Antipsychotic drugs may do more harm than good. The tide is turning towards gentler methods, from talking therapies to brain training
“I WAS trembling all the time. I couldn’t shave. I couldn’t wash. I was filthy,” says Peter Bullimore. “I had become the archetypal schizophrenic. People would write on my windows: ‘Schizo out’ and I had one member of the public slash my face.”
Today, that period of Bullimore’s life is long behind him. He runs a mental health training consultancy in Sheffield, UK, and travels the world giving lectures on the subject.
When I was on higher doses of Antipsychotics, I was a stone statue - numb to the world and myself.
I function better on lower doses of the right Antipsychotic. Right now Im on 2mg of Risperdal a potent antipsychotic but taking it at a more manageable dose. I wish I could function with zero meds, the bottom line for me is that I cant.
I suffer from schizophrenia and bipolar, I just have too many symtoms that would get in my way big time without the meds.
This article is BS and it smells like scientology, well guess, BS. It’s also very VERY IRRESPONSIBLE to tell a bunch of schizophrenics that drugs do more harm than good on a newspaper website. because 1. it’s BS 2. they may go and stop their meds and start useless talk therapy and wreck themselves in the process. and guess what. CBT is not an effective treatment for symptoms of schizophrenia
CBT will never reduce the level of hallucinations. It will help in a patients understanding of his place in this world and help him find meaning if that is what the patient wants. Therapists in this study were likely hoped to be deemed magicians insofar as being able to talk someone out of a delusion (doesn’t work) or reduce AH just by saying ■■■■ to the patient. This study likely failed because its parameters hoped for things that therapy doesn’t help with.
Probably not - but for some relatively small percent of people (I’ve seen stats suggestions around 10%) don’t get relief from existing medications - in which case they might want to try CBT. Or - ideally try CBT as an add-on to existing medications.
If you benefit from the drugs then by all means take them. For the few of us it seems they do no good, and actually make us worse, don’t penalize us for this.
I was actually going towards saying that psychotherapy is likely incredibly beneficial. Lets not go towards the best sounding stat because we are the moderator and pro medication. Medication doesn’t work for me. Never has. I am sure it is much more than 10%. I can function in reality and I likely could work part time if I wanted but medication has never been able to fully restore anyone I knows life. You know that too or else you wouldn’t recommend Sarcosine or L-theanine on the Front Page.
I hope this hasn’t made you upset but we are a LONG LONG way off before any drug can cure a disease as complicated as schizophrenia. Especially when current treatment has the side effects it has now. Pharm Companies are focusing on creating drugs with less side-effects but with the same MOA for the most part.
Nobody has a CLUE on what causes this disease. ALL theories should be acceptable as of now.
Speak for yourself. Geodon has given me an awesome life with very few side effects. I’m sorry medications don’t work for you, but don’t assume they’re useless just because of your personal experiences.
Personally I love how risperidone has mostly gotten rid of my hallucinations. I only hear people whisper at night. They don’t even threaten me. I care more about the drugs then I do therapy but some people swear by it.
Electrical Stimulation rid me of mine after years of experimenting with Anti-Psychotics. My anxiety stems from Tweeting the state, my paranoia too, my nervousness and my over-analytical mind. It isn’t from anxiety but it is doing something I know deep down I shouldn’t be doing. I do it because I can’t find anyone else to listen. I just need to learn how to keep things to myself and I think everything I experience will go away.
I think the drugs need to be drastically overhauled for people experiencing psychosis. The ones we have now are unnaceptable and people are starting to take note. I don’t know if going off meds entirely is the answer either. I know from my own personal illness that if I don’t take medication I will ultimately end up in the hospital, paranoid and delusional from another psychotic episode. There is no amount of talk therapy that can stop that. Logic and reason go completely out the window as soon as my brain flips that switch into psychosis. I wish that they would come out with better medicines. Ones that actually address the problem rather than just covering up the symptoms. It’s my understanding that they are working on doing that but it isn’t happening soon enough. I could be doing so much more with my life if it weren’t for the side effects of these antipsychotics. There are things that I used to enjoy that I no longer have the energy or interest in doing thanks to them. I find it very difficult to function and feel like a normal human being in these meds.
They take the pleasure out of life, they make me feel stupid, they sap my sex drive. Not to mention they are really bad for your health: the motor side effects and weight gain are unnaceptable. I also agree that they gl damage your brain in the long run. I have all kinds of physical problems now that I never had before as a result of taking these meds.
I really wish that someone would take med development seriously and get all of us suffering from symptoms and side effects a better alternative.
Psychosis is one of the worst things that can happen to someone it is so scary and embarrassing that I literally am stuck taking these things until something better comes along. I’m not willing t take my chances of having a relapse anymore. Simply put,
We need better meds!
