Posted by dove on April 6, 2000, at 9:40:22
In reply to Re:FP has good point..as does DC, posted by AprilA. on April 5, 2000, at 20:39:22
I have no intention of stomping on toes here, but there needs to be some clarification in regards to meds versus *other*. Why shouldn't every post be about meds? Humans have searched for an eternity to find the fix to their soul-wrenching pain and illness, every flavor, color and song has been dug up and digested. What has been utilized to cure these diseases: religion, meditation, cult-suicides, alcohol, sex, and the list goes on as far as the eye can see. Obviously, these are not the cure for all who search, as evidenced by their own destruction.
Treating mental illness, whether it's depression or OCD, with a scientific/medical model is fairly new in comparison to holistic/talk-therapy approaches. We have new break-throughs in treating mental illness, never before seen in history, and why should I ignore material and physical evidence? How many millions and millions of people have sought the "cure" and died miserable and broken, and long before any medical model for treatment was available.
I know that the meds we have currently are not the panacea to-end-all panaceas, and most likely they will never be. Never-the-less, they are the greatest improvement we have seen for the treatment of mental illness. I also recognize the danger inherent to psycho-effective meds, I have tasted their poison first hand, yet, they hold so much more promise than nothing at all!
Holistic approaches have been utilized for eternity and if they held so much power, why haven't they ended the battle? One approach will never fit everyone, nor do I believe that one approach (as in monotherapy of whatever flavor) will cure even one person's illness by its own conflagration. However, I do know that without the meds we would be right back where it started, and I for one, don't view that prospect with anything akin to fondness.
dove
poster:dove
thread:28936
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000401/msgs/29065.html