Dr. Tom Cruise says no to psychiatry

  • Thread starter Pengwuino
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In summary: Matt Cruise seems to think that because he's an actor and he's done well in the industry, that he automatically knows more about psychiatry than anyone else. This is not only ignorant, but it's also arrogant. He's not qualified to offer his opinion on these matters, and he should stop trying to do so. In summary, Matt Cruise went off on a 60 minutes host because he said "so what do you think of people who say scientology is rubbish?" It's clear from the transcript that he doesn't understand the basics of psychiatry or antidepressant medications, and his opinions on the matter are not worth listening to.
  • #1
Pengwuino
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http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-06/25/content_454551.htm

"Matt, Matt, you don't even — you're glib," Cruise responded. "You don't even know what Ritalin is. If you start talking about chemical imbalance, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, Matt, OK. That's what I've done."

Anyone think he actually read more then 3 lines?

And i swaer if i see this guys face one more time, someones going to hve to put me on ridalin.
 
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  • #2
ADD and ADHD is not due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, last I read about Ritalin research

Edit: ah scrap that.. last time I was digging on Ritalin was in 2002.. new research indicates:

There is increasing evidence that variants in the gene for the dopamine transporter are related to the development of ADHD (Roman et al., 2004, American Journal of Pharmacogenomics 4:83-92). This evidence is consonant with the theory of inefficacy of dopamine in people with ADD/ADHD; according to other recent studies, people with ADHD usually have relatively high dopamine transporter levels, which clears dopamine from between neurons before the full effect is gained from dopamine. Stimulant medications used to treat ADHD are all capable of either inhibiting the action of dopamine transporter (as methylphenidate does) or promoting the release of dopamine itself (as the amphetamine-class medications do). Therefore, it is theorized that stimulant medication allows the brain to enhance the effect of dopamine by blocking dopamine transporters or increasing the release of dopamine. Currently this is the most widely accepted model of ADD/ADHD etiology in the scientific and medical community.

New studies consider the possibility that norepinephrine also plays a role. (see Krause, Dresel, Krause in Psycho 26/2000 p.199ff).
 
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  • #3
I caught the clip of that interview that has been rebroadcast on other shows. Sure, he might have read them, but does he have the mental capacity to understand them? Actually, I wonder if he even knows that there's more to an article than the abstract. Lots of people know PubMed exists and look up stuff there, but don't know that only shows the abstract and you have to read the rest of the article elsewhere.

I'm sure he's just trying to build publicity for The War of the Worlds coming out soon (or is it out already). It's a shame, because I might have gone to see that movie if he wasn't in a lead role, but I can be almost assured of a disappointing performance now, so won't be bothering. Even if I was tempted to see it anyway, I think I'll boycott his movies for his activism against science. Too many Hollywood airheads are jumping on the anti-science bandwagon, and I think it's time to remind them to keep their noses out of issues they don't understand.
 
  • #4
ahh man is there anyway I can get a video of this ??
I love seeing what a complete prat this guy is.
He went off at a 60 minutes host here because he said "so what do you think of people who say scientology is rubbish?" :)
 
  • #5
So, another victim of Scientology. No wonder Cruise has been acting so nutty.
 
  • #6
well wait a minute there sport..

lets debunk his claims one at a time instead of completely degrading his ideas

in science classes they don't teach you that god doesn't exist or that there are no chakras - they teach you completely different things and concepts and you extrapolate everything after your first physics class and some even say that they are sure there is no god and no heaven - well ok perhaps, but you weren't taught that in class

science is as exact as we could have achieved exactness due our understanding and capabilities. maybe there is something to the claims about the supernatural and idea of a separate consciousness.. nobody can say for certain where our mind has originated and the purpose of humanity in general
 
  • #7
I didn't say anything about God or the supernatural.
 
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  • #8
I have known two people who really got screwed up by Hubbard's program.
 
  • #9
Soilwork said:
ahh man is there anyway I can get a video of this ??
I love seeing what a complete prat this guy is.
He went off at a 60 minutes host here because he said "so what do you think of people who say scientology is rubbish?" :)

Not a video, but the transcript of his interview:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8343367/
You can spare yourself some boredom and skip the first page. The discussion of antidepressants and other psychiatry topics begins about midway down on page 2. I think I'll write to the Today Show and suggest that after that interview, they need to bring in an expert on depression and/or ADHD to offer a rebuttal and to properly educate their audience on the drugs and why they are prescribed.

