The article mentions depression causing dementia, which I'm certain has been claimed by the eggheads, though I am wondering if depression pills cause dementia. My concerns are owing to watching the rapid decline of two of my family members. How many depression patients were not given drug treatment in their research??
They claimed similarly about brain damage and schizophrenia when as it turns out was (and still is) their drugs all along.
Years ago, I was head of dept of psychiatry in a veterans hospital. We had a very skeptical resident MO on the ward who made it clear when he arrived he didn't think much of psychiatry. Our patient population was elderly and many admitted in confused states or seriously agitated, etc. After a while, the MO said: "I don't get this. We have all these patients admitted in bad mental states, you take them off their drugs and you do nothing but they get better. " I said to him: "That's right."
He began to understand the effects of psychotropic drugs on a marginally-compromised brain and started to enjoy his time with us.
Sure, though the average psychiatrist can still be on a good wicket! I just had phone call from one of my two medical student daughters - she told me that MRT ( the rebranded HRT - hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women) is now totally safe and can be used freely (i’m exaggerating a bit). Apparently risk of breast cancer and DVT etc all normal with newer studies! I said be very very sceptical as these studies usually done by the drug companies. While symptoms of hot flushes and sleep disturbance can be somewhat annoying, I said that for women in societies like Japan, where healthy diet and the elderly are more valued, very few women report significant menopausal symptoms. I’m sure it’s more to do with the fact that in WEstern Youth obsessed societies for women menopause means “old age” and not being attractive to men anymore - and many husbands maybe running off with younger women at this time when children are also flying out of the home leaving the “empty nest syndrome”.
However I don’t think money is necessarily the key motivation. For medical doctors who are psychiatrists - if we take away the effectiveness of their drugs - what is left to differentiate them from eg psychologists, who probably have more training in psychotherapeutic techniques. Also the power that psychiatrists can wield - being married to one I often see the glazed look of adoration that comes over (gullible) people’s eyes when they find out my husband is a psychiatrist - they believe he can see into their inmost soul and know all about them; and he loves it! (I’m sure the best psychiatrists are geniuses of the study of human nature - but that is only a few!)
Should have been a bit clearer. I wasn't talking about the average psychiatrist but the "key opinion leaders," the ones who are paid huge sums of money by drug companies to tout drugs, to the point where nothing a KOL says can be taken at face value. Have a look at this:
Whitaker R, Cosgrove L (2015). Psychiatry Under the Influence: Institutional Corruption, Social Injury, and Prescriptions for Reform. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
"Antidepressants are highly addictive and many people end up taking them for decades; …Now, if you still want them ... No? Very sensible, nor would I. So let's start talking, shall we?". As a GP I need to learn this script - I also have very rarely commenced anyone on antidepressants - only about twice when patients begged me - one had previously used them and liked being numbed, or maybe had withdrawal effects because going back 6 years I DIDN’T know about the severe withdrawal effects people can have. - only after witnessing what a close family member went through did I learn about the harms of these drugs as MAINSTREAM medicine still mainly in the dark about this, despite 1/6 Australians taking these drugs. I had seen earlier research on their lack of effectiveness and from a philosophical perspective could NOT see how a pill would solve the complex and existential life issues that people with anxiety and depression are grappling with.
These articles are the highlight of my week!
The article mentions depression causing dementia, which I'm certain has been claimed by the eggheads, though I am wondering if depression pills cause dementia. My concerns are owing to watching the rapid decline of two of my family members. How many depression patients were not given drug treatment in their research??
They claimed similarly about brain damage and schizophrenia when as it turns out was (and still is) their drugs all along.
Oh, I should clarify, both were prescribed depression pills for sleep
Years ago, I was head of dept of psychiatry in a veterans hospital. We had a very skeptical resident MO on the ward who made it clear when he arrived he didn't think much of psychiatry. Our patient population was elderly and many admitted in confused states or seriously agitated, etc. After a while, the MO said: "I don't get this. We have all these patients admitted in bad mental states, you take them off their drugs and you do nothing but they get better. " I said to him: "That's right."
He began to understand the effects of psychotropic drugs on a marginally-compromised brain and started to enjoy his time with us.
Sure, though the average psychiatrist can still be on a good wicket! I just had phone call from one of my two medical student daughters - she told me that MRT ( the rebranded HRT - hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women) is now totally safe and can be used freely (i’m exaggerating a bit). Apparently risk of breast cancer and DVT etc all normal with newer studies! I said be very very sceptical as these studies usually done by the drug companies. While symptoms of hot flushes and sleep disturbance can be somewhat annoying, I said that for women in societies like Japan, where healthy diet and the elderly are more valued, very few women report significant menopausal symptoms. I’m sure it’s more to do with the fact that in WEstern Youth obsessed societies for women menopause means “old age” and not being attractive to men anymore - and many husbands maybe running off with younger women at this time when children are also flying out of the home leaving the “empty nest syndrome”.
However I don’t think money is necessarily the key motivation. For medical doctors who are psychiatrists - if we take away the effectiveness of their drugs - what is left to differentiate them from eg psychologists, who probably have more training in psychotherapeutic techniques. Also the power that psychiatrists can wield - being married to one I often see the glazed look of adoration that comes over (gullible) people’s eyes when they find out my husband is a psychiatrist - they believe he can see into their inmost soul and know all about them; and he loves it! (I’m sure the best psychiatrists are geniuses of the study of human nature - but that is only a few!)
Should have been a bit clearer. I wasn't talking about the average psychiatrist but the "key opinion leaders," the ones who are paid huge sums of money by drug companies to tout drugs, to the point where nothing a KOL says can be taken at face value. Have a look at this:
Whitaker R, Cosgrove L (2015). Psychiatry Under the Influence: Institutional Corruption, Social Injury, and Prescriptions for Reform. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
"Antidepressants are highly addictive and many people end up taking them for decades; …Now, if you still want them ... No? Very sensible, nor would I. So let's start talking, shall we?". As a GP I need to learn this script - I also have very rarely commenced anyone on antidepressants - only about twice when patients begged me - one had previously used them and liked being numbed, or maybe had withdrawal effects because going back 6 years I DIDN’T know about the severe withdrawal effects people can have. - only after witnessing what a close family member went through did I learn about the harms of these drugs as MAINSTREAM medicine still mainly in the dark about this, despite 1/6 Australians taking these drugs. I had seen earlier research on their lack of effectiveness and from a philosophical perspective could NOT see how a pill would solve the complex and existential life issues that people with anxiety and depression are grappling with.
Perhaps have a look at this:
McLaren N (2018). Anxiety: The Inside Story. Ann Arbor, MI: Future Psychiatry Press.