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Parental Intelligence - Issue 53
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Bob Collier
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Aug 03, 2003 08:04 PDT
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-------------------PARENTAL INTELLIGENCE------------------
3 August 2003
Issue 53
Bob Collier, Editor mailto:quauss-@hotmail.com
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Welcome to Parental Intelligence!
"The world's No.1 email newsletter for thinking parents"
Another big issue this week - mainly because of the latest
episode of The Candlelight Project, in which I attempt to
shed at least some light on the drugs involved with the cult
of psychiatry, and particularly with the dodgy diagnosis of
'ADHD'. Make sure you read it. There's a ton of information
you really need to have, and I still had to work hard to
decide what to leave *out*!
My Website Of The Week this week is the website of Dr.
Thomas Armstrong, who has written some excellent articles on
'ADHD'. The articles at his website are divided into three
categories: "Multiple Intelligences", "The Myth of ADD" and
"The Natural Genius of Kids". Make the time to read at least
one in each category. Two or more is better! :)
I have a great article for you from The International
Council for Self-Esteem, called "What Is Self-Esteem?",
which details research into and current thinking about its
nature and definition.
My second favourite email newsletter in all the world - Doug
Bench's Neuroscience Self-Motivation News - 'Possibilities!'
- is online for you to read if you're not yet a subscriber.
I get a mention in this week's issue! :) Please scroll to
the bottom of this newsletter and 'Doug Bench's Brain Stuff'
for the link to his website.
This week in Parental Intelligence, Doug talks about brain
plasticity - "The Most Fantastic Neuroscience News of All".
Thank you for reading!
Have a great week, until next time.
Bob
============================================================
Would you like to help my newsletter grow? Simply recommend
Parental Intelligence to all your friends who have children.
They'll thank you for it!
My goal is 1,000 subscribers by 31st December 2003. This
week's Parental Intelligence is going out to 153 smart
people.
Thank you!
============================================================
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"Be smart, be intelligent and be informed." - Tony Allasandra
------------------------------------------------------------
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Dr. Thomas Armstrong
http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/
"My work as an educator and psychologist in the fields of
multiple intelligences, the myth of ADD/ADHD, and the
natural genius of kids, has been guided by a belief that all
children are gifted children. Each child comes into the
world with unique potentials that, if properly nourished,
can contribute to the betterment of our world. The biggest
challenge for parents and teachers is to remove the
roadblocks that keep those gifts from being recognized,
celebrated, and nurtured."
Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D., is an award-winning author and
speaker with thirty years of teaching experience from the
primary through the doctoral level, and over one million
copies of his books in print on issues related to learning
and human development. He is the author of eleven books
including Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, In Their
Own Way, Awakening Your Child's Natural Genius, 7 Kinds of
Smart, The Myth of the A.D.D. Child, ADD/ADHD Alternatives
in the Classroom, and Awakening Genius in the Classroom. His
books have been translated into seventeen languages,
including Spanish, Chinese, Hebrew, Danish, and Russian. He
has written for Ladies Home Journal, Family Circle (where he
received awards from the Educational Press Association, and
the National Association of Secondary School Principals),
Parenting (where he was a regularly featured columnist for
four years), Mothering (where he was a contributing editor),
and over thirty other periodicals, journals, and edited
books. He has appeared on several national and international
television and radio programs, including NBC's "The Today
Show," "CBS This Morning," "CNN," the "BBC" and "The Voice
of America." Articles featuring his work have appeared in
The New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today,
Investor's Business Daily, Good Housekeeping, and hundreds
of other newspapers and magazines around the country. Dr.
Armstrong has given over 400 keynotes, workshops, and
lectures in 40 states and 13 countries in the past sixteen
years. His clients have included Sesame Street, the Bureau
of Indian Affairs, the European Council of International
Schools, the Republic of Singapore, and several state
departments of education. He is currently writing a book on
the stages of life.
Dr. Armstrong writes great articles about children and
parenting. Be sure to visit his three article sections:
"Multiple Intelligences", "The Myth of ADD" and "The
Natural Genius of Kids".
Dr. Thomas Armstrong
http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/
************************************************************
Australia will host the 3rd international Soul in Education
conference with the theme Celebrating Spirit of Learning to
be held in the Byron Bay region in September-October 2003.
"An experiential week-long international gathering for
innovative thinkers, practitioners and all those committed
to fostering soul in education, human potential and learning
for life."
