[sarahsweets]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-de...danger?via=ios

[SlumberKitty]

figures. I don't think anyone really knows how they work or why they work. I just know that when I am off my antidepressant, I can tell.

[185329]

I would also like to know how they work. I have been experiencing some adverse effects from my meds and would like to know why.

[*Beth*]

Yep. I wrote in a post somewhere here that lately I have felt an instinct to shift away from the medical model of mental illness. In my 40 years of psychiatric treatment I haven't seen any realistic, healthy, productive changes in how MI is treated. Of the 35+ meds I've tried, only a very few have been helpful, in that they have helped me to function more successfully in life. But many medications have not helped me in any positive way - yet they have done damage to my physical health.

As for therapy being as helpful as medication - I don't necessarily agree. First of all, really GOOD therapy is expensive. Right there is an enormous problem for many people. And truly gifted therapists are few. That, and psychotherapy is showing to be, in many ways, mildly successful, even a failure, altogether. Often, therapy causes more problems than it solves. All kinds of work needs to be done as far as (for example) cultural considerations when it comes to therapy.

Treatment for MI always has been, and remains, elusive.

[downandlonely]

I don't know how they work, but anti-depressants do work for me. Therapy has never helped much though. I much prefer peer support groups.

[WastingAsparagus]

Yeah, I find that staying away from articles like these is good for my mental health. I used to "try to get to the bottom of it" and figure everything out myself, but now I just trust my doctor (to some extent). I still do a lot of research, but I don't read articles that say psych meds are "unproven" or something like that. That's just what works for me.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by WastingAsparagus

Yeah, I find that staying away from articles like these is good for my mental health. I used to "try to get to the bottom of it" and figure everything out myself, but now I just trust my doctor (to some extent). I still do a lot of research, but I don't read articles that say psych meds are "unproven" or something like that. That's just what works for me.

I most definitely understand your point, WA. And for the most part I support your decision to avoid articles that question that validity of psychiatric medication. For decades of my life certain psych meds made it so I could function, so I could have a life that was worth living.

Another reality I am finally taking into consideration, though, is that some meds have really done damage to my health. Seroquel (AP) for example. That medication (which never did anything beneficial) caused me to gain a scary amount of weight - which in turn caused my to have high glucose, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. All dangerous health conditions. I blindly trusted my pdoc(s) for 7 years of being on that garbage - until I flatly refused to take it anymore, because my health was in shambles.

There are other meds that have caused huge problems for me. I will never, never again put blind faith in any psych med prescriber.

I agree that trusting your doctor to some extent is wise. Because when all is said and done, it's you who is left holding the bag.

[WastingAsparagus]

Originally Posted by *Beth*

I most definitely understand your point, WA. And for the most part I support your decision to avoid articles that question that validity of psychiatric medication. For decades of my life certain psych meds made it so I could function, so I could have a life that was worth living.

Another reality I am finally taking into consideration, though, is that some meds have really done damage to my health. Seroquel (AP) for example. That medication (which never did anything beneficial) caused me to gain a scary amount of weight - which in turn caused my to have high glucose, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. All dangerous health conditions. I blindly trusted my pdoc(s) for 7 years of being on that garbage - until I flatly refused to take it anymore, because my health was in shambles.

There are other meds that have caused huge problems for me. I will never, never again put blind faith in any psych med prescriber.

I agree that trusting your doctor to some extent is wise. Because when all is said and done, it's you who is left holding the bag.

Yeah, I understand. Psych meds are definitely one of those topics that I have to treat carefully. I hold strong opinions (although I change my mind all the time) about the subject. But I definitely understand you when you say the psych meds caused multiple severe health issues for you. I don't know the particulars of your situation, but I am lucky to have a good prescriber (and the meds happen to help me a lot). Of course, at the very worst, the case is that someone has a bad prescriber and meds seem not to help them much. The second-worst case is that someone has a bad prescriber and meds do help them usually. The third case is that someone has a good prescriber and meds don't help them usually (in that case there's really no problem). And there's the case that I fall into which is that I have a good prescriber and the meds seem to help me generally. I don't know if thinking about it that way helps. But it kind of sorts it into four categories. There's also the potential objection that in the second-worst case, the person wouldn't necessarily know whether they respond well or poorly to meds. Anyway. I just came up with that way of thinking about it this morning. I actually think the two cases I mentioned that are the worst case and the second-worst case are equal in their badness. Ok, now I'm just rambling.

I also realized after posting this that this categorization scheme doesn't take into account any personal opinions about meds. Anyway, I will think about that later.