Posted by Tomatheus on February 28, 2016, at 23:03:49
In reply to Re: Hey everyone.. Newby here, posted by Fiftylager1 on February 27, 2016, at 14:02:46
Fiftylager1,
I don't have a whole lot of clear-cut advice for you, but I just wanted to say that I can relate to the frustrations that you've expressed about having had bad reactions to medications, while at the same time knowing that you have a definite need for some sort of treatment. I've never had any good, long-term results myself with psychiatric medications or talk therapies, and like you, many of my responses to medications have been quite bad, so at times I tend to be a bit cynical about the mainstream mental health system. However, I think that you're right that psychiatric medications and other mainstream mental health treatments definitely have their place in the treatment of mental health conditions and that such treatments can sometimes even be life saving. As DSM-IV Task Force Chairman Allen Frances, M.D., said in a recent Huffington Post blog (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allen-frances/psychiatry-and-antipsychi_b_9243944.html), a majority of patients receiving psychiatric treatments improve at rates equal to, or above, those who receive treatments for non-psychiatric medical conditions. Despite this, a significant minority of those receiving psychiatric treatments don't improve, and a small minority get worse, Frances went on to say.
It can be easy for patients like you and me to become so angry with psychiatry and the overall the mental health system that we deem psychiatric medications to be dangerous to all who take them, but despite your frustration with the medications, I don't see you doing this. You seem to have a good understanding of both the good things that psychiatric medications can do and the bad things that the medications can do. For whatever reasons, some of us tend to experience the drawbacks of psychiatric medications more than we experience the benefits of such medications, and it's very unfortunate for those of us whose experiences are as I've described. It can be difficult for those of us whose experiences with psychiatric medications and the mental health system in general have not been so positive to continue to try various treatment options in hopes that we'll find something that's beneficial. In my experience, the unsuccessful attempts that I've made to try to resolve my long-standing chronic fatigue and the schizophrenia-spectrum symptoms that I experience have not improved my optimism, but I still try to hold on to a small amount of hope that I'll experience at least enough symptom relief in the long run to help me achieve more of my goals.
I ended up writing more than I thought I would, but I just wanted to conclude by saying that I hope that you'll experience at least some level of success with your treatment at some point, and I hope that this will happen as quickly as possible. I also hope that you'll stick around these forums, even if you don't feel like at least some of the responses that you've received have been as supportive as you were hoping that they would have been. There are some good people on these forums who've not only provided me with some helpful information but have also written some very compassionate and understanding replies when I've been frustrated, and I consider myself fortunate to have found this place. I've also been hurt by some of the things that a certain member here has said to or about me, but ultimately, I've decided that I won't let a few bruises to my ego prevent me from participating here. At any rate, I don't want to tell you what to do as far as your participation here is concerned, but I will say that I would like it if you did continue to post.
Tomatheus
"Maybe someday
We'll figure all this out
We'll put an end to all our doubt
Try to find a way to just feel better now"- Rob Thomas
poster:Tomatheus
thread:1086405
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20160131/msgs/1086591.html