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It doesn't cure any of these disorders. All they can do is reduce the symptoms just enough between each pill you pop.

by aviv 9y ago

pcwalton 9y ago
You say that like it's a bad thing! Reducing symptoms of depression has saved lives.
jdietrich 9y ago
Psychological treatments like exposure therapy are highly effective in treating PTSD, panic disorder and phobia. A significant proportion of people with severe anxiety-related disorders can be completely cured in a matter of weeks. It doesn't work for everyone, but thousands of lives have been transformed by psychotherapy. The best available evidence suggests that psychological treatments are equally effective as drug treatments for most common psychiatric disorders. Psychological therapies are generally orders of magnitude more expensive than drug treatments, so unfortunately they aren't as widely available. Psychiatry is an incredibly challenging field and there are a lot of things we just don't know. Drug companies might have a strong incentive to keep selling you pills, but insurers have an equally strong incentive to cure you outright. Single-payer healthcare systems like the British NHS have a huge incentive to use the best, most cost-effective treatments available. It's just an unfortunate fact that we can't fix everyone. There is no magic wand to cure all human misery and there's no conspiracy to keep people sick. http://cochranelibrary-wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003388.pub4/abstract http://cochranelibrary-wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD0033... http://cochranelibrary-wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD011170.pub2/abstract http://cochranelibrary-wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD0111...
- vanderZwan 9y ago
  > Psychiatry is an incredibly challenging field and there are a lot of things we just don't know Yet. Let us remain optimistic :)
stordoff 9y ago
How is that a bad thing? Sure, a cure would be _significantly_ better, but reducing symptoms can result in a vastly better quality of life.
- ada1981 9y ago
  Yes, the attempt to reduce symptoms is admirable when a cure is not available. Fortunately Psychedelic medicines are coming online that can allow for actual healing of the underlying patterns. They saved my life for certain.
- aviv 9y ago
  Take Crohn's for example. Sure you can be on Remicade for a decade with no significant flare-ups. Then the day Remicade stops being effective you're completely screwed. Plus your situation got worse over time, you just didn't get the messages your body has been trying to send you. Remicade was essentially the firewall.
azernik 9y ago
... which is exactly what I was saying? When you don't know how to cure something, you treat the symptoms.

It doesn't cure any of these disorders. All they can do is reduce the symptoms just enough between each pill you pop.

by aviv 9y ago

It doesn't cure any of these disorders. All they can do is reduce the symptoms just enough between each pill you pop.

pcwalton 9y ago

You say that like it's a bad thing! Reducing symptoms of depression has saved lives.

jdietrich 9y ago

Psychological treatments like exposure therapy are highly effective in treating PTSD, panic disorder and phobia. A significant proportion of people with severe anxiety-related disorders can be completely cured in a matter of weeks. It doesn't work for everyone, but thousands of lives have been transformed by psychotherapy. The best available evidence suggests that psychological treatments are equally effective as drug treatments for most common psychiatric disorders. Psychological therapies are generally orders of magnitude more expensive than drug treatments, so unfortunately they aren't as widely available. Psychiatry is an incredibly challenging field and there are a lot of things we just don't know. Drug companies might have a strong incentive to keep selling you pills, but insurers have an equally strong incentive to cure you outright. Single-payer healthcare systems like the British NHS have a huge incentive to use the best, most cost-effective treatments available. It's just an unfortunate fact that we can't fix everyone. There is no magic wand to cure all human misery and there's no conspiracy to keep people sick. http://cochranelibrary-wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003388.pub4/abstract http://cochranelibrary-wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD0033... http://cochranelibrary-wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD011170.pub2/abstract http://cochranelibrary-wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD0111...

vanderZwan 9y ago
> Psychiatry is an incredibly challenging field and there are a lot of things we just don't know Yet. Let us remain optimistic :)

stordoff 9y ago

How is that a bad thing? Sure, a cure would be _significantly_ better, but reducing symptoms can result in a vastly better quality of life.

ada1981 9y ago
Yes, the attempt to reduce symptoms is admirable when a cure is not available. Fortunately Psychedelic medicines are coming online that can allow for actual healing of the underlying patterns. They saved my life for certain.
aviv 9y ago
Take Crohn's for example. Sure you can be on Remicade for a decade with no significant flare-ups. Then the day Remicade stops being effective you're completely screwed. Plus your situation got worse over time, you just didn't get the messages your body has been trying to send you. Remicade was essentially the firewall.

azernik 9y ago

... which is exactly what I was saying? When you don't know how to cure something, you treat the symptoms.