When we attend a medical professional with a problem, we expect them to be able to help us overcome it. But this isn’t the case with psychiatry. Most doctors will freely admit that they don’t have any effective cures. In fact, it’s an open secret that the patients will need to keep living with their illnesses.
Despite this, many people believe that the drugs the psychiatrists are prescribing will be able to “fix” their disorders. This will allow them to function as “normal”. Because of this, prescribing drugs is often the standard practice, despite the benefits being minimal.
Why Aren’t There Any Cures in Psychiatry?
One of the biggest reasons why it is so difficult to find a cure is the way that mental illness is defined. There is no objective test to tell whether or not someone has a mental disorder. There is no way of telling whether or not someone has abnormal brain chemistry. Even though many of these drugs try to “correct” these brain chemistry problems. Without objective evidence about the problem, it is impossible to tell whether the solution is scientifically effective. Because of this, some people have argued that a diagnosis from a psychiatrist is “scientifically meaningless.”
Because of this, it makes it difficult to know what treatment will benefit the patient the most. However, this doesn’t stop the doctors from prescribing drugs. This is often because of the influence of billion-dollar drug companies. Additionally, many of the treatments described in the DSM manual involve the use of drugs. You can find out more information about how these drugs are added to the manual on this site.
Unfortunately, many of these drugs have the potential to become highly addictive. Sometimes, this can cause serious harm to the patient. For example, schizophrenia drugs have been linked with a range of unpleasant effects. This could help explain the high suicide rate from these drugs.
How Has Psychiatry Reacted?
After admitting that they could not cure the diseases, psychiatry needed to come up with a solution to this problem. The answer was to keep prescribing drugs, with the patients needing to take them for the rest of their lives. However, the longer that the patient is on these drugs, the worse the side effects can become. We have more information on how dangerous these side effects can be on this site. We also have resources to help you report any adverse reactions you experience.
However, the process of prescribing drugs can ignore the potential of drug-free, natural solutions. This can be an effective way of treating patients, without the risk of side effects. Because of this, many patients often prefer this method. However, they might not be given this option by the psychiatric community. Sadly, there is more money to be made by prescribing drugs than exploring natural forms of treatment.
This is a good example of why it is so important that patients are proactive. You have the right to refuse drugs that you feel are having an adverse effect. You also have the right to explore alternative treatments. This might allow you to find something that will provide a more effective solution.