Health Philosophy for Mental Illness meds by Pharmacological grad

Robin, I think this is such a helpful posting. Well done on your achievement too!

Thankfully, I have never needed medication for depression or other mentall illness, but my Dad (who died 20 years ago now) had been hospitalised with a mental breakdown earlier in his life, so I am conscious that I could at some stage be prone to depression. He walked for maybe 45 minutes every day and took B vitamins - both of which I find I very beneficial.  Walking or other exercise is now widely recognised in the UK as often therapeutic in cases of depression. I was talking to a relative this week who has inner ear problems and he said his doctor talked to him about depression - he was feeling quite low after months of not hearing well plus loss of taste and sense of smell - and he said to me he was not intending to take antidepressants if he could manage without, for fear of getting hooked, but he said talking about it and the doctor acknowledging his struggle was helpful to him. As you say, other, positive, avenues should/can be explored.

Thanks for your sensible advice and insight.

Kind regards, 

Congratulations! Your hard work has paid off. Thank you for the helpful info. I think it is very important to be aware of such issues, especially as about 1 in 4 of us will experience some mental problem in our lives.

Hi Robin. Congratulations on your achievement. Pharmacology is very interesting. I do understand the point you are trying to make. However, everyone has depression symptoms occasionally. Everyone has some neuroses. Many clinically sound people  have some features of various mood disorders for example. However, those needing medication are clinically ill and cannot function and are unlikely to be able to alter the course of their illness by making lifestyle adjustments or by informing themselves on google - most probably tried and failed. Properly prescribed regimens do not routinely result in addiction issues. Controlled use of controlled substances nowadays affords a relatively safe treatment and later withdrawal. I don't believe there are many mental health sufferers who, following completion of proper treatment, crave their medicine. The physical dependency for the duration of the treatment is manageable and transient in most patients. Addiction is a prison. But I would be wary of suggesting that controlled medication for treatment of mental illness is hazardous. I would say that not everyone should be medicated and there is certainly overdiagnosis of mental disorders as with everything else nowadays. But those that should be medicated should not be afraid of the medicine they are taking. The key is close collaboration with an appropriate medical professional, i.e. a licenced experienced psychiatrist and preferably not a GP... Careful choice of medication and dosage. Minimal reliance on highly addictive substances such as certain sedatives for example. Conformation to treatment plan and doctor's advice throughout therapy and finally withdrawal. The reason I am debating is because i know a lot of mental health sufferer's can't wait to be told to NOT start therapy because they are afraid. And i feel that something like this could misguide them. Many of them never get better without medication. Many of them should not even try. As a rule, a psychiatrist should always evaluate the patient and suggest a course of action. A good psychiatrist will NEVER prescribe a medicine if it is not needed. Just thinking it is important to remember that there are people reading this who may really need medicine. All the best.