Antidepressants and psychaitry

[Genosse Kotze]

So, it looks like my shrink will be prescribing me antidepressants before long, in spite of my many misgivings about them. She was correct to point out the hypocrisy in this. I've got no problems with having done, coke, heroin, LSD, XTC, etc... but I'm worried about Prozac? Nevertheless I went to a high school where many of the kids were well medicated and they all seemed a bit off. One kid who started taking SSRIs told me that he felt his thoughts weren't his own anymore and that it scared the hell out of him. I've also heard reports in the news about how it may actually increase suicidiality in those who take it. Also, as many of you may already agree with me on this, I don't trust the FDA or the drug companies as far as I can throw them. Is it mind control? Will I feel an unexplainable urge to start buying things if I take them? But most importantly, will I ever be able to get it up again??

I'm not a Sceintologist (hail Xenu!!) but I think there are some legitimate questions to be raised about the field of psychiatry over all. A bunch of the "disorders" listed in the DSM-IV apear to be poorly defined, the causes of them are unclear, and many of their symptoms seem to overlap a lot with other ones, no? It's interesting that Prozac is used as a treatment for almost all of them too. They're dishing that shit out for anything these days, from Depression, to Social Anxiety, to OCD, to "Oh, shit I had a really fucked up dream" disorder. I think a lot of this overmedication must have something to do with drug companies pressuring researchers into finding "new, unexpected properties of the drug which can also treat ___." Even for legit reasons though, is medication the way to go? They are meant to rewire how your brain functions and I'm not sure how comfortable I am with Pfizer tinkering around up there.

Also, this video creeped me the fuck out!
ex pharmaceutical rep. speaks out. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFbs8s3VI6M&mode=related&search=)

If any of you have had any expirences with antidepressants, or have any other info about them, be sure to post about it, eh?

[La Comédie Noire]

I had a bad experience with SSRIs before. It was scary and made me stop taking them. I had what the women described as AKATHISIA. I seriously could not stop shaking or talking.But, I'm willing to try it again with a sedative and close supervision.

It just makes you feel very anxious like the day lasts forever and it can even increase intensity of panic attacks. It helps otherwise and i probably did'nt give it enough time. I also had the sensation my thoughts where not my own.

Just make sure you have someone supportive and loving youc an talk to when you do it.

Stay strong. :)

[RevMARKSman]

Prozac? That worked fine for me, it's the withdrawal that was annoying. You get less sleep, more stomach discomfort, that sort of thing. It's not really that bad.

I took that for OCD but it also stopped the mild depression that came with it.


Is it mind control? Will I feel an unexplainable urge to start buying things if I take them?

...no.


Even for legit reasons though, is medication the way to go? They are meant to rewire how your brain functions and I'm not sure how comfortable I am with Pfizer tinkering around up there.

Yeah, but frankly if you're clinically depressed (and want it to stop) your brain functions are fucked up anyway, and they need to be "rewired" to go back to normal. There's no drug that inexplicably causes someone to want to buy more. It's not mind control. It will make you happier, with a few temporary side effects. Just make sure you taper off slowly to avoid withdrawal and you should be fine. Interestingly AFAIK I didn't get the thoughts-are-not-your-own thing.

[Sentinel]

See this (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=64900&hl=SSRI) and this (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=69716).

I took SSRI, Citalopram, for anxiety and panic attacks and it did help. I'd advice to not quit the meds too soon, but to not get too used to them either as they can eventually make one feel cold and void of feelings. And I can't emphasise enough the importance of giving them time to work in the beginning, even if they make it worse initially. It's part of the healing process and just necessary although not pleasant.

[Dominicana_1965]

I took one but forgot the name...I did feel suicidal. Cried a couple of times because I couldn't really assemble my thoughts and express myself.
One moment you're happy the other you're not..it generally just fucks with your serotonin (sp)

You might get a bit more horny sometimes.

I can truly say I hated it and don't ever plan on taking it again.

[Janus]

If you're looking for a discussion on psychiatry then please check out this previous thread first

psychiatry (http://www.revleft.com/index.php?showtopic=66505&hl=psychiatry)

[LSD]

First of all, just to make a point regarding definitision I think that it's artificial to say that biological and psychological are seperate issues. Our brains are phsysical organs. So regardless of where depression or anxiety comes from it has a biological manifestation.

Are SSRIs or tricyclics the best way to adjust that biology? Maybe not, but they're the best we've got now. And while some studies do show that they are marginally effective, others show that at least in select groups, they are reasonably functional.

As I see it, the only "problem" with psychopharmaceuticals is that the expense is crippling. That's not a problem with psychiatry, however, it's a problem with capitalism.

If Paxil or Zoloft or Prozac doesn't work for you, don't take it. But in a money-less society, there would be no harm in trying it out.

There is also some rather convincing evidence that a good deal of orthomolecular treatments are far more effective than standard psychopharmaceuticals or even "talk therapy". But because there's no money to be made, no one's really interested in investigating.

So, as per usual, it's ultimately a problem of capitalism, not the "evils" of psychiatry.


I'm not a Sceintologist (hail Xenu!!) but I think there are some legitimate questions to be raised about the field of psychiatry over all.

