Posted by mattdds on April 9, 2003, at 20:21:02
In reply to Re: My hypothesis of the origin of HPA axis dysreg. , posted by glenn on April 9, 2003, at 17:26:18
Peter,
Sorry to hear CBT didn't work for you. I can certainly understand how you would become bitter with psychotherapy, even with CBT!
I still hold the position that drugs can indeed be useful! Don't get me wrong. Perhaps even if it is "downstream", antidepressants or other psychotherapeutics can help to break the viscious cycle of worry, and the corresponding changes in the brain, whatever they may be. For example, the benzodiazepines were / are VERY useful for me, and they felt somemewhat "curative". I do hope that the CRF antagonists pan out as many of us are hoping, but I have serious doubts that this will be the silver bullet. For that matter, I really doubt that ANY one neurotransmitter will turn out to be the culprit.
Finally, even though I am obviously a CBT enthusiast, I don't think it is a panacea, and I do think (and strongly hope) that more advanced methods of changing deeply rooted self defeating beliefs / psychic kinks will eventually be developed. Perhaps it will be some sort of virtual reality program that "rewires" our brain through some sort of crazy A/V interface. Who knows? I just sometimes wish I were born about 400 years later, just to see what the future holds! So really, it is not CBT per se that I am so enthusiastic about. It is the idea of being able to manipulate neural networks in the brain so they interpret incoming data (i.e. LIFE) in a more productive and positive manner.
In sum, I view the brain (and therefore the mind that arises from it) as more of an electrical network, rather than a sack of chemicals. I feel that trying to target discreet chemicals represents a sort of "shotgun" approach, and that a cure, if it exists will more likely involve a "reprogramming" of sorts, much like a computer with faulty software. Obviously, we don't have the mechanism of delivery for this sort of approach, but CBT, to me, represents a primordial, tedious, and sometimes frustrating effort to rewire our brains. But I still definitely feel the possible benefits outweigh any difficulties, especially since you have nothing to lose! I wish there were an easier way to do this, but we're not there yet.
And hey, for right now, I appreciate the "shotguns" that we have, but feel that CBT, although crude, is more on track.
Again, comments (negative/positive) are welcome! Perhaps I am just totally whacked out here? Or does anyone else feel the same?
Thanks,
Matt
poster:mattdds
thread:217414
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030407/msgs/218019.html