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RE: Why the instinct to survive?
November 10, 2014 at 8:01 pm
Sure, we all know how we feel better than anyone else knows how we feel.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Why the instinct to survive?
November 10, 2014 at 8:02 pm
Because we'd be extinct without it. Look at how stupid humans are with it . . .
Playing Cluedo with my mum while I was at Uni:
"You did WHAT? With WHO? WHERE???"
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RE: Why the instinct to survive?
November 11, 2014 at 12:26 am
(November 10, 2014 at 7:03 pm)LostDays Wrote: (November 10, 2014 at 10:25 am)Rhythm Wrote: I doubt that blanketing the floor with meds would help much (and clearly so do the psychs). Even if they -did- all agree on the effectiveness of meds it's unlikely that they would also all agree on the relative usefulness of meds in each and every patient's case, and whether or not they are appropriate. What is it that you disagree with about giving patients individualized care? If I said, for example, that maybe they ought to just put anti-depressants in the water where you work, what sorts of issues would you have with that?
That isn't what I said... I work on a unit with a bunch of doctors who continually disagree with one another all the time. We had a patient leave our clinic to seek treatment elsewhere because she did not receive proper treatments... You need to have consistency... especially considering my unit only deals with people who all have the same illnesses. Evidence shows how effective medication and therapy are in combination with each other... Everyone is different but why completely deny someone the option to try medication?! Everyone deserves to discover all their options so they can also have a say in their treatment because no one knows better than the patients themselves. Point blank.
You might try just leaving bowls of med in the day room along with helpful brochures explaining the pros and cons of each one.
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RE: Why the instinct to survive?
November 11, 2014 at 7:49 pm
(November 10, 2014 at 7:33 pm)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote: (November 10, 2014 at 7:18 pm)Rhythm Wrote: You think so? Then why see a doctor? Why not just have Bubba stay home and self medicate? I think that in this particular arena, the doctor knows better than the patient. You could "have a say" with the pilot on your next flight, if you like, I suppose? I find it gigglesome how often we seem to think we know treatment better than a doctor..meanwhile there aren't too many of us willing to push the pilot aside and land a 727.
In this arena - the patient knows *how he feels* better than the doctor. There's no objective lab tests, no diagnostic equipment to peer into the patient's psyche. It's all very subjective. I may be mistaken, but that may have been what LostDays was referring to.
Exactly right!
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RE: Why the instinct to survive?
November 11, 2014 at 8:19 pm
Speaking as someone with first hand experience I have seen how bad and how good medication can be for people with mental illness. I have a friend who was manic depressive, destructively violent and suicidely. He was hospitakized and given medication and holy shit the difference it made. Instead if being a suicidal angry kid he became fun to be around agian and he flourished for a long while. Compare that with me and being on Ritalin for ten years, which has caused me more hell then I can to discuss. I was so fucked up that at one point I thought aliens were coming for me. Been off it for neigh 8 years now and I haven't had a anxiety attack in three years.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
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RE: Why the instinct to survive?
November 11, 2014 at 10:23 pm
Why carry on?
Tradition.
My parents thought enough of life (and sex) to live long enough to have me.
My grandparents thought enough of life (and sex) to live long enough to have them.
My great grandparents thought enough of (etc.,etc.,etc.)
Three and a fraction billion years and none of my direct ancestors were too stupid, ugly or weak to reproduce.
You can say the same with justified pride and intention to keep the flame going through hard times.
We are the tiny fraction of the chemistry in the universe who is able to bitch about our condition. Be proud.
I think the problem with medication in mental health scenarios largely comes from
not understanding the complexity of the system which generates emotion
on top of consciousness on top of biology on top of chemistry. With the
best of intentions, mental health professionals try to hotfix neurochemical
massively parallel processing networks by slugging them with other
chemicals whose actions and interactions they can only sort of forsee.
Like adjusting a Rolex with a sledge hammer, the results can be unpredictable.
But it is the only sledge hammer they have and they are tasked by society
(us) with making that fix, so they do the best they can.
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