August 2, 2005

Dear Mr. Cruise,

I am writing to thank you for speaking out against psychiatry. I am going to briefly share my story with you. I was able to get off the drugs and I believe there are many people who might benefit from my experience in doing this.

First some background information: I was court ordered to take psychiatric drugs and was involuntarily sent to a hospital seven times. I was strapped onto a bed and left there for three days without food or water. I was locked in a room with no bed for four days. Two of my lower front teeth were cracked when a security guard grabbed me by the hair and smacked my face against the floor. These types of  violent actions and psychological abuse are not uncommon in psychiatric wards. Several other people I have spoken with had similar experiences.

The drugs I was put on made me depressed, and some of them made it impossible for me to sit still or concentrate for more than a few minutes. A social worker came to my house daily to watch me take the drugs that I was ordered to take.

I was able to finally get off of the psychiatric drugs even as I was being monitored by a social worker. I believe I was successful because I followed several recommendations in the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. My first seven attempts to get off drugs failed because I ended up having trouble sleeping, and became “manic” after a few days. Once I had changed my diet I was able to stop the drugs over a two-month withdrawal period. And I did not experience one sleepless night or any mania symptoms.

I have been drug free for over a year.  I think there is meaning in the whole experience because I am now seeking others who want to truly recover and lead healthy lives. I have found an organization called ICSPP, the International Center for the Study of Psychology and Psychiatry, whose members are mainly doctors and social workers interested in reforming the system. This group has made videos of their conference proceedings. Many powerful stories are told in these videos of the suffering and exacerbation of problems in people’s lives caused by the mental health system. I hope these stories are heard by enough people so that the huge increase in psychiatric drug use is curbed and reversed.  There ought to be a movie…And it could tell the story of any number of people out of the many who have been hurt.

Much more work needs to be done to find and implement ways to help people who are experiencing severe stress. Having good food was most beneficial for me. But I also need to get myself back together, after this difficult period in my life. I find comfort in many forms, but I also need to take uncomfortable risks like discussing the problems I had and working with others to stop the kinds of abuse that I experienced.

I have heard people criticize you for labeling psychiatric drug use bad. Not many think mood altering drug use is good, though, really. And every psychiatric patient I have ever talked to really wants to get off of their drugs. Once again, thank you for speaking out.

Sincerely,

Amy Storbakken