Posted by Eddie Sylvano on April 15, 2003, at 10:58:57
In reply to question about our futures, posted by mmcasey on April 15, 2003, at 9:02:01
> Do you guys really think that someday, through medication,
> therapy, personal growth and development, or whatever else...
> that SOMEDAY we will all truly be okay??
-----------------------Personally, I don't think I'll ever be okay or normal in a continuous way. I forsee myself always having spates of bad days, strange days, and good days. Medicine, I feel, is mostly a continuous and evolving way to attempt to address the imbalances in our heads. By their nature, they're not very elegant or predictable in their interactions with the brain, but if they can result in a more functional state of mind than I was experiencing prior, that's fine.
I see the main problem being the lack of real understanding on the part of drug companies/doctors about how the brain actually operates, what dysfunctions are caused by, and how to diagnose those problems correctly.
I see taking ADs as much like a diabetic using insulin. It doesn't cure the problem, it doesn't address it in any really refined way, but it does offer some relief. Ideally, there'd be a cure for anxiety or bipolar, but in the long meantime, we can at least look forward to drugs with more refined side effect profiles, better algorithms for prescription, and drugs that act on different/more refined targets in the brain. Look at the progress in the last 20 years.
I'll be happy if, 20 years hence, I can take a single pill a day that has no side effects, is appropriate for my symptomology, and offers a more robust response.
poster:Eddie Sylvano
thread:219511
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030414/msgs/219534.html