re: It's the mental "health care", stupid.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Squeaky McGee:</b>" That's the unfortunate thing about antidepressants. A lot of time the risk of suicide and self-harm increases, because the individual never had the energy to carry through with it before."</blockquote>




I have never seen antidepressents do what they are supposed to do honestly. Myndaughter takes meds for epilepsy that are also antidepressents and for a while it made her soooo sick and i finally got the doctor to wean her off.. I hate them.

I read on FB the batman shooter and a bunch other shooters including adam were all on antidpresents when they shot up the places... I seriouslu beleive it could be connected.. I can see if i can find it

Quoting ~Julie Blue Eyes~:" I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment. So much so, that I was nodding my head in agreement. This is the scenario that I believe to be true."

I think of it like diabetes or any other illness that you need medication for, a diabetic who goes too long without taking his medication starts feeling light headed and weak, and quickly thinks I have to take my meds. Problem solved.

Where as when someone with schizophrenia or another paranoid disorder goes too long he thinks the opposite, something to the degree of "oh.. I feel like myself, these pills are keeping me down, omg the government is against me.. these children are zombies" or something to that nature.

I also believe that we have not yet discovered the right medications, I'm unsure if it's because every person is so different or because we just straight up aren't medically advanced to that level yet. But I feel like too many people who are diagnosed and medicated aren't getting what they need. Either it's a young kid who is more sedated than.. fixed, or an adult who is just far too wound up.

Whatever it is I believe we need to do more research on these illnesses, that's the first step in my mind. Because I can say what I want, but if my four year old daughter was diagnosed with something like this, would I want her drugged out and too tired to move? No, I'd want her to be a kid, because SHE is my responsibility, and I can't really fault any parent who thinks the same.

Quoting Leisurely Duchess:" Columbine happened primarily because of anti-depressant use with teens. Other instances of extreme violence ... [snip!] ... I don't take any opinion from Faux News seriously. Especially when they seem to think it was caused by secularization."

I don't think you have to take the man's opinion seriously. It's not about that. It's just about addressing a question that has been raised.

In a nutshell, you feel that there is really just no way to REALLY know what someone will do or is capable of, until they do "it"? Am I understanding you correctly.

You may very well be right.

While my husband was in the military I had insurance... I went to a psychiatrist and was put on a few different meds. Took a bit but I did find something that helped so so much. I'm already feeling the effects of being off them (can't take them while pregnant). Once the baby is born I will go back on zoloft since it's safe to take while breast feeding. I can tell you first hand that meds make me sane and I can actually function with them vs without them.

Quoting ~Julie Blue Eyes~:" I don't think you have to take the man's opinion seriously. It's not about that. It's just about addressing ... [snip!] ... know what someone will do or is capable of, until they do "it"? Am I understanding you correctly. You may very well be right. "

I agree with this, it's also a hard to measure how many people are medicated and DON'T blow up a building or open fire in a shopping mall. How do we know how many people have been cured of these compulsions? It raises too many questions, how many people would if they were off their medication? How many people never got the compulsion to go into a violent rage because we caught it soon enough?

Quoting Mðmmå Çhï¢lꆆê~ 8wks:" While my husband was in the military I had insurance... I went to a psychiatrist and was put on a few ... [snip!] ... while breast feeding. I can tell you first hand that meds make me sane and I can actually function with them vs without them."

When you aren't on them do you feel the same as you did before you started taking them? Worse?

Quoting Legendary Amanda:" I agree with this, it's also a hard to measure how many people are medicated and DON'T blow up a building ... [snip!] ... off their medication? How many people never got the compulsion to go into a violent rage because we caught it soon enough? "

This whole thing, it's very.......complicated and complex. I don't really understand mental disorders and I don't know anyone that is on medication for anything like depression or a condition like that. I''m trying to learn so I can understand a little bit better. There are many takes on it, from what I see.

<blockquote><b>Quoting ~Julie Blue Eyes~:</b>" When you aren't on them do you feel the same as you did before you started taking them? Worse?"</blockquote>




That's hard to answer. Bipolar gets worse with age, with the more stress you have and the heavier you are... I'm under more stress and heavier than when I was a teenager.

I have seen several people on BG talk about the lack of mental health care. Is this actually a problem, the way you see it? Have you known anyone that has not gotten the treatment they need? Why (if you know the reason) were they turned down for said care?