You know, it's very common for those who need psychiatric help to reject psychiatry.
 
  • #10
I remember reading an expose about Scientology years ago. They believe that every human has alien spirits in them. :uhh:

If you don't know what Scientology is, read this. :rofl:

"75 million years ago, there was an alien galactic ruler named Xenu who was in charge of 76 planets in our part of the galaxy, including our own planet Earth, whose name at that time was Teegeeack."

http://www.skeptictank.org/gen3/gen01985.htm
 
  • #11
well every religion needs a mythical plot that simply never happened like jesus or mohammed or in this case some alien ruler
 
  • #12
This is a cult, not a religion. It was huge in the 70's and 80's in California and a lot damage was done. One of the people I mentioned worked with Tsu and I. We had known her for at least a couple of years when she got into Scientology. Her personality changed almost overnight. AFAIK she was never the same; and not for the better by any measure.
 
  • #13
cronxeh said:
well every religion needs a mythical plot that simply never happened like jesus or mohammed or in this case some alien ruler
Well, Jesus and Mohammed were real people, so I am assuming Xenu was real too.
 
  • #14
Ivan Seeking said:
This is a cult, not a religion. It was huge in the 70's and 80's in California and a lot damage was done. One of the people I mentioned worked with Tsu and I. We had known her for at least a couple of years when she got into Scientology. Her personality changed almost overnight. AFAIK she was never the same; and not for the better by any measure.
The documentary was pretty scary. It showed people that tried to get out of Scientology and were threatened and harassed. They do not let go of you. It is a cult. Did you read my link? :bugeye:
 
  • #15
I'm going to make a SWAG and predict that we see Tom Cruise completely melt down. Well, that's bascially what we're seeing now, but I'll bet it gets a lot worse unless he gets smart in a hurry.
 
  • #16
Ivan Seeking said:
I'm going to make a SWAG and predict that we see Tom Cruise completely melt down. Well, that's bascially what we're seeing now, but I'll bet it gets a lot worse unless he gets smart in a hurry.
He does seem a bit out of control lately.

I never liked him.
 
  • #17
Evo said:
The documentary was pretty scary. It showed people that tried to get out of Scientology and were threatened and harassed. They do not let go of you. It is a cult. Did you read my link? :bugeye:

Oh, actually no, I thought it said skeptic.org, which I did already check.

I think you will find that the doctrine varies according to whom you ask, but yes, that all sounds about right.

The first girl that I ever took on a date - my best friend's sister - got into Scientology. IMO it was one step along the road to self destruction. I attended her funeral a few years ago - heroin overdose.
 
  • #18
Does anyone know who the sponsors are for War of the Worlds? I've decided I'm going to take a stand against the anti-science Hollywood crowd. I've got a letter drafted to send to Paramount informing them I will not see this movie or any others staring Tom Cruise unless they publicly announce that they don't endorse his anti-science claims and he publicly retracts his statements made on the Today Show. I want to inform their sponsors of the same (since I don't expect Tom Cruise to issue a retraction, I will only hold the sponsors responsible for pressuring Paramount to make it clear that his statements are unrelated to their position regarding science). I'm going to take a wild guess that at least some of their sponsorship relies on science for product formulation (doesn't every big film have product placement from one of the big cola companies?), but I want to know which ones to write to. It will sound better in my letter to Paramount if I can name some of their sponsors.

There's too much anti-science sentiment and promotion of pseudoscience fluff coming out of Hollywood anymore, and it's time they be called on it.

I also wrote to the Today Show asking them to produce a segment featuring experts on either depression or ADD/ADHD as damage control following Tom Cruise's statements. It would be nice to see an interview where the current scientific understanding is explained along with the cautions regarding misuse of the medications. Get both sides of the story out, but in a responsible way, not a fear-mongering, anti-science way.
 
  • #19
I find it strange that traditional religion gets so much more respect than Raelians, Scientology etc...

A statement like: "Scientology is ridiculous" seems no different to me than "Christianity is ridiculous"
 
  • #20
learningphysics said:
I find it strange that traditional religion gets so much more respect than Raelians, Scientology etc...

