r/radicalmentalhealth

Karlene Petitt’s case is one of the more disturbing whistleblower stories I’ve come across. She was a senior Delta pilot with a doctorate in aviation safety when she raised concerns about critical safety failures. The airline’s response was to have her declared bipolar by a psychiatrist they were paying $74,000. She lost her career for seven years while fighting the case. The court eventually sided with her.

I interviewed her about the full timeline, the mechanics of how she was targeted, and what it cost her personally and professionally. For anyone who follows whistleblower cases this one has some genuinely unusual elements in terms of how the retaliation was structured.

Full conversation: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5pbucztapFM&si=BTLOUMRl4-BMJFkx

#false arrests

South Korean "National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) found that forcibly committing a person to a psychiatric hospital after checking only the documents submitted by two family members who did not meet the qualifications of guardians constituted a human rights violation." https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-society/2026/04/21/6LJNTZEXSNDO3GKOAF7UYIO7NQ/

#monopolies

"largest chunk is with prescription drugs and other pharmaceutical products, where we will likely spend over $750 billion this year on items that would likely cost us less than $150 billion in a free market, a gap of $600 billion...We used to support more than $50 billion in biomedical research through the National Institutes of Health." https://www.truthdig.com/articles/why-we-dont-need-billionaires/

#licensing

california "Deputy District Attorney Stefanie Decillis objected to (jail) Dr. Stewart testifying, questioning his professional credibility in conducting mental health diagnoses on patients and arguing that his testimony conclusions would be inadmissible hearsay...court ultimately limited the scope of mental health evidence that could be presented by the doctor." https://davisvanguard.org/2026/04/doctor-credibility-mental-health-trial/

#Mitochondria

"'MitoCatch' delivers healthy mitochondria to diseased cells...neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, optic nerve atrophy, and heart failure." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-mitocatch-healthy-mitochondria-diseased-cells.html

#hormones

"Prolactin elevations can reflect dopamine blockade or stress physiology," https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/hormones-and-mental-health-bridging-neuroendocrinology-and-psychiatry

#racism

new zealand, "Thousands of NZers subject to compulsory mental health assessments, Māori disproportionately affected." https://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-listener/health/thousands-of-nzers-subject-to-compulsory-mental-health-assessments-maori-disproportionately-affected/premium/YO522S53YRCQ3MJO4QBBPQALYU/

#Music

BAMbam the Voodoo Child - Psychward Sex. "They interfere. Those fucking cockblocks." https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4m5yT0FXcJQ

#guardianships

"700 people in San Francisco are under involuntary conservatorship...“I would say that Crestwood was potentially the most dangerous place I‘ve ever worked,” said Brad Barnes, who was a case manager and recovery coach...state-run psychiatric facility, had two years to restore her to competency. It couldn’t...the Devil makes me act against my will,” she wrote...Stanyan Hospital, just off Golden Gate Park. Its 50 beds make it the city’s largest locked mental health treatment facility. San Francisco spends $35 million a year for the services provided by Crestwood, the private company that runs it, which operates 32 facilities across California...city could threaten to remove its contracts with Crestwood unless staffing and conditions change, she said. In addition to government action, nonprofit watchdog agencies could report issues to the Department of Justice under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act. Outside groups could sue to force Crestwood to change its practices." https://sfstandard.com/2026/04/21/crestwood-healing-center-violence-attack/

california "CARE Court should refocus on mentally ill homeless people, the hardest to help." No, they only need affordable housing. https://calmatters.org/commentary/2026/04/care-court-mental-health-california/

#Religions

"only 10% of psychiatrists ask their patients about their spiritual beliefs...Professor of Music, Sacred Music, and Divinity, who’s interested in the role of music in ritual, particularly in the Black church...documented accounts of impossible things happening, like meditators or saints levitating." https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/new-program-explores-the-intersection-of-spirituality-and-mental-health/

"Pope Leo closed out his first day in Equatorial Guinea by visiting a psychiatric hospital in a culture where mental illness is often stigmatized and met with social exclusion, saying God loves each person as they are and seeks their healing...repeatedly in the Gospels, the pope said, saying Jesus “came to love us just as we are, yet he does not want us to stay that way, but rather to care for us!” https://cruxnow.com/pope-in-africa/2026/04/pope-visits-psychiatric-hospital-in-equatorial-guinea-urges-love-over-stigma

#Homeless

"Some people may be more willing to engage with others,” Story says. “We are totally respectful of that, and we still are going to leave any supplies or snacks that they may need. Our items that we’re giving away are not conditional.” "When she responds to the negative feedback, and she gets loud, and maybe sometimes, she’ll say a cuss word, here or there—now, she’s a problem for the community." https://progressive.org/magazine/on-chicagos-trains-homeless-outreach-workers-meet-people-where-they-are-mcdonald-20260420/

#False Claims Act

"Trump administration will ask states to create new plans to verify medical providers paid by federally funded health care programs as part of a broad effort to combat fraud." https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/21/cms-requires-state-audits-health-care-providers-medicare-medicaid/