Sure, I know someone. Myself. And yes, it is a problem.


Do you feel that medications are overused. Do you think that psych meds do more harm than they* are letting on? Have you known anyone on meds in their younger years and then "flipped out", maybe committed suicide or acted out in another way?


Very overused. The first thing the psychiatrists want to do are drug people, and it is a shame. The meds are there to mask the problems, but they don't actually solve them.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Back to Noob Status:</b>" I have seen several people on BG talk about the lack of mental health care. Is this actually a problem, ... [snip!] ... want to do are drug people, and it is a shame. The meds are there to mask the problems, but they don't actually solve them."</blockquote>



I think what really started me asking this question, is the fact that anti-depressants actually can cause more severe depression; even going as far as thoughts of suicide. Whoa!

I don't know exactly hardly anything about mental illness, in general, so this may seem ignorant, but it just seems like the more medicine prescribed for these conditions, the more we are seeing and hearing about the side affects. I'm really curious to dig into this a bit deeper because if medications like these and tragedies like these go hand in hand, we've got huge problems.

Quoting ~Julie Blue Eyes~:" Please (I'm asking nicely) don't make this debate about gun control. It's not about gun control Act like, ... [snip!] ... Our will to heal, not bluster, will define how much senseless, horrific, preventable violence we are yet to see in our schools."

I have depression and severe anxiety. It is damn near impossible to get mental health care because I don't have insurance and I can't pay out of pocket. I am supposed to be on fluoxetine and lorazepam daily but I can't afford treatment. So yes, it's a huge problem and America should be ashamed at how the mentally ill are treated. I also do think medication is used too much. I spent a week in a psych hospital for my issues and everyone there was heavily medicated. I do NEED meds, but it's also important to have actual therapy to help people cope with things in tandem with taking meds.

Quoting Tarynosaurus Rex:" I have depression and severe anxiety. It is damn near impossible to get mental health care because I ... [snip!] ... I do NEED meds, but it's also important to have actual therapy to help people cope with things in tandem with taking meds."

I believe that Americans in general are prescribed meds that they dont necessarily need but im talking more about the hundreds of kids who are diagnosed with add or adhd and are put on meds when they dont need them.
Now as far as people who do need their pills, theres a lot why cant afford the meds. I have a friend who is on xanak, depakote and a couple more. Her out of pocket costs are a couple hundred a month and a lot of the time she cant afford them so she cuts her doses down to half or just doesnt take them at all

I think the entire system in the US is jacked. We often prescribe to people who need therapy & learned coping skills over meds & we don't care whether people actually get better - just whether or not they can pay & we only address those that can't pay after they become a "problem" to us as a whole.

I've seen nasty side effects on meds & seen Drs blow off the patient when the patient is telling them what they are experiencing & telling the Dr they can't stay on that pill...I have one person close to me wrongly locked up against her will based on a bad reaction she took to a med & then they put her on heavy anti-psychotics & tube fed her & strapped her to a bed & she was incoherent. Scariest thing I've ever seen happen & made me realize how easily ANY of us could be deemed insane in an instant & have all sorts of things done against our will. (This was several years back in a "good" hospital) She got out, stopped all meds & was & is FINE...as in FINE. Has NO issues. Just a horrendously BAD assessment by a team of mental health Drs when she came into the ER & they deemed her unstable.

I know a family whose Dd needs therapy for some worsening behavior & she is allowed something like 12 visits per year for insurance & they've already run through half of those in 2 months time & they can't afford more out of pocket.

And I do think we NEED to stop the stigma of therapy. Seriously - if someone is struggling & you suggest they seek a therapist you often times get a VERY offended reaction from them as if you've said something horribly insulting, rather than suggesting they seek a qualified source of help in coping.

One of the best things I ever did was seek a therapist. I think I likely could have worked through my issues with someone not trained, but having someone ask the right questions (and the hard questions) and someone you KNOW you can be brutally honest with about everything, really helps put things into perspective.

Quoting Legendary Amanda:" I'm not going to speak on that event, but the amount of violent rages in general that happen in the ... [snip!] ... I think once we hit 20 or 25 it's pretty much too late because we've already laid a foundation of the type of person we are. "

I'm not a mental health professional but i have worked in hospitals and i believe there are a few of the more common disorders that have an onset age typically in the late teens and early 20s. I'm not disputing what you said about not medicating enough. I have mixed thoughts on this.