I’m going to tentatively say that there are lots of people who agree with the OP’s basic premise. The psychiatric fields of study make a lot of claims and have lots of labels but they are still in the beginning stages of what might be called a science. Yet they categorize symptoms and dispense drugs, with reckless abandon sometimes.
That said, there is no deigning that some drugs effect mood (see Joe’s list above), some in a good way and some in a bad way, and there are people studying them. Surely the OP can’t be arguing that one or more of these drugs couldn’t be helpful to those people he/she thinks just have “mood swings” or “sadness”? Maybe their mood swings are greater than yours and so need another name assigned? Would you be happier if your family members called it “extreme mood swings” rather than bipolar? Yes, it would take a person who had seriously studied the subject to figure out what might be helpful in these “mood swing” cases. Fortunately there are people working on that.
As for therapy, why wouldn’t it be helpful to have people to talk to when we have problems? I could talk to my friends or family but what do they know about whatever problems I have - they may even BE the problem? Surely it would be a good idea to have professionals who have studied the various problems folks have in their lives. Then these professionals could help people resolves their problems, perhaps recommending changes in the way we behave? What a great idea!
Sorry guys, I wasn’t planning on arguing with studies. Anyway, I’ve googled “depression chemical imbalance”. Medical Causes of Depression They class chemical imbalances and hormonal imbalances as symptoms and not causes. If you couldn’t tell I was trying to focus on the cause. They even say medication is aimed at the helping the symptoms.
Sorry I got physiological confused with psychological.
I thought we were talking about medications intended for depression. Marijuana is one drug I believe can strongly help cure depression but it is illegal here.
Well, am I really the only one who can form an opinion? Does anyone here make their own beliefs or is it all about studies? I came in here with respect and even apologized on my first sentence. I was positive at least one doper here also thought that depression medications were a waste of time. I’m sure there are but they are probably just shy.
I’m not necessarily sold on brain chemistry as a model for explaining depression, but most of what the OP says is definitely wrong.
Studies have shown that depression drugs do work better than placebos at treating depression. Of course, some of the drugs have side effects like suicidal thoughts, and I think studies have shown they’re pretty much alike in terms of effectiveness, but that doesn’t mean it makes sense to “not believe in therapy.”
The OP doesn’t believe in the illnesses the family members have, so he doesn’t really have an issue with “personal therapy.” He (?) thinks he knows his relatives’ problems better than they do and better than their therapists do. That’s not impossible but it’s unlikely and shows off a superior attitude. You can be confused about your own problems regardless of being depressed, it just isn’t the same thing. Being bipolar is not the same as being moody or confused, being depressed isn’t just being sad and confused.
I’m pretty sure if I were to go receive psycho-therapy, I would be diagnosed with severe depression. I have actual issues, not imbalances. My mother and sister have actual issues, and yet, were given medications to help some imbalances?
Before anyone ever receives an anti-depressant, don’t they start out with a good talk? Or do they just walk in, give an excuse, grab and go? Also, how do you get checked for chemical imbalances and hereditary depressions?
Finally, someone who can move past the medications subject. I believe therapy has a much better chance at finding the cause of a problem. I just don’t believe they approach in the correct way. You used the idea of family and friends as a source of the problem. I feel that actual close friends and family who sees your natural behavior have a much better idea of what is wrong with you.
When you go to see a shrink, you walk in there to talk about your problems. You view him or her as a know what to do type person. You are there for help because you are confused. How accurate can one stranger be by going off from what another stranger who is confused is telling them?
If you’ve got a good therapist, yes. Not everybody who is in therapy is on medication and drugs aren’t supposed to be a substitute for dealing with other issues.
Do you have experience with therapists other than knowing you have two relatives seeing them?
There’s room for each. People with issues like depression often have family members with the same problem or other problems and I would not trust those family members to make these kinds of decisions. And if you feel worthless you might choose “friends” who treat you badly. Same problem.
You may be right and the therapists may be wrong, but you’re probably giving yourself too much credit for being objective.
Are you assuming therapists take everything their patients say at face value? I doubt that.
I don’t necessarily disbelieve in therapy, I think therapy can be quite useful. That being said, I don’t have much faith in individuals within the psychiatric establishment due to personal experience and a lot of the experiences among my friends and family. In short, it’s hard to find a good therapist and those who have mental problems and are seeking help are very vulnerable to an incredibly subjective process that is colored by the therapist’s own mental issues.
I must have misinterpreted opinion and debate. Webster came up with two definitions of humble. 1. not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive
2. reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of deference or submission <a humble apology>
My original post was humble and only an opinion. Everyone else turned it into a debate. I’m not arguing though, I wanted it to be in the debates section but felt it wasn’t worthy because I could only debate using my opinion.
