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Posted in these groups: 
Depression
Drugs
Depression Drugs
Posted 8 mo ago
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I work with the foster care system; it should not be surprising to hear that foster children have a much greater probability of mental health and emotional health disturbances. I also have MDD (Major Depressive Disorder). I have at least a little bit of understanding of this both personally and professionally.
This is a vast oversimplification but there is a difference between acute problems and chronic problems. Acute problems (like a headache or a bug bite or even a gunshot) come and go. They show up, get treated, and go away. Sometimes there is a LOT of treatment and it take a long time (like a gunshot) sometimes it take a little treatment and is gone in a half hour (like a headache). But regardless, it is problem --> treatment --> resolution.
Chronic problems on the other hand, don't go away. They are there for the long haul (like arthritis or diabetes). Treatment for chronic problems is not to "cure" the problem, it is to manage it. The goal of treatment is to treat the symptoms and make life as manageable and normal as possible. With arthritis we will see NSAIDs and maybe some physical therapy or compression wear or such. Diabetes we use insulin and blood sugar monitoring. You get the picture.
Most people when discussing mental health, including the author of this article, it seems, want to look at it like an acute problem. And there ARE times when there is an acute mental health problem. Maybe your spouse or child died and you are having trouble coping. Maybe you got in a bad car wreck and now have anxiety around cars. In these cases, it is likely possible to treat the problem and "cure" it. But for the majority of problems, they are chronic. Treatment for chronic mental health is not to cure, but to manage.
I have struggled with depression for 33 years. I have been on and off medication - more off than on, truth be be told. I have been in and out of therapy, more out than in. But even when I was out of therapy an off of meds, and was doing "OK," I was still depressed. I still had trouble enjoying life, finding meaning, and motivating myself to do.... well... anything. As you can imagine, making a career out of the Army with no motivation is no easy task. I did a LOT of "fake it til you make it," and I never actually made it.
About a decade ago, I couldn't even fake it anymore. I went back to therapy and started the process of finding the "right" medicinal regimen. I am now on Welbutrin and doing better. But here's the thing....
Welvutrin doesn't make me happy. It doesn't put me in a better mood. It isn't a "feel good" drug. And it isn't supposed to be. What it does is make the lows less low. It takes the edge off so that I can deal with everything else. Just like the anti-inflammatories help reduce arthritic pain, the Welbutrin reduces the worst of the depression. I still have ups and downs - as does everyone. I still have trouble enjoying things and finding motivation. The difference between being on my meds and off them though, is that even though I have trouble enjoying things and finding motivation, I *can*. At the worst of my depression, without meds and therapy, I simply cannot find pleasure or motivation, no matter how hard I try.
The author wants these depression meds to "fix" depression. He makes a broad claim about modern medicine removing our ability to "naturally" fix things, to cope, adapt, and/or overcome. But thatbis EXACTLY what these meds should be doing, if used properly. The meds are not SUPPOSED to "fix" us. They are supposed to take the edge off, make things manageable so that we CAN cope, adapt, and overcome, and grow stronger.
The author warns of a Brave New world where everyone is drugged up to no longer be themselves, then bemoans that our current drugs are not so powerful they make us not ourselves.
I understand the author's point. And yes, there is likely a level of overmedication, especially when it comes to emotional disturbances. But the problem is not as vast as the author thinks, and the premise from which he is operating, appears to be flawed and uneducated (at least on this subject).
This is a vast oversimplification but there is a difference between acute problems and chronic problems. Acute problems (like a headache or a bug bite or even a gunshot) come and go. They show up, get treated, and go away. Sometimes there is a LOT of treatment and it take a long time (like a gunshot) sometimes it take a little treatment and is gone in a half hour (like a headache). But regardless, it is problem --> treatment --> resolution.
Chronic problems on the other hand, don't go away. They are there for the long haul (like arthritis or diabetes). Treatment for chronic problems is not to "cure" the problem, it is to manage it. The goal of treatment is to treat the symptoms and make life as manageable and normal as possible. With arthritis we will see NSAIDs and maybe some physical therapy or compression wear or such. Diabetes we use insulin and blood sugar monitoring. You get the picture.
Most people when discussing mental health, including the author of this article, it seems, want to look at it like an acute problem. And there ARE times when there is an acute mental health problem. Maybe your spouse or child died and you are having trouble coping. Maybe you got in a bad car wreck and now have anxiety around cars. In these cases, it is likely possible to treat the problem and "cure" it. But for the majority of problems, they are chronic. Treatment for chronic mental health is not to cure, but to manage.
I have struggled with depression for 33 years. I have been on and off medication - more off than on, truth be be told. I have been in and out of therapy, more out than in. But even when I was out of therapy an off of meds, and was doing "OK," I was still depressed. I still had trouble enjoying life, finding meaning, and motivating myself to do.... well... anything. As you can imagine, making a career out of the Army with no motivation is no easy task. I did a LOT of "fake it til you make it," and I never actually made it.
About a decade ago, I couldn't even fake it anymore. I went back to therapy and started the process of finding the "right" medicinal regimen. I am now on Welbutrin and doing better. But here's the thing....
Welvutrin doesn't make me happy. It doesn't put me in a better mood. It isn't a "feel good" drug. And it isn't supposed to be. What it does is make the lows less low. It takes the edge off so that I can deal with everything else. Just like the anti-inflammatories help reduce arthritic pain, the Welbutrin reduces the worst of the depression. I still have ups and downs - as does everyone. I still have trouble enjoying things and finding motivation. The difference between being on my meds and off them though, is that even though I have trouble enjoying things and finding motivation, I *can*. At the worst of my depression, without meds and therapy, I simply cannot find pleasure or motivation, no matter how hard I try.
The author wants these depression meds to "fix" depression. He makes a broad claim about modern medicine removing our ability to "naturally" fix things, to cope, adapt, and/or overcome. But thatbis EXACTLY what these meds should be doing, if used properly. The meds are not SUPPOSED to "fix" us. They are supposed to take the edge off, make things manageable so that we CAN cope, adapt, and overcome, and grow stronger.
The author warns of a Brave New world where everyone is drugged up to no longer be themselves, then bemoans that our current drugs are not so powerful they make us not ourselves.
I understand the author's point. And yes, there is likely a level of overmedication, especially when it comes to emotional disturbances. But the problem is not as vast as the author thinks, and the premise from which he is operating, appears to be flawed and uneducated (at least on this subject).
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Sgt Sheri Lynn
SFC Casey O'Mally medication and therapy both help keep my mood disorders manageable. Where I used to live in the extremes, both of which present dangers of their own, I now have just enough space to make choices and decisions, and learn tools that provide me a chance to live somewhat comfortably. That's a big sentence. And it's a big deal. Where once I survived only on mountain tops and deep valleys, I have times of just walking the plains, in relative absence of drama. When I began "walking" there I thought it boring, mundane and a waste. Now i see that is a place I can live and thrive
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MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D.
Having been where you both are, I have to agree. I posted this because I figured it would prompt some good discussion. Thanks for justifying my decision. . . .
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Very real and very close...taking drugs to damp our feelings instead of learning appropriate ways to deal with them
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