4 ms·

The Psychopharmacology of Everyday Life

17 points by prostoalex 8y ago

Fnoord 8y ago
"Moving from induced mania to depression, it’s been twenty-four years since Prozac Nation was published; I never read it but practically everyone I know has been on a modern antidepressant Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) like Prozac at one point or another. Do antidepressants help with depression? It’s a touchy subject; they have clearly helped many through periods of depression, saving the lives of some who have struggled with suicidal feelings. One thing I will say is that I prefer my patients not to be on them if possible, or eventually to get off them. True, the lows aren’t as low, but neither are the highs high, and pleasure is limited to some medial zone." Well, what if the truth is that all these drugs allow us human beings to function better according to how society expects us to (being financially independent for starters)? I don't use Prozac as anti depression aid. I use Prozac because I have autism, and it makes me less sensitive. I get triggered less therefore it allows me to function better as someone who has autism. I didn't make this assessment myself; people around me told me that I am easier ever since I use it. Yet in statistics I will count as "SSRI user" and "Prozac user" and "antidepressant user". I'm very curious how common such off the record subscriptions actually are. Heck, there might even be people who are undiagnosed on the spectrum yet successfully use Prozac (or an other drug). FWIW, what I very much like about the drug is its high half life. If I forget to take it in the morning, I only start to notion that in the afternoon (and I am sensitive to drugs). The drug has its downsides, for example gotta be careful with alcohol. Then again, only need very little alcohol to notice an effect. It also lowers the fear for needles I have, and therefore I might be able to not use oxazepam if I require a needle injection.
- hestefisk 8y ago
  Agree, this article reads, whilst historically interesting from perspective of the breakthroughs in psychopharmacology, much like a grand conspiracy theory about the industry itself. SSRI (and its descendants, ie SNRI) is an incredibly effective class of drugs that has helped a lot of people function well. Without it, many of them would likely have resorted to drugs or alcohol. Doctors don’t prescribe it because they are evil; they do it because it is proven to work and helps the majority of people that take it.
tcj_phx 8y ago
This is a good article, if a little long. I mostly skimmed the sections on specific classes of medications. There are two quotes that I especially want to 'bookmark' with a comment here. This was on medicating "schizophrenics" with tranquilizers: "[...] from what I have learned, we are trading more humane treatments for a solution that superficially seems effective, but on closer examination is not helping patients in any long-term way and may actually be killing them." Robert Whitaker discusses the old "humane" treatments for the mentally ill in his book, Mad in America [0]. The Quakers had "asylums" where patients were kept safe and provided 4 meals a day. Most patients recovered well enough to leave the asylum after a while. [0] https://books.google.com/books?id=Cw6MlCXhN5MC https://books.google.com/books?id=Cw6MlCXhN5MC This quote alludes to the corruption of the psychiatric diagnostic manual (DSM) to justify the modern mental health industry's medication-centered practices: "Modern psychopharmacology goes hand in hand with a psychiatric diagnostic system that has, over time, been redefined to rely on medicating symptoms away rather than looking at the structure of the mind and its complex permutations in order to work with a patient in a deeply engaged way over the long haul." (emphasis added). My recent comment [1] discussed medication strategies that address causes rather than treat symptoms. Very few patients get such rational medication strategies, they just get patent medicines that are FDA-approved to treat their symptoms. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18525361 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18525361 The author's fixation on Freud's body of work is interesting. Certainly there are more current insights that [s]he could have drawn upon. (edit1: minor edits & changed book link)

17 points by prostoalex 8y ago

"Moving from induced mania to depression, it’s been twenty-four years since Prozac Nation was published; I never read it but practically everyone I know has been on a modern antidepressant Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) like Prozac at one point or another. Do antidepressants help with depression? It’s a touchy subject; they have clearly helped many through periods of depression, saving the lives of some who have struggled with suicidal feelings. One thing I will say is that I prefer my patients not to be on them if possible, or eventually to get off them. True, the lows aren’t as low, but neither are the highs high, and pleasure is limited to some medial zone." Well, what if the truth is that all these drugs allow us human beings to function better according to how society expects us to (being financially independent for starters)? I don't use Prozac as anti depression aid. I use Prozac because I have autism, and it makes me less sensitive. I get triggered less therefore it allows me to function better as someone who has autism. I didn't make this assessment myself; people around me told me that I am easier ever since I use it. Yet in statistics I will count as "SSRI user" and "Prozac user" and "antidepressant user". I'm very curious how common such off the record subscriptions actually are. Heck, there might even be people who are undiagnosed on the spectrum yet successfully use Prozac (or an other drug). FWIW, what I very much like about the drug is its high half life. If I forget to take it in the morning, I only start to notion that in the afternoon (and I am sensitive to drugs). The drug has its downsides, for example gotta be careful with alcohol. Then again, only need very little alcohol to notice an effect. It also lowers the fear for needles I have, and therefore I might be able to not use oxazepam if I require a needle injection.

hestefisk 8y ago
Agree, this article reads, whilst historically interesting from perspective of the breakthroughs in psychopharmacology, much like a grand conspiracy theory about the industry itself. SSRI (and its descendants, ie SNRI) is an incredibly effective class of drugs that has helped a lot of people function well. Without it, many of them would likely have resorted to drugs or alcohol. Doctors don’t prescribe it because they are evil; they do it because it is proven to work and helps the majority of people that take it.

tcj_phx 8y ago

This is a good article, if a little long. I mostly skimmed the sections on specific classes of medications. There are two quotes that I especially want to 'bookmark' with a comment here. This was on medicating "schizophrenics" with tranquilizers: "[...] from what I have learned, we are trading more humane treatments for a solution that superficially seems effective, but on closer examination is not helping patients in any long-term way and may actually be killing them." Robert Whitaker discusses the old "humane" treatments for the mentally ill in his book, Mad in America [0]. The Quakers had "asylums" where patients were kept safe and provided 4 meals a day. Most patients recovered well enough to leave the asylum after a while. [0] https://books.google.com/books?id=Cw6MlCXhN5MC https://books.google.com/books?id=Cw6MlCXhN5MC This quote alludes to the corruption of the psychiatric diagnostic manual (DSM) to justify the modern mental health industry's medication-centered practices: "Modern psychopharmacology goes hand in hand with a psychiatric diagnostic system that has, over time, been redefined to rely on medicating symptoms away rather than looking at the structure of the mind and its complex permutations in order to work with a patient in a deeply engaged way over the long haul." (emphasis added). My recent comment [1] discussed medication strategies that address causes rather than treat symptoms. Very few patients get such rational medication strategies, they just get patent medicines that are FDA-approved to treat their symptoms. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18525361 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18525361 The author's fixation on Freud's body of work is interesting. Certainly there are more current insights that [s]he could have drawn upon. (edit1: minor edits & changed book link)