For more information about this exciting event, please visit
the Spirit of Learning website at:
http://www.spiritoflearning.com/conference
************************************************************
A FREE GIFT FOR PARENTAL INTELLIGENCE READERS
For a limited time Parental Intelligence would like to give
you a free introductory copy of byronchild, a new Australian
magazine created especially for progressive families which,
like Parental Intelligence, supports the propagation of
intelligent information for parents. Simply email
ka-@byronpublications.com with your name and address and a
free magazine will be sent to you. See more about byronchild
at http://byronchild.com
************************************************************
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THE CANDLELIGHT PROJECT
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"In the Western World, the more pervasive the sickness, the
richer the doctors. Hospitals go out of business if their
beds are not filled or if patients do not stay long enough.
The greatest economic tragedy that could befall Western
medicine is the total health of the citizenry.
In the East, the old acupuncturists were paid when their
patients were well. They would examine and balance their
patients at the beginning of each season, four times a year.
Acupuncturists were paid as long as their patients stayed
well. If a patient became ill, the acupuncturist would
support the patient and the patient's family for the
duration of the illness. For the acupuncturists, the
greatest economic bonanza occurred when all patients
remained healthy.
We could structure our social programs so that we rewarded
pro-life forces such as health, independence, and self-
sufficiency rather than their opposites."
"There is no way a physician can deal successfully with the
body without the body's cooperation. The best a physician
can do is get in harmony with the body and to support its
healing processes and, occasionally, to delay the body from
destroying or harming itself until it has time to mobilize
its healing processes..."
"Externally imposed drugs simply suppress symptoms, they do
not heal. Aspirin relieves the "pain" of a headache,
penicillin reduces the "symptoms" of pneumonia. However, the
toxic condition that led to the disease remains, and, in
addition, the drug I have taken must be dealt with by my
body."
- Will Schutz, PhD, "Profound Simplicity"
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During the past week, I've been literally swamped with
information people have been sending me about drugs - drugs
that are being used on children diagnosed with 'ADHD' and
drugs used to treat 'mental illnesses' generally.
In fact, with so many new documents to read through and to
add to my existing dossier of 'ADHD stuff', it's been hard
to decide what to share with you now and what to leave for
another occasion. As a result, what follows is not as
cohesive a presentation as I would have liked, and I will
more or less have to let it speak for itself, but I hope it
will give you some insight into the dodgy behaviour that's
driving the "manufactured epidemic" of 'ADHD' and other
related 'diseases'.
First up, let's shed some candlelight on a drug called
Ritalin - the 'treatment of choice' for most children
diagnosed with 'ADHD'. Here's some information on the
subject from Dr. Peter Breggin, founder of the International
Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology (ICSPP),
that will pretty much tell you what you really need to know,
rather than what vested interests may prefer you to know:
Vital Information About Ritalin, Attention Deficit-
Hyperactivity Disorder and the Politics Behind the
ADHD/Ritalin Movement Summarized from Talking Back to
Ritalin by Peter R. Breggin, M.D.
============================================================
For the purpose of alerting the public to the dangers of
stimulant drugs, this appendix to Talking Back to Ritalin by
Peter R. Breggin, M.D. may be reprinted without permission
in unlimited numbers provided that no fee is charged for the
materials and that no profit is made from the distribution.
The source must be identified and the material must be
reproduced in its entirety, including this page.
============================================================
Talking Back to Ritalin by Peter R. Breggin, M.D. is
published by Common Courage Press, P.O. Box 702, Monroe,
Maine 04951. Phone: 1-800-497-3207.
· Several million children are being treated with Ritalin
and other stimulants on the grounds that they have
attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and suffer
from inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity. The
stimulants include: Ritalin (methylphenidate), Dexedrine
and DextroStat (dextroamphetamine or d-amphetamine),
Adderall (d-amphetamine and amphetamine mixture), Desoxyn
and Gradumet (methamphetamine), and Cylert (pemoline).
Except for Cylert, all of these drugs have nearly
identical effects and side effects. Ritalin and the
amphetamines can for most purposes be considered one type
of drug.
· The number of children being drugged has escalated several
-fold in the last few years.
· Ritalin and amphetamine have almost identical adverse
effects on the brain, mind and behavior, including the
production of drug-induced behavioral disorders, psychosis,
mania, drug abuse, and addiction.
· Ritalin and amphetamine frequently cause the very same
problems they are supposed to treat--inattention,
hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
· A large percentage of children become robotic, lethargic,
depressed, or withdrawn on stimulants.
· Ritalin can cause permanent neurological tics including
Tourette's syndrome.
· Ritalin can retard growth in children by disrupting the
cycles of growth hormone released by the pituitary gland.
· The recent finding that Ritalin can cause cancer in some
animals was not taken seriously enough by the drug company
or the FDA.
