Sabrina Bertsch

As a medical professional, I am both drawn in and completely aghast at the families in this series. Even more alarming is that all the participants refuse mental health help. . .which only stigmatizes mental health even more-so as they have cried out after the broadcast that they were deemed mentally unhealthy, or painted in that light, as if their condition is real but mental illness is not. Mental illness is real and has physical manifestations - when we stop blacklisting mental illness as fictional or weak, then we can begin to heal people who are truly suffering. The participants in this series, not the producers, have hurt the mental health community by furthering the stigma that has been tied to mental illness since the beginning of time. It is painfully obvious, especially in Bekah's well documented mental illness past, that they are indeed sick, but spending life savings on pseudo-scientific treatments that last indefinitely, well, it begs the diagnosis of dependent personality disorder to begin with. It is a shame that medical professionals have failed to direct these people to the proper help, which would begin with psycho-therapy at a bare minimum. I shudder to think the physical implications those dozens of combinations of herbal supplements , questionable treatments (ozone and hyperbaric chambers are not without serious dangers), anxiety and fear have done to these poor people. Shame on the MD's who have exploited their knowledge to give people such false hope in potentially harmful treatments, without even a modicum of shame in draining their life savings. They are the bottom feeders of the medical community, and akin to healing evangelical preachers and snake oil. I'm not sure I can stomach finishing the series because I just want to first shake all the subjects and then take them by the hand and lead them to true healing. There are deep, deep wounds in every one of these people.