Click the title to go to a post, that includes an article re: donations tie non-profits to drug companies.
UGH.
Now, NAMI does alot of good work, and they are also far from the only non-profit mentioned in the article.
Still, after I received a Bridges manual, and read through it . . . . I decided that I wanted no part of their agenda of what THEY wanted me to think and feel, and how they wanted me to think and feel, and stuff, about mental illness, and my own struggle with it. I just saw a bit too much of an agenda of what THEY thought people should think & feel, although I suppose, what patient education program doesn't have its own point of view that it tries to get across?
There's a distinction here, although it may be subtle. I'm not going to "review" NAMI's Bridges program point by point, or even more generally; I've already stated what my main problem is with the program.
There's more to why I have a problem with some things in the manual than what I've stated, but I'm not sure I'm ready to go into that yet. As well, some of it may be perceptual issues I need to work on in therapy, but for my own benefit, NOT so I can "come around" to seeing their way of doing things; their point of view. It may very well be that, as I process some of the distorted perceptions I have, that I may still end up in a position at odds with NAMI's Bridges course; a large part of me certainly hopes so, lol!
I guess I'd better talk about in therapy sometime why I'm feeling so hostile all of a sudden, and where the hell is this all coming from? Ah, hell, I probably know. Has alot to do with those reasons I won't discuss right now, but not much of anything to do with the agenda I see in the Bridges manual. Perhaps how agitated I GET about that agenda that I feel is not for me, has something to do with these unnamed reasons, but I see this agenda irregardless of these unspecified reasons.
Of course, I wouldn't want my opinions expressed within this post to be dismissed, just because I'm mentally ill, but I feel that any proponents of NAMI or Bridges that come across this, may very well do so, on that basis or others.
I don't think my brain and everything that comes out of it is junk, just because I'm mentally ill. Course, the trick is sifting THROUGH all of that for the gold, the deceptive flash-in-the-pan, and plain 'ole dirt.
Back to the original issue, of non-profits taking donations from drug companies, and NAMI in particular participating in this sort of behavior. I find it rather underhanded and deceptive, especially considering how, in many cases, for the mentally ill they advocate for, NAMI's judgement (or lack thereof, in this case) may be being used by that ill person to help them sort out what might be good for them. This is dangerous, for that ill person, with NAMI's judgement apparently being swayed by drug company donors.
Still, the resources that are available through NAMI for those struggling with mental illness issues are valuable, many of them. But this issue of drug companies and NAMI does cause me some concern.
6 comments:
I know some people say that without this kind of 'coporate funding' that organizations wouldn't exist in their current capacity. Also that drugs cost so much because they have to recoup the R&D that went into making the medication. Connections like this make me uneasy too, because there is enough quid pro quo going on in other areas to arouse suspicions here.
ah, spelling, I could use some corporate funding to help proofread my comments...
I will have to study this out more. I would hope a company would weigh the facts and never dismiss someone on the basis of a "label."
Lots of people are very uneasy about the entire funding/health care (of all types)/pharma company links.
I don't have an answer, but wish you well in finding the things that are valuable for you and discarding the rest.
I would like to know more details before I condemn NAMI. I would want to know what drugs, what the conditions were. There are drugs that have changed peoples' lives for the better, but nothing comes free.
I chose not to take cholesterol lowering medication because I don't care enough about whether I live or die to take medication which causes the weakness I suffer when I take it. Others might consider it a good trade-off.
Also, just skimming over the article you reference, I would want to know where they get their information and hear NAMI's response to the charge. Anybody can say anything, but lots of it is crap.
My son was killed by Zyprexa, made by Eli Lilly, in 2002. There was no warning on the label in the U.S., so we did not know there was danger, but Lilly did - they had been required to put a warning on the label in other countries. And the FDA knew about the problem but did nothing.
I found out that NAMI was supported by Lilly and other drug companies. I don't know what per cent of their budget comes from Pharma. But I will have nothing to do with them: Their agenda is too influenced by this industry. I don't care who they help. In my mind, it is just one more method they use to sell drugs and to make themselves look like good guys.
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