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Scientology

Sometimes, you wake up and just want to bitch about Scientology.

And then you remember reading a Dear Prudie letter from Slate a few years ago, back when Tom Cruise took it upon himself to lecture the media on psychiatry, and you realize that you can't state it better than the anonymous M.D. did at that time. So all you can do is pass it on, which is what you do:

"After hearing Tom Cruise's ignorant and uninformed rant about psychiatry being a 'pseudoscience,' I had to write. Unfortunately, too many people listen to the opinions of celebrities and take them as gospel. Tom Cruise's irresponsible preaching could harm many people and increase the stigma our society already attaches to those with mental-health issues. I respect your support of the mental-health fields, so I hope this message can get to those folks who need help but are afraid to get it because of people like Mr. Cruise, who have easy access to the media.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist currently providing care for our nation's military. I could only stare in disbelief at Mr. Cruise's announcement that psychiatric disorders 'can be treated with exercise and vitamins.' Part of a soldier's job is to exercise and be healthy, including taking vitamins as appropriate, and let me tell you, those things have never 'cured' a psychiatric disorder yet. Tell a soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder that exercise and vitamins will 'cure' him, and he'll walk out of your office and continue suffering. Tell a suicidal young mother that exercise and vitamins will 'cure' her, and you will leave her feeling just as hopeless as when she walked in. I don't know what 'research' Mr. Cruise is reading that tells him there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance, but I suspect it is more of L. Ron Hubbard's.

Talk to any reputable neurologist; it is not Mr. Cruise who can read the results of PET scans or functional MRIs. For those of you out there who are suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD, or any other mental-health disorder, please don't listen to the preaching of celebrities who claim to be experts in mental health. Seek help from a licensed mental health provider. Contact your HMO, NAMI (the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill), or talk to your family doctor for a referral. There are affordable mental-health options in every community."

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