There is always the comedy side of it all.
This is actually what I think. And yes, psychiatry and big pharma make profit on patients by diagnosing (overdiagnosing) various mental illnesses. I know this is true because some who evaluated me said I should be on meds, but 2 different psychiatrists from a clinic I had gone to for a period of time said noâŚone even specified he was going to keep me OFF meds.
A counselor told me that too many clinics are very quick to push meds, convince people they need them without exploring other options⌠and this place isnât some alternative medicine place either, though they are fine with a person seeking such treatments oin their own. Also in the same clinic there are therapists who are more med pushy so you need to shop around within the clinicâŚyet even for the med pusher therapists, its the psychiatrists who make that ultimate decision whether or not they think you need meds, so they can over ride the med pushing therapistsâŚ
The psychiatric community and DSM-V do not take into consideration the spiritual, the energy, the interdimensional aspects that can cause exactly the same thing as they call hallucinations, and delusions. If you donât understand a spiritual revelation you can easily create a delusion out of it simply due to your lack of knowledge.
Iâm not saying all Sz or other MH issues are in this category, but some are, and the psychiatric community at large denies them and calls them delusional. If you stay stuck in that mind set and the origin of the symptoms is from one of the sources I mentioned, no amount of psychiatry or medication will truly help. People get so medicated they become zombies and unable to function due to the medsâŚ
I do not find the OP to be some anti psychiatry rant. Funny that I have met a couple therapists who would happen to agree with itâŚlicenced psychologists , and one in a state funded clinicâŚ
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Not really. I know there are some people who do the seminar thing or sell herbal remedies for money, but compared to $700 or more per month ongoing for years for some antipsychotics, the alternative treatments are nowhere near as muchâŚ
True, and I have seen several articles written by psychiatrists and psychologists that say this is a problem since med needs should be carefully evaluated, there should be observation time, etc, and there are many therapies that are non med that could be triedâŚ
Cool, thatâs how it should beâŚ
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I am pretty sure that psychiatrists do not get compensated for prescribing a particular medication - those days are behind us.
There are new laws against this now
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DBT is great! I did it intensively while in the hospital and IOP, then for a year once a week outpatient. I learned so many coping skills and how to deal with people around me.
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Yes - that is true. Its against the law in all developed countries.
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I apologize. Your blog was written in such a scrambled manner that it wasnât readily apparent that this wasnât your post.
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I want to weigh in on this posting - @malvok - because I think both perspectives have a lot of evidence to support them and the âtruthâ is much more nuanced than either side would sometimes like to admit I think.
Here is what I think are overly broad statements, and what are factual statements in both of these general perspectives: (I donât have time to correct all the overly broad statements in the entire editorial that was posted)
StarryNight says "It is proven that chronic brain chemical imbalances do not exist. This means schizophrenia does not exist, at least in psychiatryâs very narrow watered down theories. The dopamine theory has also been unproven"I think this is inaccurate.
Sure - its widely accepted that the dopamine theory of schizophrenia is incomplete (doesnât explain all of schizophrenia symptoms)- but that doesnât mean schizophrenia doesnât exist, and it doesnât mean that the dopamine theory isnât helpful or right (but certainly not the entire story). Iit doesnât mean that the dopamine theory is unproven, it doesnât mean that medications donât help people. Over the past 3 decades all the researchers I talk to agree that medications do help most people with schizophrenia with the positive symptoms. Its also the quickest way to help people - other things like CBT, or other approaches take a long time (many, many months if not years) - and in many situations individuals, families, and medical organizations just donât have the time, resources and expertise to use other approaches.
Now - at the same time - StarryNight is right in some of the broader themes of what she is saying. Medications are imperfect - that is definitely true. Medications have many significant side effects that are really hard for some people to live with.
Pharma companies unquestionably have, at times, oversold the benefits of their medications while hiding the negative aspects (like increased blood sugar sensitivities and weight gain) of their medications - so that they could make more money. This is absolutely true and shown clearly in many lawsuits that have been completed over the past decade or more - in favor of plaintifs and agains the drug companies. Pharma companies are also guilty of vastly oversimplifying things in terms of the whole âschizophrenia is a brain chemical imbalanceâ marketing tag line. But this is probably true of most businesses - including the vitamin companies that tout âcuresâ to schizophrenia (with much less, or minimal, evidence): See this link for just one example: http://schizophrenia.com/treatments.php#empower
Another issue with this statement / about âPsychiatryâ has lost its credibility is that âPsychiatryâ is actually many thousands of people who are working on this problem of schizophrenia (and other mental illnesses) - some of whom are doing great work, and a much smaller number I believe that are trying to be deceptive for commercial gain.
The brain is a difficult thing to understand - weâre still a long way from fully understanding it, and its a work in process. Like all theories - the current ones - whether they are the Dopamine Theory, or the NMDA theory, or the GABA theory - they are likely all right to some degree. How right they are, and for what people they are right for - is undetermined right now.
