 |
Psychiatrists are Doctors too
Certain
individuals may be able to feel much better and quite positive
for periods of time if they focus on some distraction, perhaps
interact with friends, or quote “think positively”,
but this cannot be sustained and the depressive feelings return
as soon as the activity is stopped.
This chapter describes for the reader
the role of a psychiatrist and the process of evaluation and
treatment. Again through the use of an easy to follow question
and answer format.
The
following are a sample of the questions that I needed answered
to allay my fears of the biological treatments, in particular
drug therapy.
GWENDOLINE:
I don't know if you remember Margaret, but I was determined
to fight the depression on my own and really didn't want to
have to take drugs. Can people overcome it on their own, or
are drugs always necessary?
DR
HONEYMAN:
By the time people come for a psychiatric consultation, they
have been trying on their own for some time without success.
Often it hasn't worked because there is a chemical imbalance,
which requires medication to correct.
After a period of 6-24 months some depressive illnesses may
naturally remit. But why tolerate many months of painful ill-health
when there can be relief in a few weeks.
Psychic pain is as intolerable as any physical pain. The reader
is taken through how medications work. Dosage and interplay
with neurotransmitters. Difference between grief and depression.
Questions regarding personality change. Addiction and side-effect
issues are also addressed.
Lifestyle management and ECT are also addressed: Electro-Convulsive
Therapy (ECT) For severely ill patients who have not responded
to medication, ECT is considered to be a highly effective
treatment. However, because of the misuse and overuse of ECT,
it was a treatment that not only fell out of favour, but was
also actively lobbied against.
A brief synopsis provides some of the technicalities of ECT.
“But what you must not hesitate to do is ask as many
questions of your psychiatrist as you need to, to feel comfortable
with the decision.
As a psychologist, I can't tell you a great deal about the
workings of ECT. As a person who has suffered the agonies
of depression, I CAN tell you that if I had not responded
to medication, I'd rather be hooked up to the national grid
than live like that.”
|
