Posted by ShawnThomas on November 9, 2012, at 16:22:35
In reply to Re: playing chess with psychiatry » ShawnThomas, posted by SLS on November 7, 2012, at 5:54:51
> Why has your personal experience reduced your incentive to study psychiatry? What are the aspects of psychiatry that you would like to see changed?
>
> What substances are you currently taking to treat your cyclothymia?
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> Thanks.
>
> - ScottI would like to see a decreased use of SSRIs in psychiatry. There are obviously a lot of cases where SSRIs are effective treatments, but we lack sufficient tests to identify the subset of people who will benefit from these drugs and to identify people who will experience unacceptable side-effects. I am also alarmed by the number of children who are prescribed psychiatric drugs. We need better ways to figure out which children truly need medication and which do not. I am concerned that many psychiatrists are not spending enough time with their clients. I also think that we need a better understanding of how infectious diseases and substances in the environment such as organophosphates can potentially lead to psychatric disorders. My biggest wish is that pharmaceutical companies will be able to speed up the development of more effective medications with fewer side-effects for conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, panic disorder, and OCD.
I think that I found less of an incentive to study psychiatry for a period of time because I gained a better understanding of myself and needed to round myself out more in other areas. I have come to see cyclothymia as a condition that has a lot of benefits in spite of the sometimes less comfortable aspects of it. I also have a strong interest in educating myself about a wide range of topics, and focusing solely on psychiatry for year after year would limit my ability to gain a fuller understanding of life. I am still interested in helping others to understand psychiatric medications, but it was necessary for me to step back for a while to better appreciate the "big picture." I have been thinking about what sorts of opinions and information are truly important to share with others. I've come to better understand what really matters in life, and it definitely seems to me that educating others about psychiatry will play a bigger role in my life in the coming years than it has in the recent past.
I think that the best treatments for my cyclothymia have been gaining an improved understanding of myself and growing more mature. There really are not any good medications for cyclothymia (at least in my case), so I really limit the substances I take to mild herbs that provide a calming effect. I drink chamomile tea because of its relaxing effects and occasionally take valerian to help me sleep. I've also taken l-theanine, passionflower extract, and kava extract in the past but haven't recently ordered any of those. I think that exercise, a proper diet, avoiding substances like alcohol and stimulants, relaxation techniques, introspection, self-education, writing in a journal, getting sufficient sleep, and maintaining a healthy attitude toward life can all be very helpful self-treatments for cyclothymia. I get mild atypical depression from time to time as part of my cyclothymia, which I find is only troublesome when it comes to interpersonal rejection sensitivity. As I've grown older and more self-aware, rejection sensitivity is much less of a problem for me, and developing a better attitude seems like a better approach to that problem than taking a medication. My most difficult symptom can be occasional irritability, which is why I have grown fond of chamomile and other mild anti-anxiety herbs.
poster:ShawnThomas
thread:1030834
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20121029/msgs/1030948.html