Janet Street Porter "Depression? It's just the new trendy illness!"

Handsome Bob

That article is no more than a pimping of her next book.

doctor evil

Personally I feel that GP's should not write out scripts for anti-d's. This should be left to phsychiatrists.

lexi09

How on earth was that article even printed, she really does not have a clue

lexi09

Some people rely on anti-depressants and not everyone can afford a psychiatrist.

ztoical

doctor evil wrote: »

Personally I feel that GP's should not write out scripts for anti-d's. This should be left to phsychiatrists.

There are many clinical depressive disorders that require anitdepressants including eating disorders and OCD and while all these conditions require the person effected should speak with a phsychiatrists or specialist counsellor the waiting list can be massive and for someone suffering from panic attacks, eating disorders or a manic breakdown due to OCD or bi-polar disorder they simply can't wait to be seen. A GP can see a patient quicker and medication can be given to help them regain control until they can sort a treatment regime.

Many phsychiatrists are just as happy to push pills on people as some GP's can be

iguana

[quote=[Deleted User];65934291]Why would someone want Prozac if their life was fine?[/QUOTE]

Because their life generally isn't fine, they are usually in a bad place where external factors are causing them to be extremely unhappy/not coping. Prozac/other anti-ds will take the edge off the bad times, it will make you better when you feel bad. But life is full of bad times and feeling bad because you are going through a bad time is not an illness and should not be medicated.

My life is quite frankly completely awful right now. If I take time to look at it externally I really don't know how I'm coping. For just over two years I have been facing a steady stream of crap. Every time I think things can't get worse, they do. And I know that as things stand now, it will get worse before it gets better. I'm very sad, very depressed, I feel like I'm only just about holding things together. But I don't have a mental illness, it's all external factors which are causing this unhappiness.

I know that there is medication that will make me feel better. I sometimes take co-codamol for a back problem and they make me feel like all the weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It's a lovely feeling. I know anti-ds would have a similar effect and I do occasionally feel tempted to ask for them, especially as I have been offered them. But the rational part of my brain knows that it would just be a short-term fix and would probably only make my problems worse long-term. Humans need to learn to cope with the bad times, you can't just anaesthetise your emotions when things aren't going your way. You have to learn to deal with the bad times because if things get worse you need to have coping skills, you can't medicate healthy people indefinitely.

Clearly there is a real illness of clinical depression which does need to be medicated and should be medicated in conjunction with good therapy. And not only clinic depression; manic depression, bi-polarism, schizophrenia, anorexia, OCD, alcoholism and other addictions can, and often should, be treated with specific mood alterers in conjunction with specialised therapies. But the current habit of healthy people being treated with the same medications as people who need them only uses up resources that should be going to those in real need and lessens the seriousness with which they are treated.

I think a totally different issue is being discussed here. The lady wasn't really talking about over-medication, she's basically claiming that depression doesn't exist and that most people suffering from it are spoiled, weak individuals who don't know they're born and can't cope with anything life throws at them. That's what I have the problem with. I definitely don't think GP's should be handing out Prozac like sweets, but I do think a lot of these people probably are genuinely depressed, whether it's caused by external factors or not. I certainly haven't taken any medication for depression or anxiety but I've been greatly helped by the fact someone FINALLY recognised I had an issue and receiving some counselling. Years of being told to get over it and stop worrying just made me worse. When you suffer from anxiety or depression, you find it harder to get through the bad times than other people do, because you don't have the same outlook. None of the treatment I've had (which hasn't even been much) has been a quick fix, simply a way to change my thinking patterns to ones which most people take for granted. I guess this struck a chord with me because very few people would look at me and see anything but a bright, successful woman. I'm sure most people would think 'what the hell does she have to be unhappy about?' but they have no idea what goes on in my head. So I'm not sure quite how Ms Street-Porter thinks she knows. Since when is it OK to decide who needs help and who doesn't?

Feeona

[quote=[Deleted User];65971986]When you suffer from anxiety or depression, you find it harder to get through the bad times than other people do, because you don't have the same outlook. [/QUOTE]

I think this is the crux of depression too. Porter's article is just an extended version of the old reliable term 'Get over it' which is trotted out by those who have never experienced depression. If they had experienced depression, they would never say 'Get over it'.

I agree with the idea that depression is down to how you view things, and I think it's an empowering notion because it gives hope for those who suffer from depression.

ztoical

Very interesting piece on the BBC about the history of mental asylums in the uk and the shockingly high numbers of people locked away in the late 40's and 50's and how poorly they were treated and we're not taking about violent disorders here but people with phobias like claustrophobia and panic attacks. It goes through the development of alot of the drugs used for treatment today and how they altered the treatment of mental illness and also lead to development of occupational therapy as an alternative to the new drugs and reduced the number of people needing to hospitalized for mental illness. It does relate alot to what's being discussed here but sadly I'm summarizing very poorly lol

It's on iplayer if anyone is based in the uk or on BBC 4 for those who have that channel