Do meds just make you hide from the pain?

I've never been diagnosed with anything, never taken medication, nor have I ever wanted to, but my 'symptoms' are getting worse. I've always been against giving people medication for depression and anxiety because it will never get rid of it and if it does then that doesn't mean you conquered it, it just means you became so emotionally and mentally blocked you stopped thinking about it. My problems with reality, solipsism, and wants for suicide are getting worse however. I get stuck in constant loops wondering what it means to exist and it can tend to lead to odd behavior (more info on that in a separate post). What would medication offer me? The same thing as video games do for me? Just block everything out or is there something I'm not getting. A lot of great philosophers questioned reality and existence but they didn't need meds, I think. I'm not expert on the field whatsoever so sorry if there's anything stupid listened in here. Some people, if they knew my thoughts, would no doubt label me a psychopath and try to put me on meds, but why? I believe I'm normal so that's why I don't think I need meds, but then again I feel wants to tie someone to their bed and stuff their mothers entrails down their throat. Some incite on what medication did for you would be nice.

Krocket
I've never been diagnosed with anything, never taken medication, nor have I ever wanted to, but my 'symptoms' are getting worse. I've always been against giving people medication for depression and anxiety because it will never get rid of it and if it does then that doesn't mean you conquered it,

Taking insulin doesn't get rid of diabetes, but it sure helps.
If you lack insulin, you take something to correct it, what's wrong with that?
Depression is often caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain which might have been caused by caused by childhood abuse, or maybe genetic, if you can take something to help, why not?

Also be aware-every thought we think affects every cell in our body. Habits of angry/bitter/hopeless/or any other kind of unhealthy or overstimulating thoughts release powerful chemicals in the brain and body that can make one feel pretty bad. watching violent/immoral/fantasy,etc. media-or even worse interactive games with such content pretty much take over the mind and body. whatever you let in your mind is stored there for good.
Before turning to drugs-i would consider-what am I feeding my mind? So many,especially young people are so overstimulated with media-that anything less than that artificial stimulation is perceived as "boring". Add to that lot's of sugar/junk food/caffeine/etc.-and then add psyche drugs on top of that(they are giving such drugs as ritalin to preschoolers and elementary children in large numbers)-will the person EVER be able to THINK -I wonder?
Loving thoughts/ kind thoughts /thoughts about how things work in the natural world,etc. produce good and inspiring feelings.
So taking drugs to deal with painful and bad thoughts and feelings doesn't make sense in most cases-you have the power to change the info coming into your mind. Although destructive thinking patterns and media addiction can be very strong and if one really wants to change it will help to ask for support if it is available. you must replace the destructive habits with good, positive input. The feelings will follow.
also cutting out sugar/junk food/caffeine-drinking enough water and eating a healthy diet and "brain foods" (like berries/healthy fats/etc.)can help alot with emotions. Check Dr Fuhrmans website for great nutrition advice or amazingdiscoveries.org

As a university student who does philosophy, I think it's important to note that a lot of great philosophers that we have records of were born into wealth, and so had room to accommodate for their issues. Self-medication wasn't uncommon before psychiatric medication, especially alcohol (which causes liver failure, cancer, and makes a total jerk out of the user, so that's one hell of an alternative). A great many of them were miserable, angry, unhappy people; the tragic, tortured philosopher/artist thing only goes so far before it gets old, and is no longer worth it.

I was afraid of and hated the idea of medication for a long time, because I didn't get what they were or what they were supposed to do. I thought they were just there to turn us into zombies or something. What needs to be understood, though, is that the majority of the mental illnesses medication is prescribed for are not things that can be overcome psychologically, or worked through. They're more chemical/structural/biological in nature, and so a solution that addresses that, the source, is necessary. Use of lithium goes back to ancient times; while they didn't know the particulars about the springs they used, lithia water was often prescribed as a remedy for madness. Self-medication goes back forever. And as an alternative, until relatively recently, there were asylums, sanitariums, where people like us would be thrown and imprisoned until death, often enduring great abuse.

The purpose of medication is to give you your life back. It's to remove the instability and let you get on with things. If we're talking about psychological issues, things that could be worked through with therapy, yeah, meds would be cover-ups. But with things like schizophrenia and bipolar, or even depression and anxiety in some people, the root of the problem is chemical, and so you need a solution to match it. Mental illnesses like these are not products of modernity. They've been around for a very, very long time, and psychiatry, as a new science, is just beginning to find ways to help us that haven't been possible before. It is not perfect. There is a lot of trial and error. And of course, there are oppressive aspects to involuntary treatment, and issues with capitalism's hand in it all. But that doesn't mean that medication doesn't save lives, or that it's all a scam. It's just new, and flawed.

I love my meds. Anti-psychs can pry them from my cold dead hands. If I were to stop taking them, I would return to a life of misery that I have absolutely no interest in, and probably kill myself anyway. There is nothing to tackle, nothing to talk through about it; my problem is biological, and so I address it as such. Period.

