Posted by Dinah on March 12, 2005, at 7:58:57
In reply to Re: Posters on this board, posted by willyee on March 11, 2005, at 1:08:49
The trouble with science is that sometimes they measure and measure things and don't think about cause. For example, they might measure the brains of lots of people with depression and find that serotonin is low, so voila add serotonin and things will be fine.
But low serotonin is potentially the result of many things. Have you read the studies on dominant and submissive male monkeys? If I remember correctly, if a sumbissive male monkey was placed in a dominant position, his serotonin levels rose. His life circumstances changed, and that changed his biochemistry. No one gave him any drugs.
They've also identified major changes in brain chemicals by changing the environment in which young primates grow up.
So it's a big jump between identifying biochemicals that are associated with depression, anxiety, etc. and identifying the cause underlying the biochemical differences.
And if negative life circumstances affect our biochemical profiles, why shouldn't positive life experiences? The effect of stress on a gazillion illnesses has been identified. Why should mental illness be any different? If learning to reduce stress or change our response to stress in therapy can help diabetes, why not depression?
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that some of us have biochemical systems that differ from the norm. Medication can change that, so can altering life circumstances, or our responses to life circumstances. A combination of the two has consistently proven most productive.
Good therapy is more than a chat. More than support even (unless support is the desired goal).
I have had disastrous medication results. For me, therapy has far fewer side effects than Wellbutrin or Effexor or Luvox or nortryptiline or Remeron. Moreover, I'm convinced that the bipolar tendencies that emerged with those medications forever sensitized my biochemical system and changed my illness forever. I wish to God I had never started them. I'm ok with my mood stabilizers, Klonopin, and anything that calms rather than stimulates my system.
Medications have an effect on everyone, some positive and some negative. Therapy helps some people but doesn't help other people at all. There are numerous possible reasons for that, but rather than speculating on them, I'd just say that therapy is useful for those who benefit from it, medications are useful for those who benefit from it, and whatever is useful for anyone is great, as long as it doesn't have a negative impact on other areas of their lives.
Maximize positive effects while minimizing negative effects from whatever treatment you choose, and I will certainly never judge your decisions whatever they may be.
poster:Dinah
thread:469875
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050305/msgs/470008.html