Should my girlfriend be on drugs?

[Coolio]

Why do you like to be in control?

 

[molly897]

Why do you like to be in control?

beats me. i'm not a control freak by any means regarding people. but as for what you said regarding maturing.. i agree because with crying/depression i learned to hide it for two yrs, cut wrists & mood swings & everything but i say thats more bad parenting than good at hiding. i stopped seeing coke and MDMA comedowns as comedowns cause that feeling was normal. ANYWAY, i can control how i look and how i act and what i say and how im perceived and i like that and on shrooms i cant

 

[Z Y G G Y]

whats wrong with being shy, the human race is sometimes a horrible thing

edit: that was more directed zyggy

Some people can deal with being shy just fine. But others are shy to the point that its hard for them to take care of themselves. It's ok if your shyness is not interfering with your everyday life but if it becomes a problem then it can really cause you lots of unnecessary suffering. Sure "the human race is sometimes a horrible thing" but we are social animals. We can't function on our own. I guess you can by moving out to the woods or desert, being a recluse and totally taking care of yourself and your every need. That's not a very easy life. But most people live in a society of other people. It makes life easier if we can interact with other people in a positive way. I think we should have a choice whether we want to stay at home and not socialize or go out and socialize. But for people with anxiety disorders its really not a choice. When they try and socialize they suffer so much that its impossible for them to do it. Other people sense that and isolate them even more. That causes a lot of pain for the person affected and makes that persons life very difficult. I think positive socialization is pretty much a requirement for survival. Some people can survive while being totally isolated by having a job that doesn't involve people but that is rare. Most people have to interact with others in order to survive. So I think its important to specify what shy means, whether its just a person being quite and reserved but still being able to function in a society or whether its a person who is so socially anxious that they can't function. If its the later then its needs to be treated. Preferable with therapy and sometimes with meds if the therapy requires it.

So I hope this makes sense. I think the difference here is choice. Someone should be able to choose how they interact. But once that choice is taken away from them and all they can do is hide from people, then that usually becomes a problem. Most people don't like having social anxiety. People are everywhere and we have to interact with them often. If social interactions are painful then that is a life full of pain and who wants to live in pain. We all want to be happy.


Bojangles69 thanks for your advice. I will definitely be looking into that. Sounds very interesting and helpful. What does PUA stand for?

 

[das_feuer]

Drugs and meds can be effective, but I found that they are so often hit and miss. They often don't work or have horrendous side effects. They are not that long lasting, and effects are often there only as long as you are on the medication. So while medication can be effective for some people, I don't think we are that advanced in out knowledge to really be able to treat mental illnesses that well with medication. I think it should either be the last resort after everything else has failed or taken in conjunction with therapy in order to make teh therapy more effective or ease the person into the therapy. I'm not really into meds just being given away for any mental disorder. I think that happens way too often. It is easy. It takes a lot less office time than therapy. Takes a lot less work on the part of the doctor...they just give out the script, take the money and see the person next month.

Medication, in nearly all cases of serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and schizoaffective disorder, is absolutely necessary in order to counteract the faulty way in which the brain processes certain neurotransmitters, to put it as simply as possible. Therapy alone isn't enough. I have bipolar disorder and my medications work perfectly. It is not possible for someone with my condition to remain healthy without being on medications. It is a medical impossibility due to the manner in which symptoms cumulatively get worse every time a person lapses into mania. If bipolar disorder goes untreated long enough, it eventually becomes impossible for that person to "come back" to themselves, although in this day and age such cases of advanced chronic mania are not so common, but I have seen them before in person and it is certainly not pretty and quite uncomfortable to be around.

As for side effects, nearly all side effects from psychiatric medications go away after a few weeks or months. If the side effects from one medication or dose do not go away for some reason and are considered intolerable, a new medication or dose may be tried. In regards to medications being easy, this is certainly not the case at all. Often, many medications and different doses and combinations need to be tried until something that works is found. It took me around a decade to find something truly effective. The newer medications tend to have a rather high success rate overall and symptoms appear to be much more tolerable for clients. In addition to this, most of the newer medications do not cause the long-term side effects that are common in older psychiatric medications, such as tardive dyskinisea

As for schizophrenia, medication is the only effective treatment available. The same goes for schizoaffective disorder.

Of course, a combination of both medication and therapy is necessary for the successful maintenance of most serious mental health issues. Medication alone isn't enough in any case, unless you are speaking of cyclothymia. Most persons with cyclothymia do not even need medications because the symptoms of cycling are so mild. Additionally, some cases of unipolar depression may not require the client to continue taking medications for the rest of his life.

In response to your comment concerning the fact that medications are not long-lasting unless a person continues to take them, that is precisely the point of taking medications; mental illness is a chronic condition which must be properly treated and maintained throughout the course of one's life. Diabetes is a good analogy. People with diabetes must take insulin and have their condition treated for the rest of their lives; it is necessary to do in order for the person to remain healthy. The same goes for mental illness.

