In this thread, bnorton said, regarding the decision to medicate people with manic-depression
Frequently, we hear mental disorders compared to diabetes or pneumonia- a disease which is to be cured. It is a matter of chemicals in the brain being “wrong” which can be “corrected” in a very staightforward and medically sound way, just like any other disease or disorder.
This view doesn’t match my reality. While I think anyone who wants treatment should get it, I don’t think it is a simple issue or that treatment is the logical next step. I’m manic-depressive. On one hand, I hate it. It makes me pretty darn miserable. It can be unbearable. On the other hand, my manic states are indescribably beautiful. It’s the most amazing feeling in the world, and I don’t think I could ever part with it. Even my lows have their beauty. It is all so intense that I can’t help but think it is wonderful in a horrible way.
And the truth that the drugs they give arn’t about “correcting a problem”, they are about making you able to hold down a full time job. That is pretty much the standard for “treated”. In more extreme cases, the main goal is to prevent suicide. I can’t figure out why not commiting suicide is seen as preferable to all situations. Why are we so concerned with keeping people alive, but not with their lives as a whole?
I’ve read a lot of psychiatric liturature, especially about lithium, manic-depression, and creativity. The consesus is that there is a strong link between manic-depression and creativity. I can feel this in myself. There is something about that kind of fire- and about knowing the highs and lows of life so well- that gives unique insight into the human condition and lots of energy. Living so richly and so extremely makes for some amazing art. When artists are treated with lithium, the qualty of their work becomes more conventional and their quanitity goes up. When they are untreated, they produce sporatic amounts of edgey and sometimes genius work. So essentially lithium keeps people from killing themselves (which is seen as more important than their art and oddly more important than their satisfaction with their lives) while it makes them mediocre. Many artists decline treatment because they miss their old ways, as hard as they were.
And I, for one, have not even started treatment. I don’t know if I see what I have as a disease. I see it as more of a tragic mismatch with the world. Whatever it is, it is me. And I don’t want to sacrifice it for normalicy. Happiness is not as important to me as satisfaction, rich experiences and adventure. I resent being told that something so fundamental to me is a “disease”. It’s not. It is something that sucks, and something that can be changed, but not something that should automatically be changed.
What do you guys think? Is there some other way of looking at mental illness that acknowledges it’s effect on people’s lives without shoving it into a medical model that it doesn’t really fit into? Is suicide prevention the most important thing for a treatment to do? Is not seeking treatment a valid option? Is happiness really the most important thing in a person’s life? There are a lot of questions here, and I look forward to hearing your guy’s takes.