How do you feel about medications?

[ZenAlex]

I would never judge people on them, but in regards to my own consumption - There's a big part of me that doesn't like the idea of going on them for the sake of mental health, because part of me wants to be self-sufficient and feel like I can resolve it on my own.

If I go on meds, that feels to me like admitting defeat - Like just accepting that I'm screwed and damaged beyond my own ability to repair, and the only thing that will work is a medication that may do harm as well as good. 

I could accept it in the case of physical health issues, but not mental, unless I was Schizophrenic or something.

[Michael569]

I think it requires a certain level of awareness and consciousness development to be able to work with mental health condition, especially a complex one such as Bipolar, Schizophrenia or major depression. Medications are there to ease life for people who do not have tools, knowledge or resources to handle these holistically. Medication prevent people from killing themselves during states of mania and hyperarrousal. 

If you are a highly developed individual, chances are you can, for example deal with a panic attack through a breath work and introspection but for people in spiral dynamics stage blue who are not aware of such practices even existing, medication is what helps them and keeps them from making a suicide attempt. 

They are not ideal and for moderate conditions such as mild to moderate depression, they do not work as well but for extreme conditions, meds are actually very helpful. The problem is that once people are put on meds, they do not receive further support. Meds should be used to alleviate major symptoms so that core issues can be addressed, which is where an integrative approach such as IFS comes in. It's like asking someone to hold a carpet while you vacuum clean underneath 

[undeather]

2 hours ago, ZenAlex said:

I would never judge people on them, but in regards to my own consumption - There's a big part of me that doesn't like the idea of going on them for the sake of mental health, because part of me wants to be self-sufficient and feel like I can resolve it on my own.

If I go on meds, that feels to me like admitting defeat - Like just accepting that I'm screwed and damaged beyond my own ability to repair, and the only thing that will work is a medication that may do harm as well as good. 

I could accept it in the case of physical health issues, but not mental, unless I was Schizophrenic or something.

Quite the contrary. 
Admitting defeat is nothing like what you just described. For me, an individual who has given up on him/herself is someone who wouldnt even consider taking any action. Its actually really brave to seek help - and this is especially true for someone who suffers from a debillitating mental condition. We do have an expanding arsenal of tools to deal with with specific issues and I dont see one reason why you shouldnt give them a try. Psychiatric drugs are real life changers in some cases, while other minds need a different approach. There is a lot of stigma around these drugs, esepcially on the internet - but its usually a lot of noise from online-experts who have no real clue about the topic, nor have they ever treated a patient. 

How about this: Keep the drug-approach as some sort of last resort and try out some of the alternatives to deal with your condition. You will always know that if shit really hits the fan, you can go back and take the medication. It can be your safety net and you can still put up your best fight. However, if you just want to feel better and life just sucks - you can start with the pills right now. Its not shameful, its not admitting defeat - its just one way of dealing with a condition. It doesnt mean that you should keep taking them for the rest of your life if thats what you are worried about. I know patients, who after years of consistent SSRI-therapy, got off the drug and healed their depression with a psilocybin trip. 

Also, keep in mind that the drug-approach doesnt mean that you stop implementing alternative add-ons. Psychophysiological practices like breathwork/meditation/yoga or NSDR can work real wonders. Movement, sun exposure and diet are also no brainers. Just never combine oral drugs with psychdelics or other nootropic/psychotropic remedies 

Last but not least, a small anecdote out of my own life: I started suffering from really strong allergies about a year ago. It became so bad that I could barely breathe at night - so I got myself an asthma-inhaler which I used 2 times a day. I was annoyed because I didnt want to use this stupid inhaler for the rest of my life - so I kept applying it until my lung recovered from the stress. I had similar thoughts like you described in your post. After a month or two, I started doing research and tried out some alternative treatment options. Breathwork + cold exposure managed to decrease symptom severity by about 90% and I managed to get off the inhaler after 4 months. 





