"Mental Illness"..

[santahog]

I'm not going to elaborate too much on this, because I assume that most here will understand..
That said, I saw Wayne LaPierre on Fox with Chris Wallace last night and what he said concerns me..
Pills are handed out to kids like candy to get them to stop acting like kids. It then gets them classified as having some sort of mental disorder. They were find till the school nurse started pumping those damn pills into them..
Anybody who has been treated at the VA has experienced the questionnaire during triage asking how they "feel" and if they've thought about suicide and so on.. You all know that you can't be honest if you do have a problem because it will immediately translate to a permanent "fail" on a NICS check..
The whole culture of "medicine" is geared towards managing your mind, especially if you are dealing with some real, chronic pain..
It all goes in your medical records. It isn't necessarily subject to any sort of old fashioned notion of "privacy" or "Dr-Pt privilege".
I've said for years that this will be how they come.. They're coming..
We don't want what they're suggesting..

If you're not aware of this stuff, count yourself blessed, (and NEVER give up that Doctor!)

That's my opinion.
(I'm going to the bathroom to giggle in the dark now..  )

[MikeBjerum]

Like the Bud Light commercial says:  "It's only crazy if it doesn't work"

Many veterans have been denied access to firearms because some doctor classified them as having mental issues when they spoke openly about their "feelings."

I'm all for getting people help when they need it, but I also see Pres. BHO's push for doctors to share everything combined with the "universal background check" as a way to take away guns from most people, and deny purchase by over half of our coming generations due to the drug pushing Santa talks about.

No tin foil needed, because Anheiser Busch has explained it well 

[crusader rabbit]

I can't say for sure what goes on in the civilian medical sector because my interface with civilian docs has (thankfully) been very limited. 

I am unfortunately quite familiar with the VA medical system and I can echo what Santahog says. 

If you talk about PTSD to a VA doc, you get essentially the equivalent of a Section 8 noted in your file.  This translates into losing your right to ever legally own any firearm.  And, irrespective of your earlier answers, every time you go through the most routine procedure--like an annual check-up--you will be asked about your state of mind, are you ever depressed, do you have feelings of isolation, do you ever think about suicide, etc.  Any "yes" answer at any time gets you permanently flagged.  Permanently!  And it could be for something as simple as your dog just died or you lost a parent--anything that might make you temporarily depressed.

Thankfully, I had the benefit of another vet's counsel prior to my initial intake and knew what not to talk about.

Still, I made  the mistake of admitting once that I smoked tobacco but quit some 30 years ago.  To this day, I get the quitting tobacco now will prolong your life propaganda every time I have a visit.

VA records are like a "roach motel."  Things go in, but they never get out. 

I have an erroneous entry noting that I am allergic to Vicodin.  I'm not.  But that notice showed up during my first hip replacement and a year later during my second.  Now, if any of you have experienced a hip replacement, you know you want more than an aspirin for the pain.  Both times I managed to eventually get the drug, but both times I had to have my primary care doc override the erroneous statement in my record.  But, it's still in there!

Younger vets, even those who know they may have a mental hygiene issue, are very reluctant to mention anything because they don't want to be permanently assigned to the "nut bag" classification and relinquish many of their Constitutional rights.

It is definitely something that needs to be addressed.  Feeling anxious or depressed shouldn't strip you of your rights.  It should just result in getting whatever level of help you may need to get back to being healthy.

FWIW

Crusader