i got a question about anxiety disorders, and medicine.

[Nocturnal]

i was just wondering, like there are a lot of ppl who suffer from anxiety disorders, such as gad, sad, so fourth. but i was thinking why dont most ppl get better. i see things like ppl still taking their magic pills each day for years, and years. is it because they rather not get help like through counseling and rather just take a pill to help them?

i myself suffer from ocd, and i start therepy on monday. i dont wish to be on medicine at all. my ocd is mild enough to probably treat it with CBT.

im just wondering why a lot of ppl are on meds after so many years.

anyone think they know why?

is it cuz they dont want to get real help through a psychologist?

 

[Miramonti]

btw I have no idea wtf u just said. gad. sad. ocd. cbt. bfd. Are we all supposed to know these?

 

[ChrichtonsGirl]

It's because in some cases, those anxiety disorders are caused by a chemical imbalance that can only be "cured" with medication. There are definitely situations where popping a pill is just the laziest thing to do, but sometimes, there isn't any other alternative.

OCD (mild and moderate cases) is one of the disorders that benefits greatly from behavioral modifications and therapy. That's not the case with major depression, bi-polar disorders, schizophrenia and other organically-based disorders.

 

[ChrichtonsGirl]

<< btw I have no idea wtf u just said. gad. sad. ocd. cbt. bfd. Are we all supposed to know these? >>



GAD = Generalized Anxiety Disorder
SAD = Seasonal Anxiety Disorder
OCD = Obsessive-Compulsive disorder
CBT = Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
BFD = Big Fu.....well, I think you know that one.

 

[Kadarin]

Lately I've been hearing the expression "chemical imbalance" bandied about as a sort of catch-all; it's very useful because it removes all blame from the patient. It's easier to say that you're taking pills because you have a "chemical imbalance" than it is to actually take the time to discover the sources of your particular psychological disorder and treat those.

 

[ChrichtonsGirl]

Astaroth33, do you have one of those disorders I mentioned? Have you been tested for a chemical imbalance? I admit that it can be misused as a catch-all by some people who would rather pop a pill than take therapy, but your implication is that there's no such thing. It's been proven that there is.

There is a definite and distinct effect on the brain that can be measured in certain disorders. If taking medication makes life bearable for those people who have a measured, chemical imbalance, are you calling them lazy?

 

[IGBT]

I know a few people who solved their anxiety problems by getting off nutrasweet (aspartame) artificial sweetener and it's variants. Seems to realy crank many people. Numerous problems associated with it. Worth a try if you use the stuff..

 

[JohnCU]

SAD is Social Anxiety Disorder. I used to suffer from that, and I still do in some ways. It can be caused by an imbalance of Serotonin in the brain (a chemical that helps transmit "happy" signals).

All the people who just think you can, "get over it" are disillusioning themselves. You wouldn't tell someone with cancer to just get over it, would you?