· Ritalin routinely causes gross malfunctions in the brain
of the child. There is research evidence from a few
controlled scientific studies that Ritalin can cause
shrinkage (atrophy) or other permanent physical
abnormalities in the brain.
· Withdrawal from Ritalin can cause emotional suffering,
including depression, exhaustion, and suicide. This can
make children seem psychiatrically disturbed and lead
mistakenly to increased doses of medication.
· Ritalin is addictive and can become a gateway drug to
other addictions. It is a common drug of abuse among
children and adults.
· ADHD and Ritalin are American and Canadian medical fads.
The U.S. uses 90% of the world's Ritalin. CibaGeneva
Pharmaceuticals (also known as Ciba-Geigy Corporation), a
division of Novartis, is the manufacturer of Ritalin. It
is trying to expand the Ritalin market to Europe and the
rest of the world.
· Ritalin "works" by producing malfunctions in the brain
rather than by improving brain function. This is the only
way it works.
· Short-term, Ritalin suppresses creative, spontaneous and
autonomous activity in children, making them more docile
and obedient, and more willing to comply with rote, boring
tasks, such as classroom school work and homework.
· Short-term, Ritalin has no positive effect on a child's
psychology or on academic performance and achievement.
This is confirmed by innumerable studies and by many
professional reviews of the literature.
· Longer-term, beyond several weeks, Ritalin has no positive
effects on any aspect of a child's life.
· Labeling children with ADHD and treating them with Ritalin
can keep them out of the armed services, limit their future
career choices, and stigmatize them for life. It can ruin
their own self image, subtly demoralize them, and
discourage them from reaching their full potential.
· There is no solid evidence that ADHD is a genuine disorder
or disease of any kind.
· There is a great deal of research to confirm that
environmental problems cause ADHD-like symptoms.
· A very small number of children may suffer ADHD-like
symptoms because of physical disorders, such as lead
poisoning, drug intoxication, exhaustion, and head injury.
Physical causes may be more common among poor communities
in the United States.
· There is no proof of any physical abnormalities in the
brains or bodies of children who are routinely labeled
ADHD. They do not have known biochemical imbalances or
"crossed wires."
· ADHD is a controversial diagnosis with little or no
scientific or medical basis. A parent, teacher, or doctor
can feel in good company when utterly dismissing the
diagnosis and refusing to apply it to children.
· Ciba spends millions of dollars to sell parent groups and
doctors on the idea of using Ritalin. Ciba helps to
support the parent group, C.H.A.D.D., and organized
psychiatry.
· The U.S. Department of Education and the National
Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) push Ritalin as
vigorously as the manufacturer of the drug, often in even
more glowing terms than the drug company could get away
with legally.
Our society has institutionalized drug abuse among our
children. Worse yet, we abuse our children with drugs rather
than making the effort to find better ways to meet their
needs. In the long run, we are giving our children a very
bad lesson--that drugs are the answer to emotional problems.
We are encouraging a generation of youngsters to grow up
relying on psychiatric drugs rather than on themselves and
other human resources.
The material in this summary is documented with citations
to scientific literature in Talking Back to Ritalin. The
book also describes non-drug approaches to helping children
diagnosed ADHD through identifying and meeting the basic
needs of children, and through improvements in school and
family life.
If you want to support efforts to stop the psychiatric
drugging of children, and to receive a newsletter, we invite
you to join the International Center for the Study of
Psychiatry and Psychology, 4628 Chestnut Street, Bethesda,
MD, 20814. Visit our web site at http://www.breggin.com
For some 'further reading' on Ritalin, there's this article
from the July/August 2001 issue of 'Adbusters' magazine,
written by Richard DeGrandrpre, the author of Ritalin
Nation: Rapid-fire Culture and the Transformation of Human
Consciousness (Norton, 1999):
"The truth about North America's greatest drug problem:
Ritalin
On any given day in North America, almost five million kids
will take a powerful psychostimulant drug. The geographical
caveat is important: more kids in North America are
diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and given
drugs like Ritalin to "help" them behave than in the rest of
the world combined. In fact, the US and Canada account for a
startling 95 percent of worldwide Ritalin consumption."
Read the complete article here:
http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/36/dose.html
I don't think that other countries will ever catch up with
the current usage of Ritalin in the USA, but it looks like
some countries may be working on it. This is a quote from
an article published in the British newspaper 'The Guardian'
on July 24th:
"New figures this week show that use of the drug given to
calm hyperactive children has soared 100-fold in Britain in
the past decade. Doctors dispensed 254,000 prescriptions of
it last year, up from 2,000 or so given annually in the
early 1990s.
