Posted by violette on November 27, 2010, at 15:18:08
In reply to Do you think psych drugs cause the very problems, posted by Laney on November 25, 2010, at 12:12:24
I was much better off - in all areas of my life - prior to taking psychiatric drugs. Like some here, I haven't been the same since. I have asked myself similar questions - have psychotropic drugs worsened my condition, somehow caused permanent, adverse changes to my brain? Somehow, it might be easier for me to think - yes, the drugs caused it. That would imply there might be a medical solution and maybe give me something or someone to blame or direct my anger at. Alternatively, it would allow me to redirect my thoughts from painful and unpleasant emotions to repetitive thoughts about 'what happened to my brain'...or 'what med will fix this'...
While I agree there should be valid and well funded studies to assess the long term consequences of these drugs, unfortunately, I don't know of any that exist.
So while I don't have any clues as to whether or not psychiatric drugs have indeed led to more problems for some, there is evidence that may provide explanations to perhaps some of these situations. I think there is a flaw in mental health practice, where if someone does not meet the criteria of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), for one, they end up in biological psychiatric limbo-med trial after med trial, and-or psychotherapies that are not effective, or less effective than what is needed for someone with Borderline pathology. I also think men get the short end of the stick, as they are less likely to be seen as 'Borderline'.
Symptoms such as lack of motivation, ahedonia, are signs of Borderline pathology and other more permanent mental conditions. I also think someone who regularly has these symptoms, along with anxiety, OCD, and other problems such as ADD or substance abuse problems, is more likely to be in the Borderline spectrum - which is not an 'official' DSM diagnosis.
If some could possibly ignore or unlearn the stereotypes associated with BPD through the media and mainstream/popular websites, and think of Borderline pathology in terms of a continuum with some biological origins rather than character or personality 'flaws', it could possibly bring some closer to finding solutions to help end suffering. For instance-benzodiazepenes calm anxiety in someone who has BPD or who is in the Borderline spectrum the same as someone with an Axis I anxiety diagnosis.
I noticed patients sometimes get diagnosed with 'Complex PTSD' - which is the closest I've seen to a description of a Borderline structure - but there isn't much of a research history for C-PTSD; it just doesn't compare with the research out there in attachment, object relations and self psychology. And if you focus on relief of more narrow diagnoses - depression, anxiety; or symptoms - lack of motivation, focus/concentration, etc - you might be overlooking the whole forest, seeing only the trees.
Then there's the diagnosis of 'BPII'...or the misdiagnosis if Bipolar I (that is evidenced by by research)...where emotional problems sometimes get erased from the picture simply because someone is able to get through life-even if they have not life quality whatsoever...merely existing...going through the motions.
Many problems overlap, then sometimes are veiwed as part of depression, but can really be a part of more complex pathology. Depersonalization is a symptom that can occur with those who have a Borderline stucture. Symptoms in the depersonalization spectrum are very difficult to treat with medications, and there is not much researched in this area. It's another way to look at some of symptoms people often think of as inclusive of depression when they could be more relevent to something bigger going on:
"In a large study of people with depersonalization disorder, many of them reported feeling as if their surroundings were not real. In addition, they also felt like they were looking at the world through a fog, as if their bodies didnt belong to them, and as though once-familiar places were suddenly foreign. Some of them even reported that on occasion they felt as if they were outside of their bodies looking at themselves or that they didnt recognize themselves when looking in a mirror.
In addition, people with this problem often feel emotionally and physically numb, isolated, without motivation, unable to concentrate, unable to remember things, weightless, and dizzy. They might also experience a distortion of their senses, like the loss of sound, color, or taste. Or they may feel as though the world is two-dimensional or not solid.
Are There Other Problems Related to Depersonalization Disorder?
People with depersonalization disorder often suffer with other problems, such as depression, panic disorder, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, and drug or alcohol abuse."
http://www.newharbinger.com/PsychSolve/DissociativeDisorders/tabid/128/Default.aspx
Just because one does not experience the world as 'two dimensional' or feel outside of your body as described in that article, does not mean one does not have mild depersonalization - the numbness and lack of interest in life... While I think looking at symptoms as a continuum, rather than a 'meets or does not meet' the criteria can be helpful, psychiatrists seem to focus on diagnoses - the trees - which is how they are taught and how the system has evolved as a result of research, politics, money, and culture. But by doing so, by viewing and treating our illness as trees, they are sometimes unable to see the forest and people are suffering because of it.
Kernberg is one who describes a Borderline emotional structure, cognition, and object relations in depth; it might be worth it for some to look into his work if you are someone who has not found adequate relief through medications. This, of course, is a psychodynamic view, so there are no doubts some psychiatrists would not recognize this, agree, or even acknowledge it. It's a bit different here near NYC, where there are many psychiatrists who have a psychodynamic way of thinking and treating patients..I do not know how it is outside of the U.S.
It's only my opinion-nothing more, nothing less, that some people with more permanent mental illness might be in the Borderline spectrum or within the spectrum of another more permanent personality structure similar to Borderline. Unfortunately, although there is not much, if any, research about long term consequences of psychiatric drugs...there is plenty of research that looks at similar symptoms from a different angle-a psychodynamic perspective.
I've found the most useful stuff in books as it seems there is little public access to psychodynamic papers. It's really been helpful to me; and even though I'm not yet where i want to be and still relapse from time to time, I'm slowly and steadily improving. I've also begun to realize I'm much closer to a healthy state of mind than I was prior to having any symptoms of depression, PTSD, and anxiety, before I was actually diagnosed with any mental health problems. If anyone is interested, there is an extensive history of psychodynamic theory and case studies; it's very deep in comparison to other views of symptoms, the psyche of those with mental illnesses...and a bit more difficult to digest until you become more familiar with the concepts.
poster:violette
thread:971287
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20101117/msgs/971465.html