RE: Life is awesome - argumentum ad populum
November 7, 2011 at 8:19 am
(This post was last modified: November 7, 2011 at 8:22 am by Jackalope.)
(Note - I am not a medical professional. This is written from the perspective of a patient with much experience in dealing with mental disorders.)
Oftentimes medication is used to relieve symptoms while the patient engages in therapy and leans tools to overcome the disorder. If the symptoms are so severe as to interfere with the therapeutic process and the patient can engage in therapy without medication, medication may not be necessary.
It is probably true that many if not most can overcome their disorder without long-term use of medications. Unfortunately, over-prescription is common (at least in the USA), and may people are put on psychotropics long-term who would be better served by effective therapy.
From my own personal experience with anxiety, there is some truth that medication may not be the best way to treat the disorder long term. I don't have any citations handy, but studies have shown that CBT and DBT are more effective than typical anxiolytics (e.g. benzeodiazepines such as Xanax) for treatment of anxiety. However, learning the tools that CBT / DBT provide takes time, and short-term use of anxiolytics seems appropriate to relieve distressing symptoms in the short term. I personally used benzodiazepines as front-line defense against anxiety for three years, but then again, at the time I had bigger fish to fry in the mental health department.
Once a patient learns to apply the tools provided in therapy, medications can oftentimes be withdrawn. There are cases where they can't - e.g. where the disorder is biologic rather than psychological in nature. Most "ordinary" cases of depression, anxiety, etc don't fall into that category. Unfortunately, as I said, over-prescription is common, and therapy is more difficult than taking a pill.
I'm glad you were able to overcome the challenges you faced without depending on medication. It's hard work.
That's a pet peeve of mine (the "Organic" label).
Acetone and benzene are organic compounds. Does this mean that consuming them is good for me? Must investigate further.
Oftentimes medication is used to relieve symptoms while the patient engages in therapy and leans tools to overcome the disorder. If the symptoms are so severe as to interfere with the therapeutic process and the patient can engage in therapy without medication, medication may not be necessary.
It is probably true that many if not most can overcome their disorder without long-term use of medications. Unfortunately, over-prescription is common (at least in the USA), and may people are put on psychotropics long-term who would be better served by effective therapy.
From my own personal experience with anxiety, there is some truth that medication may not be the best way to treat the disorder long term. I don't have any citations handy, but studies have shown that CBT and DBT are more effective than typical anxiolytics (e.g. benzeodiazepines such as Xanax) for treatment of anxiety. However, learning the tools that CBT / DBT provide takes time, and short-term use of anxiolytics seems appropriate to relieve distressing symptoms in the short term. I personally used benzodiazepines as front-line defense against anxiety for three years, but then again, at the time I had bigger fish to fry in the mental health department.
Once a patient learns to apply the tools provided in therapy, medications can oftentimes be withdrawn. There are cases where they can't - e.g. where the disorder is biologic rather than psychological in nature. Most "ordinary" cases of depression, anxiety, etc don't fall into that category. Unfortunately, as I said, over-prescription is common, and therapy is more difficult than taking a pill.
I'm glad you were able to overcome the challenges you faced without depending on medication. It's hard work.
(November 7, 2011 at 7:52 am)JollyForr Wrote: I can relate to mental illness, as I have had severe OCD in the past, mostly Pure O OCD, which isn't commonly known. A lot of the people I have talked to have used medication, but it only temporarily relieves them; it is not permanent, as when they stop taking them the symptoms appear again, and are thus, not relieved of the disorder. The best way to overcome it, from personal experience, and from innumerable cases of evidence, from those who have overcome it and those who are currently overcoming it, is to discover ways in which it will be permanent. I can't go over how I managed to overcome it on here, because, I'm guessing, none of you have experienced it, but it involved not taking medication. For anxiety disorders, the medication will only temporarily relieve it; in some cases it doesn't make any changes at all. For this, it was just a case of using known methods to change the way you thought.
Now this is just one mental illness, and I'm not sure the ways in which to overcome the perils of other disorders, but I know for some, medication is not the best route to take.
Of course other mental illnesses are different and may require urgent need of medication, but I am not familiar with other mental illnesses. But I know for some, medication is only a temporary relief.
(November 7, 2011 at 8:10 am)thesummerqueen Wrote: I'm sorry if this offends anyone here, but the second he/she posted a link that had "Organic" in the title it should have clued people in to be on their guard.
That's a pet peeve of mine (the "Organic" label).
Acetone and benzene are organic compounds. Does this mean that consuming them is good for me? Must investigate further.
