Drugs or no drugs?

The use of psychiatric drugs to treat some forms of mental illness is becoming more prevalent. For instance, Prozac is used to treat depression in some patients, and lithium is used to treat manic-depressive patients. Some people are reluctant to use these drugs because they feel such use interferes with their true personality. Others are against this method of treatment because they think that these people should 鈥渏ust get themselves together.鈥?Hypothesize, based on what you have learned, how these drugs might affect the functioning of the brain. Do you think people should take medicines for emotional problems? If yes explain and if no please explain. Thanks and have a great day.

I am currently on Lithium for Bipolar Disorder. I am just curious what others think of the question. This is not a school related question.

I think using drugs to help your emotional problems is fine. We have doctors and medicine for a reason. My father is bipolar as well and without his medicine he is not safe. I dont think the medicine affects his personality and people who say mentally ill should just get it together really dont have any idea what they are talking about. Hope this helps.

Don't have any idea what they are talking about?!

We all know our own mind better than anyone else in the world and all the drugs so is cause brain damage. Whatever. Destroy yourselves and supprt supresssion and tyranny. Really... **** you. Report It

I don't believe in doctors giving people drugs, because that is a way for them to control you. I believe in taking any drugs you want, whether it be alcohol, illegal drugs, legal drugs, whatever. It's your choice and life. Report It

no drugs.

no drugs

I say if it will aid in a person's Quality of life, then why not. I am on Effexor and Adderall and I am good to go :-)

i dont think the governing body for dispensing drugs can be sure of what the long term side affects of these drugs will do to us!but saying that if it makes you feel better then why not!?

in extreme cases, i think that drugs are a plausable solution to a mental illness.

behavioral, dietary, and psych counceling could be done to help reduce the need for medicines. it is a more natural way, and natrual medicine has been a major part of the medical community for centuries. with some research, i'm sure you could find some very interesting alternatives to medicine.

I think that psychiatric drugs are important for people with certain disorders. People with bipolar disorder especially need to take them. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to hold down steady employment, or stay in long-term relationships. As for depression, sometimes 'just getting it together' isn't an answer. I think that people need to quit worrying about their 'true personality' because what they consider their 'true personality' is the result of a chemical imbalance. Their 'true personality' is the personality they get when their chemical imbalance is put back in line while on medication. It's like saying a person with a physical disease, like cancer, should keep the tumor because it's a true part of them. No way. It needs removed/corrected. Mental illness is the same thing. And drugs are an important part of helping people with mental illnesses. I hope you keep taking your Lithium. Bipolar people have the hardest time sticking to their meds because they want to be manic. Sadly, the depression part begings to be the biggest part of their lives. I lost a sister to bipolar disorder because she decided to not take her meds. She died 8 years ago.

My sister in law was bipolar ,as was her mother before these meds were invented.Her daughter is bipolar and stays on her meds and has been able to raise a family and to live a normal life.The difference is amazing.Stay on your meds.

I say drugs. If I don't take my anti-depressants (currently Zoloft) I cry all the time. I have been on Paxil and Prozac and amitriptiline over the last 10 years. Zoloft works best for me. I function normally day to day while taking the medication. I lost my Brother and Uncle in an accident 20 years ago and have had a very hard time letting go of it. Even though it was not my fault, I hold alot of guilt for my Brothers death. I say if the meds help, then you should take them. I'm sorry to hear about your son. I'm sure my Brother will watch over him in Heaven. He loved children. By the way, my Brother was only 20 when he was killed. My Uncle was 26.

My mother took lithium for many years; since she was 21 years of age. She was diagnosed at a very early stage as having bipolar disorder. She takes it faithfully and has not missed a dose until a few months ago.

She was feeling groggy and decided not to take the lithium. She decided to try and not take them for a few weeks and see what happened. Turns out, it didn't work out for her as she had a real mental breakdown; got very depressed and wanted to kill herself.

She contacted Doctor right away, whom then put her in a state hospital for a few months and also diagnosed her with schizophrenia. He treated the schizophrenia with shock treatments and took her completely off all the meds; switched her to more meds, I would say 9 or more pills 3 times a day.

She was fine all of these years; she stopped taking the meds and went crazy; Doctor diagnosed her with yet another disease.

My thoughts. Medication is not always the best treatment. Before you start it, research it. Lithium is provided by sunlight and most people can get this by sitting out in the sun a few hours a day or keeping their windows open.

My opinion....she was addicted to lithium and the moment she stopped taking them, she cracked. Now all of a sudden she has schizophrenia and is prescribed even more medication. She now believes that she is a schizophrenic because she was diagnosed with it.

Get a second or third opinion. Don't settle on one opinion. You deserve the best for yourself and your family.

I think that the medicine field has advanced a lot, and is still making more advancements. We know now so much more than what we did 10 years ago, and medication is so much more efficient and targeted to treat whatever problems we have.
If you think about it, the brain is all chemistry. What you call here "true personality" is just a different chemical reaction in the brain. I think there is no harm in balancing out the extreme chemical reactions, and treating disorders with drugs. I have a couple of friends who are bipolar, and medication has changed thier life. For the better.
People who say that people with disorders should "pull themselves together" obviously have never had a disorder, and don't know what it's like. People like Tom Cruise who claim they know everything about psychology and that there is no such thing as depression, are just plain ignorants.

