Voicelessness and Emotional Survival > Voicelessness and Emotional Survival Message Board
Do antidepressants work?
sKePTiKal:
Hi SL!
--- Quote ---The two sibs together go through about $30k a year of prescription chemicals. I have to wonder if a program of cognitive or other "talk" therapy might have been more effective and much less expensive.
--- End quote ---
I'm glad you shared this. I always thought that the popularity of these drugs, was their cost-effectiveness. At my T's old rates (sans insurance) this amount would've bought over 2 years worth of hourly appts. (maybe that doesn't hold true in all cases, tho')... these days, everyone is looking for the most benefit from the least amount of cost, in health care.
Kinda touches on my philosophy-rant of "how to improve and contain costs of health care"... that being: low-tech, nutrition, exercise, meditation -- i.e., engage the patient in lifestyle changes (and provide the support needed to do that), and if no change -- only THEN, start to address the allopathic options. Those changes have a high failure rate if attempted solo -- without the emotional support element, whether that's one on one or a group.
And now, I start to wonder -- how many physical, medical problems have some emotional/psychological root-source?
Hopalong:
You're welcome ((((TT)))). I am so glad you ain't feeling "broke."
Really neat that some of the info rings some chimes...
I am not overweight any more but still have apnea (though it's way better). It's just my throat/palette architecture. (Some desperate folks have surgery for that. Not me.) It's waaaaay better since I did lose, got down to my h.s. weight. (Partly ADD Rx, because they take the edge off appetite...and emotional eating isn't interesting any more. We won't mention the entire pint of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia last week--must've been somebody else.) What's nice is that those cravings aren't daily any more. I think a lot of it is that I've added the green powder shakes and feel so much better than it's easy to keep the connection in my mind. So not as ahrd to (usually) be intentional about what I take in...feeling I urgently need to preserve my health, eat 95% seriously good for me stuff, not waste calories, etc.) Rambling...
Oh. Was going to say I dunno if I snore any more, since there's noone to tell me! Probably do. But my guess is that's way better too. When I was just 20 pounds heavier, I'd snore and gasp hard enough to wake myself.
What I was thinking about a sleep study (not that you need to worry about seeking out one...) wasn't for apnea for you, but because they'd record brain activity when you're in the weird struggle-to-be-fully-awake morning period.
Still, the best news is that you have (on your own!) actually figured out what sort of an Rx balance is effective for you. Don't worry about it pooping out...ain't inevitable.
You are some kind of impressive, TT. (I just research stuff like that since I used to do it professionally.)
love,
Hops
SilverLining:
--- Quote from: PhoenixRising on August 06, 2011, 08:13:44 AM ---And now, I start to wonder -- how many physical, medical problems have some emotional/psychological root-source?
--- End quote ---
Hi PR. I'd guess a lot. My sister has a confirmed problem with "somatization disorder". She is constantly going from Dr. to Dr. with complaints of various sorts. They try to find physical causes and generally fail. Even when they find a real physical problem and address it, something else pops up in short order. So the usual answer is to send her on her way with a new pill. I keep hoping she will finally get steered into some serious talk therapy, but it doesn't even seem an option anymore. Even after she was finally diagnosed with SD, they just upped her drug dosages.
I read somewhere that much of the basic medical research aimed at finding actual cures for diseases (mental or otherwise)is grinding to a halt for lack of funding. Most of the interest now is in permanent conditions which can be profitably treated with drugs, such as acid reflux.
sKePTiKal:
SL... I'm kinda like your sister, in that much of my suffering - and also healing - affects my body in various ways. I think some of us turn so far inward... that it's our body which is our first boundary with the rest of the external world. Or something like that. The most beneficial thing I've found so far is getting signed up for and obligated to attend body work sessions... yoga, tai chi, something like that, that involves a new way of experiencing one's physical self... and boundary.
Wouldn't it be interesting, though, if there were treatment available that combined both mental/emotional therapies and physical, allopathic medicine? Chinese medicine is about the closest I've discovered so far... but even that is a bit weak on the therapy side. I wonder if there would be any significant decrease in the time of treatment to "recovery" with such a customized approach? Wishful thinking, I know... I guess I'm trying to invent something.
SilverLining:
--- Quote from: PhoenixRising on August 07, 2011, 08:03:16 AM ---SL... I'm kinda like your sister, in that much of my suffering - and also healing - affects my body in various ways. I think some of us turn so far inward... that it's our body which is our first boundary with the rest of the external world. Or something like that. The most beneficial thing I've found so far is getting signed up for and obligated to attend body work sessions... yoga, tai chi, something like that, that involves a new way of experiencing one's physical self... and boundary.
--- End quote ---
That's how it's worked for me as well. My AD program started when I went to a GP with a variety of physical complaints (fatigue, insomnia, and so forth). At the time I was semi aware of my general "life dissatisfaction" but hadn't really figured out the connection to my physical problems. So maybe learning the connection was a positive outcome of the AD experience. After that I really started trying to figure out my personal and family history, rather than just making frantic attempts to improve external conditions.
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