It's called lack of education in a society that really has no value on education anymore. Even in the lower grade schools now the teachers are scared of what the kids will do to them for failing them therefor they pass them and let them move on without having the skills to learn. So they go all through school skating by not learning anything because they were never taught the basics of how to learn and then become intolerant adults because of that. I hope this makes sense.

just because you lose a leg or a finger, doesnt mean you have to buy and wear an artificial limb. medication costs money, money that not everyone has. money that also depresses you even more for being at a disadvantage in society, and forever being dependent on pharmisutical companies, to fix you.

just giving another point of view.

:D

It's called lack of education in a society that really has no value on education anymore. Even in the lower grade schools now the teachers are scared of what the kids will do to them for failing them therefor they pass them and let them move on without having the skills to learn. So they go all through school skating by not learning anything because they were never taught the basics of how to learn and then become intolerant adults because of that. I hope this makes sense.

LOL. my life. omg... made sense to me.

I'm a cynical person - and any doctor telling you that you will never be cured screams "doctor guaranteeing an income from you for life". Some mental illnesses do resolve after therapy/medication (my pdoc who dx'd me as bipolar told me that it may be possible, eventually to get off of lithium). Also, some depressions/anxieties are purely situational - coming along with huge life changes - and can resolve once the situation has changed.

Actually you CAN change the way your brain works without taking medications.
I'm no expert, but I have learned---when I was in the hospital-- that by changing your thoughts, from negative, depressing, hopeless ones...to positive, uplifting hopeful ones, new connections can and ARE made. It's much harder to do on a daily basis than taking a pill.

IF you are unable or unwilling to practice regulating your thoughts diligently, then YES, you better take medicine to help with the chemical balance in your brain.

I do not agree that it is like diabetes or high blood pressure. It's a brain thing, and we have the power over what goes on up there.
There is plenty of research indicating that taking anti-depressants every day can cause damage to liver, kidneys, etc...thus the yearly or bi-yearly blood draws while you are on them.
Doctors say it cannot be cured? well, maybe "cured" is the wrong word. But it can certainly be managed WITHOUT drugs. I am living proof. I still have those dark and scary days, very occasionally --but I now know, that I will always climb back up, I have the power, I am strong. My brain and body are amazing things, and MINE has no intention of taking pills every day for the rest of my life.

i agree with daisylou...

i don't think that depression/anxiety/bipolar is like diabetes...cause the brain is not like the pancreas...they work together, but not the same....and the brain is a lot stronger than most people realize...i also agree that while it can't be cured it can be managed with or without drugs...i for one grew up taking medication for asthma, and am so greatful to my mom that when the medication started making me depressed, and behave "wierd", she knew it was time to take me off of it....and find another way to control my asthma...which we did....so if i can control my asthma without daily medication, then i know i can control my headaches, depression, and minor aches, pains, and ailments attributed to getting "older" without daily medication....

i think society today, is always looking for a quick fix by running out to 'take a medicine'; to medicate, to take a drug and mask the pain, and while it can and does help, it's not the be all, end all solution to all of our problems; be they health or mental problems...

-DR-

Mystie, I agree with everything you are saying. I get bashed for saying this & "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

Depression/bipolar/anxiety runs rampant through my family. It is NO coincidence. It is biologically based - a chemical imbalance in my family genetics. One of my brothers started showing symptoms at 5 yrs. old & we grew up in a traditional nice family - no abuse or other traumas that would "cause" him mental illness.

Anyway, this is my opinion and I am sticking with it :)

Mental illness may or may not be organic depending on different viewpoints. There's a strong genetic influence in my own illness - but that doesn't mean that medication is necessary to live with all mental illnesses - it depends on severity and circumstance.

It is an old argument- nature vrs. nurture. I think it is both and if drugs, hope, positive thought reconditioning, painting, hope, therapy whatever helps then I say go for it.

I know there have been periods when I haven't need drugs and now I do I hope that I won't need then again but who knows? The medical establishment don't know either. There is no way, well currently, to know what /how/ why/ where mental health illnesses and disorders come from/ work/ come and go and we, as the human race, do not know enough about how the mind and brain work.

Biting your nails is a habit. Depression and GAD are illnesses. In the same way that research has shown that those who are better informed and supported make a more rapid recovery from surgery, those who are well-supported and have a positive outlook can, I say CAN, do better in their fight against depression. Thing is, with any mental illness, there are so many variables that everyone is different, and to say it's a habit of the mind is ignorant.

Biting your nails is a habit. Depression and GAD are illnesses. In the same way that research has shown that those who are better informed and supported make a more rapid recovery from surgery, those who are well-supported and have a positive outlook can, I say CAN, do better in their fight against depression. Thing is, with any mental illness, there are so many variables that everyone is different, and to say it's a habit of the mind is ignorant.

I tend to think it is a disease too. I have lived with anxiety for most of my 35 years. This isnt something that has just come on with me in the past few years. I have always had these problems, always been more afraid and scared than other kids. I have seen plenty of therapists and they say to think positive, and I try that but it doesnt go very far with me.

I am willing to find other ways out of this thinking but the therapists I have seen havent helped. There are downsides to the medicine, like with any medicine for any kind of health but I believe in the medicines to help these problems. I try to work on myself, but when you have been in this pattern for a very long time, I believe something else is needed.

I tend to lean towards feeling that depression maybe starts off as a reaction to a life event. a bit like grief,, which can.. only can...then form a behavoural pattern in your brain, which may "click in" agsin at times of worry and crisis, each time becomming more and more ingrained/re-inforced. So yes I think that positive thinking..very hard to do at times..along with maybe cbt can be helpful.