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Sad story. I wonder whether he might have benefitted from a mindfulness based therapy. Unfortunately, some depressions are more difficult to treat than others.

by csdrane 12y ago

Sad story. I wonder whether he might have benefitted from a mindfulness based therapy. Unfortunately, some depressions are more difficult to treat than others. Very qualified doctors that I know would disagree with the notion that "it’s still not clear that [antidepressants] are better than placebos." They would argue that antidepressants are overprescribed to people that do not in fact have biological depression, lowering the effectiveness rate. Lastly, it should be noted that ECT (electroconvulsive therapy), is actually one of the most effective treatments for depression, and one that carries minimal harmful side effects (although short-term memory loss is one such side effect).

quanticle 12y ago
As someone with depression, it's clear to me that our knowledge of mental health is where medicine was in the late 1700s. We know that certain treatments work for certain people, in certain situations, but we don't have the theoretical frameworks to figure out where to experiment further. Reading the psych. literature, it really feels like a lot of the science in that field is just random shots in the dark. When certain therapies or substances work well, we don't why they work and in what circumstances they won't. IMHO, psychology is still waiting for its "germ theory" moment.
- marincounty 12y ago
  I'm so tired I'm not even sure why I'm posting. I have spent so many days thinking about the treatment of psychiatric disorders; it literally gives me a headache. I agree that Psychiatry is still in the Dark Ages(not figuratively, but in some ways so close to the right period in time it's humorous.) I won't state what I was diagnosed with, but what I will disclose is it came on one Christmas Eve and went on for Years. I tried all the tri, and heterocyclic drugs. They all failed spectacularly. The only reprieve I have gotten over the years are highly addictive drugs. I now just try to keep the dosage low because I know if my current doctor retires; I'll have a hard time getting these drugs, or run out of money paying out of pocket for unnesarry office visits. I don't blame the Psychiatrists--that is the Psychiatrists who don't call themselfs "Specialist in Psychotropic Drugs", or a dude who charged $400.00/hr for dubious advice and medication. Who I do blame are the Drug companies and their oh so carefully designed Double Blind Placebo Controlled studies. Studies which were pimped out to the cheapest Ho(country). Studies that were cherry picked in order to show the FDA their dubious drug worked slightly over Placebo. Studies that didn't exclude early Placebo responders. Studies that didn't account for subjects who felt the side effects and attributed to the Placebo Cure. And--my last gripe; Studies that didn't really use subjects who were clinically ill. Yes--they were poor, and many times Homeless, but they really didn't have a malfunction in their brain.(Yes--they might have had symptoms out of DSM-5, but because of their predicament many of their symptoms could be accounted for.) While I'm on the soap box, I'll pass this along. I'm not sure this s the truth, but it came from a good source. It is this; I was told that Fluoxetine(Prosac) showed so little promise it was "shelved" for years until some MBA in Business decided to he could market a cureall drug--that is if the researchers played along?
Hydraulix989 12y ago
ECT offers a very poor trade-off -- potentially irreversible brain damage and mental dysfunction in exchange for the docility and temporary emotional blunting or euphoria that result from the damage.
- rhizome 12y ago
  Yep. It's "effective" in that it's not suicide.
  - DanBC 12y ago
    No, it's effective in that it cures completely some people's depression, leadig to a transformed life. Not everyone, and it's reserved for long term untreatable severe depression, but it's important to note that it's very effective for some people.
    - rhizome 12y ago
      Well sure, sometimes, but you yourself describe it as a last-ditch effort.

by csdrane 12y ago

quanticle 12y ago

As someone with depression, it's clear to me that our knowledge of mental health is where medicine was in the late 1700s. We know that certain treatments work for certain people, in certain situations, but we don't have the theoretical frameworks to figure out where to experiment further. Reading the psych. literature, it really feels like a lot of the science in that field is just random shots in the dark. When certain therapies or substances work well, we don't why they work and in what circumstances they won't. IMHO, psychology is still waiting for its "germ theory" moment.

marincounty 12y ago
I'm so tired I'm not even sure why I'm posting. I have spent so many days thinking about the treatment of psychiatric disorders; it literally gives me a headache. I agree that Psychiatry is still in the Dark Ages(not figuratively, but in some ways so close to the right period in time it's humorous.) I won't state what I was diagnosed with, but what I will disclose is it came on one Christmas Eve and went on for Years. I tried all the tri, and heterocyclic drugs. They all failed spectacularly. The only reprieve I have gotten over the years are highly addictive drugs. I now just try to keep the dosage low because I know if my current doctor retires; I'll have a hard time getting these drugs, or run out of money paying out of pocket for unnesarry office visits. I don't blame the Psychiatrists--that is the Psychiatrists who don't call themselfs "Specialist in Psychotropic Drugs", or a dude who charged $400.00/hr for dubious advice and medication. Who I do blame are the Drug companies and their oh so carefully designed Double Blind Placebo Controlled studies. Studies which were pimped out to the cheapest Ho(country). Studies that were cherry picked in order to show the FDA their dubious drug worked slightly over Placebo. Studies that didn't exclude early Placebo responders. Studies that didn't account for subjects who felt the side effects and attributed to the Placebo Cure. And--my last gripe; Studies that didn't really use subjects who were clinically ill. Yes--they were poor, and many times Homeless, but they really didn't have a malfunction in their brain.(Yes--they might have had symptoms out of DSM-5, but because of their predicament many of their symptoms could be accounted for.) While I'm on the soap box, I'll pass this along. I'm not sure this s the truth, but it came from a good source. It is this; I was told that Fluoxetine(Prosac) showed so little promise it was "shelved" for years until some MBA in Business decided to he could market a cureall drug--that is if the researchers played along?

Hydraulix989 12y ago

ECT offers a very poor trade-off -- potentially irreversible brain damage and mental dysfunction in exchange for the docility and temporary emotional blunting or euphoria that result from the damage.

rhizome 12y ago
Yep. It's "effective" in that it's not suicide.
- DanBC 12y ago
  No, it's effective in that it cures completely some people's depression, leadig to a transformed life. Not everyone, and it's reserved for long term untreatable severe depression, but it's important to note that it's very effective for some people.
  - rhizome 12y ago
    Well sure, sometimes, but you yourself describe it as a last-ditch effort.