Ritalin has been approved for use in children over five
years old who suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD), but many doctors prescribe the drug - also
known as methylphenidate - for children as young as 18
months."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4718475,00.html
I've discovered something very interesting about Ritalin
since I published my Parental Intelligence Report on 'ADHD'
in May. These extracts from articles I've found on the
internet will tell you what that is:
"Many professional persons and members of the general public
still believe that if stimulant medication leads to
improvement in the child's behavior, it is solid proof of
the diagnosis of ADHD and good reason to continue the drug.
What they evidently do not understand is that, as with other
cerebral stimulants such as caffeine, the effect is
experienced by almost all who take it, including completely
normal children (Bernstein et al., 1994; Rapoport et al.,
1978; Rapoport et al., 1980)."
William Carey, MD., Director of Behavioral Pediatrics in
the Division of General Pediatrics at the Children's
Hospital of Philadelphia and Clinical Professor of
Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of
Medicine, "Is ADHD a Valid Disorder?"
"People are still surprised to learn that Ritalin, Adderall,
and Concerta along with all the other new stimulant drug
formulations prescribed ostensibly to treat ADHD, also work
in "normal" children and adults. A myth continues, which
began with the very first case reports in the 1930s, that
stimulants work "paradoxically" to calm hyperactive
children. In reality, stimulant drugs have the same effect
on everybody - low doses (like those for ADHD) improve
everyone's concentration and get people to be more
methodical."
Lawrence Diller, MD., "Getting Up to Speed for the SAT"
In case you missed the awful truth, I'll run it by you one
more time.
RITALIN HAS THE SAME EFFECT ON 'NORMAL' CHILDREN AS IT DOES
ON CHILDREN DIAGNOSED WITH 'ADHD'.
In other words, it's NOT a medical treatment at all!! It's
not even a medical treatment - it's not an intended 'cure'
for something - yet it's being administered to millions of
children as if it is anyway.
Isn't that incredible? Isn't it just the most amazing insult
- that members of the psychiatric and medical professions
and the pharmaceutical industry behind them should regard
the general public as so GULLIBLE?!
And to add injury to insult, Ritalin - as we've seen - comes
with some pretty nasty side effects.
Perhaps, however, the makers of Ritalin are beginning to pay
attention to the feedback on that, at least. I've now
learned that there's a new pill on the block - something
that's supposed to be an 'improvement' on Ritalin. It's
called Strattera. I found out about this only a few days
ago.
"On November 27, 2002, the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) approved Strattera (atomoxetine HCL), a new non-
stimulant medicine for ADHD. This is the first new type of
drug to be approved for ADHD in almost 30 years. Unlike
Ritalin, this drug will not be a controlled substance."
Here are some opinions of Strattera, extracted from a
website that asks users of the drug to "report all Strattera
side effects here, for the purpose of research, public
awareness and safety."
"My child is 15 years old (boy), he experienced rapid heart
rate with Strattera, 60mg. He was only on it for about
maybe 2 to 3 months. His doctor immediately took him off
this medication."
"...for about the past 3-4 weeks he has had bouts of anger,
violence, hitting and screaming. I can only assume it is
the medicine."
"My 5 year old was prescribed Strattera for her ADHD. The
longer she was on it the more she vomited."
http://www.strattera.ws/
Sue Parry, Director of ADD Watch Hawaii, made this comment:
"All I can say about this drug is at least it isn't a
stimulant that often interferes with a kid's sleep and
appetite but it's still just another mind-altering,
performance enhancing drug for a disease/disorder that
doesn't exist."
Here's a further comment from an article called Examining
Drugs for ADHD, Particularly 'Strattera' by Reverend Dan L.
Edmunds:
"...though Straterra is being marketed in the fashion of
being a non-stimulant drug, its ill effects are quite
similar to that manifested by the stimulant medications. Eli
Lilly's website notes that growth suppression is a common
side effect and needs to be monitored in children making use
of this drug. Loss of appetitite and weight loss is also
seen. The most common side effects as listed by Lilly are
upset stomach, decreased appetite, nausea and vomiting,
dizziness, tiredness, and mood swings. These are not unlike
that associated with the stimulant medications. Lilly states
in its press release in regards to Straterra's introduction:
"It's not known precisely how Strattera reduces ADHD
symptoms. Scientists believe it works by blocking or
slowing reabsorption of norepinephrine, a brain chemical
considered important in regulating attention, impulsivity
and activity levels. This keeps more norepinephrine at work
in the tiny spaces between neurons in the brain."
If we examine this statement carefully, we see it states 'it
is not precisely known', therefore once again a drug is
being prescribed whose effects are not fully known for a
'disorder' whose psychopathology is not yet delineated.
Clinical trials for Straterra have been limited and any
information on long term effects has only been studied by
Lilly itself."
