New Yorker
You arrive for work and someone informs you that you have until five o’clock to clean out your office. You have been laid off. At first, your family is brave and supportive, and although you’re in shock, you convince yourself that you were ready for something new. Then you start waking up at 3 A.M., apparently in order to stare at the ceiling. You can’t stop picturing the face of the employee who was deputized to give you the bad news. He does not look like George Clooney. You have fantasies of terrible things happening to him, to your boss, to George Clooney. You find—a novel recognition—not only that you have no sex drive but that you don’t care. You react irritably when friends advise you to let go and move on. After a week, you have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning. After two weeks, you have a hard time getting out of the house. You go see a doctor. The doctor hears your story and prescribes an antidepressant. Do you take it?
However you go about making this decision, do not read the psychiatric literature. Everything in it, from the science (do the meds really work?) to the metaphysics (is depression really a disease?), will confuse you. There is little agreement about what causes depression and no consensus about what cures it. Virtually no scientist subscribes to the man-in-the-waiting-room theory, which is that depression is caused by a lack of serotonin, but many people report that they feel better when they take drugs that affect serotonin and other brain chemicals. [...]
You arrive for work and someone informs you that you have until five o’clock to clean out your office. You have been laid off. At first, your family is brave and supportive, and although you’re in shock, you convince yourself that you were ready for something new. Then you start waking up at 3 A.M., apparently in order to stare at the ceiling. You can’t stop picturing the face of the employee who was deputized to give you the bad news. He does not look like George Clooney. You have fantasies of terrible things happening to him, to your boss, to George Clooney. You find—a novel recognition—not only that you have no sex drive but that you don’t care. You react irritably when friends advise you to let go and move on. After a week, you have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning. After two weeks, you have a hard time getting out of the house. You go see a doctor. The doctor hears your story and prescribes an antidepressant. Do you take it?
However you go about making this decision, do not read the psychiatric literature. Everything in it, from the science (do the meds really work?) to the metaphysics (is depression really a disease?), will confuse you. There is little agreement about what causes depression and no consensus about what cures it. Virtually no scientist subscribes to the man-in-the-waiting-room theory, which is that depression is caused by a lack of serotonin, but many people report that they feel better when they take drugs that affect serotonin and other brain chemicals. [...]
Pills are over prescribed because pill therapy is the cheapest way to treat the symptoms- and that is what most people care about. In concert with the insurance companies, big pharma is only too happy to make the treatment of symptoms rather than the treatment of disease the problem. This is true for other non psychiatric medical conditions as well.
ReplyDeleteIn reality, very little psychiatric therapy is being done nowadays. It takes time and patience to empower an individual to find his or her own personal peace. That takes personal awareness, insight and the strength to find happiness from within and not by feeling obligated to please others. To be clear, that is to say the best therapy is therapy that elevates the individual, not therapy that gives the individual the license to cater to their most basic instincts.
This article in many ways is an ode to Thomas Szasz and the Scientology crowd- hardly inspiring.
Psychiatry is in it's nascent stage. As we learn more about the brain we learn more about the mechanics of psychological disorders.
It is also true that we are assigning 'disorders' or syndromes to everyday human experiences because there is money to be made. In mourning? Take a pill. Stressed out by exams? Take a pill. All the things in life that we are supposed to endure and struggle with can be pushed away with a pill. Every day can be a day at the beach.
In many ways, psychiatry is a lot like plastic surgery nowadays. Cash can turn back the clock, improve our 'flaws' to fit the conformity of the day and make us happy, we are told.
We know better but we are willing consumers, ready to spend money on surgery and pills. Why? Because pop culture places very little value on authenticity. We take no pride or comfort in our own uniqueness. We are led around not by our own values but by the values others tell us we must have.
Much, much more to discuss.
Thank you for posting this.
Thank you for posting this.
ReplyDeleteDepression is caused by a lack of serotonin but medical science refuses to address the origin of brain chemical imbalances in the liver despite the fact that there are thousands of research articles on the NIH's database which describe the relationship between liver function and liver enzymes and serotonin and dopamine regulation.
In cases where cod liver oil, exercise and volunteerism do not do enough to help, there are many medical test a doctor can conduct in order to explore the metabolic root of psychiatric issues without applying the overly simplistic approach of poisoning the liver in order to cripple its reuptake of brain chemicals.
This primitive approach not only causes a host of dangerous health problems that would make anyone more depressed, but anti depressants also fail to address the underlying metabolic causes of depression in the first place. And tragically too often this means that the drugs will only exacerbate the issues.
This article and the one in Newsweek can cause real damage.If people stop taking their medications as a result of the articles without consulting with their psychiatrist or physician,there ca be serious consequences
ReplyDeleteAt the same time since the newer medications,SSRI's have few serious side effects they are being prescribed by family physicians who may not have the expertise in deciding when medications are indicated and when other treatments should be used.
This article and the one in Newsweek can cause real damage.If people stop taking their medications as a result of the articles without consulting with their psychiatrist or physician,there ca be serious consequences
ReplyDeleteAt the same time since the newer medications,SSRI's have few serious side effects they are being prescribed by family physicians who may not have the expertise in deciding when medications are indicated and when other treatments should be used.