 

[ZenAlex]

2 hours ago, undeather said:

Quite the contrary. 
Admitting defeat is nothing like what you just described. For me, an individual who has given up on him/herself is someone who wouldnt even consider taking any action. Its actually really brave to seek help - and this is especially true for someone who suffers from a debillitating mental condition. We do have an expanding arsenal of tools to deal with with specific issues and I dont see one reason why you shouldnt give them a try. Psychiatric drugs are real life changers in some cases, while other minds need a different approach. There is a lot of stigma around these drugs, esepcially on the internet - but its usually a lot of noise from online-experts who have no real clue about the topic, nor have they ever treated a patient. 

How about this: Keep the drug-approach as some sort of last resort and try out some of the alternatives to deal with your condition. You will always know that if shit really hits the fan, you can go back and take the medication. It can be your safety net and you can still put up your best fight. However, if you just want to feel better and life just sucks - you can start with the pills right now. Its not shameful, its not admitting defeat - its just one way of dealing with a condition. It doesnt mean that you should keep taking them for the rest of your life if thats what you are worried about. I know patients, who after years of consistent SSRI-therapy, got off the drug and healed their depression with a psilocybin trip. 

Also, keep in mind that the drug-approach doesnt mean that you stop implementing alternative add-ons. Psychophysiological practices like breathwork/meditation/yoga or NSDR can work real wonders. Movement, sun exposure and diet are also no brainers. Just never combine oral drugs with psychdelics or other nootropic/psychotropic remedies 

Last but not least, a small anecdote out of my own life: I started suffering from really strong allergies about a year ago. It became so bad that I could barely breathe at night - so I got myself an asthma-inhaler which I used 2 times a day. I was annoyed because I didnt want to use this stupid inhaler for the rest of my life - so I kept applying it until my lung recovered from the stress. I had similar thoughts like you described in your post. After a month or two, I started doing research and tried out some alternative treatment options. Breathwork + cold exposure managed to decrease symptom severity by about 90% and I managed to get off the inhaler after 4 months. 





 

So we don't disagree too much.

We both prefer to find natural solutions rather than western medications.

Medications as a last resort basically.

[undeather]

5 hours ago, ZenAlex said:

So we don't disagree too much.

We both prefer to find natural solutions rather than western medications.

Medications as a last resort basically.

Both are possible solutions. 
My personal go to as a MD is, first and foremost, evidence based medicine - which is mostly based on drug-related interventions. However, I think that holistic solutions are greatly underapprechiated in our modern medical paradigm - and this is especially true when it comes to mentah health conditions. It also comes down to the individual patient since everyone has different goals and ideas about the healing process. 

Depending on your condition and the severity of the symptoms, its perfectly fine to try alternative solutions at first. And if you want to try mainstream medication, than thats perfectly fine as well - taking a drug is not a cop out. Your decision should not be based on shame or avoiding shame - thats not how good medicine works. 

[puporing]

It's an interesting topic.. I mostly don't like the idea of going on medications (such as anti-depressants) chronically. However, I have benefitted from short-term use of them and where it did feel like it was some kind of chemical imbalance that I couldn't fix through other means. And somehow, just the use of say a few days can lift me out of that (where I feel a physical sensation in my head going from a "down" kind of mood to more neutral/clarity). So... I don't really listen to doctors but just listen to my own body . 

[Proserpina]

It's fine.  As long as it's not forced onto the individual for years against their will unless in extreme cases.  I think it is counterproductive to their healing and adaptation and essentially places a bandaid on the issue. 

I can't feel emotions like I used to.  It's blunted.  It's very frustrating. I also feel as if my freedom has been taken away from me and my spiritual gifts have been taken from me as a result of the emotional blunting.  

[flowboy]

There's no reason to judge yourself for taking a remedy that you need.

I'm only interested in solutions that work long-term without having to keep doing/taking them every day.

All the rest has a place, immediate temporary relief can be crucial.

Just don't make a band-aid your long term solution.