#LGBTQ

hungary "infringed on Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), including the rights of transgender and non-heterosexual individuals, “as well as the values of respect for human dignity, equality, and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities” with censorship. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/21/eu-court-rules-hungarys-lgbtq-law-violates-human-rights?traffic_source=rss

#Election interference

"Who Wants to Be an American Diplomat? The State Department has launched a throwback recruitment campaign." I was cruelly censored by closed minded quacks for applying to be a diplomat or Libertarian governor (because being district attorney requires a law degree) in 2022. https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/21/us-state-department-foreign-service-hiring-recruitment-diplomat-trump-rubio-dei/

#TV

The Last Shift (2020). An ex-con (vandalism) on probation tells a fast food minimum wage worker that his boss makes much more in profits from the employee's labor. The only way that malpracticing psychiatrists earn their $200,000/year is by overcharging patients' insurance. Without a psychiatrist, wards wouldn't be able to justify their $1,000/day price and qualify under Medicaid. I've never been offered a fair wage. https://youtu.be/cPis-FiBLS0?si=hZ6ji5B1P8l9yuGZ

Daily Show with Jon Stewart. "Embracing psychedelics." Trump said you can't be depressed if you stay busy. That's why wards are so boring. https://m.youtube.com/shorts/o9f4_na0LBo

Tiny Plastic Men (2012) season 1 episode 1. Canadian uses pill to stop hallucinating imaginary friend, but it doesn't stop other cartoon hallucinations. "an aversion to his ADD medication." https://youtu.be/GOq9S5e9Q2Y?si=Um2wuUOft1a4FJ1w https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcg8SVlVXVZervjlWC3RZQ0KMVy7capoU https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2388250/

#assaults

florida stand your ground self defense law, "A heated argument, a verbal confrontation, or a situation that generates only an objectively unreasonable or non-imminent perception of threat does not justify the use of lethal force." My parents believe saying you're going to sue them is a violent threat. https://www.legalreader.com/floridas-stand-your-ground-law-myth-vs-reality/

"When parents kill: Forensic psychiatrists examine the motives...Each year in the United States there are nearly 500 arrests for filicide...according to an analysis of FBI data by Forensic Science International...fathers who commit filicide are more likely to have a previous history of violence, substance abuse and mental illness...mothers who commit filicide were “notably younger” than their male counterparts. Hatters-Friedman’s research also showed these mothers often struggle with “multiple stressors,” including mental health issues, limited resources, isolation and substance abuse." https://www.wral.com/news/ap/cnn-why-parents-kill-april-2026/

#Lawyers

Lists of American attorneys: www.Avvo.com www.Martindale.com www.SuperLawyers.com

#multiple sclerosis

"the test is whether the drug, called fenebrutinib, can win the regulatory green light. While three late-stage trials of the drug have shown it to be effective, analysts have homed in on some potentially worrying liver safety signals, an issue that previously prompted the Food and Drug Administration to reject an MS therapy developed by Sanofi. In data released Tuesday, researchers also disclosed that there were two drug-related deaths among patients who took fenebrutinib." https://www.statnews.com/2026/04/21/roche-multiple-scleroris-efficacy-safety/

#Children

"Ohio officials would be required to take measures against youth treatment facilities with incidents of violence and other serious violations under a bill proposed in the state legislature — including shutting them down." https://www.themarshallproject.org/2026/04/22/ohio-columbus-residential-youth-treatment

#dictatorships

"A psychiatrist studied the imprisoned surviving Nazi leaders and wrote that such people were not a special problem of Germany — rather, people inclined toward tyranny and enormous crimes could be found in any country, including the US." https://stallman.org/archives/2026-jan-apr.html#21_April_2026_(imprisoned_nazi_leaders_study)

#Podcasts

"executive vice president of criminal justice at Arnold Ventures and author of the recent book The Science of Second Chances...she explains why long prison sentences do far less to deter crime than many assume." https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/d2h6a3ly6ooodw.cloudfront.net/reasontv_audio_8376483.mp3

#Disability Rights

"investigators plan to walk through areas where detainees are held, conduct private interviews with inmates, and review documents including policies, incident reports, and records related to deaths and medical incidents. The City of Tulsa has so far denied The Frontier’s access to those records." https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/disability-rights-watchdog-opens-probe-into-tulsa-city-jail-after-frontier-investigation/

#Sober

"Even if antipsychotic discontinuation is as unwise as the evidence implies, a person who has capacity to make treatment decisions also has the right to make them. Healthcare is not just about preventing suffering; it is also about supporting people to be free to be the authors of their own lives." https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-hutton-664846378_antipsychotic-deprescribing-as-a-problem-activity-7452442747333996546-WsHt

#stigma

"Higher perceived discrimination (β = -0.42, p < 0.001) and greater social withdrawal (β = -0.37, p < 0.001) each significantly predicted lower community integration,...within Türkiye's current mental health system, strengthening individual agency through self-efficacy alone is insufficient to overcome entrenched discrimination and isolation." https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42015585/