Sure - this is true "Psychiatry is driven by drug-revenues when alternatives are unavailable and unexplored such as Reiki, Homeopathy, vitamins, Herbal Supplements, Reflexology and Yoga and Talk Therapy "
These other approaches need to get some more support as positive research reveals positive results - but many of these groups also have commercial interests that bias their own results, and have industry groups that push their agendas. Obviously not as powerful as the Pharma organizations. Basically this is an issue of big money against small money - and thats a broader issue in all of US politics - not unique to the pharmaceutical industry.
In summary - lets not over simplify this argument.
Cool down - and keep a level head in this discussion. Both sides have some good evidence behind them.
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Personally I have little time for either the âpsychiatry is all evilâ or the âpsychiatry is beyond criticism or reproachâ brigades. Unfortunately many if not most of the MIA
crowd fall into the former category when a measured and intelligent debate over psychiatryâs role would be more worthwhile.
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I donât like my meds. I donât like having to take meds. I donât like the side effects of any of the meds Iâve ever taken. I have spent over two decades trying to find a balance between how much my symptoms impair me and how much my meds impair me. We need something better, obviously. Iâm stuck with what we have now until something better comes along.
Not all psychiatrists are wonderful. Some pharma companies can be really dodgy, no question. All that being said, I am certain I would not have made it as far as I have without meds. No way, no how. I also take umbrage at suggestions that meds have left me brain damaged. So far as Iâm concerned, the brain damage occurred when the SZ hit me and meds have been part of my recovery from it.
I believe what has helped me most has been treating SZ like an actual brain injury. I have tried to keep recovery as a goal every day. I have tried to heal myself and re-wire my neurons back into the proper order by pushing myself every day. Thereâs not a day where Iâm not doing puzzles, learning new words, new skills, new facts, or picking away at a new language. And I try to create art whenever possible. This has all required meds, therapy, my own version of CBT, and keeping myself bizzy bizzy bizzy.
Exercising regularly and eating healthy also work wonders when I can manage to do so. I was doing great for a while. Now, not so much, but Iâm swinging back towards the positive.
10-96
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Schizophrenia exists in that there is little in the way of effective treatments. Its a psychiatric problem because little else has worked. If other means could treat it effectively then there would be no need for meds.
Also dont let a publication tell you that dopamine antagonisim is ineffective. Many who manage to stay on meds will tell you it is. Side effects are an issue though no doubt
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No doubt that medication for schizophrenia is successful, but where I get confused is the way it is used in media and other ways. Some issues about the diagnoses seems like it sort of confines people to their conditions in such a way, to think that it is all fact. For instance if I told someone I had schizophrenia, a lot of misconceptions would arise but I wonder if it helps to be told you canât recover without medication. IMO it makes the consumer and many feel helpless or victims of an illness instead of being more proactive.
Thatâs why I think alternatives help a person develop insight and growth. Iâm not trying to diss psychiatry over-all, just aspects of the way it has been and still is used. the title might be a little misleading, and I was a bit confused that schizophrenia was real.
The article I read was somewhat biased to be fair. But by debating an issue it helps broaden someoneâs perspectives. No where did I suggest that medication is evil or that psychiatrists are all after money, it just worries me that so many are briefly looked at before given a diagnosis based on halluciantions when I found out later that is more common than I thought, because my illness had me scared of experiencing hallucinations.
I feel that psychiatryâs impression of hallucinations as always being a negative thing, sort of perpetuates a personâs negative outlook. While many psychiatrists do help people with hallucinations, there are really good ways of combating them through psychological techniques that I found to be much more beneficial than medicating and sedating myself, versus learning how to approach and attack them at the root.
If anything, I was hoping to spark a discussion not make people uncomfortable.
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A good pdoc will not do this and will look at things like distress caused and impairment of functioning before doling out a diagnosis.
Not all people with hallucinations have distressing experiences or are impaired when it comes to functioning. For some the experience is benign/productive.
Maybe. But they still get compensated very well by just prescribing their drugs. Apparently outcomes by talk therapy as first-line are way better for treatment and curing of SZ which is being ignored because it doesnât bring the sum of money that prescription gives.
I am not seeing your point - sorry
I meant, the psychiatrists still make a lot just by writing on their pads. They donât need bribes from drug companies for them to get financially compensated. Hope thatâs clear.
Psychiatrists get paid the same amount per visit whether they write a prescription or not. Same with any doctor.
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Most doctors - all kinds of doctors prescribe meds - this is part of their job.
Psychiatrists treat patients through meds - therapy in my opinion plays a very limited role in helping out a destabilized person suffering from psychosis - one of my therapists in the past said that she could not help me because my medication situation was not straightened out. I was still psychotic
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like all doctors - how much they get paid depends on how many patients they see - its not really about the meds per say
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Yeah. But the amount of pills you can buy from a prescription is limited right? So you have to go back to your doctor every time youâve met your quota for re-prescription?