Date:   4/16/2009 5:46:30 AM ( 15 y ago)
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URL:   https://www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=1398017

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There are a few points I'd like to address from your last few posts.
1). You call psychiatric medications an "artificial" fix for mental illness. So by extension wouldn't insulin be an "artificial" fix for diabetes? Chemotherapy an "artificial" fix for cancer? Anti-hypertensives an "artificial fix for blood pressure? In all fields of medicine, not just psychiatry, we augment a person's natural physiology with some outside agent. Maybe someday we'll have a miracle "cure" for everything but unfortunately today that's not true and the best we can do is control the symptoms and hopefully improve our patients quality of life. And in regards to the cognitive therapies I agree that in certain patients (and I stress certain patients) they can be very helpful but overall haven't been proven to be more effective than medications in the long term management (not cure) of mental illness.

2). You imply that psychiatrists want to keep their patients sick in order to make more money off of them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Right now I've got 10 patients on an inpatient unit. I wish I could discharge every one of them tomorrow. What you need to understand is that psychiatric inpatients COST the hospital money, not generate it. So most inpatient psychiatrists have constant pressure from hospital administration to get patients out ASAP. Furthermore most psychiatric units are constantly full with a huge back up of patients waiting in jails and ER's to get a bed. It's not like if I suddenly discharge all my patients I'll be out of work. If anything, the problem is TOO MANY patients and not enough doctors. In a perfect world I would get a new patient, meet for a few months or however long it takes to stabilize them on meds and/or therapy. they would be cured and live happily ever after. Unfortunately it rarely works that way.

3). Psychiatry is somewhat unique among the medical fields in that we are trying to not only protect our patients but the public as well. I have a few patients right now that if released today would almost certainly seriously injure or even kill someone as a result of their psychotic symptoms. How do I know this? Because some of them ended up in the hospital due to their violent behaviors and tell me everyday they want to kill me, or a nurse, or their parents, or their neighbor or everyone in the world. So of course these guys, like most psychiatric inpatients, are angry about recieving treatment. Psychiatrists are stuck between this rock and a hard place, when we force treatment we are villified for taking away the patient's rights. But when someone slips through the cracks and acts out violently (Virginia tech, the recent shootings in Binghamton NY) we are blamed for not acting aggressively enough. I understand you have schizophrenia and it's undoubtedly been a difficult struggle for you. I wish I could tell you there's a definitive "cure" out there but there isn't and anybody who tell you otherwise, especially on these idiotic holistic forums, is lying. If you're unhappy with your current doctor and feel he/she isn't listening to you I would suggest finding another one.


 

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