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Well that's nice for you. However, there are some people who live in intractable pain.
Of them, a subset only really respond to opioid receptor agonists. Its their only relief from pain and many consider the side effects as certainly worth the removal of the pain.
I am on Vicodin now for pain that is not responding to much else. I hate the fact that I am on it, (I hate the constipation, drowsiness, hangover) but it works so I am grateful I have a doctor who understands, and write me prescriptions for it. I do have a new procedure coming up that I hope will end my pain and get me off the pills.
I have peripheral and pudenal neuropathy and it sucks. I have been on two different types of older antidepressants which help keep it in check. and Vicodin for the pain that gets through. I have done acupuncture, chiropractic care, medicinal marijuana and marijuana topical cream, meditation, and I am at my wits end.
Psychiatrists prescribe pills because their training and practice is all about biological treatment of disorders: the medical model. Very few of them do talk therapy - and some of them don't believe in it because they believe there will be chemical/biological treatments for all disorders one day. As a talk therapist, I believe they're profoundly wrong -- but their belief system is not due to their thinking it's genetic, or that it's easier to just prescribe pills. Mental health professionals are taught a biopsychosocial model for disorders today -- which means there are biological, psychological, and social aspects to disorders. Many would add spiritual to that.
However -- disorders like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia are not just the result of bad diet or something in the environment; there are many other factors involved, including environmental. But it's simplistic to say it's "just environmental".
Prescribing pills is not a biological treatment. It is not a treatment at all. It is using drugs to dull symptoms.
The idea of dulling symptoms with drugs has become very widespread in our medical system. It is very common for doctors to not even think about trying to find a cause. Their first idea is drug.
Sorry you haven't noticed this, but it is extremely obvious.
Talk therapy might help in some cases, but I doubt it is a general answer to psychiatric disorders. Schizophrenia is probably not environmental, and is probably not social either. It occurs at about the same rate in all cultures.
Some people, including me, think schizophrenia results from excessive spiritual openness, which was valued in primitive and ancient societies. Schizophrenics can learn to use their "gifts" to access the spirit world.
Now, of course, medical science has decided all ancient wisdom is superstition, and they know better.
Anyway, mental illness has many possible causes, and our modern psychiatry is pretty much useless for any of it.
Psychiatric drugs do help some people, but probably cause more harm long-term.
I've very glad I don't live in the US when I was first there in 2000 I saw these constant ads telling me I was depressed and needed pills.Drug ads are banned in Australia so it was very strange.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jo48
My daughter was diagnosed bio-polar at 21 when she checked herself in the hospital because she wanted to commit suicide. On all different anti-depressants for 3 years. Then her doctor prescribed Prozac. Kept getting more and more depressed on them. One night she went down into the kitchen and was about to cut her wrists, when her BRAIN took over. "I am taking "happy pills" but still want to kill myself"? She dumped all her pills, and never looked back, or went to any doctors for anti-depressants since. Seventeen years have passed. So where is her bio-polar now????? She tells me her new treatment is learning how to cry in her pillow, cleaning her entire house, or going out jogging. Plus, a lot of LOVE from her wife.
Remember that German Airline Pilot, also on Prozac, who slammed his plane into the Alps, not only committing suicide himself but killing 100 innocent people as well? Yet, they now are prescribing anti-depressants for menopausal women with hot flashes? Buy a fan and use ice packs. LISTEN to those adverse reactions that they must talk about on TV. "Thoughts of Suicide". Kinda counter productive, don't ya think?
It it all part of the American psyche that is must a pill for everyone, and everything that bothers you.
Last edited by Katiethegreat; 09-07-2017 at 08:07 PM..
I dreamt several times that I was an amagquira(shaman/healer) in the tribe I'm partly from,years later I started having visions etc which is normal in the tribe I'm from,signs of being a healer, but in the west I was immediately put on meds that absolutely destroyed me.I won't even list all the side effects I've had.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Good4Nothin
Prescribing pills is not a biological treatment. It is not a treatment at all. It is using drugs to dull symptoms.
The idea of dulling symptoms with drugs has become very widespread in our medical system. It is very common for doctors to not even think about trying to find a cause. Their first idea is drug.
Sorry you haven't noticed this, but it is extremely obvious.
Talk therapy might help in some cases, but I doubt it is a general answer to psychiatric disorders. Schizophrenia is probably not environmental, and is probably not social either. It occurs at about the same rate in all cultures.
Some people, including me, think schizophrenia results from excessive spiritual openness, which was valued in primitive and ancient societies. Schizophrenics can learn to use their "gifts" to access the spirit world.