Lastly, to address what you said about doctors having to take less time with medication, I believe that you may have a fundamental misunderstanding of what a psychiatrist's role is. Psychiatrists only prescribe medications; this is what they are trained to do. They do not dispense therapy. In addition to having a psychiatrist, it is necessary to obtain a licensed therapist trained in treating mental illness to provide therapy in addition to the medication regimen.

I certainly agree with your recommendation of CBT, but CBT alone is not an effective enough treatment alone for most mental health issues. The best treatment in nearly all cases of mental health issues involves medications in tandem with effective therapy that caters to the individual needs of the client. Please keep in mind that borderline personality disorder is an extremely serious mental health issue; it is a bit naive to assume that therapy alone would do enough. However, there have been many breakthroughs in therapy techniques that seem to be very effective in treating BPD. At this moment I cannot recall the names of the new techniques as my area of expertise is bipolar disorder, but there is much more available now for persons with BPD than CBT.

Of course, the OP and his girlfriend should discuss what they have read in this thread with a qualified mental health professional (not just someone certified who is posting as is my case) to determine what the best course of treatment should be.

 

[Coolio]

As for schizophrenia, medication is the only effective treatment available. The same goes for schizoaffective disorder.

In response to your comment concerning the fact that medications are not long-lasting unless a person continues to take them, that is precisely the point of taking medications; mental illness is a chronic condition which must be properly treated and maintained throughout the course of one's life. Diabetes is a good analogy. People with diabetes must take insulin and have their condition treated for the rest of their lives; it is necessary to do in order for the person to remain healthy. The same goes for mental illness.

This is complete horseshit. Type II diabetes is a degenerative disease, it's a result of lifelong buildup of insulin resistance from a high carbohydrate diet. Most people who are prescribed insulin do not need it at all, and their doctors are helping kill them off faster by prescribing it. They just need a change of diet and increase in exercise and the Type II diabetes goes away after a while. Most doctors would agree with you though; someone on diabetes has to learn to live with daily insulin injections, and someone with mental illness has to learn to live with being a dulled mental zombie.

Mental illness is a psychological issue in most cases. Medication simply serves to make the person docile and passive and easy to control by the authorities and their family/teachers/employers. Unless the person is violent or at risk of otherwise harming people, medication does nothing but make it easier to "fit in" within the sick, toxic environment we call American society. Therapy leading to a reconstruction of the patient's worldview is the only cure for mental illness.

 

[Z Y G G Y]

Medication, in nearly all cases of serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and schizoaffective disorder, is absolutely necessary in order to counteract the faulty way in which the brain processes certain neurotransmitters, to put it as simply as possible. Therapy alone isn't enough. I have bipolar disorder and my medications work perfectly. It is not possible for someone with my condition to remain healthy without being on medications. It is a medical impossibility due to the manner in which symptoms cumulatively get worse every time a person lapses into mania. If bipolar disorder goes untreated long enough, it eventually becomes impossible for that person to "come back" to themselves, although in this day and age such cases of advanced chronic mania are not so common, but I have seen them before in person and it is certainly not pretty and quite uncomfortable to be around.

As for side effects, nearly all side effects from psychiatric medications go away after a few weeks or months. If the side effects from one medication or dose do not go away for some reason and are considered intolerable, a new medication or dose may be tried. In regards to medications being easy, this is certainly not the case at all. Often, many medications and different doses and combinations need to be tried until something that works is found. It took me around a decade to find something truly effective. The newer medications tend to have a rather high success rate overall and symptoms appear to be much more tolerable for clients. In addition to this, most of the newer medications do not cause the long-term side effects that are common in older psychiatric medications, such as tardive dyskinisea

As for schizophrenia, medication is the only effective treatment available. The same goes for schizoaffective disorder.

Of course, a combination of both medication and therapy is necessary for the successful maintenance of most serious mental health issues. Medication alone isn't enough in any case, unless you are speaking of cyclothymia. Most persons with cyclothymia do not even need medications because the symptoms of cycling are so mild. Additionally, some cases of unipolar depression may not require the client to continue taking medications for the rest of his life.

In response to your comment concerning the fact that medications are not long-lasting unless a person continues to take them, that is precisely the point of taking medications; mental illness is a chronic condition which must be properly treated and maintained throughout the course of one's life. Diabetes is a good analogy. People with diabetes must take insulin and have their condition treated for the rest of their lives; it is necessary to do in order for the person to remain healthy. The same goes for mental illness.

Lastly, to address what you said about doctors having to take less time with medication, I believe that you may have a fundamental misunderstanding of what a psychiatrist's role is. Psychiatrists only prescribe medications; this is what they are trained to do. They do not dispense therapy. In addition to having a psychiatrist, it is necessary to obtain a licensed therapist trained in treating mental illness to provide therapy in addition to the medication regimen.

