6 replies to this topic

[TheBatman]

Many people in the world are depressed and looking for help. Naturally the doctor is the first place they think to go to and as a result he's gonna put them on an antidepressant. You have anxiety? Here's an antidepressant. You can't cope with a painful life event? antidepressant. Why in the hell is are SSRI's the doctor's answer for everything?

In my experience doctors have only made my mental health worse. I have "ADD" and the doctor has told me its from a lack of dopamine. I first sought out help when i was 16 years old. So the first thing he ever did was put me on an antidepressant (which makes absolutely no sense at all) and it made me too depressed to want to live. I had always considered myself fairly stable mentally, but that antidepressant proved otherwise. After telling me two months wasn't enough time to get the full "benefit", i decided he was full of shit and i weaned myself off. My base-line mental health came back of course, but I could have done something harmful to myself if i was on it much longer. So the next thing he does is puts me on adderall. He was a bit reluctant, but he decided it was best for me. When kids can't focus, they are immediately prescribed a stimulant. They rarely check to see if you are getting a good nights rest, if your nutrition is adequate, if you exercise, hell they don't even give you a neurotransmitter assessment. They also don't explain to you the side affects of adderall. They tell you you wont have any side effects as long as you take the prescribed dose. Well I took the prescribed dose and ended up quitting because I lost 20 pounds even with a healthy diet. At least this has been my experience anyways.

I have a friend who struggles with bipolar disorder and they also prescribe him stimulants. Its my understanding that in the manic state of bipolar disorder, dopamine levels are already at a high and a stimulant is just going to raise them up higher. Perhaps the doctor though it would help him in his depressed state afterwards, but he has been directed to take it everyday. This kid struggles with social skills and he has a hard time fitting in with anyone. The doctor doesn't seem to know what he's doing at all. He could tell me it's raining outside and I wouldn't believe it.


Are doctors to be trusted? Or have I just come in contact with the shittiest doctors ever?

[socialpiranha]

My short answer is no ha, even the researchers at the forefront of their respective field don't really know what causes mental illnesses, its too complex as of yet. The science isn't to a point yet where they can actually say with certainty "this is whats actually going on". Doctors use general findings like difference in dopamine levels as blanket statements without really knowing what they are saying. The dopamine thing is a great example, the idea that low dopamine in the brain causes depression and high dopamine causes mania and psychosis, as if the skull was just a container of chemical soup is a massive oversimplification. The truth is no one really knows, any findings at this point are not in the context of the interdependant system so its always just a piece of the puzzle. We haven't even identified all of the molecules in the brain yet let alone their functional realtionship in a systemic context.

[YOLF]

There is some good conversation in this topic that would help:
http://www.longecity...o-hard-to-beat/

Oh, and FYI just in case, you're not batman

Edited by cryonicsculture, 19 June 2013 - 04:44 AM.

[TheBatman]

I'm not? damn it. I'm not depressed about it though! haha

[socialpiranha]

oh don't listen to him you are batman and don't you forget it

[YOLF]

Piranha's really Scarecrow!

[penisbreath]

probably varies according to the issue .. there's stuff they can glean from a textbook and might have personal familiarity with certain depressive/anxious states, but i've found that the worse and more dysfunctional my particular issue renders me (OCD), the less they can really grasp it. i can't imagine how alien it must seem to a sound mind.