(BTW, I also think you would have gotten other responses if you had worded your question differently. People are just answering your "drugs or no drugs" question without reading the details).

it's easy for anyone to say "it's all in your head" when they have no idea what it is like to be in a depressed state of mind. I am also bipolar, and have spent most of my life fighting the same questions that are running through your mind. Personal i hate having to take meds everyday, BUT i have to. I have tried time and time again to stop my meds, but each time wound-up in some crazed state of mind, or out on some wild adventure that eventually caught up with me. You have to trust other peoples perception on your behavior when you are trying to come off. Most will say it's not who they like to see you be. Been there. Some of us in this world are born with imbalances, and no one has the right to make you feel guilty because you HAVE to take meds. Stay strong. If medication helps you cope with life, then it is YOUR business to take it.
Just think of it like this, you and i have bipolar so we have to take pysc. meds. Yeah, they will have side effects, but do we tell cancer patients not to take chemo because it makes them sick? No. That is accepted into our society as being ok. So if you have to take meds to make YOU feel better in the long run, that should be ok too.. good luck..
if you need to chat with anyone about issues e-mail me @ ralston_12@yahoo.com

Yes, I truly believe that some mental and emotional disorders call for medication. When a person goes through a depression, for instance, it could be an "acute" case (situational - your boyfriend leaves you), or chronic (you are just sad, blue, no energy, appetite changes, weight changes, feelings of suicide, suicide attempts). In the acute cases, anti-depressant medication may be used if a doctor feels it is right for THAT specific patient. Most acute cases of depression can be fixed by some councilling, talking, journalling, exercise, diet changes etc). In CHRONIC cases of depression, anti-depressant medication is a must! Along with life style changes, talk therapy, for sunlight, etc. I don't believe that mental disorders can be "SNAPPED OUT OF". That's just not a logical answer. It has been proven that serotonin levels, and/or norephedrine levels are crucial to normal brain function. If either or these or both, are not at a specific level, then medication is used to get them to the proper levels so that the brain can regain it's "normal" use again. It's the same for any other mental disorders. You being on Lithium for a Bipolar Disorder, for instance, is necessary. If you to stop taking this medication, you know what will happen. Your symptoms will return, and eventually you will be in a hospital, or someone will call the cops, or someone who loves you will call your doctor because they're very worried about your well-being. Anything could happen, right? I feel it's the same for about 99% of all mental/emotional (they actually shouldn't be grouped together) problems need medication. Whether it be a chronic anxiety problem, depression, manic/depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, psychosis, etc. There are too many to name. Unfortunately, because people can't SEE IT or TOUCH IT, they are usually the "snap out of it" type (my sister is one of those). People need to be better educated when it does come to mental disorders. THEN maybe patients who do suffer with these illnesses will be treated better, in society itself, and within the walls of hospitals etc. GOOD QUESTION!!

I just wanted to say thank you for a good well thought out and phrased question and thank you for all the people who gave intelligent, honest, and serious answers. You don't see that too often on this site and I am impressed.
I am a family doc and deal with depression quite a bit and feel that medicines can play a role along with therapy. Anti-depressants like Zoloft, Prozac, Paxil, etc. don't usually change an individual's personality. Instead, it helps to "settle" the mind or allow the person to think a little more clearly so they can work through their problems. They do not cause euphoria, but actually help to bring out the person's true personality. Lithium is a little different but I think still acts to help clear things up with regards to someone's thinking process. All in all, I think these medicines play a role and are a good tool for helping people feel better.

Again, thank you to everyone for your answers. I'm glad to see that there are good people out there that are thinking through these issues and not just playing around. Keep up the good work.

Please disregard "rogue butter's" answer. I'm afraid she may have not been treated appropriately and thus had the bad experience. You always hear about the few bad experiences and not the thousands of those who receive the benefits. And the pharmaceutical companies have not hidden any research and the psychiatrists and other doctors do know how these medicines work. Conspiracy theories are just that, theories.

Did you know that they originally discovered the effects of lithium while injecting it into guinea pigs? The whole reason that they started using it was that it made them REALLY lethargic. The sole purpose of Lithium is to make you too tired to think and to impair your ability to be awake and functional. It's just to muddle the mind.

DRUGS ARE TERRIBLE!!! I was forced to take them for the worst 3 years of my life, none if which I remember because my head was spinning WAY too much to keep track of anyhting. I lost track of who I was. That and litium is also dangerous. It can cause some prety bad ( I think it was the kidneys) damage.

To be honest with you, the psychiatrists don't know how most of those drugs work. That and the drugs companies try to hide the research that tells that they cause structural damage to the brain.

I also firmly believe that they impair personality and there is some scientific proof in that in that they damage the frontal lobes of the brain.

The worst thing you can do for yourself is to take drugs.