u cant just rely on antipsychotics? wrong or right?

[joshie]

when i was in the psych ward a few months back. one of the nurses said you just cant rely on medication all the time. im schizophrenic and he said when it comes to getting better its 5% antipsychotics 95% you. i think this is crap. or am i wrong? but what would happen if there were no antipsychotics? schock treatment? lobotomies? born live and die in a mental institute? but there is no cure for psychosis at the moment though. what do you guys think?

[Guest Vapourware]

Well, how I interpreted that was more like, medication should be combined with therapy and some lifestyle changes. Medication alone isn't the best path to getting better. I saw it more as an encouragement of a holistic approach. With therapy you can learn how to recognise triggers and live with your condition, and some lifestyle changes like regular exercise and sleep can help balance your life. You're right, there's no cure for scz [or a lot of mental disorders] right now; treatment is all about symptom management.

It's a lot different from saying, you don't need medication.

[joshie]

heres my argument: how do you stop/reduce the voices and paranoia without an antipsychotic? u cant!!!

[AirMarshall]

Joshie, you are correct. If we could 'think' ourselves well none of us would be here.

However, the is an old joke:

-How many psychiatrists does it take to change a lightbulb?

-One. But the lightbulb has to want to change.

The meds are key to changing the chemistry of our brains and improving the symptoms. However, personal attitude makes a big difference in how we deal with our illness and how it affects us. It's that "mind-body connection'. Making the effort to be active in our treatment, and active in life-doing what we can at the moment- can make a big difference in our long term health and happiness.

I'm not Mr. Sunshine, blowing smoke up your trousers. But learning to accept the vagaries of life and make the best of them is an important part of maturing as a human.

Hang in there! Best, a.m.

[jarn]

I suspect in some cases people can use mood stabilizers to stop psychotic features - I've heard lithium referenced several times as stopping psychosis.

I suspect that this is because the psychotic symptoms for those people are tied VERY closely to their mania and that stopping the mania means they will not have psychotic features.

EDIT to make sense: So you could stop psychotic features without being on an anti-psychotic.

That said, I agree with you - this is an illness that requires medication. Therapy is all well and fine but it is not enough - eventually being off meds will catch up with you.

I can't imagine life without an anti-psychotic. Yes, they have side effects, but they've given me so much. I think people today witth mental illness can lead more normal lives because of meds like anti-psychotics and I feel very lucky to be living in this time rather than in the past where mental health treatment was lacking.

[Swamp56]

heres my argument: how do you stop/reduce the voices and paranoia without an antipsychotic? u cant!!!

When actively psychotic, this ^ .

Are you sure she wasn't talking about "willpower" to try to recover, or something along those lines?

[joshie]

sorry i made a mistake. what i meant was how do you stop/reduce the voices and paranoia without MEDICATION. my apologies.

p.s just another thing when i was in the psych ward one of the nurses also said "we cant just give out PRN all the time when you freak out" this doesnt make any sense!! yes you cant cure mental illness with medication however it does "control" it?? what are your guys opinions on these subjects that i brought up. and what do you think about what the nurse said?

[netsavy006]

The medications are there to help control your symptoms. However as I've learned from other's on the boards, you have to balance the medicaions benfits with the potential side effects. You can't just medicate every symptom or side effect that you have. Otherwise, you could end up on many medications, many of which you may not need. It's a combination of the proper medication and therapy to help manage your conditon. I have schizoaffective disorder - bipolar type.

Let me give you my example -

If you've looked around my posts for the past 1.5 months, they were about getting off of medications, but I've learned that I go off my medications, I'm going to wind up back in the hospital because of suicidal ideation or possible attempt.

Also, I left my continuing day treatment center, which as reflect was a bad thing to do, because it left me in a hole as to what to do during the day and how I could learn of way to help manage my condition. At the program they have various groups (symptom management, affirmations, self help & empowerment, etc.) that help you improve the quality of your life. So I'm glad I made the decision to go back to the program I was attending. Not only that, but I was able to re-connect with the people there I've not seen in over a month.

So, yes the medications are there should we need them (possible in an emergency) but medication + therapy + coping mechanisms are the key to success with mental illness.

(I thought of this this morning: My mom's b-day is 8/5/10. That also marks my 6month anniversary out of the hospital (psych unit))