Posted by dj on November 23, 2000, at 23:43:27
In reply to Autonomy and Mental illness , posted by Rzip on November 23, 2000, at 23:21:44
> Feel free to share your experiences from medical settings: How has your autonomy been >violated because of your diagnosis?
Medical diagnosis or not, it's one's beliefs that limit as much as not...it seems, which just adds to the negative spirals (or positive ones if one is cycling in the differet direction - nocebo vs placebo effects)... which is why cognitive therapies can work and help if one is willing to engage them consistently. Seems to me faith has a lot to do with it in one's own abilities and judgements...which through a depressive lens can be depressing...and negatively re-enforcing.
Came across an interesting book which I scanned which seems to make a few good points on all this. : "Half Empty, Half Full: Understanding the Psychological Roots of Optimism" by Susan C. Vaughan, M.D., who is an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. A graduate of Harvard and Columbia University, she is the recipient of numerous research awards and the author of "The Talking Cure".
As one Amazon.com reviewer noted: “Half Empty, Half Full is good news for pessimists, and even good science, a timely summary of the state of neuroscience, as it bolsters many theories of what Vaughan describes as the "positive psychology movement." The antidepressant Paxil, early cortico-limbic development, desperation in milk-treading lab rats, even Cocoa Crispies ("which are apparently like ambrosia to rats")--they're all here and, thanks to Vaughan, good reading and a compelling argument for not simply chalking up pessimism to factors beyond our control. --Paul Hughes “
Nuff said... I'm outta here...
Sante!
dj
poster:dj
thread:3214
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20001117/msgs/3216.html