From: cdale@silly.techmonkeys.net
Date: Sun Aug 20 2000 - 14:59:55 PDT
Well, my point is that the trend is for that particular 'tool' to be
misused. Another example is a friend of mine who does -not- have chronic
or recurring depression, but who had a major disillusionment happen to him
very recently about his family and his life. Maybe he did need a jolt
like prozac to pull him out of it, but now he is on the antidepressant
rollercoaster: "here, take this one, no, try this one, oh, this one makes
things better? cool, triple it." IMO, and I'm not a doc, he just needs
some good counselling and a lot of time to write and think and adjust to
this new world he just found, and not a string of medications that cause
him, the most peaceloving man I've ever known, to go out and beat the shit
out of someone he never met for no reason. I agree that there are some
good uses for those medications, and have seen them work well with many
people, but at the same time, it's a 'standard' to prescribe SSRIs on
first sight, and I just don't agree that that should be the case. Again,
I say weigh all the individual aspects of each individual, and then decide
what to do. I think that this trend is also responsible for an incredible
amount of viagra that's prescribed, cuz most of the SSRIs take the sex
drive -away-. Ohhh yeh, this will make you happy and healthy, and uhm, oh
yeh, limp. (:
sillyhead
"A civilized society is one which tolerates eccentricity to the point of doubtful sanity."
-- Robert Frost
On Sun, 20 Aug 2000, Lorin Rivers wrote:
> At 11:50 PM -0500 8/17/2000, cdale@silly.techmonkeys.net wrote:
> >My problem with Prozac is exactly what the topic says: they throw it at
> >everyone. Alcohol problems? Anger problems? Have 3 kids you're
> >supporting by yourself? Twisted an ankle? Here! Have some prozac!
> >While I've seen it work in life-saving ways (brings my ex gf out of
> >suicidal depression with a SNAP), each case must be considered
> >individually. IMO, medication should be the last straw, the first being
> >an in-depth study of the patient's background, family history, present
> >state of life, etc. I can personally bring myself out of deep depression
> >by writing my way out of it, thanks to the suggestion of a kind counsellor
> >I had about 12 years ago. I know it's not quite that simple for some, but
> >it seems that going to a shrink is like going through the justice system
> >lately. Fast food medicine for a fast food world? None for me, thanks.
> >Cindy
> >
> > "A civilized society is one which tolerates eccentricity to the
> >point of doubtful sanity."
> > -- Robert Frost
> >
>
> Any tool can be misused...
>
> For the truly depressed (thankfully, not something I have a problem
> with) there is no alternative. I think a combination of medication
> and therapy has the best chance of helping people cope with wacky
> neurotransmitter balance. Meds to help the balance, therapy to help
> deal with the effects of a life where the balance is not what it
> could be (and probably wasn't in balance before).
>
> Medication can allow people to function at a level they never would
> be able to without it. I do think it can be over prescribed, but like
> everything else, most Doctors, mechanics, painters, cooks, and so on
> are not that good (not incompetent, just not that good)
>
> --
>
> Lorin Rivers 512.263.1233 x712 v
> Product Manager 512.263.1441 f
> REAL Software, Inc. mailto:lrivers@realsoftware.com
> PMB 220 http://www.realsoftware.com
> 3300 Bee Caves Road, Suite 650
> Austin, Texas 78746
> REALbasic: the visual, object-oriented BASIC
> development environment for the Macintosh
>
>
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