It seems rather sad that medicine's solution to a problem
drug is to manufacture another drug. Especially when it's
for a disease that doesn't exist and it's hardly an
improvement anyway. I think the comments on Strattera that
I've become aware of so far - which have been negative
almost without exception - will tell any person of average
intelligence everything they need to know about it. I hope
so.
If you've read The Parental Intelligence Report on 'ADHD',
you'll be aware that inventing new 'diseases' is a favourite
pastime of the psychiatric profession, and the drug
companies, of course, love it, for the very reason that new
'diseases' mean new products ('treatments', that is, of
course).
Here's a rather telling story that I was pointed in the
direction of this week:
From WCA News.com Health Watch Newsletter:
"'New' diseases an excuse for 'phony' drugs, researchers say
Recent changes to the classification of psychiatric
disorders are encouraging pharmaceutical companies to develop
new drugs that are of questionable clinical value, according
to researchers in the BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal).
Since 1980, anxiety and depression have been split into
separate diseases. Drug development has subsequently been
tailored to new "niche" diagnoses such as panic, social
anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The proliferation of niche diagnoses is liked by the industry
because it creates new licensing opportunities for phony new
drugs..."
Read the complete article here:
http://wcanews.com/archives/2003/jul2303d.htm
This article was brought to my attention by Dr. Bill
Gallagher of an organization based in Scottsdale, Arizona,
called "Run Drugs Out Of Town Run". The purpose of Dr.
Gallagher's organization is to raise awareness of and money
for drug abuse prevention, and its focus is mainly on kids
including teens. The "main event" is the quarter mile run
for kids of all ages (so far ages 2-73) where everyone who
crosses the finish line wins a medal that says, "I'm a
winner, I don't do drugs".
If you want more information or would like to get started on
your own event, please email rundrugsou-@yahoo.com
or visit their website:
http://rundrugsoutoftownrun.org
Here's an article sent to me this week by a member of
A.S.P.I.R.E. This, essentially, is about how a major drug
company trained its sales people to lie to doctors about the
effects and side effects of its products in order to boost
sales.
"Drug giant accused of false claims
July 11 - The questions began with the confession of an
insider at one of the nation's largest pharmaceutical firms.
He says his former company deliberately distorted
information about one of its drugs, possibly putting lives
at risk, and costing patients and taxpayers millions of
dollars. "Dateline" went looking for some answers and has
the results of a year-long investigation into what may be
one of the biggest medical deceptions in history. NBC's
John Hockenberry reports."
Read the complete story here:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/937302.asp?0bl=-0&cp1=1
This next item is part of an article I found - believe it or
not - in a freebie tourist magazine I picked up during my
recent holiday in Queensland, called "What's On in
Broadbeach".
"The Business of Disease
The pharmaceutical industry is an investment industry. By
its very nature it cannot and will not produce drugs that
prevent or eradicate diseases, because that would eliminate
these diseases as a market place for the continued use of
those drugs. This fact is hard to comprehend and even harder
to accept. But it is the truth and everyone should know about
it.
Accordingly, 80% of the pharmaceutical drugs currently on
the world market have no proven efficacy but merely cover
symptoms. As a direct result of this fact, today's most
common diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer,
AIDS and many other diseases, are not contained but rather
continue to spread despite the fact that effective, non-
patentable alternatives are available.
Students of biology and biochemistry around the world learn
about the role of micronutrients for the optimum function of
the cells. Unfortunately, the influence of the
pharmaceutical industry on medical education worldwide has
such a tight grip that, so far, these scientific effects
have not been applied to solving medical problems. The
precondition for the world to enjoy the benefits of natural
health treatment is both the acceptance of new scientific
effects and the removal of artificial barriers in medicine
that are economically motivated by the pharmaceutical
investment business with disease."
From "The Time Has Come", an interview with Matthias Rath,
M.D
I think I'm getting the gist of what the pharmaceutical
industry is REALLY all about now, aren't I?
Here are some very revealing facts about the results of the
pharmaceutical industry's efforts from Dr. John Breeding of
Texans For Safe Education:
"In 1992, we [the USA] produced 626 kilos of amphetamines,
about 1,380 pounds. The quota in 2002 is 13,964 kilos-30,785
pounds. These 15 tons of amphetamine are better than a 22-
fold increase in the last 10 years."
"...an estimated 8,000,000 children between ages 5 and 18
were on psychiatric drugs as of 2000, about a 4000% increase
since 1970."
"Drug makers command an army of more than 68,000 sales
people, one for every eleven doctors in the U.S."
"Data from the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement in California
shows that out of a total of 461,636 children prescribed
Schedule II drugs in the year 2000, 108,244 were under 6
years old."
