herbavore
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2011
- Messages
- 14,942
^I can assure you that none of us are paid bloggers or in any other way benefit from this work. We all do it because we believe in the purpose of the site as a whole and as far as the Mental Health sub-forum goes, we believe in open expression for those living with mental illness--ideally that should include very diverse perspectives borne of personal experience. I think if we could all take a step back while simultaneously taking a big deep breath and recognize that this thread is here for discussion and we are all freely discussing, we can keep it going with a minimum of bruised feelings. When you find yourself getting angry at someone's perspective that does not jive with your own (I'm addressing all of us here, including moderators) recognize that the purpose of this thread is not to establish right or wrong but to gather the collective opinions of people whose experiences give them every right to claim them.
We are dealing with a branch of medical science that is evolving. It has both nefarious (big pharma, some psychiatrists,law enforcement, schools) as well as altruistic players (some psychiatrists, neuroscientists, some schools), and as anyone knows that has interacted with this world--it can be utter chaos finding the help you need. I think this sub forum functions best when people continually anchor their advice to phrases like, "in my experience" or "when I tried this", etc.--whether it is about standard psychiatric treatment, alternative treatments, supplements, forms of non-medical therapy or any other aspect of trying to reach optimal mental health. We are not here to advocate for anything specifically. We would be irresponsible if we were. It is my hope that every person using this site feels free to express their opinions and experiences surrounding treatment. I also hope that no one will take the advice of peers on the internet as medical advice. Recently a member very thoughtfully questioned whether the sub-forum was doing more harm than good as she/he felt that people were being advised to go against their doctor's advice (particularly in stopping a medication). My response was that we cannot ultimately control what a person does with information gotten off Bluelight, we can only do our best as moderators to insure that any"advice" concerning medication is accompanied by the caveat of "discuss this with a trusted medical professional."
Hilary, I share your distrust of the "experts". I too had a son that was harmed, not helped, by the standard psychiatric practices of our time. Through him, I became involved with NAMI, with al-anon and with this site. I have learned much from my association with all three even when they contradict one another. My son died of his despair and his dis-ease. This experience has radicalized me in many ways, not the least of which is my need to speak out against the legal drugging of many of our youth who not only do not need it but are often severely harmed by it. However, my close association with the mental health client community where I live as well as through friends on this site who need medication for survival and quality of life will always temper any tendencies I may have for myopia. One site that I visit quite a bit is The Icarus Project. It is a peer forum by people struggling with mental health issues with a definite anti-medication bias (though many members are also on medication). Another resource you may find helpful is The Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health.
Bottom line is that as a moderator I hear criticisms from both sides ("this forum is dangerous and advocates untested therapies and has an anti-medication bias" and "this forum has a medication/status quo bias"). I think there is room enough for us all to speak our minds freely. The guidelines were the best we could come up with to prevent medical advice being dispensed by non-medically trained people. We could start a thread for guidelines discussion if anyone feels it would be helpful. I hear your discouragement but I hope that rather than feeling beaten down by the cacophony of diverse voices, you may know that yours is as important as anyone's.
We are dealing with a branch of medical science that is evolving. It has both nefarious (big pharma, some psychiatrists,law enforcement, schools) as well as altruistic players (some psychiatrists, neuroscientists, some schools), and as anyone knows that has interacted with this world--it can be utter chaos finding the help you need. I think this sub forum functions best when people continually anchor their advice to phrases like, "in my experience" or "when I tried this", etc.--whether it is about standard psychiatric treatment, alternative treatments, supplements, forms of non-medical therapy or any other aspect of trying to reach optimal mental health. We are not here to advocate for anything specifically. We would be irresponsible if we were. It is my hope that every person using this site feels free to express their opinions and experiences surrounding treatment. I also hope that no one will take the advice of peers on the internet as medical advice. Recently a member very thoughtfully questioned whether the sub-forum was doing more harm than good as she/he felt that people were being advised to go against their doctor's advice (particularly in stopping a medication). My response was that we cannot ultimately control what a person does with information gotten off Bluelight, we can only do our best as moderators to insure that any"advice" concerning medication is accompanied by the caveat of "discuss this with a trusted medical professional."
Hilary, I share your distrust of the "experts". I too had a son that was harmed, not helped, by the standard psychiatric practices of our time. Through him, I became involved with NAMI, with al-anon and with this site. I have learned much from my association with all three even when they contradict one another. My son died of his despair and his dis-ease. This experience has radicalized me in many ways, not the least of which is my need to speak out against the legal drugging of many of our youth who not only do not need it but are often severely harmed by it. However, my close association with the mental health client community where I live as well as through friends on this site who need medication for survival and quality of life will always temper any tendencies I may have for myopia. One site that I visit quite a bit is The Icarus Project. It is a peer forum by people struggling with mental health issues with a definite anti-medication bias (though many members are also on medication). Another resource you may find helpful is The Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health.
Bottom line is that as a moderator I hear criticisms from both sides ("this forum is dangerous and advocates untested therapies and has an anti-medication bias" and "this forum has a medication/status quo bias"). I think there is room enough for us all to speak our minds freely. The guidelines were the best we could come up with to prevent medical advice being dispensed by non-medically trained people. We could start a thread for guidelines discussion if anyone feels it would be helpful. I hear your discouragement but I hope that rather than feeling beaten down by the cacophony of diverse voices, you may know that yours is as important as anyone's.