Posted by wcfrench on December 15, 2002, at 14:43:27
In reply to Re: Drunk on Zoloft?, posted by Simon Sobo MD on December 15, 2002, at 7:25:07
I agree with your statements regarding "doomed" bipolar or ADHD children. For a long time during my depression, I believed that I was just flawed and that my problems were because of what was going on in my brain and that I would never be able to handle things as well as other people. To an extent, depression does inhibit your ability to cooperate and socialize and participate in society, BUT it is not the be-all end-all of your self esteem. We should not have children walking around feeling sorry for themselves, using a "diagnosis" as an excuse for lack of learning ability. Yes, ADHD is a real problem for many, but sometimes you just have to wonder, are you doing more harm or good telling your child that they have a mental disorder? Self esteem is so important during those fragile years of our lives. Kids would do anything to not feel different from their peers, and I think that is something doctors need to consider in diagnosing this problem.
Everyone goes through some neurosis at some point in their life, and who says to what degree requires a "diagnosis?" If I had never seen a doctor about my anxiety/depression, I wonder how I'd be doing today. Sure, maybe I might not have had the immediate relief I felt, or the ups and downs of medicines (or the side effects), or the euphoria, or the fears of death, hospital visits, oversleeping, undersleeping... Often, I think I'd be doing just about the same. Agreeing with Britt, I think medicine, (especially in severe cases) is often required to get a patient to the point of considering their options, but I believe therapy and cognitive self-reinforcement, however, are much more powerful tools long term, and so does the general research of depression.
If there were another way people could get out of cases of severe depression, I believe they would do it. But when medicine offers relief of any sort, you cling to it for dear life. Hopefully once you are back on track, you can use therapy as a tool of permanence. The brain does have control, but we have the power to control it and to change the way our thought patterns work and our chemicals and neurotransmitters flow, just as medicines do. I hope more and more people begin to embrace this idea (when possible) as it is by far the most effective permanent treatment.
Take care,
Charlie
poster:wcfrench
thread:123623
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021210/msgs/131922.html