalHealth

@FreeSensibility Nervous system regulation combined with help changing a person's view of the world caused by the trauma is vital to healing.

I am a mental health therapist graduate student in training. The questions we should be asking is not how do your symptoms feel(emotions, feelings) but rather what has your life been? What is your relationships like, how was your childhood and describe your traumatic experiences and work on those. The symptoms of anxiety and depression will ease up once you flesh out the real issues.

Patient: "I read that the psychosocial model of Soteria House's had similar short term and better long term outcomes than the biomedical disease model, especially with more severe cases and first time episodes." 1980’s NIMH: "Yes, but we had to pull their funding because they worked too well without giving all their patients the medicine from the companies that started to fund the new research and a large portion of the FDA budget." Patient: "I heard many FDA officials go work for Pharmaceutical Companies and Pharmaceutical employees get positions at the FDA." FDA & Pharmaceutical Companies: 🤫 #MentalHealthAwareness #MentalHealthMatters #MentalHealth

@taperingtay @cheesyredrocket

Patients who share their antidepressant withdrawal experiences get cast as fringe—anti-establishment types who always refused the medical system. But the system spat us out. Anyone who went on medication once trusted it deeply. That's why we're here.

@taperingtay @cheesyredrocket