If you haven’t already, you might want to check out Gianna’s new Ning group Beyond Meds. I joined up yesterday. The description for it is “A place for anyone who has been victim of psychiatry or for anyone who wants to avoid psychiatry or learn how to avoid psychiatry.”
It may seem quite odd to those of you who know me, and know I willingly and often gratefully, take psychiatric medications. And I’m not terribly keen on the whole anti-psychiatry movement because of the havoc caused by people I’ve seen who were both unmedicated AND untreated in any other way. Frankly, most people I’ve met personally seem to be too ill or lazy or unskilled or uneducated in their application of alternatives and can’t or won’t use these approaches with knowledge or rigorously enough for them to be helpful.
Comically enough, though, I got a reminder about alternatives to psychiatric meds the other day from, of all people, my psychiatrist. So hey, it must be time for me to learn a little more about alternatives. Psychiatry and alternatives can be either good or bad, I think. It’s how we use and approach them.
Babbled by Immi.
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It never hurts to have as much information as possible on any other treatment methods, but I’d be wary of those trying to “convert” you.
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I think mental illness can only be controlled by other methods as well as psychiatry–such as exercise, healthy eating, blah blah blah. I used to hate everybody telling me that same stuff over and over but it really is the only way to have any kind of a life, I’m finding. I also tend to write things like “this mood will change” on the outside of my house, but that’s a different story…
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Good to know someone will be there to offer a balanced opinion. I don’t dare as I’d probably start some huge flame. Not too fond of alternative medicine (not that psychiatry is perfect).
Luckily my psychiatrist is pretty holistic and is genuinely focused on my wellness. I’m a very lucky person to have her as my doctor. Its just that when you have such a good pdoc, you really don’t like the idea of antipsychiatry.
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WC – Bingo on info on other treatment methods. I’m not worried about people trying to “covert” me, though, as I don’t convert easily.
Anna – I think psychiatry and other things usually need to go together too to be as well as possible. Psychiatry and meds sure aren’t the whole answer! So I try to find all the bits and pieces I can.
Feliz – We’ll see how it goes. Some alternative medicine I find very useful and sensible, others not so much. To each our own, I figure.
Jena – That’s great! I’m finding my pdoc is far more concerned about me than about just doping me up. Woo! I’m not keen on much of anti-anything really, except maybe anti-anti. LOL Balance seems to work best most everywhere, but dang it’s hard to do sometimes.
being open to alternatives does not have to be about being anti-psychiatry…
it’s too bad people want to put people in boxes..
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Touche Gianna. The boxes are as much a problem as anything else. Easy to do, hard to live with.