I certainly agree with your recommendation of CBT, but CBT alone is not an effective enough treatment alone for most mental health issues. The best treatment in nearly all cases of mental health issues involves medications in tandem with effective therapy that caters to the individual needs of the client. Please keep in mind that borderline personality disorder is an extremely serious mental health issue; it is a bit naive to assume that therapy alone would do enough. However, there have been many breakthroughs in therapy techniques that seem to be very effective in treating BPD. At this moment I cannot recall the names of the new techniques as my area of expertise is bipolar disorder, but there is much more available now for persons with BPD than CBT.

Of course, the OP and his girlfriend should discuss what they have read in this thread with a qualified mental health professional (not just someone certified who is posting as is my case) to determine what the best course of treatment should be.

As far as medication goes I was only talking about this specific example, OP's gf. I can not talk about medication and every single disorder out there. Yes there are probably examples where medication can be very beneficial even more so than therapy. That's for stuff like schizophrenia, bipolar...but I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about panic disorder, which IMO is often not a life long disease, or it doesn't have to be when treated with therapy. Bipolar and schizophrenia are usually life long diseases. Very different. So if you are going to say that medication is often necessary, at least give examples that pertain to what I was talking about which is social anxiety related stuff.

Because in the case of social anxiety I really can not see how life long medication is better than therapy. What meds do we have for that? benzos, beta blockers, SSRI/SNRI's...those are the options. I think that in the case of social anxiety thearpy fairs a lot better because it helps you deal with the problem, it goes to the root of it, it gives you coping skills. I feel that often people with panic disorders gain the most benefit from things like that because its most often not of organic cause like bipolar or schizophrenia. When I said we are not that advanced in medication I was referring to our meds for social anxiety, not BD or schizophrenia.

Again, if you answer please be specific to social anxiety. I truly feel that therapy is better for most people than medication as a long term solution. SSRI/SNRI's don't always work forever. Yes, medication can help but I think therapy give a much better chance of a good life for someone with the disorder. Benzos long term...I don't think I need to specify how many problems come with that.

All I am trying to do, from years of experience and learning, is to offer this person some advice. Some specific advice on social anxiety. Some guidelines maybe. The best approach to dealing with his gf;s social anxiety. From what I have seen and read, for this specific disorder therapy is the best method of treatment. Medication as I said can be used short term, but the person has to learn to deal with the anxiety. And they learn coping skills in therapy that they can then use for the rest of their life. If all else fails, as I said, medication might have to be given.

I never really said, no meds ever, I said I feel they should be lest case scenario. I am myself medicated because there is no other way to treat what I have regardless of trying for years. CBT helped my mental issues, but my physical issues have to be dealt with through pain meds and I had to accept that. I am not against it. It's just that I believe there are better ways of treating many mental illnesses especially panic disorders.

And yes I had a total misconception on what the job of a psychiatrist was. I thought they can give therapy, they just choose not to. I feel that they concentrate too much on medication and once you enter their office you very rarely would leave with a recommendation for therapy and no meds. I was pretty fortunate that when I went in to see a psychiatrist (who did CBT) he recommended me for CBT that same day. I had an amazing experience, positive and life changing, with therapy so I might be a little biased. I just wouldn't know where to learn about the exact differences b/w psychiatrists and psychologists...even thou I definitely lack knowledge int hat department. I simple state my experience.

And you say that for most mental illnesses therapy is not enough...ok... Most mental illnesses are not serious and most are not life long, as far as I know. Again, maybe you just saw me as someone who is anti medication and want to ramble on about how meds are necessary. I agree that sometimes they are. I just feel that with the less serious mental illness, the focus should be on therapy and meds should be in conjunction to therapy and not for long term. So in a way you might be correct in saying that meds are often very beneficial to mental illness treatment, but so is therapy. I don't think we focus enough on it because it is more costly and time consuming and its easier to just take a pill than to change things about yourself.

 

[n3ophy7e]

Mental illness is a psychological issue in most cases. Medication simply serves to make the person docile and passive and easy to control by the authorities and their family/teachers/employers. Unless the person is violent or at risk of otherwise harming people, medication does nothing but make it easier to "fit in" within the sick, toxic environment we call American society. Therapy leading to a reconstruction of the patient's worldview is the only cure for mental illness.

As far as I am aware, you have no formal training in psychiatry, psychotherapy or pharmacology. Please correct me if I'm wrong. But if that is the case, could you please kindly refrain from acting so aggressively opinionated and superior in threads like this? Your opinion is just that, your opinion, nothing more. It doesn't make it fact. So please don't act like it does.
Thanks.

 

[Z Y G G Y]

I wonder how the OP is dealing with the situation and whether our advice was of any help.