Russell Barkley, Ph.D, is a Professor in the Departments
of Psychiatry and Neurology at the University of
Massachusetts Medical School and considered by many to be
the world's leading authority on 'ADHD'. I talked about his
work and beliefs in the first episode of The Candlelight
Project.
I discovered something very interesting about him this week
in another article by Reverend Dan L. Edmunds called Meeting
the True Needs of Children Diagnosed as "ADHD".
"In his textbook, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,
Russell Barkley, an advocate for the use of methylphenidate
in the treatment of ADHD, notes that there is little
improvement in academic performance with the short-term use
of psychostimulant medication.
Barkley also acknowledges that the stimulant medications
can affect growth hormone but at present there is not any
knowledge of the long-term effects on the hypothalamic-
pituitary growth hormones. Barkley (1995, pg. 122) also
states, "At present there are no lab tests or measures that
are of value in making a diagnosis of ADHD..." "
This is from one of the gurus of biopsychiatry and somebody
who once said that Ritalin is "safer than aspirin". It makes
you wonder, doesn't it? How stupid must these people think
we are?
Anyway, I think that's enough about drugs for now. It
certainly seems to me that the pharmaceutical industry is
keeping the 'myth of the magic pill' alive and well in the
minds of millions of 'golden geese' all over the world who
seem unable to conceive of a life without a daily fix of
manufactured chemicals. Even when - as in the case of so-
called 'ADHD' - those chemicals are unnecessary to start
with as well as being potentially harmful.
I'll leave you this week with The Truth As I Know It.
"Your body is its own pharmacy: it makes all kinds of drugs
- sleeping aids, tranquillisers, immuno-modulators. Just
about any drug you can name, the body makes by itself. Not
only that, but it provides the right drug at the right time,
in the right dose, for the right organs. There are no side
effects and all the instructions come with the packaging.
That is a fact, and one that is well documented by science."
- Deepak Chopra, M.D., and Leon Nacson, "How to Live in a
World of Infinite Possibilities" (Rider, 1998), pp.62-63
More candlelight on the cult of biopsychiatry next week!
If you're not up to speed with the Candlelight Project and
would like to read about it from the beginning, please visit
this web page and read from Parental Intelligence Issue 49:
http://www.topica.com/lists/pintel/read
If you'd like to read The Parental Intelligence Report on
'ADHD', published May 2003, please send a blank email to:
pire-@getresponse.com
To discover more of the truth about 'ADHD' (lots of stuff
the drug companies don't want you to know about!), please
visit:
ADHD Fraud
http://www.adhdfraud.org/
Death From Ritalin
http://www.ritalindeath.com/
A.S.P.I.R.E.
http://www.aspire.us/
Wildest Colts Make the Best Horses
(Download a free copy of "A Colt of a Booklet" while you're
there!)
http://www.wildestcolts.com/
Citizens Commission on Human Rights
http://www.cchr.org/
See you next week on the Candlelight Trail!
------------------------------------------------------------
LIVING FREE
HOW TO BEAT THE SYSTEM - AND GROW RICH
by Phil Gosling - "Britain's most successful author
no-one's ever heard of".
Read Part One AND Part Two of this totally revised and
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What Is Self-Esteem?
There are a variety of ways to think about the self and many
different interpretations of how to define self-esteem. Over
one hundred different definitions of self-esteem have been
used in the literature, and therein lies much of the
controversy over self-esteem. There are at least fifteen
different terms referring to the "self" found in the
literature. "Self-esteem" and "self-concept", the two most
common terms, have been sometimes used interchangeably.
The older, more traditional view referred to the "general
self-concept" as the more global view. However, in recent
years self-esteem is being used to refer to the global,
overarching view and evaluation of the self, and self-
concept used to describe domain specific characteristics.
Thus, it can be said that one has multiple self-concepts,
including physical, academic, social, and transpersonal
aspects. The physical aspect of self-concept relates to what
one looks like, one's sex, the clothes one wears, the home
one lives in, etc. The academic self-concept relates to how
well one does in school and in different subjects. The
social self-concept describes how one relates to other
people and the transpersonal self-concept describes how one
relates to the world.
Baumeister, for example, published an article entitled "The
Dark Side of High Self-Esteem," in which he used the term as
synonymous with pride, egotism, arrogance, conceitedness,
narcissism, and a sense of superiority. (Baumeister, 1996)
However, few psychologists accept this definition of self-
esteem and most see these characteristics as compensating
behavior for low self-esteem. This is why we often use the
term "healthy" self-esteem to make the distinction between
those who may exhibit signs of self-esteem but are
compensating for feelings of inadequacy and those who truly
possess those characteristics of self-esteem.
