Are depression, ADHD, bipolar, etc., real?

<p>I felt depressed a few weeks ago (feel better now :)) and went to see a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist recommended antidepressants, and my dad said absolutely not, because depression and other things were states of mind, not actual diseases. He has a lot of books to back this up, saying that psychiatry is a scam that doesn't do anything but sell drugs. Is he right or not?</p>

<p>These things are as real as broken legs or cancer. Don't let anyone tell you differently. Your dad has no idea.</p>

<p>A friend of mine from high school had a psychotic breakdown in college. If you saw him before (sane, very sane) and after (completely in a different world, out of his gourd), you'd know that what happened to him was as real as someone hitting him in the head with a baseball bat.</p>

<p>While doctors can be too quick these days to say that psychological issues only need medication to solve them, there are millions of people who are greatly helped by medication.</p>

<p>I don't know how old you are, but when you are 18 or older, I know you have full rights to determine your own treatment. If you are in a situation where a medical doctor suggests medication, I would suggest not telling your dad and seriously following his/her recommendation -- or at the very least getting a second opinion.</p>

<p>You'd be surprised how many people have been helped by medication. Even my friend from high school was.</p>

<p>Saying that mental illness is "all in your head" is the same as telling a person paralyzed in a car accident that they'll be able to walk again, as long as they don't have a mental hang up. The brain is an organ like anything else in the body. Just because we don't know how it works as well as other parts of the body doesn't mean that it doesn't break down the same way as say, a liver.</p>

<p>How long ago were your dad's books published? There's been a lot of findings recently that correlate mental illness with physical problems in the brain.</p>

<p>There are plenty of studies you can search for online that document the chemical differences that can be scientifically documented (usually using MRI's of the brain) in cases of ADD, depression, etc. Lots of people are resistant to this fact.</p>

<p>For a quick start on brain-based topics visit:
LE</a> CERVEAU À TOUS LES NIVEAUX!</p>

<p>That is thebrainDOTmcgillDOTca For some reason, the title turns up in French rather than English (sorry), although the link should go to the English version. The website is available in both English and French. It is full of great information, and links to even more fun brain stuff!</p>

<p>Good luck with your dad.</p>

<p>Your father's books sound like Scientology tracts. Scientologists are crackpots. Just because something is in a book doesn't make it so--anyone can publish anything. Do your own research.</p>

<p>there is a difference between situational depression and clinical depression. situational depression is triggered by an event, and will usually go away in a short period of time. it can trigger the same chemical inbalances that occur in clinical depression and anti depressants can be of help. However, because it is situational, and not organic, you will be able to recover in a much different time frame. </p>

<p>clinical depression, bipolar, ADD, are organic chemical imbalances whose underlying cause (as in why it happens) is not fully understood. what we do know is that there are specific neurotransmitters -- dopamine, saratonin, etc, and brain functioning, such as executive functioning, that do not function properly. there is a marked difference between the brain of a clinically depressed person and a "normal person"</p>

<p>yes, your body can create saratonin, etc in some cases. exercise. sex. regular sleep. This leads many to wrongly believe that depression can be "cured" on its own. But the problem is that it's not always a simple lack of saratonin that's the problem. That's why we have SSRI's -- saratonin uptake inhibitors. In other words, the real problem is that the brain is sucking up the saratonin before it can be be properly used, and the pills block this process. It doesn't matter how much saratonin is in your brain if you can't use it. But it's even more complicated still. Some depressed people respond better to atypical SSRI's or tryciclics because the mechanics of what is causing their depression is different. Bipolar and Bipolar II people are a whole nother complicated story. And same with ADD. Schizophrenia. Narcolepsy. Schizo-effective disorder. Anxiety Disorder. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. You name it. They are real. </p>

<p>The fact that there is a division, definition wise, between "mental" illness and "physical" illness is a huge poverty. It leads to the stigmatizing and marginalizing of thousands of mentally ill people. Mental illness <em>is</em> physical illness. Simply because that illness manifests itself in the brain makes it no less valid. The brain is an organ like any other.</p>

