Psychs

I haven't read all the posts quite yet. I dont have time or enough room in my brain to do it all in one sitting. So forgive me if this has already been covered.

First, it seems universally accepted that "kids are over-medicated". What is the basis for that statement? Are there occasionally kids given ritalin who dont need it? Im sure. Just as there are kids given antibiotics that dont really need it. But unfortunately we dont live in Star Trek times and doctors dont have a thingy they can wave over our bodies that will tell them definately what the problem is. lol

Sometimes prescribing meds is a form of diagnostic testing. If the person responds to the med then that would confirm the diagnosis.

I think many children need medical treatment for mental illnesses and aren't getting it. I know I was one of them. My life could have been so different if my clinical depression had been treated much earlier.

As for seratonin, it is one of the neurotransmitters suspected of being involved in the disease process of clinical depression and bipolar depression. This supposition is based on the fact that Selective Seratonin Re-uptake Inhibiters have been proven to relieve depressive symptoms. Since they increase seratonin and relieve symptoms the conclusion was reached by many that a lack of seratonin causes depression.

True scientists, however, do not usually go with a supposition. That is left to us lay people and LRH. They have to prove something before they state it. Or at least that is how it is supposed to be.

One psychiatrist/researcher said it was like saying the cause of your headache is a lack of aspirin.

What they have found is that when someone takes an SSRI their seratonin levels are increased almost immediately. However symptoms dont start to improve for days or weeks (up to 8 weeks--for me it is always 7 weeks)

Newer research is leading many to theorize that anti depressants actually work by causing neurogenesis in the hippocampal region of the brain. Newer brain imaging techniques prove that the hippocampus is shrunken in those with clinical depression. Also animal studies have shown that anti-depressants cause neurogenesis in that area of the brain, however it is delayed.

Here is a link about the research to any that are interested:
1. Longer more complicated site: http://www.biopsychiatry.com/newbraincell/index.html

2. Shorter easier to read site: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/hipnd.html

As someone who has experienced this illness firsthand, I can tell you that it is a brain disease. It is not a "mood disorder" as it is currently classified by the DSMV. Mood problems are sometimes involved in the illness, but it is just one aspect and not even the worst. Most experts agree that it involves a malfunction in the brain. But patients know this is true. I am not one to say to a doctor: "I know my body better than you." lol Because generally speaking, I dont. I couldn't tell you where my spleen was if my life depended on it. But I know how I feel. for someone to say that I wasn't really ill would be like someone telling you your arm is fine when you can feel that the bone is broken.

I've read where Scio's say that ADs make people like zombies, or numb, etc. That was not my experience, or the experience of most of the other patients I know. Depression made me feel numb and like a zombie. Anti-depressants made me feel alive again.

OK, just read a little more and wanted to state that my PERSONAL experience is that psychologists cannot prescribe meds and Psychiatrists always can.

The difference is between being a PHD and an MD.

I have also not been able to find a psychiatrist who does therapy. I see a psychiatrist to discuss the medical aspects of my illness, (symptoms i.e. sleep, appetite, memory, mood, energy, digestion, etc. and side-effects) and to get any scripts. takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Then I see a psychologist for cognitive/behavioral therapy. for about an hour.

I've been doing this off and on for many years. What I have found FOR ME is that the therapy is only slightly helpful in my life and has almost no effect on my depression. It helps me deal with it and helps me see when it is coming and picking up in the aftermath. but it doesn't relieve it or prevent it. Medication has always been the only thing that relieved symptoms.

I asked a Psychiatrist once what my prognosis was. He said I was not cureable, but I was treatable. I said "well what is the goal? How do we know when we get there?" He said: "what we are looking for is the most alleviation of symptoms with the least amount of side-effects."

I appreciated this answer. I dont trust people who claim they can cure anything. And I appreciated knowing what to expect.

I asked him if there was hope for a cure. He said: Not in your lifetime. The most you could possibly expect in your lifetime is with genetherapy they would be able to test your blood and tell you what treatment you would respond to.

Interestingly, they are doing trials now on a blood test for Bipolar depression.

I've been meaning for a while now to share a link to a story on recent Melbourne medical research using MRI that indicates that ADHD brains function differently.

The story includes an interview with Prof Alasdair Vance, a child psychiatrist involved in research.

You can see brain scans showing areas of the brain being used (or not used as the case may be) by kids with ADHD and those without.

Two boys who were treated with both medication and intensive counselling are interviewed. I found their story quite moving.

There is a much longer interview with Alasdair on the site as well.

[RLSteve]

I think you should separate Psychologists from Psychiatrists. A Psychiatrist is a trained Medical Doctor while a Psychologist has less training than a Practical Nurse. The only reason to use a Psychologist is after you have been diagnosed by a Psychiatrist and recommended by said Psychiatrist to the Psychologist who follows the prescription of the Psychiatrist.

Just as some physical maladies can be caused by psychological means, psychological maladies can be caused by physical ailments, that is why a Psychiatrist needs to be an M.D. so as to eliminate the causes.