Susan Hales defines self-esteem as the evaluative function
of the self-concept. Self-esteem, thus, is the affective, or
emotional experience of the evaluations one makes with
respect to one's personal worth. (Hales, 1989) With this
definition, self-esteem might be defined as how one feels
about one's perceptions of self or one's self-concepts.
The California State Task Force on Self-Esteem, which spent
three years studying the topic, ended up defining self-
esteem as "Appreciating my own worth and importance and
having the character to be accountable for myself and to
act responsibly towards others." (1990)
The most widely accepted definition is that of Nathaniel
Branden who defines healthy self-esteem as "the disposition
to experience oneself as competent to cope with life's
challenges and being worthy of happiness."(1994) This
definition thus implies not only being worthy of respect,
but also as having the basic skills and competencies
required to be successful in life.
Self-concept might be defined as a conscious, cognitive
perception of how one sees oneself, whereas self-esteem is
the evaluation of how one feels about that self-concept or
those self-concepts. Thus, one way of thinking about self-
esteem is as the evaluative function of the many self-
concepts one has regarding all the various roles one plays
and the relative value one places on these roles. Thus, one
may see oneself as poor in athletics, but if one doesn t
value that quality it may not have an adverse effect on
one's self-esteem.
There is no question about the close relationship between
self-esteem and self-concept. Studies show that people with
low self-esteem have more poorly defined self-concepts.
(Baumeister, 1993) Thus, a critical element of healthy self-
esteem is having realistic, clear self-concepts.
Because the relative value placed on the roles one plays
changes from time to time, one's self-esteem is apt to
fluctuate up or down. Franken believes "there is a great
deal of research which shows that the self-concept is,
perhaps, the basis for all motivated behavior. It is the
self-concept that gives rise to possible selves, and it is
possible selves that create the motivation for behavior.
Through self-reflection people often come to view themselves
in a new, more powerful way, and it is through this new,
more powerful way of viewing the self that people can change
and develop possible selves." (1994)
REFERENCES
Baumeister, R.F. (1993) Self-esteem: The puzzle of low self-
regard. New York: Plenum Press.
Baumeister, R., Smart, L., Boden,J. (1996) "Relation of
Threatened Egotism to Violence and Aggression: The Dark Side
of High Self-Esteem." Psychological Review, February, 1996.
Branden, N. (1994) Six Pillars of Self-Esteem. New York,
N.Y.:Bantam Books.
California Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal
and Social Responsibility. (1990) Toward a State of Esteem.
Sacramento, CA: California Dept. of Education,
Franken, R. (1994). Human Motivation. Pacific Grove, CA:
Brooks & Cole Publishing Co.
Hales, S. (1989) "Valuing the Self: Understanding the Nature
and Dynamics of Self-Esteem." Perspectives, Saybrook
Institute, San Francisco, Dec. 1989.
Copyright © The International Council for Self-Esteem
The International Council for Self-Esteem, composed of
representatives from over 70 nations, serves as a resource
for anyone interested in research, training, materials, and
resources related to self-esteem. The purpose of the Council
is to promote public and personal awareness of the benefits
of a healthy sense of self-esteem and personal responsibility
and to establish conditions within families, schools,
businesses and governments that foster these qualities.
Contact may be made through the website
http://www.self-esteem-international.org
or via email at Este-@AOL.com.
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"Fear of asking questions is the same as being afraid to be
alive!" - Jenny Thompson, Health Sciences Institute
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DOUG BENCH'S BRAIN STUFF
From '7 Mini-Science Lessons for Maxi-Success'.
Lesson #2. Brain Plasticity. The Most Fantastic
Neuroscience News of All.
The estimated number of things that one human brain, YOUR
human brain, has the capacity to learn during your lifetime
has enough zeros in it to stretch from here to the moon and
back, over 12 times. That's a big number!
This means that your brain, each time a neuron makes a
connection between one of these DSPs that we told you about
and another neuron, you are learning something new.
And most important of all, neuroscientists have now been
able to see that IN REAL TIME on a PET scan image, exactly
and actually while someone is learning something new. And
it makes NO DIFFERENCE whether the subjects they observed
were 6 years old, 16 years old, 36 years old, 66 years old
or 96 years old, THIS PROCESS WENT ON EVERY TIME YOU
LEARNED SOMETHING NEW!
The fantastic news about this is that it makes no difference
what your age, you are capable of learning anything new that
you want to learn! You are able to develop your brain,
right up until the moment you pass on!
Your brain is changing on a daily basis, no matter what your
age. Your brain today is different than it was yesterday,
and it is not the same as it will be tomorrow.
