Posted by Athene on September 26, 2014, at 13:58:49
In reply to update after stopping medication for a few months, posted by noozyprexa on August 30, 2014, at 11:54:59
A lot of people aren't interested in getting off meds because they believe they have a lifelong medical condition and that their diagnosis describes them well. The people who want to get off the psych drugs tend to be the ones who disagree with the medical model and see their problems as emotional distress that can be transformed/healed, not something they are stuck with forever.
If you want more of the second point of view, check out the Mad In America website: http://www.madinamerica.com. This site was started by Robert Whitaker, author of the books *Anatomy Of An Epidemic* and *Mad In America*. He was a journalist who initially believed the medical model but then came to see things differently after doing in-depth research.
I don't think people critical of medication are quacks at all. They are usually folks for whom the dominant model hasn't worked, or who have actually been harmed/traumatized by it. They simply reach different understandings than the mainstream, about experiences that are very personal and unique to each of us. And there are also clinicians who are critical, because they have discovered the value of alternative approaches and the severe limitations of medications in many cases.
Also, many people who successfully get off psych drugs and recover from their problems don't really talk about it. They just move on with their lives and stop using the MH system. That's another reason why the "mental health community" tends to be people who have very specific, biological-minded opinions about their issues (and those of other people with the same labels).
You might also want to check out the Icarus Project. They have reached alternative understandings of "madness".
Athene
poster:Athene
thread:1070515
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20140914/msgs/1071521.html