is there something the pdocs know and we dont?

[crywolf2010]

just wanted to say something about this. when i was in the psych ward last year the pdocs the nurses kept telling me you cant just rely on medication medication by medication they meant antipsychotics. they didnt actually say this but they make it sound that theres something wrong with taking antipsychotics. you would think out of all places that people that work in a psych ward would be against medication?? how do they expect to stop nasty voices and paranoia WITHOUT antipsychotics. thats ridiculous! are we just meant to "think" ourselves around it!?!?!? when i asked for meds coz i was freaking out the nurse is like "we cant just keep dishing pills out to you" WTF. ok suppose you didnt give out ANY meds to anyone on a psych ward there would be CHAOS. we would go back to old days of being in a seclusion room for the rest of our lives. whats the big secret with antipsychotics? are they afraid of us getting TD?? i dunno. this doesnt make any sense.. can someone shine some light on this?

[confused]

Do you think maybe they meant you need more than medication alone? That other things like therapy or developing coping skills are important, too. I wouldn't be able to function without meds.

[silentium]

Basically if a professional is willing to talk to you about lessening your medication or tapering it off it I think it's a good thing. It shows they may actually care about your long term health and are prepared to dare I say it, take a risk.

Some people might need a maintainance dose of an antipsychotic for the rest of their lives, some might not.

[mynameisiforgot]

Do you think maybe they meant you need more than medication alone? That other things like therapy or developing coping skills are important, too. I wouldn't be able to function without meds.

This is what I think they meant also.

[Guest Vapourware]

Sounds like a misunderstanding to me? It's true that you can't completely rely on medication alone, you need psychoeducation on your condition, as well as therapy to learn coping techniques and how to recognise your triggers. Treatment needs to be holistic in order to be most effective.

[Arise111]

Maybe when they say that they care about your long term health. These antipsychotics do have a lot of side effects and long term adverse effect to the brain. Especially the typical antipsychotics, they reduce grey matter in the brain which is important to have.

It is important to take the antipsychotics to help reduce the voices, of course.

[bpladybug]

Have you talked with your own psychiatrist about this, crywolf? It might be interesting to ask your own physician for his or her perspective. just a thought

[klingon001]

...

[enlightened_plutonian]

I'd agree with what the others have already said. I use a combination of antipsychotics and music and generally keeping active. For me if any one of the above is missing, then I will have symptoms. Medication is important to correct any chemical imbalances in the brain - my music won't do that. For me, the music can help to drown out the voices and take my mind off the thought control. And keeping busy is a good distraction, but doesn't in itself get rid of any symptoms. I think most of us will need a combination of meds and coping skills.