This is what I have been seeing all over the internet. People saying how "Psychiatry is fake because scientists do no blood tests or brain scans". What? To be diagnosed with many mental illnesses you have to have LOTS of tests. Also, the brain scans of people with schizophrenia, ocd, bipolar disorder and many MANY more look considerably different to "normal" people's brains. These people do not consider what it's like for the people who suffer every single day. These "skeptics" should wll never understand unless they walk a mile in our shoes.

Sorry about the rant, but it really annoys me. How can anyone not understand the pain and misery millions of people endure each day? It's apparently normal to have these symptoms? Get a mental disorder for a day and then tell me that.

[Perna]

It sounds like you are feeling threatened by their arguments. What part of what they say might be true that worries you? I found this article helpful:

http://www.power2u.org/articles/selfhelp/reclaim.html

[Miss Laura]

Hey WelcomeToTheJungle,

It is very hard for people who do not suffer from a MI to understand our daily struggles. Eevn those closest to us find it very hard to put themselves in our shoes. No one has it easy no matter what illness/disorder you have. That is why it is up to us to educate people. There is not enough information out there in the right places to educate people on MH issues..... ironic as we will all suffer some form of MH issues in our lifetime.

We need to change the way society see us!

Hi
I don't necessarily agree with the drug part, unless it is vital and gets rid of symptoms so people don't suffer. But people are always saying about how these disorders are fake and how we are feeling is normal. How is it normal? We suffer, and they sit on their moral high horses telling us how it's normal to feel this way. How can we just get over depression? How can we stop being paranoid? How can we just stop thinking about the bad thoughts that I have no control over? It isn't normal and I hate it when people try to tell me it's fake.

We really need to stop society. It's pathetic that we are thought of as being "crazy" and "insane", and then when we seek help there are people telling us there's no such thing as mental illness. I'm sorry but that's ridiculous.

[Miss Laura]

Hey there,

I get what you are saying. It has been proven that medication works but it does have the negative side ie side effects. Plus it doesn't work for everyone. I know without the meds I am on I wouldn't be here today. The media has protrayed us well and not so good in the pass. People are a little more accepting now they know Catherine Zeta Jones has BP2. But then Stephen Fry has been diagnosised and been open about his Bipolar and society hasn't changed. It's how we as people see MI.

I know from my perspective that I worked in MH and I was sacked cause of my MH. Now that is crazy fullstop. Now if you were to tell me 6 months before I told them I had BP that they would sack me I would of laughed in your face. I thought I was gonna be fine work wise and show them I was still capable of doing my job. Ye I worked with MH ye I worked with violence and learning disabilities but I was and have always been a Support Worker and ironically they made me a Key Worker. Society doesn't change over night. It also will always have negative people in it who will always throw us a raw bone cause we are seen as "weird" but...... this unfortunately is life. It's s@@@ and I know it is. But until a magic wand is thrown over MH there will always be negative views of MH

[Ygrec23]

Hi, Welcome and other folks,

I don't think you should be taking those kinds of remarks too much to heart, Welcome; the ones denying psychiatry as a legitimate, scientific medical profession and other things along that line.

Many (most?) of the people making those kinds of statements have traditionally been mentally ill themselves in one way or another, and simply don't want to accept the fact. They provide many of the supporters for the various anti-psychiatry schools of thought that have sprung up over the years.

There are different, real ways of practising psychiatry. Some psychiatrists rely entirely on prescribing medications. Some develop much closer, more intense relationships with patients (I'm not talking about T's here, but pdocs). Some psychiatrists are very, very angry at other psychiatrists because of what they do or don't do.

For example, some psychiatrists feel that there's no such thing as classical schizophrenia. As you may well understand, some people who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia would rather believe the psychiatrists who say it doesn't exist than accept the fact that they are indeed mentally ill.

These are all really arguments (a) among psychiatrists, and/or (b) made by people who are really frustrated dealing with their own mental illness.

On the internet, we hear and read ALL the various viewpoints and arguments, almost always without any labelling or explanation of who and what is really involved. Of course, I don't know which websites you've been reading, but the large majority of psychiatrists today sincerely believe in what they're doing and that they're helping their patients deal with real diseases. Don't be dismayed by the fringe people! Take care.

[Umbral_Seraph]

I think part of the problem is how it's less tangible than physical diseases; you can physically see microbes and cancer in microscope and we know that they can be physically removed, we can physically see a broken bone, a cut, a blocked vessel and so on. MI stems from the brain, which we don't have the same understanding of that we do the rest of the body. Hopefully things will change in the future.

[Oxidopamine]

I understand why some people would consider psychiatry as being in its own category away from most medical sciences. Psychiatry doesn't truly adhere to the medical paradigm, which is the view that the location of symptoms indicate their etiology and are often caused by pathogens of some type, which can be analyzed and subsequently treated. This doesn't apply for psychiatry because regardless of the behaviour, it boils down to some part of the brain, which may interact with other bodily areas (i.e. HPA axis for those who are biologically or medically-inclined).

I consider psychiatry to be a reputable field of medical science but not in the same boat as neurology, cardiology, etc... . For those who deny psychiatry as a legit medical field, they're either incredibly deluded on their high horse or they're running away from the fact they have a mental illness they aren't coming to terms with, so the only person they see as responsible for the "faulty" diagnosis is the psychiatrist.

Coming from someone who studies in the neuro, physiological and medical sciences field, there is a huge amount of knowledge of the brain and its mechanisms, however, there's an equally big if not bigger amount of uncertainty because we just don't know how or why something functions in a particular way. For one of my research courses, I gave a mini-lecture presentation of the molecular and cellular physiology of rapamycin. In preparing for it, I did some background research, found excellent schematics but when people asked certain questions at the end of the presentation, I could only answer with, "the scientific community does not know the answer". This relates to medications because drug companies strive to design a medication that is maximally therapeutic with minimal and few side-effects. There are medications that have (almost) no side-effects but they're few and far in between.