A statement like: "Scientology is ridiculous" seems no different to me than "Christianity is ridiculous"
Based on the number of locked threads on religion, I'm not sure they do get more respect, at least not here.
 
  • #21
Lauer: So, postpartum depression to you is kind of a little psychological gobbledygook —

Cruise: No. I did not say that.

Heh.. he said "gobbledygook"

Cruise: But what happens, the antidepressant, all it does is mask the problem. There's ways, [with] vitamins and through exercise and various things... I'm not saying that that isn't real. That's not what I'm saying. That's an alteration of what I'm saying. I'm saying that drugs aren't the answer, these drugs are very dangerous.

True

They're mind-altering, antipsychotic drugs.

Ritalin (Methylphenidate) is a mild CNS stimulant, true. Its almost on par with amphetamines and other illegal street drugs, true that too. The mechanism of action is not completely understood but hey FDA approved it anyway. You want your kid to concentrate and pay attention? Give him a CNS stimulant, brilliant.

And there are ways of doing it without that so that we don't end up in a brave new world. The thing that I'm saying about Brooke is that there's misinformation, okay. And she doesn't understand the history of psychiatry. She doesn't understand in the same way that you don't understand it, Matt.

Ok he is ranting here, snip
 
  • #22
I think Tom Cruise was right on this one. The host didnt know the history. Dexedrine aka Dextroamphetamine is just as dangerous as meth and given to children it will surely result in dependancy and a future of drug abuse. I don't know much about psychology but surely I know people who took meth as kids and I know where they are today and who is not here today too.

Amphetamine was first marketed in the 1930s as Benzedrine® in an over-the-counter inhaler to treat nasal congestion. By 1937, amphetamine was available by prescription in tablet form and was used in the treatment of the sleeping disorder, narcolepsy, and the behavioral syndrome called minimal brain dysfunction, which today is called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). During World War II, amphetamine was widely used to keep the fighting men going and both dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine®) and methamphetamine (Methedrine®) were readily available.

Increased control measures were initiated in 1965 with amendments to the federal food and drug laws to curb the black market in amphetamines. Many pharmaceutical amphetamine products were removed from the market including all injectable formulations, and doctors prescribed those that remained less freely. Recent increases in medical use of these drugs can be attributed to their use in the treatment of ADHD. Amphetamine products presently marketed include generic and brand name amphetamine (Adderall®, Dexedrine®, Dextrostat®) and brand name methamphetamine (Desoxyn®). Amphetamines are all controlled in Schedule II of the CSA.
 
  • #23
Back in the days when Ron Hubbard was still writing mainstream SF he complained about the poor financial returns and said "If a person really wants to make millions he needs to start his own religion" so he did. Since his death (or as Scientology PR explained "his departure to explore another galaxy") Scientology membership has dropped considerably though is still considered highly influential due to it's large cash reserves and the high profile positions of some of it's members.
Here is a link to a very informative site which exposes many of the activities and practices of this pseudo religion. http://www.xenu.net/
 
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  • #24
cronxeh said:
I think Tom Cruise was right on this one. The host didnt know the history. Dexedrine aka Dextroamphetamine is just as dangerous as meth and given to children it will surely result in dependancy and a future of drug abuse. I don't know much about psychology but surely I know people who took meth as kids and I know where they are today and who is not here today too.
Where did they discuss dexedrine?
 
  • #25
An article on Today's paper featured Tom's interview with the subtitle TomFoolery. I've seen people say a lot of stupid things but Tom takes the chocolate cake. We're looking at a guy who probably read Scientology propaganda regarding the effectiveness of Psychiatry, thinks he knows everything there is to know and completely debunks years of medical scientific research because Scientology disapproves of it. What does Scientology have to back-up their claims? plenty of sci-fi

Oh, here's his clip on Oprah going crazy, He is gone. Watch this first:

http://www.robomuffin.com/html/modu...viewdownloaddetails&lid=165&ttitle=#dldetails

Then watch this:

http://www.robomuffin.com/html/modu...viewdownloaddetails&lid=166&ttitle=#dldetails

Hilarious :rofl:
 
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  • #26
cronxeh said:
I think Tom Cruise was right on this one. The host didnt know the history. Dexedrine aka Dextroamphetamine is just as dangerous as meth and given to children it will surely result in dependancy and a future of drug abuse. I don't know much about psychology but surely I know people who took meth as kids and I know where they are today and who is not here today too.