Helping people hide from pain is one way people can use medication. Taking the edge off it so they can attempt to begin to access or process pieces of it would be another.

Alternatively sometimes people can use meds for other reasons.

I suppose the reason I'm against medication is because I have the delusion that anything in the mind can be changed by the mind. I forget that no matter how much I believe I'm the only being in existence I still have a brain and a body that react off things. Thanks for the insight.

Krocket wrote:I've always been against giving people medication for depression and anxiety because it will never get rid of it and if it does then that doesn't mean you conquered it,

Of course there is medication out there that will do this. An effective medication however is more along the lines on what Katana stated. It will give you some breathing room so that you can do the work to change the things in your life that are causing you the pain in the first place.

Yorkshirelass wrote:Taking insulin doesn't get rid of diabetes, but it sure helps.
If you lack insulin, you take something to correct it, what's wrong with that?
Depression is often caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain which might have been caused by caused by childhood abuse, or maybe genetic, if you can take something to help, why not?

The chemical imbalance theory is incorrect. It was made up by drug companies. Even the National Institute of Mental Health's director talks about a different point of view on causes of psychiatric disorders.

As described at the APA’s 2011 annual meeting by NIMH Director Thomas Insel, MD, neuropsychiatric research is pointing to a complex interplay between factors traditionally dichotomized as “biological” and “psychosocial”.4

As Insel describes the new model, conditions such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are attributable to rare, but highly potent, genetic variations that lead to dysfunction in multiple, complex brain circuits. However, the particular symptomatic manifestations in a given individual-—the disease phenotype—is partly dependent on the person’s experiences and environment.

- See more at: http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/couch-c ... kyjz7.dpuf

The biological and psychosocial theory is what is now seen as more accurate.

Cheze2

As Insel describes the new model, conditions such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are attributable to rare, but highly potent, genetic variations that lead to dysfunction in multiple, complex brain circuits.

I don't get your point. You say the chemical imbalance theory is incorrect, and then say genetic variations are the cause?
But surely genetic dysfunction in brain circuits would impact on the chemical signals? So the chemical imbalance theory might well be right.

The chemical imbalance theory is incorrect. It was made up by drug companies. Even the National Institute of Mental Health's director talks about a different point of view on causes of psychiatric disorders.

Well all I can say to that is I take meds and they help me.

I know a schizophrenic who lives an (almost) normal life with the help of meds. She has been to uni, the uni was very good and aware of her difficulties. She has a boyfriend, lives independently and has a part time job. I doubt she could cope with a full time job as the meds make her sleepy she likes a kip after lunch.
The meds are not ideal, it took a year of trial and error before a good mix was found. Her first psychiatrist was not that good, her second was excellent.

No amount of talking therapies would have made a difference.

Lexicon_Devil, I agree with you.

Cheze2 wrote:The chemical imbalance theory is incorrect. It was made up by drug companies. Even the National Institute of Mental Health's director talks about a different point of view on causes of psychiatric disorders.

As described at the APA’s 2011 annual meeting by NIMH Director Thomas Insel, MD, neuropsychiatric research is pointing to a complex interplay between factors traditionally dichotomized as “biological” and “psychosocial”.4

As Insel describes the new model, conditions such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are attributable to rare, but highly potent, genetic variations that lead to dysfunction in multiple, complex brain circuits. However, the particular symptomatic manifestations in a given individual-—the disease phenotype—is partly dependent on the person’s experiences and environment.

- See more at: http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/couch-c ... kyjz7.dpuf

The biological and psychosocial theory is what is now seen as more accurate.

I wouldn't say the chemical imbalance lingo was "made up" as much as it was used as a gross oversimplification to communicate with the general public. This is not uncommon when bringing forward complex scientific ideas; I think the point was just to make people understand that it wasn't just laziness or something controllable through willpower. Yes, it's more accurate to say that it's biological, genetic, structural, etc., with psychosocial factors depending on the condition, but as chemistry is indeed involved, and the solutions offered are primarily chemical, it's often oversimplified to a "chemical imbalance" to make it more comprehensible. It's not outright wrong, it's just a smaller part of the bigger, much more complex picture.

there is still a lot of terrible abuse/over drugging going on in mental institutions. (responding to statement made Oct 19 by Lexicon_devil) the pharmaceutical companies are making billions from these drugs. i believe they do have effects-they mask symptoms. I also believe that they will cause even more problems down the line-it is tampering with the delicate balance of the human brain. yet-there are multiple factors (some of them may be from genetic and developmental causes that we have no control over) that have led to the serious imbalances in the individual expressed as a mental illness. it takes much more time and effort to search out and address the causes of mental illness than to just pop a pill. Every person is unique and for most there are multiple factors involved. For one it could be heavy metal toxicity, for another it could be the trauma of abuse combined with poor lifestyle habits/addictions, for another it could be a totally different combination of causes. just prescribing pills to people is very profitable for big pharma and those in the medical field- yet is not addressing the real causes and empowering the individual.