It really doesn't matter that you may have killed off some
brain cells by doing drugs or drinking too much when you
were younger.
It doesn't scientifically matter how many brain cells you
have, or have left!
The important thing is that you believe you can learn and
achieve anything you want, and now neuroscience proves that
this is true!
This movement and growth of DSPs is called Brain Plasticity,
and this is what can set you free to accomplish great things!
How many times have you heard someone say, "Oh, I'm too old
to learn that." I can't help it, it's just the way I am."
Folks that excuse will never be acceptable again. You
should right now commit yourself to never letting that idea
cross your lips again. It is absolutely scientifically been
proven beyond any doubt that that excuse is cr*p.
Your brain can learn new things, it is now just a matter of
you believing that you can. You see we as humans too often
place self-limiting chains on ourselves by allowing negative
self-talk to influence what we try to achieve. Or worse
yet, we don't try something new because we were unaware that
it was possible to do.
Do any of you remember Roger Bannister? Back in the 1950's
Roger was a runner from England, who was trying to break the
world record for the mile run. And he did it. He was the
first human to run the mile under 4 minutes. Athletes had
tried for over 100 years to run the mile under 4 minutes but
no one was able to do so.
However, after Roger ran the mile under four minutes,
within 2 years after that over 50 people had broken the 4
minute mile. As of today there are many thousands of people
who have run the mile under four minutes. Why? Because
now we know, after Bannister did it, that it could be done.
Well look how important a discovery then it was to find that
your brain is constantly changing, and growing new
connections. How important this process called Brain
Plasticity is. Now you Know you can! There are no limits
on the number of new things you can learn and achieve!
The actual pictures of a PET scan have now been published in
books and on videos, showing these new spider web-like thin
DSPs moving about in the brain to form new connections. In
fact we have those pictures. If you would like to see a
copy, send me an email and I will send them to you, along
with giving you the video title that you can purchase from
The Discovery Channel to see this in motion.
If you are one of those that demands to SEE the proof before
you act, then send me an email!
Learn the SCIENCE of PERMANENT Self-Motivation. So you
don't have to go back again and again and again, and spend
more and more and more money for a short term fix!
Scientific facts do not lie and do not fail, and neither
will you! Guaranteed!
*** 7 Mini-Science Lessons for Maxi-Success ***
This Course is FREE, and a great starting point for you to
run toward the Science of Permanent Self-Motivation.
Subscribe to the 7 Mini-Science Lessons for Maxi-Success
course and to Doug Bench's free Neuroscience Self-Motivation
News at his Science for Success website:
http://www.mcssl.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=69141
AUDIO has been added to Science for Success website!
Doug Bench has added Audio examples of nearly all of his
Systems and Tools to his website.
Go check it out now! Everywhere that you see the
Green 'Play' Button, you can hear a helpful sample of that
Tool.
http://www.mcssl.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=69141
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PROJECTS OF INTEREST
The Natural Child Project
Parent, homeschooler, author and psychologist Jan Hunt
shares her vision of the world in which all children are
treated with dignity, respect, understanding and compassion.
http://www.naturalchild.org/
The Parenting Project
A non-profit organization founded in 1995 by parent advocate
and mother of three Suzy Garfinkle Chevrier working to bring
parenting, empathy and nurturing skills education to all
school age children and teens.
http://www.parentingproject.org/
Project HappyChild
Penny Rollo Midas' extraordinary extravaganza of resources
for children and parents. Started in 1998, it's now more
than 7,000 pages and still growing!
http://www.happychild.org.uk/
Project Renaissance
Creative thinking pioneer Win Wenger's core mission is to
enable as many human beings as possible to become more than
a match for the situations, opportunities and problems or
difficulties that they find around them, and to enjoy a
richer quality of life and experience.
http://www.winwenger.com/
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I hope you've enjoyed this issue of Parental Intelligence!
Issue 54 will be published on 10 August 2003
PLEASE RECOMMEND PARENTAL INTELLIGENCE TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS
WHO HAVE CHILDREN - THEY'LL THANK YOU FOR IT!
Do you have any comments or suggestions? Would you
like to contribute an article?
mailto:quauss-@hotmail.com
Please include the words "Parental Intelligence" in the
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Copyright (c) 2003, Bob Collier except where indicated
otherwise.
Published by:
Bob Collier
3 Goldie Place
Kambah
CANBERRA
ACT 2902
Australia
mailto:quauss-@hotmail.com
Have a happy and successful day!
------------------------------------------------------------
"Who is this bloke?" Find out more about the publisher of
Parental Intelligence by sending a blank email to:
bobco-@getresponse.com
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