No, Cruise is not correct. If you give these drugs to a kid without ADD or ADHD, yes, they act like amphetamines. But those kids aren't supposed to be prescribed those drugs. They are intended for kids (and adults) who have a problem with neurotransmitters not properly released in their brains, and the drugs restore their function to normal. The effects of amphetamines occur through their actions on normally present receptors that respond to normally produced neurotransmitters. In a healthy person, amphetamines "overload" that system and make it respond abnormally. In a person who has a disruption of part of that system the drug acts in place of the normal neurotransmitter to restore function.

If you gave a high blood pressure medication to someone who didn't have high blood pressure, that would be dangerous too. Also, some people with mild hypertension can correct it with diet and exercise, but it doesn't mean that more severe high blood pressure or certain causes of it doesn't require medication, and it doesn't mean the medication, when prescribed properly, is a dangerous substance.
 
  • #27
learningphysics said:
I find it strange that traditional religion gets so much more respect than Raelians, Scientology etc...

A statement like: "Scientology is ridiculous" seems no different to me than "Christianity is ridiculous"

Any two belief systems are going to have common traits; that is, anything taken on faith. But human beings do this. For example, many people take it on faith that there is no god. However, if a belief system tends to do things like destroy lives, then we tend to view it more negatively than other more benign beliefs to lead to things like, charitable organizations, feeding the hungry, that sort of thing. But any belief will seem absurd to someone, so it is fine line to toe.
 
  • #28
Moonbear said:
I think I'll write to the Today Show and suggest that after that interview, they need to bring in an expert on depression and/or ADHD to offer a rebuttal and to properly educate their audience on the drugs and why they are prescribed.
Unfortunately, the most honest thing any expert could say is that once in a while they stumble by accident onto a drug that seems to alleviate the symptoms.

When this happens it spurs all kinds of research into why it might be working and what the problem might be to begin with. This, in turn, leads them to make and try different but similar drugs based on theories as to why the first one had a beneficial effect.

If you look at the fragment posted by cronxeh you find the phrases:

"...increasing evidence..."

"...consonant with the theory..."

"Therefore it is thought..."

"Currently, this is the most widely accepted model..."

"New studies consider the possibility..."

The trend in psychiatric research has been neurotransmitters for a while now. It's probably correct to deduce from the evidence that when someone is mentally ill their neurotransmitters are not functioning properly, but it is simply the current model to say they are mentally ill because their neurotramsmitters aren't functioning properly. The root problem might easily be, for example, an endocrine malfunction no one has discovered, or who knows what else. I have probably read 20 different theories about the cause of schizophrenia, all of which have been scientifically researched at one point or another, but arriving at no really compelling conclusions. They don't really know for sure why any of the medications relieve the symptoms.

Now, I don't think there is any way Brooke Shields could have pulled herself out of her post-partum depression and I don't think Tom Cruise should be criticizing her for taking anti-depressants under those circumstances.

On the other hand, Cruise is right about how dangerous the drugs can be when mis-administered. Alot of people go to psychiatrists complaining of depression, who are, in fact bipolar people who have never happened to have a manic episode. If you give an anti-depressant to this kind of patient you will precipitate a manic episode. It is a bit frightening to find out how many bipolar people became full blown bipolar from being prescribed anti-depressants, instead of bipolar meds.

In addition some of the antidepressants will trigger seizures in anyone with a low seizure threshold.

The anti-psychotic drug, Haldol, commonly given to anyoe who seems delusional or hallucinating, is also a seizure triggering drug. I know a man whose wife died during a massive seizure caused by mis-prescribing Haldol to her.

None of these problems with psychiatry, however, remotely suggests scientology is the alternative. Scientology is the bizarre invention of a science fiction writer. Tom Cruise is citing, in a casual, sloppy way, some actual problems with psychiatry and putting them in the service of a bad agenda.
 
