and the medication I took as a kid, was for stepping on a rusty nail...
Therapy is dumb to me and I wonder if I should keep taking my oldest daughter to it...
Perhaps it could hurt the self-esteem of a kid?

One word.

Alco

Actually I am very serious...but...nobody ever thinks that...i cursed myself...
Bernie, what's "alco?"
Dutch...counseling seems dumb...

this song is a band warming up...they establish a groove, then get ready for concert...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLVA7Ap1vkQ

if you don't like your therapist try a new one.

if you get the right person, they can help you drasticly change your life for the better.

dont give up with just one person. you never had good feeling ab them anyway.

medication.. a lifetime of meds... how hopeful does that sound? if there is a diagnosis thats one thing.. but even so, couple it with a reputible therapist.

hgus

Meds can make an excellent adjunct to therapy, but they are only helping the low feelings themselves - they don't address the source. Everyone's different and the results of therapy can vary. Counseling helps to zero in on the source of the issues. Speaking from my own experience, I was able to make a monster of a breakthrough recently regarding a repressed memory. Wasn't easy - I'm the type of guy that likes to try to figure things out for myself. But I doubt I would have been able to figure it out without a little prodding. Again, it varies from person to person.

Actually Road...some people do have to live on meds for their whole lives, and i don't think there is anything wrong with that. It all depends on each persons situation, background, makeup etc. I've been on meds for about 16 years, and in no way do i feel like it masks any feelings etc. I still deal with my shit head on. I am also in therapy. I am a big believer in it, especially if you are on antidepressants. I think the two go hand in hand. I don't think either one is for everyone though. Especially if the person is not ready or open to change. All i know is that i needed the extra support and both have helped me a great deal.

I have never heard of a chemical solution to a spiritual problem.

It might be a cliched answer, but I think it rings true.

I think there's a place for both.

Meds can help biological/physiological issues like depression but the meds don't help someone DEAL with life in a different way so that things like depression aren't so bad. Therapy is the mechanism that will assist with providing the individual new tools to process and handle life differently - better coping mechanisms, perspectives, etc. Meds can't do that for you.

I would agree with Jenna and Dutch.

Some people need meds for a chemical balance and will be better off with them in every day life in general. In many cases though, meds are only a temporary solution to a solid problem that will need to be worked through. I think meds will help stablize the person at first so they can gather their thoughts, calm the anxiety, provide sleep, etc. while working with a counselor, speaking with friends and addressing issues as they come will all build your strength inside so someday the meds, counselor, etc are not needed anymore.

Jenny said it best, try another counselor if you are seeing someone and it doesn't feel like it is helping. The right counselor/therapist can do wonders.

50/50. There's people that believe strongly in both, but they are about eual in how effective they are.

My personal opinion....both ARE crutches, but would you tell someone with a broken LEG not to use a crutch?.... No, because they could permenantly mess up their leg if it doesn't heal straight. Crutches are awesome wonderful things. And as for meds....would you tell a diabetic to stop taking their insulin? Or does THAT kind of hormonal dysregulation make more sense to you then ones that more directly affect the emotions. (And make no mistake....most diabetic drugs indirerectly affect emotions through glucose regulation.)

Most things take a certain amount of Time to work. Aspirin takes 30 min. So taking a tenth of a dose and waiting 5 min...isn't going to get any results. Therapy usually takes 6 weeks to start getting results, and the same with most psycological medications....it just takes that long to affect the seratonin receptors and all of that good stuff. Oh and it takes one to two years for the brain to revert back to baseline after an addiction.

But nothing cures everything. Identifiying the problem is the first step.

Sometimes it's what you call it.

When my son was in kindergarten a girl with Spina Bifita who walked with a crutch used to come in to use the bathroom (smaller in the kindergarten.)

I explained it like this. We ALL use stuff to get around....socks, shoes, bikes, cars, buses....yet we're completely dependant on them daily. Yes, they all cause problems from time to time (feet grow out of shoes, shoes don't match the outfit, tires go flat.....), but we don't say the things are wrong because of that.

In Eat Pray Love she resists medication and there is a wonderful par or two on all the alternatives she tried - until a doctor told her she would not leave a kidney ailment unattended and she made the link between her hardworking pull yourself together no-meds upbringing and her resistance to meds.

She writes of seeing cracks of sunlight for the first time in ages. Under proper supervision they can bring sunlight and music back.

Regarding therapy, my daughter learnt some great life skills that I wasn't passing on to her properly, although I thought I was.
For myself, I have been to some truly rubbish ones but the good ones are out there. It is good to gain perspective sometimes.

Hope this helps.

I didn't find marriage counseling helpful. We didn't have a problem communicating, he just couldn't tell the truth and counseling didn't inspire him to... Also, the therapist never said anything that fixed the problem, he just listened, except for once... he told me to get him drug tested. Nothing I hadn't considered on my own. Maybe he was a crappy therapist, though. He talked of "balancing our relationship", but never got around to telling us how to, in 3 months time, so I quit going.

I tried an AD and really wished it would have worked so I could take it for a year or two, while getting through this crap. Unfortunately, it made me very sick.

I believe sometimes going to a therapist and doing the drugs screw the kids up more. Several times kids are misdiagnosed.