Now, of course, medical science has decided all ancient wisdom is superstition, and they know better.
Anyway, mental illness has many possible causes, and our modern psychiatry is pretty much useless for any of it.
Psychiatric drugs do help some people, but probably cause more harm long-term.
Last edited by Katiethegreat; 09-07-2017 at 08:06 PM..
Cause harm is an understatement I tried to come off them and ended up with brain damage that has wrecked my life.Coming off them is a nightmare for most people such is the dependency they cause.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Good4Nothin
Psychiatric drugs do help some people, but probably cause more harm long-term.
I dreamt several times that I was an amagquira(shaman/healer) in the tribe I'm partly from,years later I started having visions etc which is normal in the tribe I'm from,signs of being a healer, but in the west I was immediately put on meds that absolutely destroyed me.I won't even list all the side effects I've had.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiethegreat
Cause harm is an understatement I tried to come off them and ended up with brain damage that has wrecked my life.Coming off them is a nightmare for most people such is the dependency they cause.
You had a few dreams that you say are normal for your culture yet you immediately starting taking meds for it?
And these meds caused you brain damage and you got dependent on them?
If this is true, you have a confidence problem - don't blame a therapist if you go running to them distraught at your symptoms seeking help! If that's a normal part of your culture then what was the problem? Just doesn't add up - these medications don't cause brain damage if taken correctly and neither do they cause dependency - were you self-medicating?
These meds have helped a lot of people who needed help.
They do cause dependancy people have severe withdrawl trying to come off them,look online anywhere for anti depressant withdrawl.The brain gets use to the artificial source of serotonin.
I was never on anti depressants but another psyche med for my visions I was forcibly put on them,I would never have taken them of my own choice.I tapered off it slowly after only having it a little while and still ended up with brain damage because again the brain becomes dependant.
I have been depressed on and off since childhood, and Prozac has helped me to feel normal again with almost no side effects. I only wish that I hadn't waited so long to try it. Like many people, I was skeptical of antidepressants, frightened by some of the scare stories in the media and didn't want to go around feeling numb or drugged. But it hasn't been like that at all.
The only thing that happened was that my life changed for the better, the black cloud hanging over my head finally lifted, and I finally like myself again. I'm sorry that others have had bad experiences. I suspect that ADs are overprescribed by GPs who are not really qualified to dispense them to patients who don't really need them, but I also believe that for those who do need them, they can be life-changing.
A previous poster mentioned that many depressed adults have histories of abuse or neglect or that they have a genetic predisposition. That was true of me (except that the abuse was psychological and not sexual). Early childhood trauma can actually change the brain chemistry permanently. Prozac reverses this and restores normal brain function.
I would urge anyone who thinks they might be a candidate for antidepressants not to listen to the naysayers and at least give them a fair trial. It's important, though, to get them from a medical professional, ideally a psychiatrist, who has experience prescribing psychiatric drugs. It is also important to realize that not every AD works the same for everyone, so you might have to try several before you find the one that works best for you. And the effects can take as long as six weeks to kick in.
my doctor was really pushing me to do A/Ds just because I cry whenever I go to her office.
The thing is, I've had a lot of medical problems and some TERRIBLE medical care (though not by her), and I am angry and frustrated, and that makes me cry when I bring it up.
But I finally tried Effexor at her urging. While I loved its appetite suppression, it caused other problems, AND didn't really make any difference in my mood, so I stopped it.
Prescribing pills is not a biological treatment. It is not a treatment at all. It is using drugs to dull symptoms.
The idea of dulling symptoms with drugs has become very widespread in our medical system. It is very common for doctors to not even think about trying to find a cause. Their first idea is drug.
Sorry you haven't noticed this, but it is extremely obvious.
Talk therapy might help in some cases, but I doubt it is a general answer to psychiatric disorders. Schizophrenia is probably not environmental, and is probably not social either. It occurs at about the same rate in all cultures.
Some people, including me, think schizophrenia results from excessive spiritual openness, which was valued in primitive and ancient societies. Schizophrenics can learn to use their "gifts" to access the spirit world.
Now, of course, medical science has decided all ancient wisdom is superstition, and they know better.
Anyway, mental illness has many possible causes, and our modern psychiatry is pretty much useless for any of it.
Psychiatric drugs do help some people, but probably cause more harm long-term.
Do you actually read and attempt to understand what others have written in this thread? Or do you scan posts for phrases you don't like and react to them?
I caution anyone who's struggling to weigh what you read in this thread with extreme caution. The above is simply wrong as is a lot of the advice in this thread. Avoid dubious sources of information, including much of the New Age and anti-science tainted claims being made here.
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