<p>mind you, cognitive therapy and learning therapy are an important part of the equation. but you can't discount the efficacy of meds</p>

<p>Some mental illnesses are as "real" as I Q. No fancy technology to measure, but when it's really low or high you are "really" different.</p>

<p>^^^what do you mean?</p>

<p>Not much time to expand now, but mental illness IS more subjective, culturally biased, and it's research more dubious then say, a broken bone. Same can be said about IQ testing, but most parents agree IQ is "real".</p>

<p>mental illnesses are not like IQ because IQ is a gradient. you can't be "kind of" schizophrenic, or "kind of" bipolar. you are or you aren't. there are degrees of severity, but that often is mitigated by external factors, not internal ones. </p>

<p>saying that you have to be 9 out of 10 depressed to be "depressed" severely delegitimizes the very real struggle of those who may be 6 out of 10. </p>

<p>you are adding to stigma, you adding to inequality in health care, you adding to ignorance.</p>

<p>The research is only more dubious than a broken bone because the level of scientific knowledge is not yet there. But leaps and bounds have been made over the past several decades and that cannot be denied. The "realness" of mental illness cannot be denied, and it cannot even be called dubious. Just because it is complicated, and because it occurs in the brain rather than the heart or liver does not make it fake. </p>

<p>Mental illness is not subjective. Yes, different practitioners may diagnose differently, but I have had shoulder injuries diagnosed in 3 different ways by 3 different doctors too.</p>

<p>Claysoul, this is reminding me of a previous discussion here, I think with you. You seem to feel you are quite well versed in the subject. I'll let you have at it.</p>

<p>I just did...
And I am quite well versed in the subject.</p>

<p>0P I was repeating what I find helpful in my discussions with parents. while the following MIGHT not be what your looking for, I do find it helpful to be open to alternative views.</p>

<p>ClaySoul, confidence can be a good thing. I have perhaps too much humility after 20 years of practice. I am still learning. Here's something someone challenged ME with. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.springerlink.com/content/u37j12152n826q60/fulltext.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.springerlink.com/content/u37j12152n826q60/fulltext.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>and this one... Not to say mental illness is not real; it is, but some of us are impressed with how much we DON'T know; we discuss this often on other forms</p>

<p>PLoS</a> Medicine - Do Antidepressants Cure or Create Abnormal Brain States?</p>

<p><em>sigh</em></p>

<p>There's a ton we don't know.
That doesn't make it not real</p>

<p>Yes, in some cases it's exaggerated by people who see commercials.
Sometimes pills are overused.
Some are ineffective in some people. This actually make sense as exact chemistry varies
So is Viagra
Is ED not real? </p>

<p>But let's not discount the disease as a whole. Please. It...I'm repeating myself. </p>

<p>Oh, by the way, I could send you some studies on the moon landing being fake. They are super convincing.</p>

<p>I don't think its fair to group depression and bipolar disorder with ADD. ADD is a much milder disease that is far more over diagnosed than depression (especially at a young age). It is much easier to function in the world with ADD than clinical depression.</p>

<p>I have depression, and it is VERY real. I'm not on drugs because I don't take any thing (personal beliefs), but if I did take meds, I'd absolutely be on antidepressants. It's really hard to live with and it doesn't go away. There is plenty of evidence to support the reality. Depression is often (not always) caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain which antidepressants can correct. I don't think meds are the way to go all the time, but when simple therapy isn't working, try something else.</p>

<p>Happened to be reading this today; Author is Russell Barkley</p>

<p>Amazon</a> Online Reader : ADHD and the Nature of Self-Control</p>

<p>Check out page 326...</p>

<p>"The last point about flexible, developmentally moving cut-off scores may require some clarification. Let us say for the moment that ADHD represents a 30 percent delay in the development of inhibition, resistance to interferance, and goal-directed persistance. This is the degree of difference between normal, and ADHD individuals that defines that defines ADHD at each age level one wishes to consider...The comparisson must reveal the individual to be 30 percent or more discrepant from normal as one of the diagnostic criteria. Just as maintaining an IQ of 70 is demarcant for mental retardation...."</p>