Of course your friends and family are more familiar with the nature of your behavior but that doesn’t mean they know anything about what to do about it. That is the point of bringin in an outside person, someone who has seen similar behavior before, even studied it, and who knows something about some approaches that might help. Sure, it may take a while for that outsider to learn enough about you to help. I would take it as a good sign if someone I hired to help me took the time to study the situation jumping to conclusions
You mention anti-depressants given out in a “grab and go” manner. Yep, seen it. Some doctors suck at their jobs and just hand out drugs like candy. That doesn’t say anything about the drugs themselves and it doesn’t mean there is no help available.
If you feel that you may have a problem then you owe it to yourself to look into finding a solution. The first person you come to may not be helpful. Mental health is tricky, as you suggest, because you can’t SEE the problem and part of the problem may even be denial that the problem even exists!
I know that is their occupation and will prolong sessions to make more money. That alone tells me I’m going in the wrong direction.
That is very true, which leads me to my next point. So if you have to pay for therapy, family members aren’t of any help because you may have learned their conditions of depression, your depressed so I doubt you will find and make “happy” friends. I’m sorry I don’t go off studies but most of the people you hear about, outside of studies, hardly ever come out of depression. I believe depression is a task that must be dealt with by your self. It’s not to say friends, family and shrinks can’t help. I also feel certain drugs that actually open ones closed mind (marijuana) can be of great help.
True. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t feel that past patients would assist a therapist, I think we are all unique with our issues. It goes deeper than the generalizations(DSM) given to a patient.
I think psychiatrists probably suffer from a need to diagnose whatever they’re seeing. Doctors in general have a really hard time saying “we really don’t know what the fuck is going on here, so all we can do is try different stuff to see if it works, because this stuff has been shown to work more often than doing nothing at all”. This is because professionals of that caliber can’t accept their own ignorance. To put it in perspective, have you ever known a mechanic to say “I don’t know what’s wrong with your car, and I can’t fix it”? But doctors and psychiatrists almost certainly don’t know what’s wrong, and can’t fix it, quite often. That’s why stuff like fibromyalgia and bipolar disorder get diagnosed so often, even though there’s no actual test you can run to get conclusive results for them. What diagnoses like that really mean is “I don’t really know, but we’re working on it.”
Do you have this same kind of opposition to gym memberships?
Congratulations! You’ve made up a premise, assumed some things and then used them to prove a conclusion.
I don’t think that’s what you were trying to do, though.
You said “I feel every depression med gives the placebo effect” and admitted you don’t know much about that subject, so I’d say posters are educating you here.
Says who?
To some degree, it is. But I’m not sure who you’re disagreeing with.
Your previous assertion was that antidepressants only bring a placebo effect, as though a real therapeutic effect on mental functioning were simply not possible via drugs. I disagreed, and provided several examples to the contrary. Even moreso, others have pointed to clinical studies in which the therapeutic effects of antidepressants were abundantly demonstrated.
An opinion ought to be based on/mesh with observable facts. The published results of carefully controlled medical research fits the bill here. If you want to “make your own beliefs,” there are any number of religions out there you can choose from - or start your own.
The problem here is your assertion that antidepressants are a waste of time for everyone diagnosed with depression. While I admit it’s possible that depression is being overdiagnosed these days, most patients report that life is made more bearable by taking these drugs. The most effective treatment is said to be a combination of antidepressants and therapy/counseling, but unfortunately most people’s health insurance is quite stingy on therapy coverage, and it’s pretty pricy to cover out of pocket. Antidepressants alone are not ideal, but the are by all accounts better than nothing.
I agree with what Mosier says, but there’s one additional point: patients come to doctors expecting treatment, often, that means a prescription. If the doctor won’t prescribe something, they’ll insist on it, or see another doctor who will. This doesn’t only apply to psychiatry.
Well anyway… I’m very depressed if anyone couldn’t notice. The reason being, I don’t know for sure… I can come up with a million different “core” reasons. I tried to get a little understanding through this post but it didn’t go as planned. I wanted to post a “depressed” thread but I know this is not the forum for that. Depression forums are basically people venting. It has been 4 years for me and I’m only 19. I’m am getting a little desperate for help. Its not suicidal but I just can’t break out of this horrible cycle. Is there anyway to ask for help indirectly? Living with my whole family, I know they see my issues. Why won’t they offer help even mention it?
I never said anything about pills before therapy, and I don’t know if it’s legal. I said if a patient sees a psychiatrist and wants a prescription, and after whatever the usual process is, the psychiatrist doesn’t think it’s necessary, the patient might take his or her business elsewhere.