Perhaps.

Psychiatry may still be in its infancy in terms of understanding the etiology/physiology of mental illness, but espite all the horror stories it's undeniable that it does work.

People get better thanks to psychiatric intervention. It's not "easy", it's certainly not "efficient", but millions of people are able to lead happier and healthier lives thanks to mental health professionals.

But then most of them wanted help.

When people are forced to accept "treatment" for psychiatric problems, it rarely works and more often then not, they are left in an even more incapacitated state than they started.

Which is why I agree entirely with the outlawing of "commitment". Individual motility is our most fundamental of rights. It doesn't matter how sick one's brain is, one still has the right to captain one's own fate.

But condemning the entire field of psychiatry because of the injustice of coerced treatment is a grosse overreaction. Psychological counseling and even psychiatric medication can be immensly fruitful and productive, just so long as everyone involved consents.


I think a lot of this overmedication must have something to do with drug companies pressuring researchers into finding "new, unexpected properties of the drug which can also treat ___."

Far from this current craze of "overmedication" hysteria, I would propose that in general doctors are too reserved in dispensing medication, especially in areas of psychology and psychiatry.

There's still a strong social stigma in a society that encourages people to "tough it out" or "grin and bear it" rather than take a "drug" to deal with a psychological issue.

This social taboo doesn't only manifest in specific doctors reticence to dispense necessary pharmaceuticals, it also manifests in terms of the research that is funded, in so far as there are vast areas of psychopharmaceutical research that just aren't being investigated because of all the trouble that is brought upon anyone who experiments with drugs affecting "the mind".

At this point there's reliable evidence that marijuana makes cancer patients feel better, hell it makes most people feel better; but you can't get it if you're on chemo in most of the world, not even most of the first world. Even though there's little else that works, even though there's no evidence of harm.

Why? Because it's a "drug" and "drugs" are "bad".

That's the mysticism that's underminining our treatment of the mentally ill, not long dead Freudian theories of mothers or fathers, but society that's not yet ready to deal with the fact that everything they are, everything they think, can be changed by a pill.

'Cause in the end that's where psychiatry is heading, to the point where we won't even need to talk therapies, or creative arts therapies, or animal assisted therapiwa, but just straight direct neurological stimulation.

But for right now, we have only a crude understanding of the bread, and we have an even cruder understanding of the mind; and we have separate means of interacting with them. And we use those crude interactions and primitive understandings to try and eke out some sort of medical profession amidst our great ignorance.

No one says that it's easy or efficient or even particularly profitable, but that's how sciences get started, from the bottom up.


even for legit reasons though, is medication the way to go? They are meant to rewire how your brain functions and I'm not sure how comfortable I am with Pfizer tinkering around up there.

Again, I think this speaks to a latent idealism present in any discussion of the brain or the "mind". Our mind is so essential to our identity that we are instinctively retiscent to accept the material reality that, for all its wonder and subjective supremecy, at our core we are nothing more than electrical signals passing from neuron to neuron.

And sometimes those signals can screw up.

And as someone who's taken a fair share of medications, both legal and otherwise, I can tell you that those medications can have an enormous bearing on how one percieves the world.

Not always, of course, but often.

And why wouldn't they? After all, the notion that the brain cannot malfunction and/or that such malfunctions cannot be localized is an entirely absurd notion. It's deeply counter-materialist to assert that all behaviours and thoughts are nescessarily "choices" as it assumes that human consciesness has some sort of metaphysical "uniqueness" to it.

Well, it doesn't. Our "minds" are nothing more than electrical signals in our brains. Sometimes they fisfire, sometimes they are cross-wired. Now, we are nowhere near having a solid enough understanding to tackle these problems directly, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try.

Psychiatry isn't perfect by a longshot, but for the moment, it's easily the best we've got.

[Freigemachten]

Originally posted by Comrade [email protected] 11, 2007 07:26 am
Just make sure you have someone supportive and loving youc an talk to when you do it.

Stay strong. :)
That's some of the best medical/psychological advice I've seen someone give here since I started looking at this part of the forum.

Yes, take the meds that are prescribed to you, do not stop taking them without first consulting with a trained proffessional, some of these drugs need to be tapered off and can cause serious issues if stopped abruptly. But most importantly, keep open your lines of communication, always have a close and trusted system of support with HEALTHY people. If the only people you know are also depressed, they will pull you back into it all, it's hard, but sometimes this means finding new friends.

You may want to look into group therapy and things like that as possible alternatives. The thing about most psychological disorders is that for the most part you don't recover from them or get better or whatever, you just learn how to cope with your symptoms and live a normal life. Medication, in my opinion, should be used only as a short term symptom supressant so that you can get on with the process of learning how to manage your feelings. Unless of course there is evidence of a serious imbalance or disorder which requires medication. There are certain pituitary disorders and tumors that cause a lot of psychological problems that require medication. Also, in the case of individuals being a danger unto themselves, beyond that though, I do not really support the use of psychiatric medications as a long term solution.

[Comrada J]

Some antidepressants have more side-effects than others, I had a particularly bad experience with the zoloft. I'm currently on axit/mirtzipan(sp?) it's a bit better but makes me very drowsy.