This article by Dr. Mercola is incredibly insightful. He speaks about the politics of mental health-specifically depression and the use of medication to deal with it. I could not agree more on this topic. He recommends looking at diet and offers a few other suggestions.
I would like to point out that Chinese medicine is rich with concepts that correlate emotional expression with physical imbalance. It is very interesting to look at the kinds of emotions a person is expressing and see how accurate these textbook descriptions often are in giving insight into what is going wrong in the body.
As a person becomes better balanced in their internal health, more often than not, the emotional challenges they have been experiencing begin to regress back into their previously balanced pattern.
Often when these challenges come up when someone is going through a chronic illness, medicating can make things much worse. In fact, I have seen some devastating effects in such cases. I am not suggesting not getting help! Help is very important, and seeking help through a licensed medical practitioner that is suitable to your issue is very important. However, medication is not always the solution, it can often make things worse. Dr. Mercola points out some interesting arguments for this, and I do think it is important to read because people often think this is a quick way out, but, often it leads to more problems, not less.
I have seen a few cases where antidepressants seem to have been a good choice, so I do not want to dismiss them completely. I would simply like to back Dr. Mercola's article up on this topic to point out there are very important facts to consider when contemplating medicating in this way-especially for those who have IC. Often, those who are the most sensitive are the ones with the devastating side effects, especially if the dose is too high. With those having IC if these kinds of drugs are taken infant type doses are best and more effective than the standard doses that would otherwise be given.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/03/tips-to-av...
Dr.B
Comments
Mental Health
Dear Dr. B,
For a while there I was feeling like I was trying to compete, and probably winning, for the title of resident nut job. My thing was not depression, it was anxiety to the point of paranoia. With your help I was desperately trying to get off of the conventional medication. My GP had the levels so high, trying to control things, that I developed tremors and an irregular heartbeat. However, when I slowly weaned myself off of those meds and went just with what you perscribed, I spiraled down to a really really dark place. I got there by thinking that if I just kept hanging in there, it would get better; Thus not communicating to you or myself how bad it was really getting.
Please, please, don't get me wrong, what you do is incredible. When I finally took the responsibility for making sure that you heard me, you listened to me and found something, combined with a very minimal dose of the other medication, to help me get through it. Ladies, this doctor is wonderful, but she aint no mind reader. It is just so confusing, as a patient, to feel lost between what you offer and the quick fix, readily available, insurance covered, western medicine. However, the rewards along the way are awe inspiring.
Thank you
Denise
This was a really nice post! I think it offers really important insight to newer and in some cases, more seasoned patients. Thank you so much for taking the time to say all of this, and of course, for the kind words!Dr.B
Placebo/efficacy & danger
I'm confused about his comments on antidepressants' efficacy and the placebo effect. As I read it, he says clearly that they are not a placebo, but then goes on to say they are less effective than placebo when unpublished trials are factored in. I know with just my experience, there's no way it was the placebo effect (after going on another kind first that made me worse, if anything I had negative expectations!), and they were absolutely effective.
Also, if they can be so devastating, then in the rare situations where as you say they are a good choice, how does it still not cause major problems? Or is it that it usually does, but not as likely in infant-size doses that you recommend?
Ditto to Denise's post. Before I finally got on antidepressants out of true necessity b/c of an extreme situation, I don't think I was forceful enough in communicating to Matia how bad it was for me. I was trying so hard to hold out b/c I know from her and my own research how you want to avoid them at all costs.