Comments on: Prominent Psych Writer Denounces Over-medication

By: Samantha

Samantha — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:17:02 +0000

This is such a serious concern. I hope that there are more doctors out there willing to take a look at this problem and do something about it.

By: Donna

Donna — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:50:30 +0000

For the most part I think that most in the mental health profession think that they are doing the right thing for their patients when they offer them medications as a way to stem unwanted feelings and behavior and to hopefully help them reach a level where they can function normally in society. I do not think that there are too many physicians who would knowingly endanger the livelihood of their patients, but you know there are people out there all of the time who are self medicating and dosing in a way that is totally inconsistent with what their doctors are telling them to do. Is there too much medication on the market? Maybe. But I also think that many times we have brought some of this on ourselves. There are people who are always pushing for the quick fix and they see prescriptions as the answer for this. Unfortunately there are many doctors who cave to this pressure and who have in turn with collaboration with their patients caused an epidemic of misuse of medications that were created to help, not harm.

By: Faye

Faye — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:38:20 +0000

My mom was in an institution in the 1960s when over medication was standard. I last remember my mom looking like a zombie and only wish that the critics had come out sooner.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:36:12 +0000

I hate to see when people are obviously on too much medication. They just have that look about them, foggy almost, and you know that even though one set of symptoms are being controlled, all of the medicine brings up a whole other set of issues.

By: Jen

Jen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:06:18 +0000

Before we judge we have to take a step back and look at how much many of these drugs have helped certain people. I am not saying that they are the answer for everything that ails us but I do feel that they are not all bad and for some patients they do have their place. But just like everything else they have to be used wisely and monitored by a doctor.

By: Richa

Richa — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:11:43 +0000

I have cousins and friends back in India who go through the same things in life or much worse than I do. They dont have the same level of freedom in thought or deed when they grow up and they seem to be in better control of their lives than me. I do agree that people with lesser conveniences learn to sort out their problems better than all of us.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:33:49 +0000

Its good to know that things that go under the carpet in the medical fraternity are being aired in public.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:00:01 +0000

I was on a slight sedative as I was suffering from stress related insomnia. Today I am hooked to that pill and I would have definitely been better off quitting and taking a holiday

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:56:00 +0000

I was on a slight sedative as I was suffering from stress related insomnia. Today I am hooked to that pill and I would have definitely been better off quitting and taking a holiday.

By: Liza

Liza — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:23:35 +0000

I think very few mental health professionals have everybody’s best interests in mind. It has proven to be a trap for so many people courageous enough to seek therapy. A friend of mine lost both her kidneys because of a long term anti depressant prescibed 10 years ago.

By: runninfast

runninfast — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:44:04 +0000

But a combination of different medications helped my daughter a good deal when she went through a serious bout of depression while in college. Don’t you think that they still have their place because I fear that without them my daughter would have hurt herself eventually.

By: sandy,phd

sandy,phd — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:10:43 +0000

Thanks for the heads up and summary of a necessary book. I have seen my share of clients who seem more drugged up than helped.

By: Robyn

Robyn — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:23:12 +0000

There ARE so many other alternatives for treatment when it comes to psychiatric care, and I am glad to see that finally people of note are willing to stand up and fight for some of these alternative therapies. Yes they may be experimental or maybe we have all just gotten to the point that we feel like only medicine can make things better but that is absolutely not true. I work in the psychiatric field and have to say that I have observed numerous instances in which meds were not helping the patient at all, that sometimes it just took time and the right therapist and program to get things moving in the right direction. How long will this take to catch on? Who knows. But this is at least a good start.

By: Dr. Ralph

Dr. Ralph — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:33:40 +0000

psychiatric care in the US is in a sad state, that’s is for sure. of course many people benefit from medication. but the majority just avoid really making emotional changes and use rx psychotropic meds as any other crutch..not to mention the physical side effects..glad people are actually speaking up…