Posted by Miss Honeychurch on February 2, 2005, at 11:06:33
In reply to FOR NIMROD, posted by Miss Honeychurch on February 1, 2005, at 15:37:58
I am indeed flattered that you all think me courageous. I tend to think I had no other choice and many times I shortchange myself on this. However, my T has told me there was a huge possibility I could have abused drugs and alcohol to deal with my depression and anxiety. He tells me to congratulate myself on both the things I have done, as well as things I HAVEN"T done.
Nimrod, please don't beat yourself up over allowing yourself to be pumped with so many drugs. Pills are so prevalent in our culture,there are drug ads all the time now on TV. Many physicians even feel pressured to dole out drugs (they are courted heavily by drug companies)wihtout so much as a tap on the knee to check reflexes. What matters now is that you realize that that was a possible mistake and want to investigate other avenues.
I have done A LOT of research on the benefits of psychotherapy (CBT/REBT) alone vs. medication alone. There is a huge relapse rate for depression when medication is stopped, about 80%. For those who have learned skills thru therapy, the relapse rate is much lower.
Many people benefit from a mixture of drugs and therapy which I believe is great. But what most people do is go to their Primary Care Physician and get a prescription for anti depressants, and that's it. No therapy, nothing. And then they go off the meds and wonder why they are relapsing. Depression is many times biological, but it also has environmental and social factors.
PLease keep us up to date on how you are doing! And you can talk to me anytime. I think there is a lot of pressure in this day and age to take drugs. And again, while I believe drugs help many people, you also have a right to REFUSE to take them.
Just a side note: When I sought therpay for the first time I visted a psychiatrist. After 20 minutes of talking to me, he wanted to put me on drugs. I never went back. Instead, I purposefully sought out a psychologist, someone who didn't have power to write out a prescription, someone who was generally interested in the process of psychotherapy instead of chemicals.
poster:Miss Honeychurch
thread:451116
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050129/msgs/451694.html