[Umbral_Seraph]

Yes, that's what I meant, the uncertaintity. Sorry I wasn't able articulate that better.

[Trippin2.0]

People are mostly ignorant. The fact that psychiatrists' dx is largely opinion based doesn't help the situation at all. In case i'm n0t making my point clearly enough, multiple pdocs,multiple dx's... Pdocs have been caught on camera saying they take 'educated guesses'... If that's the case, we can dx ourselves. Just saying don't be so quick to condemn others, they too have their reas0ns for doubting...

To me, the naysayers are themselves teetering on their own brink of mental health oblivion and are too scared to admit it ...

Those of us who've already fallen into it are ahead of the game ... We know it and we're doing something about it.

I kinda pity the others, they've not fallen over the edge yet ... Can't even see they're on the edge ... But they will eventually fall too, then they will have their own fresh hell to deal with.

Kinda sad, to me, in a way ... Maybe because I've been there, I dunno ... At any rate and for what it's worth ...

[di meliora]

From Antidepressants and the Sound of One Hand Clapping, by Ronald W. Pies, MD:

Now, it is tempting to write these individuals off as fear-mongering cranks, possessed of only the faintest scientific knowledge. A handful certainly fit that description—the ones, for example, who insist that antidepressants are destroying the brains of millions; causing thousands of suicides; and turning scores of once-placid accountants into knife-wielding, psychotic killers. Oh, yes—and causing permanent sexual dysfunction in thousands of patients. (The actual prevalence of this last phenomenon is not known, though, to my knowledge, there are fewer than 30 such cases in the published literature—see references 15 and 16.) These individuals will probably never be persuaded, no matter the evidence, that antidepressants are usually effective and well-tolerated when properly prescribed and monitored.

And yet, dismissing all critics of psychiatric treatment as querulous crackpots would be a serious mistake. Some of those who wrote to me were both knowledgeable about psychiatric medications, and sophisticated in their grasp of medical research. Some spoke from painful personal experience with psychiatric medications—whether antidepressants, antipsychotics, or mood stabilizers. They spoke, for example, of becoming agitated or manic while taking antidepressants, and feeling depressed or “doped up” while taking mood stabilizers. They spoke of painful “withdrawal symptoms” lasting many months, after their antidepressant was stopped. They spoke of lethargy, blunted creativity, or impaired cognition while taking antidepressants or mood stabilizers. Perhaps most disheartening, they spoke of how little they felt understood, “listened to,” or respected by their physicians. http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/prin...printable=true

The denouement:

So what is next? We need to improve access to psychiatric care, so that patients who need antidepressants are seen by those best trained and most knowledgeable in their use. We need to work more closely with our colleagues in primary care, so that they become more proficient in the diagnosis and treatment of depression. We need to investigate carefully even the very rare side effects of antidepressants, so that we do not lose the confidence of the general public. We need to avoid even the appearance of conflicts of interest, related to “Big Pharma.” And perhaps most important, we need to listen attentively and respectfully when our patients tell us they are not happy with their treatment.

I've been down this road before with psychatrists and psychologists. I've thought mental illness was all sorts of things besides an illness. I thought it was the government controling the masses, I thought it was socially marginalizing undesirables with a ficticious illness. Either way, or whatever mental illness really is, I receive help from therapists and drs that I wouldn't otherwise receive. My experience in this world is that if you have emotional problems, they are your problems unless someone offers to help. Other than that, good luck. Many homeless folk will verify this statement, I'm sure. So, I have a major mental illness. I feel too worried sometimes. I get confused sometimes. I become sad for no apparent reason sometimes. It pays well also. Without disability checks from the government, with my skill set, I'd be pumping gas or running a cash register or flipping burgers for minimum wage to pay the rent and buy groceries. I'll take mental illness.

[snowgoose]

It is hard for me to embrass psych.... anything because of all the unknowns. I need more to put my trust and faith into. I hear the explanation of why there are so many unknowns but they tend to reinforce my hesitation not relieve my doubts.

I know I bring a lot alot of baggage to the table when I turn to the psych professionals. For me it is like, 'here we go again, another dx and a batch of scripts and an invitation into their obscure mystery world.... at $100.00 an hours.'

I think it is that feeling of being a lab rat that is disconcerting to me. I'm confused about what is going on with me. The last thing I need or want is the kind of mass confusion the vast pit of 'unknowns' that surround this field becoming a part of my reality. But I conceed to the pressure to see a pdoc, get on the meds and get on with my life. Simple formula I suppose if things actually werer that simple.

I don't know. I haven't had any luck with the psych experts. I need more concrete conclusions about what is going on with me before someone experiments on me. I am not good with ambiguity and I am not at all trusting.

I honestly feel, given all the ambiguity surrounding psychiatry etc that to believe in it takes a great deal of faith in the unknown. A great deal of trust that they know what they are doing or at least are qualified to be looking for answers.

Kind of like religion. You either believe, by faith because the evidence isn't there, or you think it is bunk and look for something 'real' that can be proven real without faith playing such a huge role.

I guess faith plays a role in any medical field. It just seems to require more faith when it comes to psychiatry. It might be 'real' or it might just operate off of the placiba effect. Either way I sit on the fence until more is known to substantiate the claims and treatment provided.

There will always be nay-sayers but if psychiatry works for people than it makes sense to stay the course. But for some people that is not their story.