  • #29
zoobyshoe said:
None of these problems with psychiatry, however, remotely suggests scientology is the alternative. Scientology is the bizarre invention of a science fiction writer. Tom Cruise is citing, in a casual, sloppy way, some actual problems with psychiatry and putting them in the service of a bad agenda.

Yes, that's really the problem. Did you read the transcript? He really wasn't talking about when people are misdiagnosed or improperly prescribed medications they don't need, he was trying to say they are always bad and nobody needs them, that everything can be treated with exercise and changes in diet and things like that. He also somehow lept from depression to ADD/ADHD to all of psychiatry in general. This is why I think they now should bring in a real expert and discuss not only what some of these drugs treat and why they are good, but also address the misdiagnosis issue and the legitimate risks in a responsible way, not just dismissing the entire field in one fell swoop. Both sides of that story, the good and the bad of the drugs, are important for the public to be aware of, but nothing in what Cruise said or how he said it was a responsible way to educate the public about the real issues surrounding psychiatry.
 
  • #30
I think I'd leave that discussion to a family doctor of a particular child in question, since nobody can cover every little aspect and be right on television - a personal doctor, however, based on brain scans and other symptons would be able to correctly, or so we all hope, give a differential diagnosis and prescribe those amphetamines. In the meantime one can only hope that fine scientists like you, Moonbear, will find the genetic solution to this organ-based problem and perhaps in future it'll only be a matter of early diagnosis and protein treatment
 
  • #31
Aww i thought this thread would just turn into a tom cruise bashing thread where we all took an oath not to watch War of the Worlds because they probably screwed up the storyline..
 
  • #32
First,he claimed that Scientology cuted him of his dylexia and I think he'll say we don't need any Medicine at all in the future.
I don't think he says these coz of his new film or money.You know him.he's the person he wants his dates to accept scientology first like the new case, Katie Holmes.but anyway he shouldn't interfere to what he doesn't have any knowledge about it.
who knows maybe what he's saying proves by scientists one day but anyway he shouldn't claim his nonsenses in public!
 
  • #33
Yah, let him think what he wants but don't try to publicize it. I mean if we publicized every idiots 5 days of reading a book as an expert opinion, the public would think that taiwain, in collaboration with martians and Area 51, are creating global warming in order to boost EA Games sales.
 
  • #34
Moonbear said:
Did you read the transcript?
Yup.
He really wasn't talking about when people are misdiagnosed or improperly prescribed medications they don't need, he was trying to say they are always bad and nobody needs them, that everything can be treated with exercise and changes in diet and things like that.
Yeah, he made a blanket statement about something that is very much more complicated.
This is why I think they now should bring in a real expert and discuss not only what some of these drugs treat and why they are good, but also address the misdiagnosis issue and the legitimate risks in a responsible way, not just dismissing the entire field in one fell swoop.
What I was trying to say before is that you can't have an expert in psychiatry go on TV and be really frank and honest without revealing what a tenuous, jury-rigged, trial-and-error thing it actually is.

Alot of people are helped by meds, which is enough reason to take them. If we look behind the scenes into the trial and error period of diagnosis and prescription, where people are often made worse by the wrong med as the doctor tries to figure out the right one, psychiatry isn't going to look so good to the general public.
Both sides of that story, the good and the bad of the drugs, are important for the public to be aware of,
I think you don't realize how bad the bad is, or you wouldn't be suggesting it be publicized to squelch Tom Cruise.
but nothing in what Cruise said or how he said it was a responsible way to educate the public about the real issues surrounding psychiatry.
Psychiatric drugs are some people's only relief from some very severe symptoms, and he shouldn't be reccomending no one take them under any circumstances.

The fact is, though, I don't think anyone in particular is going to be swayed by a couple minutes of Tom Cruise, actor, throwing out a few not very coherent anti-medication remarks on daytime TV. Having someone come on to rebut what he said makes it seem he was someone whose opinion mattered in the first place.
 
  • #35
Pengwuino said:
Aww i thought this thread would just turn into a tom cruise bashing thread where we all took an oath not to watch War of the Worlds because they probably screwed up the storyline..
Actually, I think he's a terrific actor. I really enjoyed him as the sociopathic hit man in Collateral. I also liked Minority Report and Vanilla Sky. I'll probably watch WOTW when it gets to DVD.
 

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