5 ms·
Different treatments affect different people differently. This isn't particularly controversial, but the layman suggesting that they know better than scientists
by least 6y ago
Different treatments affect different people differently. This isn't particularly controversial, but the layman suggesting that they know better than scientists/doctors is kind of dangerous. There is of course room to be skeptical and ultimately you know what's going on better in your head than anyone else does, but that's not really actionable across an entire population of people suffering from something similar to you.
It's also dangerous because you're telling people they don't have a problem they need to address and that if they do address it, they just need to eat differently, neither of which are applicable broadly to people with bipolar disorder. Medications that didn't work for you might work for them and are worth pursuing.
- slothtrop 6y ago> the layman suggesting that they know better than scientists/doctors is kind of dangerous That's a strawman.
- podgaj 6y agoThank you. Yes, a strawman and so frustrating since I literally have the metabolic and genetic proof that I found out what was causing my mood disorder. And as a result the doctors are providing better and different treatment. This what this "layman" discovered.
- least 6y agoDo you or don't you have a disorder? In the first post you made in this thread you very clearly stated you don't. Now you're saying you do. The problem with your post is that you very discretely stated that you don't have a disorder even though you admit to being bipolar. Despite the fact that your "difference" has pushed you to suicide attempts, psychosis, and more. The fact that an effective treatment for you specifically was a low protein diet (which by your own admission still didn't remove the requirement for medication) doesn't make it not a disorder. The attitude is dangerous because you are spreading misinformation about something you are suffering from, which in turn can result in someone else being harmed.
- zepto 6y agoThe viewpoint that bipolar (and other brain differences) is a difference rather than a disorder can enable a person to have self compassion, and find peace and self acceptance, even though the condition will continue to affect them. The idea that it’s a disorder and can be treated as such is a reasonable hypothesis for medical science to pursue, but that is all it is. Outside of that it’s just a source of stigma and misinformation.
- least 6y agoThe viewpoint is based in the reality we live in where we stigmatize abnormality. The correct response isn't to try and normalize abnormality, but to try and remove the stigma surrounding it. Suggesting that it is normal actually creates a stigma for those who are suffering from it from pursuing treatment because they're supposed to feel that way because it's "normal."
- podgaj 6y agoIn no way do I think my symptoms are normal and just different. What I am saying is that what causes my symptoms is a different response to a similar environmental input that most people do not react to, ie, diet. I want you to consider it being like an allergy, not that I have some sort of histmagenic response, just that when you take my trigger away I have no symptoms.
- zepto 6y agoWho said anything about normalizing abnormality? If by abnormality, you mean traits that are far from the center of a population normal distribution, then I agree that this is essential information for a person to have about themselves. Nobody is encouraging people to think they aren’t different from the norm, when they in fact are. Abnormal, disordered, or diseased are very different things, and should not be confused. As for treatment - nobody should seek treatment because someone else has told them they are abnormal, or because they are not close to the center of the bell curve for a given trait. This is simply a bad reason. People should seek treatment if it will help improve their quality of life, and they are willing to accept the trade-offs that come with it. Whether they are ‘normal’ or not is irrelevant.
- proverbialbunny 6y agoThere is a problem with how we diagnosis illness today. We diagnose off of symptoms and symptoms only. The reason this is a problem is there can be multiple different things that cause identical or nearly identical symptoms. Today we think of those multiple things as one, but they're not one thing, they're different things. If they were the same, they would have the same cure. Parent knows he has a BH4 deficiency. Instead of calling that bi-polar, we could instead call it eg, 'bi-polar type 5' out of, say, 12, where 12 is the number of cures we've found for bipolar. Eventually, as time passes, we can map all if the cures, mapping all of the types. However, we can not do this if we think of an illness as a singular thing. This person has one specific type of bi-polar, and just because it only cures a subset of bi-polar patients does not mean it should be dismissed. It should be documented so we can have a list of cures. Once there is a list of cures a doctor can walk through this list and eventually find the correct cure for the patient. Once everything is mapped it becomes possible to have a 100% cure rate. This is something no single pill can do. This is why we should not force a one shoe fits all approach. It is toxic behavior to dismiss a solution just because it only works on a subset of patients. If I had bi-polar I'd be glad to know their story, so I could try it and see if it would work on myself. Dismissing psychological solutions is a toxic behavior we as a culture share. Let's do our part to make the world a better place and end this behavior.
- least 6y agoThis doesn't deviate from what I said at all.
- proverbialbunny 6y agoNot everything said has to be in conflict. I'm guessing you're from Reddit? Welcome. ^_^
- least 6y agoThere's a reason which you chose to respond to my comment rather than creating a new thread or responding to a different parent comment.